University of Tennessee Athletics
@LadyVol_Hoops Report (11/5/14)
November 05, 2014 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee women's basketball team held a media session and open practice period Wednesday, as Sunday's exhibition basketball game vs. Carson-Newman looms.
The Lady Volunteers and Lady Eagles will do battle at Thompson-Boling Arena in a contest slated to tip at 2 p.m. ET and be streamed live by SEC Network +. All tickets are $5.
The Lady Vols will head into the 2014-15 campaign ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and USA Today preseason polls. Head coach Holly Warlick's squad also is predicted to finish second behind South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference this season.
COACHES PRESEASON ALL-SEC FIRST TEAM HONORS
Earlier Wednesday, a pair of Tennessee players found out they were named to the Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team. Senior center Isabelle Harrison and junior forward Bashaara Graves were the recipients of those accolades.It was the second such preseason honor for Graves, who also was selected prior to last season after earning 2012-13 All-SEC First Team and SEC Freshman of the Year honors. The 6-foot-2 product of Clarksville, Tenn. (Clarksville H.S.) averaged 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds last season as a sophomore.
For Harrison, it was her first preseason honor from the SEC. She is coming off a campaign that saw her earn first-team All-SEC and SEC Tournament MVP status. The 6-foot-3 graduate of Nashville's Hillsboro High School averaged 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest and led the SEC with a Lady Vol junior record 18 double-doubles.
DISCIPLINARY MEASURES LEAD TO EARLY "PT" FOR YOUNGSTERS
Exhibition games tend to provide early and abundant playing time for a team's newcomers, allowing coaches to get the youngsters on film and see what they can do in the speed and intensity of a college game. Sunday's tilt with C-N will give Tennessee's staff an even better chance to see its newest players in action.Warlick announced before Wednesday's practice that four players would be sitting out the exhibition game and some regular-season contests for their failure to abide by team rules.
"We don't have a lot of rules, but the ones we do [have] we take very seriously, and we had a couple of young ladies not live up to our academic standards," Warlick said. "So, we will have two young ladies missing one game, and that will be Ariel Massengale and Andraya Carter, and two other young ladies missing two games and that is Cierra Burdick and Jannah Tucker as soon as Jannah is allowed (cleared medically) to play. That is something that our program and I feel very strongly on, and you have to get things right."
Burdick will miss games vs. Penn and Oral Roberts on Nov. 14 and Nov. 17, respectively. Carter and Massengale will miss the opener vs. Penn, while Tucker will miss two games once she is cleared to play by the sports medicine staff following her rehab from an offseason procedure on her left knee. All four will not play in Sunday's exhibition.
"Every year, we've had to discipline kids with rules," Warlick said. "We don't have a lot of rules: can't miss a class (if you miss a class, you miss a game), got to sit in the first three rows, you can't be late. It's pretty black and white and simple. If you don't abide by those rules, the consequence is there. It's not really a decision for me; it's black and white."
With only eight players available vs. Carson-Newman, Tennessee fans can expect to see plenty of freshmen Kortney Dunbar, Alexa Middleton and Jaime Nared. Warlick seems pleased with where her newcomers are at this point and what they can contribute to the team in 2014-15.
"I think they have really fit in," Warlick said. "I think they are really picking up our system. They're going to be nervous, and I would be, too. You're a freshman coming in, but I think once the nerves go away I think they'll jump right in.
"They've done a great job, and I have a lot of confidence in them. They'll get a lot of playing time."
SUNDAY'S GAME A GOOD MEASURING STICK
Even with four players missing Sunday's game, Warlick views the exhibition game as a great opportunity to assess the team's progress and see where improvement is needed as the regular-season opener vs. Penn approaches on Nov. 14 (7 p.m., SEC Network+)."We're still going to push the ball, we're still going to run," Warlick said. "We're probably going to post kids up. We're not so much focused on Carson-Newman and who we're playing. We just want to see how we'll do against an opponent.
"We're going to try a lot of different things, just because it's an exhibition. This is a great time for me to go back and watch the tape and say `you know, we're really weak in this area. We need to work on this area. We're really good at this.' I think watching film is so important to learning. I think these ladies like watching tape, because they can visually see and visually learn from it."
MIDDLETON PROUD TO REPRESENT HER HOME STATE SCHOOL
Growing up a few hours away in Murfreesboro, Tenn., freshman guard Alexa Middleton has been familiar with the Tennessee women's basketball program for quite some time. In less than four days, she will suit up for the Lady Vols for the first time, and she believes she can contribute to the team right out of the gate."I just want to be someone who can fill in the gaps," Middleton said. "I need to be able to do whatever needs to be done. If I need to drive in the lane and pass so someone can score, or if I need to sit down and play defense, I just want to be able to do whatever needs to be done in that moment."
Middleton is one of three true freshmen who will dress out for the Lady Vols this season, but she knows that her underclassman title will not prevent her from playing a key role on the team.
"Coach Holly [Warlick] said it's going to take everybody this season," Middleton said. "Everyone's going to have to step up at some point, and we're all working hard and making sure that we're ready when we need to be counted on. I think we'll have as big of a part as everyone else."
A long off-season with constant preparation will come to an end when the Lady Vols square off against Carson Newman in their first and only exhibition game on Sunday. Middleton is excited to not only compete in front of her home state fans, but to also compete against an opponent who isn't wearing the same jersey as she.
"Practice is great," Middleton said. "We compete every day and push each other to be better. That will really help our depth this year."
"I'm just so excited to run out [with the team] and be in this atmosphere with all the fans that will be here. "
NARED DRAWN TO UT FROM WEST COAST
Jaime Nared's ties to Tennessee basketball run deep, even from about 2,500 miles away.She's never been to a game in Thompson-Boling Arena, but Nared was no stranger to Holly Warlick and company. Her Team Concept AAU team featured some familiar faces to Lady Vol fans in fellow Oregonians Mercedes Russell and Jordan Reynolds.
The latest inclusion to Tennessee's West Coast pipeline over the past couple years has been wanting to don the familiar orange and light blue for quite some time now.
"Everyone asks this question," said Nared. "I told someone in fifth grade that I wanted to come to Tennessee. Really, I started to love this school when Candace Parker came here. I'm excited. I love being here now and that's all I can say. I love it."
Now that she has arrived on Rocky Top, the freshman from Portland is excited to get onto the court and play in front of the Tennessee crowd for the first time.
"We're so excited and just to step on this court is exciting to be in this atmosphere at TBA," said Nared. "Anyone coming to this school and playing on this court is going to have some nerves, but as soon as the game starts and we begin playing, then it will all go out the window and we'll play the game we love."
Even before No. 4 Tennessee steps onto the court Sunday for its lone exhibition game against Carson-Newman, Nared and her fellow freshmen already know what's at stake when the home white jerseys are put on for the first time.
"I just want to win, so anyway possible that I can contribute to this team winning, that's what I want to do," said Nared. "We all want to win a national championship as freshmen, so basically we're going to do whatever she (Warlick) needs us to do to win."
