University of Tennessee Athletics
@LadyVol_Hoops Report - 10.23.14
October 23, 2014 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After getting fall break off last weekend, the Lady Vol basketball team resumed practice this week and continues preparation for the upcoming campaign.
With 17 days remaining until the exhibition contest at Thompson-Boling Arena vs. Carson-Newman at 2 p.m. on Nov. 9, third-year head coach Holly Warlick and her staff continue to seek the best five players to put on the floor for the opening tip and find the most productive combinations to employ.
Warlick has said 6-foot-3 senior center Isabelle Harrison might be the only player she could pencil in as a starter at this point in preseason practice, and media members covering the Lady Vols agree. Harrison was named to the media's preseason All-SEC squad at the league's Tipoff '15 event in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday. The 2014 SEC Tournament champion Lady Vols also were tabbed to finish second behind the defending regular-season league champion South Carolina Gamecocks.
BIG ORANGE MADNESS
As basketball programs prepare to start their 2014-15 seasons with mixes of midnight madness and other fan initiatives, the Tennessee women's and men's basketball teams will provide their fans a dose of Big Orange Madness from 7 to 8 p.m. on Friday night (Oct. 24)."It's exciting," redshirt sophomore Andraya Carter said. "You see a lot of schools have their midnight madness or whatever they want to call it. It's just a big deal to try to get our fans out here, get them really excited for the season. The boys have such a new team. Getting the fans to see them and get a feel for them, and with our team, just showing them that we're ready. I think it will be a good thing for us."
Fans will have the opportunity to meet the Lady Vols and Vols in Thompson-Boling Arena. With doors opening at 6 p.m., the one-hour event will consist of entertainment from DJ "Sterl the Pearl" and interactive fan activities.
The teams will be introduced and will participate in intrasquad scrimmages as well as a three-point shooting contest and slam dunk exhibition. At the end of the program, there will be an autograph session with both teams.
Parking will be available in lots G-3, G-4, G-5 and G-10. Fans may enter through Gates C and D.
DESHIELDS LIVING HER DREAM
Since making her decision to transfer to Tennessee, sophomore Diamond DeShields has begun living out what she calls a lifelong dream: being a Lady Vol. The transition, she said, has been fairly easy for the 2013 ACC Rookie of the Year and consensus national freshman of the year."I've really enjoyed it, seeing as this has been one of my lifelong goals," DeShields said of her spot on the Lady Vol roster. "I'm happy to be here with the girls. They've done a great job taking me in and making me feel welcome like I've been a part of this family my whole life. I really appreciate them for that. The coaches really embraced me. I think I made a good transition. I'm looking forward to the future."
One of DeShields' favorite moments that gave her that dream of playing for Tennessee was watching former Lady Vol Candace Parker compete in Thompson-Boling Arena against the U.S. Olympic basketball team.
"I can remember dreaming of being a Lady Vol," DeShields said. "It's surreal still. I'm appreciative of the opportunity. I'm going to make the most out of it."
With NCAA rules forcing DeShields to sit out for a season, she is given the time to regain her full health. Even last season, DeShields says her health was only at about 75 percent.
"I'm taking my time," DeShields said. "Whatever was nicked and bruised is getting healed. I'm not rushing on anything. I have a year and a half to get 100 percent. I've never felt that way before. Whatever I am feeling, I'm going to make sure it's figured out and fixed by the time I step back out on the floor."
Assistant Coach Dean Lockwood is excited to have DeShields on the team this year for her energy and enthusiasm, as well as just having a player of her caliber join the program.
"One of the things she has been is such a positive force in workouts, in the weight room," Lockwood said. "Here's a kid who's very, very decorated as a player. She could come in and be very casual. She's been one of the hardest workers on this team in terms of getting work that she's been assigned done. Right away, she's making a statement that she's committed. She's making a statement that she's here to win, that she's here to do the right things, the right way. It speaks to her character.
"Once she gets back on the practice floor, she can be great. How's that for a scout team, having a player like that? It's going to be a tremendous asset for us. And she has time to work on her game and get back to 100 percent."
COHESIVE COACHING STAFF
The Tennessee coaching staff is in its third year together, and that experience together is paying dividends in practice and on the recruiting trail, and it will also continue to do so in games, according to Lockwood."Year one, you've got people just kind of getting used to each other in addition to a new program and new players," Lockwood said. "Year two we were hitting our stride a little bit. Definitely, going into year three there's a higher comfort level with the staff, just knowing people better. We've had a chance to spend time on the road together, we've had a chance to socialize some together and we've been on the road recruiting together. Those things have brought us closer together.
"We laugh about it, because we have four distinct personalities and four very different ones in some ways, but then there are some definite similarities. We're more aware of those things now and how we fit together, and I think that's a good thing."
LADY VOL ROSTER OFFERS A MULTITUDE OF OPTIONS
This year's Lady Vol team has more than enough talent to cover the floor. With players capable of playing multiple positions, there won't be a shortage of skilled players. That wealth of personnel has translated into more competition in practice."We have some versatility, and we have some flexibility in terms of playing big, playing small," Lockwood said. "There are numerous people on our roster who can play multiple positions. The competition is healthy and it creates a healthy vibe and atmosphere.
"There's nothing more motivating than when you know that standing right behind you is someone who can and wants to play. They're more than willing to come in at any point in time and do a great job. That fuels me, and I think that's one of the things that is very, very healthy on our team right now is that the team looks around and they see people who are very, very capable."
"I think it will work tremendously," Andraya Carter said. "We have a lot of different players who can play a lot of different positions. We have players who can get to the basket, knock down shots. We have `bigs' who can handle the ball.
"I think it'll be good. If someone's not playing, we have someone who can come in their spot. If we have spots to be filled, we have players who can do a lot of different things for the team."
Although some of the players are in the early stages of learning a position or getting comfortable at a new spot, Carter sees it more as healthy competition than a real challenge for the players.
"I think the challenge at first would be getting used to it, then the competition, but that's not really a challenge," Carter said. "That's a good thing for this team, because you have more people who can take your spot. You're constantly fighting for a position. You have to play hard. You have to be at your best because there are multiple people who can come in for you and take care of business."
As one of the team's options at point guard, she is excited to have at least four players who can share the position. The depth at each position will ultimately provide the Lady Vols with security and play-making abilities.
"We have four who can play at the point guard position," Carter said. "It's a big deal, but it's good because if we have two of us out there, one of us can bring the ball up the court and the other can fill the two spot. It's kind of a pressure release that you have multiple players who know how to bring the ball up the floor and know how to run it (offense)."
With such a talented team, Carter finds it impossible to name the top three-point shooters and looks forward to the challenge that the Lady Vols' offense will present to opposing defenses.
"We have so many who can knock down shots," Carter said. "Kortney Dunbar coming in as a freshman, that's really her specialty. She can knock down the three from almost anywhere on the court. We have a ton (of players) who can shoot. Jaime (Nared) can hit threes. Alexa (Middleton). Ariel (Massengale) is always a consistent three-point shooter. Jordan (Reynolds) will hit shots. I'll hit shots.
"You'll have to guard all of us."
IT'S AN ENERGETIC BUNCH
The talk during preseason drills has centered around the energy level exuded by the players, their vocal nature during practice and a sense of overall competitiveness thus far."The energy in the gym has really been good overall," Lockwood said. "I think this group is bringing a little bit more to each practice, in terms of their energy and their effort level. Their motors run a little longer. I think that's the benefit of having three seniors vs. one senior. It's a little bit more of a veteran group, even though we have some young people mixed in there.
"As a coaching staff, we like what we see in terms of energy, effort level, and again striving for consistency. The vocal leadership has been a little bit better, and that's what we like. With Andraya Carter, Ariel Massengale, Jordan Reynolds, Cierra Burdick, they have been really good in leading vocally and creating an atmosphere that has been very positive. It's just infectious!
CONFIDENT CARTER
Andraya Carter is an experienced sophomore, having playing 35 games a year ago and starting 21 of them after Ariel Massengale was lost for the season due to injury. Carter also played seven games as a true freshman, starting five in 2012-13 before redshirting due to injury. Lockwood believes that experience and a leadership-developing camp over the summer helped her emerge as a more confident player this season."She is someone, I think, having the year under her belt and being forced to really assume a bigger role after Ariel got hurt last year -- I think she has a lot more confidence in herself and her abilities to lead. One of the things that helped her a lot is that she attended Point Guard College in the offseason. They do so much on the intangibles of the game and spend so much time in that area. It's so important.
"I think she realized that it's such a valuable portion of being a good player, not only being productive in what you do in your position but also being a leader vocally, staying connected with teammates and bringing people along. She's done a great job of that."
