Matthew Mitchell has had some choice words for the program’s first-ever All-American, freshman point guard Jennifer O’Neill.Mitchell has criticized O’Neill for her practice efforts, said Thursday night she doesn’t know her behind from her elbow and even compared her to a one-way player as recently as Friday.But that’s mild compared to what Mitchell has labeled O’Neill in practice.”(He told me) I’m the worst defender in the country,” O’Neill said.Ouch. That’s not necessarily coddling the most highly touted player high school player to ever sign with the Kentucky women’s basketball team.It’s all been a part of the rapid adjustment O’Neill, a consensus national top-30 player in the 2010 high school signing class, has had to endure this season. Thought to be a possible replacement for injured point guard Amber Smith, O’Neill has played sparingly this year and often times been the center of Mitchell’s displeasure for practice habits.Has it been a tough adjustment for O’Neill, widely regarded as one of the nation’s top point guards coming out of high school? Try a rude awakening.”It’s something I’m not used to,” O’Neill admitted. “A lot of the times when he would say it, sometimes it would make you really wonder, really question yourself like, ‘Well, can I play defense? Am I good enough to play defense?’ “Mitchell was asked the same thing Friday, whether or not it’s just a case that O’Neill can’t play defense.”No, no, no, no, no, and that’s what upsets me so much,” Mitchell said. “If it were a physical issue, then you’re at a different spot and you’re not as upset. But like last night, we’re pressuring them and Florida gives a little bit of what the officials call a displacement and Jen just falls back 15 steps. Can you get some toughness about you can you square the ball up? Can you stay between the ball and the basket? That kind of stuff that I know she’s strong enough to take but it’s just not all coming together for her.”But it’s getting better.”And as of late, it’s started to show. Although O’Neill still catches the ire of her head coach as much or more than any other player on the team, she’s starting to turn it around and fall into the head coach’s good graces.After struggling to get off the bench earlier this season, she’s averaged 14.4 minutes over her last seven games, including 24 minutes and 22 minutes in her last two games, respectively.In those two games – wins over Mississippi State and Florida – O’Neill’s offensive talents have started to shine through. She scored 11 points in the victory over the Bulldogs and netted a career-high 15 in Wednesday’s come-from-behind win over Florida, a victory Mitchell said could potentially define the season.”We would not have won the game without her offense (Thursday) night,” Mitchell said. “I thought at the end of the game, what she did for us, she wanted to win and she’s not afraid with her offensive talent, and her all-American mentally took over because she wanted the ball. She wasn’t afraid at all and she actually did an OK job guarding at the end, so I think it was a step forward for her.”O’Neill has hit five 3-pointers over the last two games, displaying a talented, un-teachable ability to roll off screens and get off a shot in one smooth motion. Mitchell wouldn’t go as far as to say she’s starting to “get it,” but he has been encouraged with her progress.

“She’s gone from getting nothing to some level of understanding of what we need her to do,” Mitchell said earlier in the week. “It’s exciting on one hand. You see what she can do for you offensively. She’s just so supremely talented.”Still, defense continues to be an area O’Neill needs to make significant strides. Known as a late bloomer out of high school that caught on to the offensive part of the game quickly, O’Neill is hoping – and believing – she can catch on defensively soon.”(Mitchell) wants to see me be more intense, pay attention to the fundamentals more,” O’Neill said. “Sometimes I have a habit of staying with my man and not going to help side. He really wants me to understand when I’m supposed to go to man side, when I’m supposed to stay with my man, knowing personnel, just wanting me to give it my all and be as intense as I could be.”Mitchell thinks the defensive lapses tend to be mental, an assessment O’Neill wouldn’t necessarily disagree with.”I definitely thought that I would struggle with it when I got here because in high school it wasn’t a big deal,” O’Neill said. “It’s something I’m not used to.””O’Neill hit an emotional low about a month ago. She was at the point where she had accepted where she was at and questioned whether she could get better,” Mitchell said. Bouncing out of that and earning playing time wasn’t easy for O’Neill. She said she relied on the encouragement of her coaches and teammates, particularly senior Victoria Dunlap, to bounce back and light a spark underneath her. “It was frustrating, but at the end of the day, they were still there for me and they were willing to help me in any way possible,” O’Neill said. “I was just grateful for that and took advantage of that.”Mitchell said he’s been extremely hard on O’Neill, admitting that he’s maybe been a little too tough. After all, hearing you’re the “worst defender in the country” isn’t exactly positive reinforcement. But to her credit, O’Neill has taken most of the criticism in stride and listened to the teaching moments.”I think he says it to motivate me,” O’Neill said.Lately, it’s starting to work. Snowden expected to play: After missing the last three games with a stress fracture in one of her toes, junior guard Keyla Snowden is expected to play Sunday against Vanderbilt.Snowden did not practice Friday but was expected to practice Saturday. Barring a clean bill of health from X-rays, which Mitchell doesn’t foresee, Snowden’s practice time will be “modified” the rest of the season.”She’ll just get in enough for scouting purposes and that’s of great concern because she really benefits from practice,” Mitchell said. “We’ll just have to see what we can expect. She’s been off for a couple of weeks so you really don’t know what you’ll get from her.”Despite missing four games this year, Snowden leads the team with 40 3-pointers and is third on the team with a 11.6 scoring average.