KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee seniors Mercedes Russell, Jaime Nared and Kortney Dunbar met with members of the media before practice on Saturday in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee is preparing to host No. 7/6 South Carolina on Sunday in what will be the final regular season home game for the seniors.
Answering questions from the media, the seniors discussed their time in Knoxville, the emotions of Senior Day and what they hope to accomplish in the postseason.
Tennessee vs. South Carolina is scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2. Senior Day festivities are slated to begin at 3:40 p.m.
Redshirt Senior Mercedes Russell
On what made her choose Tennessee:
“I think really just the family atmosphere at Tennessee helped me make the transition. They’re very welcoming, which obviously helped being so far away from home, which was tough at the beginning. I think it was easier just having people there to experience it with you and kind of go through the same things that you’re going through. Just having teammates and coaches going through what you’re going through really helped.”
On what made her come back to Tennessee for a fifth season:
“I think it was more for the team than anything. Obviously last season was something that we want to forget, so I didn’t want to leave on a note like that. Obviously it was for the better, because the team is way different. It’s been an awesome, really fun senior year. College is something that you won’t get back, so spending another year here has just been awesome.”
On what previous trips to the NCAA Tournament have taught her about the postseason:
“It takes your best game. In that moment it’s either win or go home and everyone comes to play their best. No matter what seed they are, where they are, everyone comes to play their best game because no one wants to go home and end their season.”
Senior Jaime Nared
On keeping the emotions under control on Senior Day:
“We have been here for four years. There are going to be some emotions in the beginning since it is the last guaranteed home game. It’s still going to be a good game. South Carolina is a good team. We have to make sure we put our emotions aside and just focus on the game.”
On the leadership role she has taken this season:
“We are such a mixed group; we have some upperclassmen, but the rest are pretty young players. We know how freshman and sophomore year is. Sometimes it is difficult with classes and games. If we aren’t playing our best, sometimes it gets difficult. As a leader I try making sure everyone is okay and everyone is in tune with the game plan and playing well in practice. The most important thing is making sure that they are okay as people. There are so many aspects that you have to make sure that you are doing so we are able to be at our best.”
On the freshmen:
“The freshmen have been great this year. They have been expected to play a lot of minutes since the beginning of the season. That is something that we weren’t expected to do when we were freshmen, at least not as much as they have. I think they have handled it well. They have grown as people. They all have so much potential to do really great things here. The class next year is a really good class too. I am excited to watch in the coming years to see how they grow as players. They are going to do really good things here.”
Senior Kortney Dunbar
On getting refocused after Senior Day festivities:
“We know what is at stake. We know that this is a huge game for us. I think that leaving those emotions out there in the first couple of minutes and seeing Jaime and Mercedes walk out is going to be tough. We know when we huddle up it’s game time. That’s what our families came for. It’s going to be a good game. We want to win for our crowd, our season and our family.”
On the expectations when coming to Tennessee:
“Obviously the expectation is to win championships. It’s still the same expectation this year for everyone. We are 10 deep this year. I know that with us writing on the board that we want an SEC Tournament title, we want a National Championship. The expectations haven’t been reached. I think that’s why Mercedes said she wanted to stay and go out on a high note. Coach believes in us; we believe in each other. Like Jaime said on the freshmen, they can get us there. They are experienced enough now. They have experience in big games. Hopefully ending with South Carolina and the SEC Tournament on a high note will set us up for national championship run.”
On family members coming for Senior Day:
“I know me personally, there is probably a mini bus coming from Illinois. I’m sure it’s probably the same for both of them, but I probably have about 20-25 people coming.”
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