KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper took questions from the media on Tuesday afternoon in a Zoom interview session that covered the Lady Vols’ upcoming home games vs. Ole Miss (7-5/1-5 SEC) and Florida (9-6, 2-5 SEC).
UT (10-3, 4-1 SEC), which has ascended to season-high rankings of No. 20 in the AP poll and No. 22 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, will play host to the Rebels at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday (SECN+) at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols will then welcome the Gators to The Summitt on Sunday in a 2 p.m. contest slated for ESPNU.
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
On the next game against Ole Miss and the challenge of keeping her team focused on the scout for this week:
“I think one of the things that we have been able to do throughout the season is focus in on us and really try to get better as a team. In addition, we really try to keep our scouting reports very consistent, so our routine does not look different when we are playing UConn or when we are playing Ole Miss. I think that helps the mindset of our players so they understand that all games are equally important. In terms of Ole Miss and what they do well, first off, they play really hard. They have a lot of really unique and really good schemes, offensively. And I think that they have a couple of dynamic guards that are really doing a good job scoring. And then Shakira Austin is a talented player that poses some problems in her position. So, I have said before, if you think you just walk out and win, you don’t. That’s not how this works, and it is important that our players go out and understand that we need to play well.”
On what she feels is the biggest improvement of this year’s team compared to teams of the past:
“You know, for me, I think that it is probably the defensive end and the numbers where we have been more consistent. We have been more consistent with the rebounding numbers. We have trended up offensively, so those are all really good stats. In terms of finding one of those numbers that I am most proud of or most happy with is very hard, because I think they have all meant a lot. Probably the thing I am most proud of is not the numbers, but actually our mindset and our attitude and our growth of understanding what needs to happen. And (having) a little bit more maturity in understanding how we need to play and what it needs to look like for us to be a good basketball team and our ability to bounce back after losses. So to me, we have grown in so many areas, but sometimes the one that you cannot quantify has been the one that is the most important.”
On whether her team is starting to turn into the vision that she had when she accepted this job:
“Yes, I think that we (the coaches) have been able to see it prior to the wins, and now I think that everybody else gets to see it. We have been watching this happen. And sometimes growth is so small, and it does not come up in numbers, and it sometimes doesn’t come out with a win. But we are seeing that growth, and we have been seeing that. So, now I am so happy for our team more than anything. I am so happy for our team because they listened, and they bought in, and they really tried, and they have been rewarded with some really good wins. And that is so fun to see. It is very rewarding as a coach to see your team’s success when they buy in as mine has done. So, are we there yet? No, we are not. We have not gotten exactly where we want to go, but there is a lot of basketball left. I mean, there’s a lot of basketball left to play, and there’s still room for growth, and there’s room for ups and downs the rest of the way. But in terms of where we are from the start of the season to where we are now, I am so proud of them, and I am so happy for them.”
On Rennia Davis getting 20 rebounds against Kentucky:
“She was dialed in. I found out after the game, she had a buddy challenge her that she couldn’t get 15 rebounds. So, she was pretty locked in and when she does that, when she has specific goals, she’s pretty darn good. She has a really good ability to go get the ball and with her athleticism and her size, she has an advantage on the boards. I think the more mobile she is and the more we move her around offensively, the harder it is for defenses to keep her off the boards. So, I think it was just a really good combination. She was dialed in, and she was going to go get those boards. I’ll be honest with you, the team knew it. They were tracking it; they were really excited for her.”
On what it looks like to be a good basketball team:
“For us, I’m going to start with something basic, and that is getting the shot up. That means taking care of the basketball and getting a shot up. Offensively, when we are clicking, we are getting the ball inside to our post players, and we’re getting paint touches as well. We’re not settling. I think defensively when we are our best, we are just really locked in. Everyone is alert. I think sometimes it’s easier to be alert on the ball, and it’s easier to relax off the ball, but when we are at our best, everybody is really tuned in to the offense and what they are trying to do. Then for us, just cleaning up the boards on both ends.”
On Rennia Davis’ success despite being the main focus for opposing teams:
“Well, I think she’s so versatile and can do so many things. Some of the things that she does well are just really hard to guard. She makes a lot of plays off the ball, and a lot of that is her (being) savvy. When you have to account for Rae Burrell, Jordan Horston, and Tamari Key, you’re guarding so many people on the court. Rennia, who is away from the basketball, can get missed sometimes. I think that’s when she really plays well. She can really get out in transition and score. She’s doing a good job of taking care of the basketball. She’s very careful with it, she can pass to the post, she can do so many things. She really understands now she doesn’t have to be knocking down shots for her to have a really good game. That has just, honestly, taken her game to another level. Her average, I don’t think it is as much as it was last year, but I think she’s better. I think she can play through a poor shooting night and still have success. I am so proud of her for that.”
On how she sees the newcomers (freshmen) adapting this season:
“I think they have really settled in now. They’re feeling pretty good about what they need to do. Marta (Suárez), in particular, she’s letting the game come to her a little bit better now. Her plus-minus the past two games has been the highest on the team, so she’s making a lot of plays. Having her out there has helped our spacing a lot of the time. Destiny Salary, I was really excited about her play in the UConn game. I’m really proud of her. She plays hard. We’ve seen a lot of growth from her defensively, and we are really excited about her future. Tess Darby had some early injuries and did not get the playing time early. She’s practicing terrific, and sometimes you talk to the players that don’t get any minutes. We’re really excited about how she’s progressing in practice. It’s not leading to minutes now, but you never know what’s going to happen down the road.”
On the importance of the next two home games on our home court:
“My bags will stay packed in February, I think. I think these games are really important. It is an opportunity for us to show some maturity and come out and play, get better, and enjoy being at home. You don’t get these stretches that often where you’re at home for four in a row, so hopefully, our team will be locked in. I think we have to be to get wins, I really do. The SEC is so competitive this year; you look at the scores every single night and man, it’s just competitive. And if you take a night off, you’re not going to be in the winning column. I think that’s going to be the message to the team and to take advantage of the opportunity to be at home two more dates.”
On whether this week’s performance is the closest she’s gotten to where she spoke about taking this program when she was hired:
“So, I might be wrong on this, but I feel like our three best games that we have played all year were Alabama, UConn, and Kentucky – our last three games. And that’s exciting for me that we’re trending there now. I think a lot of that had to do with the defensive effort in those games, and a lot of that had to do with our focus and our mentality. Offensive execution and whatnot were pretty good in the majority of those games. We’re not perfect, but I do think, just thinking back, I do feel like we’re trending up the last three games, to be honest with you. So, it’s important that we don’t just kick our feet up and say, ‘Yay! Good job, we had three good games.’ No, that’s not what this is about. I do think the teams that are top-5 or top-10, they deal with this every night. People gunning for you because you are a top-5 team and whatnot. We get that a little bit because we wear orange, but I also think we’re getting it now because of how we’ve played. I think people are looking at us, and this team is playing well, so we have to really get up for them. So, I think it’s a little bit different for our team than it has been the last couple of years, but it will be a great opportunity for us.”
On whether she remembers speaking to the team about Kobe Bryant’s death this time a year ago:
“Some of us were actually talking about it a few minutes ago, and how it went down as well as how hard it was on our team to hear that. We had just won a big game and beaten LSU on the court, and the girls were so excited coming in to the locker room, and we literally could not enjoy the win. It was very difficult to hear that news, and it just didn’t seem real. It still doesn’t seem real and unfortunately, it’s just a reminder that our time is short, and there are no guarantees. It’s not about basketball; it’s about living your life every day, because you don’t know what tomorrow holds. You have no idea. You don’t want those reminders, but that’s what we tried to look at it as — it’s just a reminder to go out and be the best you can be and live and enjoy life, because it’s just too short.”
On what has been the key to their rebounding efficiency:
“Well, we finally have some habits and some positive habits. A shot goes up, and we actually look to box people out. We’re not great at it 100 percent of the time, but we are so much better. We keep people off the boards better than we have in the past. Offensively, I feel like we really bought into that being important, and our team understands that’s where we can really separate ourselves.”
On what point in her head coaching career she figured out what the team needed to do after a game in order to get a good performance the following game:
“Well, it’s been a unique challenge. Every team is different. Early on in my career, I had it pretty good. I was young, as I was a 26-year-old head coach, so I felt like I knew what the team needed, and as I got older and more removed from their age, I’ve had to lean on my assistants and learn and ask more questions. It’s something I spend more time with – doing different things to be able to know what the team needs. Sometimes you get it right, but sometimes you don’t. I think that is an important piece of what we do as coaches.”
-UT Athletics
