KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vol basketball team, which debuted at No. 18 in today’s release of the USA TODAY Sports Preseason Coaches Poll, held its media day Thursday in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio and at Pratt Pavilion.
Sixth-year head coach Holly Warlick and seniors Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared participated in a press conference, and members of the team and coaching staff spent time doing media interviews and participating in a Lady Vol Basketball Facebook Live Show. The media was invited to view a portion of practice following media day festivities.
Below is the transcript from Coach Warlick’s press conference, which has a video link above. Video and a transcript of the Russell and Nared presser, a replay of the Facebook Live session, photos and comments from other team members are linked on this page.
Holly Warlick, Head Women’s Basketball Coach
(Opening Statement)
“Thank you all for being here. New team, new year, new group. I’m really excited about this group. We have seniors that are mature and freshmen that are new trying to gel together, which they have. I’m really confident with what we’re doing, they’re practicing hard. I love being around this team. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of hard work, and I think you’ll see the excitement that we have. We’re doing a lot away from practice in individual workouts, and we’re really ready to just get the season started.”
(On the wide range of expectations for the team heading into the season)
“The result of last year wasn’t what we wanted, but we’re working every day to get better. We’re really focused on daily work and daily practice, and we’re taking each game one at a time. So that is what we’re striving to do. I really haven’t paid attention to the polls. But I know how hard we’re working, how competitive we are, and it’s up to us to go out every day and show how hard we’re working, and get the result.”
(On using polls to motivate players)
“I have not used polls to motivate players. We haven’t played any game thus far, so we’re going off of what we’re doing in practice and again, very competitive and very impressed with what we’re doing thus far.
(On the most improved player through the offseason)
“Most improved, I think both Jaime (Nared) and Mercedes (Russell) have really stepped up into a leadership role. They’ve matured, they’re seniors, they’re seasoned, and they’ve been great leaders for our new freshmen. I think Meme Jackson has gotten more focused, worked a lot in the offseason, and has gotten into more of a leadership role. I think Cheridene Green, who is coming off a knee injury, has gotten stronger, been in the weight room, and been able to get out on the court. She’s been working extremely hard. So I think that group of people right now has probably been the most improved on our basketball team.”
(On the freshman class and what stands out about them)
“The freshmen are competitive. They don’t like losing. They play hard. They are talented, but they have that desire and the will to win. They’re willing to work, they’re willing to learn, they’re willing to listen, and they’re just competitive. And that’s what I love about them.”
(On what has changed about Meme Jackson)
“Meme has gotten more focused with her game. She’s put in a lot of time in the offseason, and you can tell. She’s in a different role, she’s a junior now. She’s more mature, and we need her leadership, and we need her to step up, and she’s done that.”
(On whether practice has changed in any way from years past)
“Different from times in the past; it’s just a different group to work with. We’re probably doing a bit of more competitive drills, breaking down our defense a lot more, and simplifying our offense a lot more. Trying to put them in positions where their roles are going to be utilized the most. I think more importantly is how hard they’re working in practice. And are these young ladies committed to work, and I’ve been really excited with what they’re doing, and how hard they’re working.”
(On the freshmen making the transition to college basketball)
“For this group, they’ve been playing basketball for a long time. They understand that the game is more physical, it’s quicker, and they’re learning to adjust to it. It’s not the level of the high school game. And they were very successful in high school. I’ve been really pleased with how they’ve adapted to the speed, the quickness and the physicality. It’ll get better, but I love where they are right now.”
(On potentially starting a freshman at point guard)
“Hadn’t really thought about our starting lineup, but Anastasia (Hayes) and Evina (Westbrook) have proven that they can be in that situation. We’ve had a lot of practices, they’ve led our team, we’ve played them together, and we’ve played them separate. They’re ready for it. They did it in high school, and I have confidence in them that they’re going to get the job done. Both of those two young ladies know the game really well and they continue to listen, learn and apply, so I have all the confidence in the world in those two young ladies stepping in and leading this basketball team.”
(On only having 10 players on the roster)
“It’s more than we’ve had (said with a chuckle). It may toe the line of injuries, but they’re 10 young ladies that are really gelling and coming together. I like it because we can go against each other. It’s not too many that we have to worry about ‘are they getting a lot of playing time?’ I think this group has opportunity, in fact I know that this group has the opportunity, to get a lot of minutes as long as they continue to get better in practice and in competitive situations. But the door is wide open, and I think our practices have proven that we’re going to play a lot of people.”
(On following up this year’s highly-ranked recruiting class with another solid class)
“Recruiting is always key to any success of a basketball team, and I think thus far I’m very, very pleased with our recruiting class. We’re going to continue to get young ladies that fit into our system, and I think we’ve done just that. We’ve recruited some kids that will fit well, and we’re going to continue to do that. Recruiting never stops, so as we find kids that fit into our program now, we’re looking on down the road, we’re looking at 2019, 2020, 2021. You just want to identify those ladies that you need at the time and fit into your system.”
(On what she’s learned in five years as a head coach)
“Getting your players to gel, getting players that fit into your system, continue to be demanding on your players in practice. I think putting them in situations that emulate the game is so important. But also, this season, we’ve gone back to teaching a lot of fundamentals, especially on the defensive end. (Having) Talented young ladies doesn’t always mean they know how to do things a certain way. These kids have really stepped up and listened. We’ve been great communicators, and I think it has shown in our practices. So really just having that senior leadership, and giving them the opportunity to lead this basketball team, and I’ve got a staff that’s solid, we’re on the same page, they work hard in practice, they work hard on the recruiting trail, so it’s always a learning process. And you see something in practice and you go ‘we have to get better at that’. And so we go back and work at it. So, it’s just a daily grind, and you’re never satisfied. You’re never satisfied. I continue to plug along, I watch games, I watch practices, and I’m going to do whatever I can to make this team the best that it can be.”
(On Evina Westbrook and Anastasia Hayes potentially both starting together)
“Truly, they could both start. We could start three freshmen. These freshmen are extremely talented, so right now, we’re trying to get groups that gel together, and we have until our first game to figure that out. I’m not saying it’s not going to, but there will be a freshman that starts, there may be two, there may be three. It’s my goal to find the best team that’s going to get us off to a great start. And I don’t care what class they are; can they get the job done?”
(On moving on from last season)
“We moved forward the day that we lost our last game. That officially becomes a new season. So we’re focused on now, we’re focused on our daily grind, we’re focused on getting our young ladies prepared for a competitive season. It’s a new year, and it’s a new team. Again, it’s a new excitement for us. So we’ve moved on since that last loss.”
(On the recruiting pitch to get the new freshmen to campus)
“Our sales pitch is the University of Tennessee. We have great tradition, we have unbelievable fans, we play a competitive schedule, we play in the best conference in the country, and we’re Tennessee. Come play for the best. And those four young ladies chose to do just that.”
(On what the team needs to accomplish before the first exhibition game)
“We’ll keep working. We have a lot of stuff in, we feel great about where we are, but obviously never satisfied. We’ll just keep putting in more stuff and tweaking things. But could we play tomorrow? Yes. In two weeks should we be better? Yes. But again, we take it one game at a time. Practice is very important to us, and our kids understand that. But we’re going to get ready for that first game, and after that, we’re going to get ready for the next. Right now, I feel great.”
(On if the team will be a better perimeter shooting team than last season)
“I think our freshmen shoot the ball really well, I think the players that are seasoned veterans and have been in the gym all offseason, their shooting ability has gotten better. I think what will help our outside game is that Mercedes Russell has gotten stronger, more physica, and more demanding. When you have that type of player, it’s going to open up your perimeter shooting ability. I look for great things from our seniors. They had a great summer, they put in the time in the gym, and they look really, really good. And Mercedes is a fifth-year senior. And I’ve never seen her more hungry and determined. And Jaime Nared has had to step up and be a lot of things for this team. She needs to be a scorer, she needs to be a defender, she needs to be a rebounder, and to top that off, she needs to be one of our strongest leaders. And she has stepped up to the challenge. And I’ve been really, really proud of those two and how they’ve led on and off the court. And that means so much to this program and our young kids look up to those two.”
-UT Athletics
