Victoria Dunlap (Victoria Graff photo)

By LARRY VAUGHT

It’s obvious the Kentucky women’s team will  miss Victoria Dunlap, a two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year who led UK to near the top of the SEC the last two years.

However, I wasn’t quite prepared for just how much Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell was going to miss his superstar until I asked him recently.

“I loved Victoria as a person. She and I became very close. (My wife) Jenna and I are naming our child, Saylor Rose, and the Rose is Victoria’s middle name. We just want to remember how important she was to us. She was just like a family member,” Mitchell said.

“Her play on the court was a catalyst to lead the program to places we hoped we could go but there were not guarantees. That’s what I think of her. Really close to her. I will miss her personality. She was a lot of fun to be around and we had a lot of good times over the four years. She would come in the office and we would talk about stuff that did not relate to basketball. I will miss that.

“Then on the court, she was just so steady. Not a lot of players, and I am talking about making a huge difference, in all phases. Over the course of four years she went and got rebounds you didn’t know how she got. She would make defensive plays you wouldn’t know how she made them. She would make big shots at big times. She had a great sense for the moment. She was not a great 3-point shooter, but I can remember last season she made a big 3 at Vanderbilt that we needed. She could do things like that that not a lot of people can do.

“We are going to have to see if we have somebody that can do that or we are going to have to be sharper because we won’t have that player that can just bail you out with unbelievable athletic feats like she could. It’s a big loss.”

Both on and off the court.