KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper took questions from the media on Wednesday in a Zoom interview session that covered the Lady Vols’ two games this week.
UT (2-1) will play host to Furman (1-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (SECN+) and hit the road for a contest at No. 23 Texas (3-1) on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT/5 ET (ESPN).
Watch the press conference below.
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening Statement…
“We’re excited about this week and being able to play a couple of games and get some practices in. We’re really grateful that we were able to add our Furman game this week to help replace the FAMU (Florida A&M) game that we lost at the beginning of the season. We’re coming off a West Virginia loss, a tough loss. Hopefully our players come out of it better. I thought they had a pretty good attitude after the game. I thought our practice was good, and I thought their mentality was good. It’s just a matter of being able to improve on some details and use every day to get better. I think we’ve made some strides. There are, obviously, a lot of mistakes left out there that we need to clean up to be able to get a close win.”
On what she has learned from her team through three games…
“I think going up to West Virginia, there was a question of how we were going to compete against that caliber of a team. I was proud of them. I thought our players fought hard and played to win. We were on the floor a lot after loose balls; we had a desire that was really good to see. We just came up short. You look at that game, and you have so many mistakes. Mistakes are turnovers, but mistakes are also a missed boxout. Mistakes are also a missed assignment or falling asleep defensively. There are a lot of different things that add up in that game. We’re really one more free throw away from winning that game in regulation, one more knocked-down jumper or one more boxout where they don’t get a put-back. You look at that entire game and see how many opportunities we had. We could have been better.”
On what it’s been like for the basketball teams with COVID-19 protocols in place this season…
“He (Rick Barnes) and I spoke last week. We talked a little bit about the whole environment and the situation. We had played a couple of games here. At that point, he had not. So, we talked a little bit about what the atmosphere was like. It is different. Every day, you just keep your fingers crossed that you get to continue this day and you get to play tomorrow. We understand. You don’t have to look far to see the men’s team and see how their schedule has ended up. You look in women’s basketball and all of these different sports, that’s just reality. That’s the world we’re living in. You’ve got to understand that at any point, it could be taken away from you for at least a short period of time. You just have to prepare and enjoy the opportunities that you do get.”
On what she likes from the point guard position…
“I think right now, we have three players that have played the point guard position. Both of our Jordans – Jordan Horston and Jordan Walker. I think the really neat thing for those two is that they’re bringing something very different to the table. I think Jordan Horston is a big, strong playmaker, playing downhill. Something’s going to happen. I think Jordan Walker is a little bit more reserved, a little bit more of a manager. I like the fact that both of them can play together. I think that’s really good. Our third point guard is Destiny Salary, who hasn’t been a true point guard in her career, but she’s looked good in practices. We’re trying to get her work up in practice and find her some minutes in these games.”
On preparation for Texas and how to plan for Charli Collier…
“Well, we played them last year, and our post players did a terrific job defensively. They held her to six points, I think. One of the ways they did that was limiting her touches. I think that’s a little bit harder in the system that they’re running now. Sometimes she’s not the primary look, but because she’s the secondary option, she’s getting a lot of touches and a lot of open touches. If you look at some of the games where she’s had big games, that’s where she’s getting those. I think the first thing that strikes me is you when you see her, she looks amazing. She’s physically impressive right now. You have to credit her, because her body looks terrific. So I think, for us, just being prepared to key in on her. But also, it’s easier to guard her when you don’t have to worry about everybody else, so being able to line up and guard everybody else will help us do a better job on her. I don’t think you’re going to shut her down, and she’s going to be hard to keep off the boards, but obviously, you want to try to limit that. And hopefully our size will have a little bit of an effect there.
On Charli Collier’s performance, where it’s able to go and the comparisons to Candace Parker…
“I think for her, I think she’s really projecting high right now. I think early on she did, and I think she’s back on track to project really high. I think she’s got a great presence – very strong, very athletic. Her skill set, to me, obviously, she can shoot out on the floor. As she continues to develop that and get even more comfortable putting the ball on the floor, I think that really gives her a different dimension as a pro. When you talk about Candace Parker, Candace Parker is a guard. And that’s one of the big reasons that she’s so special, she’s a guard in a post frame. I don’t know that I would identify Collier as a guard yet, but she’s got a great skill set and may be trending that way.”
On what she expects to see out of Furman…
“Furman coming in, one of the things that they do well that’s a problem for a lot of their opponents, is they run a lot of stuff. They run a lot of different actions, a lot of quick hits. We’re not going to be able to go over all of that with our team. That would overload them, and then you start worrying more about your opponent than yourself. So, for us, we’re going to have to be able to figure some things out live and figure some things out on the fly. And it’s a great opportunity for us to see how we handle a pretty in-depth scouting report in terms of actions we have to guard. I think that’s one of the things we’re going to see. Their kids are going to play hard. They’re savvy; they’re intelligent. I want to see us come in and really get after it – really get after it on both ends of the court, be sharp, look to get a lot of people involved in the offense and make some plays defensively.”
On the smaller rotation at West Virginia and what it will look like going forward…
“One of the reasons that we shortened our bench that game is that I knew their bench was going to be short, so I didn’t think there was going to be an advantage there. And I wanted to give our players that had the experience, a lot of it, to give them an opportunity. We’re going to continue to work with those players that didn’t get as many minutes. We want to make sure that we continue to work with them, because at any point they could have to step up and give us some time. When you have a team that will buy into, ‘If I’ve got two minutes, I’ve got to have two great minutes… or eight minutes or 12 minutes, but those minutes have to be great.’ I think that’s where you can really take a big jump as a program. But in terms of our rotation, I think we’re working through those. We get a lot of data after every game and every practice on what combinations work and what combinations maybe aren’t the most successful. And then it’s how are we going to take that data and process it for a game.”
On how the newcomers have integrated with the returning players…
“I think our newcomers have all brought something different to our team. I think they’ve come in with a great attitude, great work ethic, great mindset, very competitive. I love that about them. I also think our returners have really embraced our newcomers and embraced what they’re bringing to our team. I think you’ve got to have both. I’ve been proud of how this team has meshed and how they’ve grown together, and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
On if she feels like Vic Schaefer is putting his stamp on Texas’ play…
“I have only seen them play once, and absolutely they are playing Vic Schaefer’s style of basketball. They’re playing the dribble-drive, and they’re playing aggressive man. That’s his thing. They’ve put both of those things in, which I think everybody expected, but I think you can definitely see where he’s wanting to take that team.”
-UT Athletics
