After helping the Vols earn victories on the road over Ole Miss and at home against No. 4 Kentucky, Grant Williams has been named the NCAA March Madness and SEC Player of the Week.
Williams averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block per game last week to improve Tennessee’s record to 26-3 for the season and 14-2 in conference play.
Down 71-70 against the Rebels, the National Player of the Year candidate hit the game-winning shot with three seconds left to lift No. 7 Tennessee to a 73-71 victory on Wednesday night. It was an all-around performance for Williams, who led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
The Charlotte, N.C., native followed that effort up by dropping 24 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal to help the Vols shut down Kentucky, 71-52, and improve their home winning streak to a nation-best 25 games (tied with Buffalo).
While the stats don’t show it, Williams was crucial in Tennessee’s defense holding the Wildcats to a season-low 52 points, 31.8 percent shooting from the field and just 10 points in the paint.
As the regular season begins wrapping up, Williams is making his final push to repeat as the SEC Player of the Year. He currently ranks in the league’s top 10 in scoring (1st/19.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (2nd/.567), free-throw percentage (4th/.826), rebounding (6th/7.6 rpg) and assist/turnover ratio (9th/1.5). The junior forward also leads the SEC in player efficiency rating (31.0) and is second in offensive rating (130.7), according to Basketball Reference.
The Vols are back in action Tuesday, hosting Mississippi State for Senior Night. The game will tip at 9 p.m. ET and will be televised on SEC Network.
Opening Statement:
“Before we get started, I’d really like to send our thoughts and prayers out to the people in Lee County (Alabama) that got hit this past weekend with storms and lives that were lost. We ought to remember those people in our prayers.”
On being pleased with his team for the past couple of days:
“Well, I think after the way we had gotten beat at Kentucky, we saw that we really weren’t in positions that we needed to be in. I think the biggest thing is that we got more of our fight back against LSU down there. We worked hard, and we’ve been able to continue to build on it because our guys realize, more than ever, that they’re going to be in close basketball games. They realize how important every possession is. They’re really holding each other responsible with the communication on the court, the communication in practice, and the accountability part. If you’re going to be great at something, it’s going to be when they own it themselves, and they certainly are doing that. In huddles, they’re talking about missed assignments, what has to happen, and what you have to do, and they really are holding each other more accountable.”
On how tough it is to keep the focus on the next game:
“You can set all the goals you want. Unless you finish it, it’s not going to happen. Our guys have worked hard at being in that position, but you have to finish. They started out, about a year ago at this time, knowing that they wanted to be a better team this year than they were last year, and they’ve done that in a lot of ways. They’ve put themselves in a great position to have another great year, but we have to finish it. That means you’re going to have to continue to have great respect for your preparation going forward, you’re going to have to have great respect for your opponent, which they do. But probably as much as anything is the respect for your preparation. Everyone wants to win when the referee throws it up, it’s just do you want to win two days out? A day out? Are you going to do the right things to get yourself ready? We have to stay focused there, and whatever the outcome is you’ve got to get ready to do it again. It’s a matter of, ‘Are you mentally tough enough to sustain what it takes to finish what you set out to do?'”
On Kyle’s play time:
“He’s played well the last two games. He gets some tough calls, and the best part about it is that he’s getting back to being aggressive and doing the things, and it’s going to break for him, and I really believe that. And the last two games, he’s really played well. He’s gotten down and known what he needs to do. He’s got to stay aggressive. If he’s not, that’s when he’s not a factor, and we need him out there for more minutes. He also has some tough matchups, and he’s always going to draw the toughest matchup on the other team. That’s why it’s so important that his teammates own the perimeter and help keep the ball in front so he doesn’t have to make so many fix-it plays. With that said, Derrick Walker and John Fulkersonhave really started to give us some solid minutes that we need, and we need to continue to do that.”
On tomorrow being senior night:
“I think having intensity over emotion. I just bumped in to Kyle coming over here, and it’s hard. I said, ‘Well, I’ve been talking about it for a long time. That last game will come quicker than you think.’ He said it’s really hard to believe. And I think it is, for players, how quickly it really goes by. It seems like a long time, but looking back on it now, it went by really quickly, and we all appreciate this senior class. When you talk about Admiral and Kyle, you all would never understand Brad Woodson and Lucan Campbell and what they mean to this team. All you have to do is watch out game and how many guys come out of the game and walk right up to those guys and talk to them, because they’re locked in. They do as much preparation to help these guys get prepared as anybody. The fact of the matter is, if our team would prepare like those guys prepare, we might not ever lose, because those guys are tremendous. They learn the other team’s material quicker than you think, and they really give us a great look at what they’re doing. Those two guys, along with Admiral and Kyle, they’re the reason why we are where we are more than anybody on the team.”
On how tough it is to see Kyle struggle during his senior season:
“It is tough, but what I do know is that he can get out of it. My gut feeling is that he’s going to break through right here when he needs it most, and when we want him to need it most. He’s doing his part in terms of getting himself prepared mentally and physically. Kyle is a guy that has put his heart and soul in it, and I still think he’s just getting started with basketball. You wish you could keep him because his best is ahead of him, but I’m hoping that we’re going to get to see him do the things that we know he can do.”
On if he’s frustrated that Kyle Alexander didn’t have the opportunity to redshirt at Tennessee:
“We didn’t have a choice. I would be really excited sitting here knowing we had him back for another year, because I think the next year in his life in basketball is going to change everything for him. He would have gotten better from the year he should have redshirted. I always thought that about him, if we could have used him for five years, where he would be. We have reaped a lot of the benefits of him. But the next step, they are really going to reap the benefits of all the hard work he has put in.”
On the chance of completing an undefeated home winning streak this season:
“It means that you have had a great year, and your players have done a lot. But you go into this next game respecting your opponent. If I’m not mistaken, Mississippi State and Auburn were both picked in the top six in the league in the preseason poll. Both of those teams are fighting for the fourth spot in the league. With Mississippi State coming in, they are a talented team, and Ben Howland does a great job with his group. But we want to win, and we know it is not going to be easy. I think some of the things our team has accomplished this year, I think we will look back at it later and will appreciate it probably more than we do right now because we are in the thick of trying to finish where we are right now. It’s hard to think about what it means, and I’m not sure I can give you that answer until after that year when I can really focus on it. That’s not what we are really trying to focus on. We are just trying to focus on this next one. Not what can give us an undefeated season. We just have to worry bout this game.”
On if the team is more prepared leading into the SEC Tournament than it was last year:
“You like to think that we are. And if we are, and to answer that question, it will be answered itself over the next couple of weeks. If we are going to learn from our past experience, we are going to start by being prepared. The real focus is on your preparation. The noise and the excitement that comes with it, I think they can handle that. But can they do it where they come in and really prepare mentally for what we have to get done? It starts now. Whether championship week is this week or next week, the week after, whatever you want to call it, it’s about being prepared. I will be disappointed if we are not. We keep talking about our experience in our older guys, and they have been through it. By going through it, they understand how fleeting it can be if they are not prepared and ready to take advantage of the opportunity.”
On what it means to him to have a good relationship with the seniors:
“It’s pretty simple, I love these guys. When I think of my individual relationship with each one of them, they are all unique in a different way. I’ve watched Kyle Alexander really grow. Coach Lanier used to put out a video of him where he was like a newborn giraffe, hardly could stand up, hobbling all over the place. He’s gotten so much better. Admiral started overweight but is a worker. He wanted to go at it with everything he had. Then you throw in Brad, who was one of the first people that we met and offered him a chance to come and walk on when we got here. Brad will be great at whatever he decides to do. A couple weeks later, we found out that Lucas was on the track team, but he would rather be on the basketball team and he came over. Lucas and Brad’s personalities are totally different, but they both have a unique way. Arguably, you could pick them as captains of this basketball team in the way that they go about doing it day in and day out. The fact that they are probably respected as anybody on the team because they are who they are. They’re real. They’re authentic. They have poured everything they have into this program.”
On how special it was to hug Admiral in front of the whole team after beating Gonzaga earlier in the season:
“We all know that Admiral is emotional. He wears his emotion on his sleeve. There’s not a guy on the team that I haven’t coached hard and gotten after. But I do appreciate hard work. I do think it is a talent. Everybody doesn’t work equally as hard as everybody else. There’s a depth chart with who works the hardest on the team, and our players know who the hardest working is down to the 15th and 16th guy. They can put them all in a slot. The one thing about Admiral is he has always been at the top of that list. Maybe to a fault to be quite honest with you. His idea when things aren’t going quite well is to do more and more. Often times, I think he’s drained himself mentally and physically. I appreciate that, because hard work is not a given. You like to think that it is, but it’s not. Coaches don’t like to have to coach hard work. If you have to do that a lot, you’re not going to win very often. Your program isn’t going to be very successful. I think the guys in our program work hard, but Admiral brought some of that with him. He certainly has never been afraid of putting time in. He always wants to find ways to improve. I think Grant Williams would tell you that it helped him, knowing that he had to do a lot. What he had to do on the treadmill to get himself in shape before he could even think about becoming a better basketball player, he had to get right. I know how hard these guys work, and I know what Admiral has done over four years. When a guy can make a tough shot like that and win a big game like that, you do have some emotion and feeling for him.”
On why he thinks the two games against Kentucky played out how they did:
“I think when we went up there we had been rolling along pretty well, and we thought that we would play the way we had been playing in previous games. They came out much more intense, much more focused. I can’t speak for John Calipari and Kentucky, but when you beat somebody by 20 or whatever they beat us by, they come in here and maybe they thought the same thing. We were definitely much more intense than we were in Lexington. It’s not even close, in terms of our effort. I don’t know if John is questioning his teams with that, but I questioned our team on how we can come out and play like that against an outstanding program, an outstanding team, a team that is coached unbelievably well. And I’m sure after the game here, John is asking those same questions, but it doesn’t mean that when we got beat at Kentucky we weren’t a good team. We were a good team regardless of that. Kentucky is an outstanding basketball team, can beat anybody in the country, and I like to think we can do the same thing. You’re dealing with young people, and I know that we let some of the noise affect us, where we thought we could just keep going at the pace we were. And at that time, even though we were winning, we were slipping. Those guys knew that because I was bringing it out to them weeks in advanced. We were not taking care of the details the way we needed to, and I said it’s going to get us at some point in time and it did. Then I said, ‘what are we going to do about it? You’re not going to go undefeated. Those days are over with. You’re going to lose, but when you lose, you don’t want to lose because you weren’t intense or that you didn’t play hard.’ When we went to LSU, I thought we played hard. I thought we were intense and lost a tough game in a very difficult way, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort or lack of focus. Those are the kind of games where you can play well and still lose. It’s the ones where you didn’t give it your best effort are the ones that really bother you. Can that work both ways? I don’t know. I would have never thought what happened in Lexington would happen that way, and I certainly didn’t think what happened here would happen that way. I expected both to be close, hard-fought games. That’s what I thought, but we are dealing with young kids that aren’t robots. Even when you think you might have them ready, sometimes they’re not.”
On what he sees of Mississippi State: “Talented, they have guards that can get to the rim and make some very difficult layups. Quinndary Weatherspoon might be the best layup maker in the country. He makes some terrific shots around the rim. I like their balance. I think Lamar Peters is a guy that is looking to be point guard more so than shooting it and is just trying to create for himself. He can still do that, but he also can get in the lane and make some terrific passes. They’ve got guys that understand their roles and guys that need to rebound it. They’re just solid. They aren’t going to beat themselves. Defensively, you are going to have to work hard. They are long, they can turn you over, and they are great at capitalizing on turnovers. Not good, they are great at it.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — University of Tennessee reserve forward Mimi Collins has been named the SEC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.
Collins, who has played an increasing role for the team as the season has gone along, picked up the first such honor of her career. She is the second Lady Vol rookie to be recognized, following in the footsteps of Zaay Green (Dec. 4 & Jan. 29).
The 6-foot-3 standout from Waldorf, Md., averaged 11.5 points and 3.0 rebounds as the Lady Vols closed out the regular season slate with a split against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. She shot 61.5 percent (8-13) from the field, 100 percent from the three-point arc (2-2) and 71.4 percent (5-7) from the free throw line last week.
On Thursday night vs. Vanderbilt, Collins tossed in a career-high 14 points and pulled down three rebounds off the bench in 22 minutes for only her sixth double-figure scoring game of the year. It was, however, her third double-figure contest in the past seven outings. Collins fired in a pair of three-pointers en route to going four of six from the field vs. the Commodores. She also went four of five from the free throw line.
At Ole Miss on Sunday, Collins earned her first career start and tallied nine points while pulling down three rebounds and adding an assist in 25 minutes. She joined with Cheridene Green in limiting Ole Miss’ interior starters to only a combined four points and three rebounds.
For the season, Collins is averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 29 games. She is shooting 51 percent (54-107) from the field, including 55 percent (6-11) from the three-point arc.
Collins and her teammates will travel to Greenville, S.C., on Wednesday, as they prepare to face LSU in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Thursday at noon. The game will televised by the SEC Network and can be heard on Lady Vol Radio Network stations.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee women’s basketball team will get an early start on preparations for the 2019-20 season this summer, as it heads overseas for a three-game tour in Western Europe.
The 10-day trip, arranged by Basketball Travelers, includes stops in The Netherlands, Belgium and France and will take place August 6-15, 2019.
Fans wishing to make the trek with the Lady Vols may reserve a package through Basketball Travelers. The deadline to register is March 15.
The package (airfare not included) consists of charter bus transportation, stays in four-star hotels, tickets to all games, sight-seeing tours as tentatively listed on the itinerary (PDF) and breakfast at the hotel each morning. The trip will feature a Basketball Travelers representative and local tour guide with the group. Payment in full is due at time of purchase, but more than one payment form can be used.
To see a flyer about the trip, to view cost per person for ground transportation only and to learn how to contact Basketball Travelers for additional information, such as assistance in booking a flight through an in-house travel agent, click here (PDF).
This will mark Tennessee’s ninth international excursion, including 2013-14 and 2018-19 regular-season tournaments in the Bahamas (Junkanoo Jam) and a 2017-18 tourney in Mexico (Cancun Challenge). The Lady Vols had previous summer trips to Brazil in 1987, Belgium/France/Switzerland in 1999, Italy/Greece in 2003 and Italy in 2015. They also went to Great Britain in January of 1992.
UT is 21-7 all-time on foreign soil, including NCAA countable wins over SMU and Virginia at the 2013 Junkanoo Jam, Marquette, Oklahoma State and South Dakota at the 2017 Cancun Challenge, and Clemson and UAB at the 2018 Junkanoo Jam.
Trace Adkins and Clint Black will join forces for a co-headlining tour this spring and summer.
The Hits, Hats, History Tour will kick off on May 2 in Charlotte, N.C., making additional stops in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia and more. Terri Clark, John Berry and Craig Campbell will serve as support on select dates.
“Trace and I toured together back in the ’90s and I’m really looking forward to sharing the stage with him again,” said Clint. “He’s a lot of fun and a real pro.”
“It’s been a few years since Clint and I shared the stage,” adds Trace. “Since then, we have both been fortunate to have added a few more hits, and hats, to our collection. Looking forward to this!”
More dates will be announced soon. Ticket pre-sale begins on March 5, with general public tickets available on March 8.
The Hits, Hats, History Tour
May 2 | Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre | Charlotte, NC*
May 3 | Suwannee River Jam | Live Oak, FL^
May 4 | The Bowl |Sugar Hill, GA*
May 5 | CCNB Amphitheatre | Simpsonville, SC*
June 6 | White Oak Amphitheatre | Greensboro, NC<
June 8 | Foxwoods Amphitheatre | Mashantucket, CT<
June 9 | Bank of New Hampshire Amphitheatre | Gilford, NH<
Aug. 8 | Smart Financial Centre | Sugar Land, TX<
Aug. 9 | H-E-B Center at Cedar Park | Cedar Park, TX<
*Features John Berry
^Features Craig Campbell
<Features Terri Clark
Garth Brooks sold 20,000 units of his upcoming vinyl boxed set, The Legacy Collection, on Feb. 28.
The boxed set will feature five albums—No Fences, The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses and Triple Live—available in three different packages: Analog, Remix-Remaster and Limited. Each package includes seven vinyl records.
For 18 hours on Feb. 28, fans were able to purchase all three packages—21 vinyl records—for $100, with a personalized six-digit issue number. Garth moved 420,000 vinyl records in total.
The collection was initially slated to go on sale on Feb. 26, but the website crashed and Garth re-scheduled the sale for Feb. 28. Once the re-sale began, the limited quantity was sold in 12 hours, but the demand exceeded the allotted amount of inventory, so Garth kept the site open six more hours for those who initially had trouble.
“I have friends I would describe as the most patient, loving people on the planet who were pissed,” Garth said. “It was a frustrating evening to say the least, but thankfully, everyone of them ended up getting the numbers they wanted.”
The next opportunity to purchase the boxed set will come in two to four weeks. More details will be announced soon. The Legacy Collection ships on Nov. 1.
Dierks Bentley announced the lineup for his second annual Seven Peaks Music Festival in Buena Vista, Colo., on Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 30–Sept. 1).
Artists joining Dierks this year include Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Jon Pardi, Mitchell Tenpenny, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ryan Hurd, Steep Canyon Rangers, The War and Treaty, Tenille Townes and Caylee Hammack.
To get the party started on Aug. 30, the festival curated a lineup of artists who inspired Dierks’ love of ’90s country, including Travis Tritt, Tracy Lawrence, Diamond Rio and Deana Carter, with a special performance by Dierks’ own Hot Country Knights.
“I am so happy and grateful we get to come back to Buena Vista for the second Seven Peaks Music Festival,” said Dierks. “And I know I speak for everyone that has worked so hard to make this festival a reality when I say that. Even with the huge success of the first year, no one is taking anything for granted. If anything, we are all working harder than ever to make sure this year meets and exceeds the expectations of our returning ‘Peakers’ and completely blow away our first-time festivalgoers.”
More artists will be announced in the coming weeks. Passes go on sale on March 15 at 10 a.m. MT.
Carrie Underwood announced via Instagram on March 4 that she is taking her upcoming Cry Pretty Tour across the pond.
Carrie will perform five U.K. shows in late June and early July. Carrie will be joined on the UK tour by special guests, The Shires, the UK’s best-selling country act of all time. Tickets for the U.K. shows go on sale on March 7. Carrie will kick off her Cry Pretty Tour in the U.S. on May 1.
June 28 | Birmingham, England | Birmingham Resorts World Arena
June 30 | Cardiff, Wales | Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
July 2 | Glasgow, Scotland | The SSE Hydro
July 3 | Manchester, England | Manchester Arena
July 4 | London, England | Wembley The SSE Arena
During his stint as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 2, Thomas Rhett debuted two new songs, “Look What God Gave Her” and “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time.”
TR kicked off his appearance by performing his new single, “Look What God Gave Her. Penned by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan and J Cash, “Look What God Gave Her” will ship to country radio on March 4.
“I think I played this song 2,000 times in a month after we first wrote it,” says Thomas Rhett. “It makes me want to dance. It makes me want to move. And to me, the song really is a celebration of how awesome my wife is. I know I’ve done that in the past, but I’ve never really done it in an uptempo way.”
For his second performance, TR debuted “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time.” Both song will appear on TR’s upcoming fourth studio album, Center Point Road, which drops on May 31.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee women’s basketball team will begin play in the 2019 SEC Tournament on Thursday at noon ET. The No. 8 seed Lady Vols will face No. 9 LSU at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., in a game televised by the SEC Network.
The Lady Vols (18-11, 7-9 SEC) defeated Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon, 81-56, to move from No. 10 to No. 8 in the bracket. They’ll have a rematch with the LSU Lady Tigers (16-12, 7-9 SEC), who fell to Auburn, 56-46, on Sunday.
The last time UT and LSU played, the Lady Vols forced 25 turnovers en route to a 74-65 victory in Knoxville on Jan. 27. UT is 49-15 all-time vs. the Lady Tigers. They last played one another in the SEC Tourney in 2014, when UT grabbed a 77-65 triumph in Duluth, Ga.
