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 road games at No. 24/22 Mississippi State (8-5/3-4 SEC) and No. 7/7 Texas A&M (16-1, 7-1 SEC).
UT (12-3, 6-1 SEC), which has ascended to season-high rankings of No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, is scheduled to play the Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss., on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET (7 CT/SECN+) and the Aggies in College Station, Texas, on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET (2 CT/SEC Network).
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
On how she’s going to approach this road trip:
“I think, for us, it would be really easy for us to get caught up in who we’re playing and how good these teams are, but we are really going to try and focus on us. We are going to try and stay with ‘let’s be the best Tennessee team we can be.’ I don’t talk about defending our home court, never will. It’s my expectation when you go on the road, you want to win. So, I think for our team, understanding how we need to play, committing to that, then going out and executing is going to be the most important thing. Our players will be motivated. We’ll play hard, we just have to have great effort and great focus to get that executing piece against some really good teams.”
On how she expects her team to come out of the three-game road trip:
“Well, you know, I expect to be competitive. I want to come back with some wins. That’s our goal. I think the challenge each team presents is different, but they’re all really talented. Our team has to stay up. Regardless if it’s win or lose, we have to be able to get back up for the next game. It’s what we have had to do all year, and that doesn’t change now.”
On Coach Harper’s memories playing with Nikki McCray-Penson:
“We did not overlap (at UT). She graduated, and I came in. However, I did play against her one time, because my freshman year our first game was against the USA National Team, which Nikki was a part of. All I remember is Nikki guarded me. I held the ball, and she took it from me and went and got a layup. So, that was a ‘Welcome to college basketball at an elite level Kellie Jolly.’ Nikki was one of those players that I loved to watch. She played so hard. She had great effort. I know she was known for her defense, but I remember as a young high school kid thinking, ‘gosh, look how much better that player had gotten.’ I thought she had improved during her tenure here. I had a lot of respect for not only her when she was a Lady Vol, but who she is as a person. She is such a good person and, obviously, has been really successful as a head coach.”
On the importance of Black History Month to her team and anything special the team might have planned:
“We have a few things in the works for this month with our team. And we will roll those out as we go through the month. I think with everything that has happened this past year, I think it just kind of hits home a little harder. We want to make sure that we are not just talking about equality and racial injustice, but that we are also having an educational piece. There is a lot of history that I do not know, and a lot of people do not know, and it is on us to make sure that we are educating ourselves, and we have some plans to do that this month.”
On the challenges that Mississippi State will present to her team on Thursday night:
“Well, I think that their perimeter quickness and aggressiveness on both ends of the court with their guards is a challenge. And then they have some talented posts that can guard inside, but also that can score. So, I think they have pretty good balance as a basketball team. Again, to me, it is just their aggressiveness. They are really talented, and they have a broad skill set with those players. It is not just really one thing, this is a really solid team that is athletic, aggressive and gets after it on both ends.”
On Tamari Key’s growth since coming to Tennessee and where can she go from here:
“When we first got to work with her, we realized what a special talent she was. You know, her freshman year she really got thrown into things; we threw her in there. She had a lot of growing up to do her freshman year; it was tough at times. Being a young player in the SEC, period, is tough but doing what we asked her to do, I know it wasn’t easy. But I tell you, from year one to year two, great growth. I think we’re seeing now a confident Tamari who knows how she can affect the game on both ends of the court. I think she really wants the ball on the block, and she is confident in scoring. Her teammates are looking for her. I have joked that we’ve given her an opportunity, because we passed her the ball more and we know to get the ball inside. We do a better job of that now to give her those opportunities. Defensively, I think she still makes plays. She made plays last year, she makes plays this year. But she is in a better position this year. She has a better understanding of what her job is and where she needs to be. And where she can go? She can be one of the best players in the country. She really could. She is that talented, you know. And we just want to keep bringing her along, getting her a little bit better and a little bit better and a little more confident each game, each week. She has worked hard this year. She has gone up so much, and I am so proud of her. And that matters. How you practice matters, and I think she can see the benefits of that. I get so happy for her, because she really works at it, and I’m glad that she can see that success.”
On Tamari Key’s even expressions whether things are going good, bad or otherwise:
“Tamari, her facial expressions are pretty consistent. And I’ll tell you, that’s why after one of the games I walked up to her, and she had the biggest smile on her face. I was so happy to see that, because you really truly know where she’s at. But on the court, she’s pretty consistently even-keel.”
On Jordan Horston and Jordan Walker switching roles at point guard and wing, and Horston’s injury status:
“So, I think the benefit of having Horston and Walker in the game is you can move them around. We can slide them over to the wing. And honestly, you can throw Destiny Salary in that group as well. They all practice both the one and the two, so I think they’re confident playing either, and it gives me a little more flexibility when we have that. Really pleased with what we’re getting from them. Jordan (Horston), in terms of her health, is really going to be a day to day thing with her. We’re going to work with her and really get in with the rehab and see if we can get her ready for each game. But I think from this point on, it is really going to be a day-to-day decision with Jordan (Horston).”
On Rennia Davis being on the latest Wooden Watch List:
“Well, that’s an elite list. Nationwide, you’re going to see obviously, the best of the best on that list, and I think Rennia deserves to be on there. I’m excited she made that final list. Obviously, for her that’s really good. The fact that she’s on it means she’s played well, which is really good for our basketball team.”
On what things the team needs to do to stay strong through the rest of the season:
“We are a completely different team than last year, I’ll definitely say that. I have no idea what our record is going to be from here on out. Our team has a great mindset and a great attitude about how we need to approach these games. I think we are at a better position right now to handle both success and failure, if we’re to have those within the next few games. So, what we have to do is still focus on us. I really do believe that we’ve got to continue to find ways to be the best Tennessee team we can be. That means we are going to get in the gym and shoot extra, it means we’re going to watch film together, learn, grow, try to correct some things and build on the positives. We want to try to get the ball in the paint. You look at our stats, and you can tell that’s part of who we are. We’ve got to stay hungry, which we will. We’ve got to stay focused on our execution.”
-UT Athletics
