KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Lady Vol Basketball Head Coach Kellie Harper met with the media in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio on Friday afternoon, answering questions about the team’s recent three-game European Tour.
Tennessee, which features a roster of 12 with six returnees and a half dozen others eyeing their first year on the floor at Rocky Top, went 3-0 on the trip. The Lady Vols defeated Dozy BV Den Helder in the city of Den Helder, Netherlands, 97-45, on Aug. 8. They then cruised by KBBC Upkot Sparta Laarne in Laarne, Belgium, 106-64, on Aug. 10. UT closed out the tour in France by rolling past AK Select in the village of Brétigny-sur-Orge, 93-43, on Aug. 13.
Sophomores Rae Burrell and Zaay Green scored in double figures all three games for the Lady Vols, while junior Rennia Davis and freshman Jordan Horston did so twice, and junior Kasiyahna Kushkituah and freshman Tamari Key each surpassed 10 points once each. Davis had the single-game high for the tour with 25 points vs. KBBC Upkot Sparta Laarne, while Burrell had 19 vs. AK Select.
Four players tallied double-digit totals in rebounding during the trip, including sophomore Jazmine Massengill, Key, Burrell and Davis. Massengill had 12 vs. KBBC Upkot Sparta Laarne, while Key had 11 against Dozy BV Den Helder.
Davis dished out eight assists vs. AK Select, while Massengill had six each vs. Dozy BV Den Helder and KBBC Upkot Sparta Laarne. Burrell had the tour high for steals with five vs. AK Select.
Tennessee begins play in 2019-20 with a home exhibition contest vs. Carson-Newman on Oct. 29. The regular season opener is slated for Nov. 5, as the Lady Vols travel to Johnson City to face East Tennessee State. UT makes its home debut on Nov. 7, as Central Arkansas comes to Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip times and television information will be released at a later date.
LADY VOL HEAD BASKETBALL COACH KELLIE HARPER
On the trip to Europe and whether she has identified how many players are ready to play:
“I don’t know that we can identify a rotation yet. Really, the competition over there wasn’t what we’re going to see here, so that’s going to make a big difference. We have a lot more to put in as a staff and as a program. So once we get more things in, I think players will be able to separate themselves a little bit. While we were over there, everybody did what they needed to do.”
On whether there were any pleasant surprises among her players:
“I don’t know if surprised is the right word, because I have high expectations. I’m rarely surprised if I go in and see what I want to see, but I thought the players played hard and they were very into what we were trying to do as a team and as a staff. That was a very good positive. I don’t know if it was necessarily a surprise, but it was good to see.”
On the team chemistry and bonding in Europe:
“They (players) spent a lot of time together. Throughout the trip when we were on tours or doing something, they were grouped together always; not as much with the staff, but with each other. From my perspective, everything looked positive. They dealt with each other well. When we got to the court, we didn’t have any issues and everybody seemed like they were genuinely pulling for each other. In terms of the chemistry and what we wanted to see, we saw it.”
On Rae Burrell and her performance in Europe:
“She plays hard, goes full speed and gets up and down the court. The pace we’re wanting to play at is very conducive to her, and I think she plays well in our system. I think she got a little bit better with each game. During that third game, she had a lot of opportunities in the open court and knocked down a lot of shots. She’s bigger, stronger and more athletic than our opponents over there, but she still had to make shots and be in the position to be successful.”
On whether Rae Burrell connected and played well with her teammates:
“The opportunities that Rae had a lot of times were just on the receiving end to be able to finish plays. I don’t know that there were a lot of opportunities for her to create (plays) for her teammates, but I did not feel like I saw any selfish play by any one on our team.”
On how beneficial the trip was for the team:
“We’ll learn how beneficial the trip was. It gave them an opportunity to hear my voice in a game setting. They know where to sit on the bench now. They know how to go in and out of the game. Little things that people take for granted sometimes, we don’t have to now go over those things for our first game in November. They have an understanding of what that’s supposed to look like, so it puts us a little ahead there.”
On whether the expectations and culture for the team are set:
“I think the players understand the culture in terms of how they’re supposed to act and how they’re supposed to carry themselves. I think it’s a process; it’s something we’re continually working on. In terms of the basketball expectations, those definitely have not been set yet. We have a lot to do to even put ourselves in a position to know where we need to be. We talk about just wanting to be the best we possibly can be, and that’s going to take a lot both on and off the court.”
On Rennia Davis’ performance and demeanor in Europe:
“I thought during the game, we were able to see all of her skillset; her ability to rebound, her ability to shoot the basketball, to put the ball on the floor, to finish the play. I think for her, we also saw some leadership qualities. In huddles, we were able to hear her voice. We didn’t have a lot of adversity. There was one quarter in the whole trip where we faced a little adversity and didn’t play well while the other team did. I remember hearing her voice. I think the players naturally look to her, because she’s the most experienced player on the team. She’s in a position to make a difference in that area. We just need to continue to work with her on what that looks like. She wants to do what we ask her to do. I enjoy being around her. She’s been in the office today, and she’s been very coachable for me. Again, we’ve not had the adversity that were going to have later. So were going to have to build a great, strong relationship with our whole team so that we can get through it.”
On what she uses to help the team improve when they aren’t facing much adversity:
“We told the team (in Europe) ‘let’s not beat this team because we are bigger, faster, stronger and just more blessed. Let’s beat them because we are executing and doing the things we want to do. Let’s find a way to get better in those situations.’ So we talked a lot about that during timeouts. Along with any time they came over to the bench, we talked about finding a way to get better there. We are talking little increments (to the team), because they don’t know a lot in terms of our package (right now). So just the little bit that we do know, (I told them) let’s be as good at that as we can be. An example, our ball screen defense by our guards was light years better in game three than it was in game one. So, I’m walking away feeling better about that.”
On the one quarter of adversity that the team faced on the trip:
“The one quarter of adversity that we had I did a quick substitution, a line change, pulled them out and yelled at them a little bit. Just because, again, it was not satisfactory. It was the not the way we need to be playing and they needed to hear that. But we got it turned around really quick. The group that came in gave us great energy and got the momentum back.”
On what she saw from the freshmen players on the trip:
“I thought they handled themselves really well. I was really proud of them. Jordan (Horston) has great savvy and understands the game. I thought Jessie (Rennie) came in and made a lot of plays just because she’s heady. Tamari (Key) did a really good job of running the floor and getting herself some opportunities around the basket. I thought our team looked for her, which was exciting. I thought Emily (Saunders) did some nice things. She scored some (points), especially in that first game. So I was really pleased with their play.”
On how Lou Brown looked coming off her injury:
“When you are coming off an injury where you have sat out that long, I think it can be a little tough mentally as well as physically. But I thought she looked really good; she played hard, she gave us some hustle plays and she was on the floor in that first game. It wasn’t necessarily her shooting ability behind the three-point line, but it was her grabbing a few steals. I thought her play away from the basketball was good.”
On general player health during the trip:
“We didn’t have any injuries there. We were just trying to make sure with Lou that we were cautious with her ongoing and lingering issues.”
On Emily Saunders’ and Tamari Key’s readiness:
“I don’t know if they are both ready yet. I think the physicality that we are going to see at this level is going to challenge them both. They understand what they need to do. But they’re just going to have to make that adjustment to playing physical people. Not necessarily people that are as big as them, but bigger people than they normally play against and people that will push back on them more then they have ever had.”
On if there have been any other leaders emerge on and off the floor:
“I think Rennia is a natural one just given her position, but also I thought Jazmine (Massengill) has done a really nice job. She has a very good positive voice in huddles. She’s very coachable and she wants to be in tune with what the coaches are asking. Her message was delivered well to her teammates, so that was good to see.”
On what she saw from Jazmine Massengill on the court as a point guard:
“I think playing under control is very important from her. We have a lot of players that are going to just go, and go at a high speed. But we need somebody who can handle the basketball and dial it down when we need to, and I think she can be that person for us. I think she complements Rae…Rae, who doesn’t know anything but go, and Jazmine just complements that really well. I thought Jazmine also did a really nice job facilitating and getting people the ball when they needed the ball and played with a lot of poise.”
On the goals of being a point guard on the team:
“To me, if you’re a player and I say, ‘You make everybody better,’ I can’t think of a better compliment to give. I think the point guard has to be the extension of the coach on the floor. They have to understand exactly what we are asking as a coaching staff, and that takes time. It takes time for players to understand that and get that. Just to be able to be there for your teammates and help them and not put them in bad situations. There’s a lot of bullet points for our point guards.”
On what’s next for the team’s agenda:
“I think we had a pretty good handle of who we were, and now we’ve got to take steps forward. We’re giving them (the players) a little bit of time off. We’ll start up hot and heavy after Labor Day, and at that point they understand that it’s going to look different now. What I mean by it looking different now is that I mean the competition is going to be different now. The level of intensity has to be up a little bit more. They have to be more prepared. They have to really buy into every single day (of practices). They have to get better in some way. It may be slow going, but that’s OK as long as every single day we’re taking a step forward.”
On whether she is comfortable with how familiar the players are with the new staff:
“That’s a great question, and it’s a yes and no answer. Yes, given the time we’ve had with them. I’m comfortable with what they know, but also no because we need more (time). We’re going to try and do some things to give them more access to our staff, so they can feel even more comfortable with us as we move forward. They have to have that. They have to feel that (comfort) in order to be comfortable on the court. There’s no way to speed that up. It just takes time.”
On non-basketball related memories from the European tour:
“For me, it was my first time traveling over there. I think just seeing the players be in awe of history and be excited to go to the Louvre—not what you think about with teenage girls. Really enjoying being at the Normandy beaches and really taking that all in. That was important to me. The fact that they were able to step back and take it all in, not take anything for granted and just enjoy what they were there to see in that moment.”
On the importance of developing non-basketball related moments to help develop the culture and family environment of the team:
“They come very rarely when you have an opportunity to put things in perspective. When we walk in the gym that we are going to play in and we relate it back to what we have played in, it’s unbelievable the opportunities that we have. Just little things like that. Hopefully when you have those moments, you can allow your players to take it in and realize how fortunate and how blessed they are with everything that we have here at the University of Tennessee.”
On Harper and her family’s excitement about the upcoming football season:
“Obviously, we know Rocky Top very well. I love college football and there is no better place to be than Knoxville, Tennessee. I can’t wait to get the kids in the stadium and let them just enjoy what I was able to enjoy and how fun it’s going to be. I can already feel the cold chills when the Power T happens. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m so pulling for these guys (Vols).
On being a student-athlete at UT during the 1998 national championship football season:
“Yes, I was here during ’98 when we won a national championship. Maybe I can be the good luck.”
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