University of Tennessee Athletics
DeShields At ESPN Studios
November 04, 2015 | Women's Basketball
BRISTOL, Conn. -- As one of the NCAA women’s basketball “Starting Five,” Tennessee’s Diamond DeShields was at the ESPN Studios in Bristol, Conn., Tuesday for a preseason media blitz.
The 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore guard from Norcross, Ga., joined Baylor’s Nina Davis, South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell and Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson as the only players invited to an event which featured video and print interviews with ESPN talent and reporters.
2015 NCAA Final Four coaches Geno Auriemma (UConn), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame), Dawn Staley (South Carolina) and Brenda Frese (South Carolina) also were on hand at the first-time event created by the NCAA and ESPN.
DeShields arrived in Bristol on Monday night and hit the ground running on Tuesday morning, arriving at the ESPN Visitors Center around 7:45 a.m. to begin a series of interviews that would last most of the day. Before their transportation arrived, DeShields, Davis and Mitchell posed for a photo together.
After meeting her assigned ESPN liaison Kareem White, DeShields entered the gated campus and made her way to building DC2 for a light breakfast and a meet-and-greet with ESPN and NCAA personnel. Among the ESPN talent assembled were former Lady Vol Kara Lawson, former Lady Vol assistant Carolyn Peck, Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke, Pam Ward, Beth Mowins. ESPN Vice President Content Program & Integration Carol Stiff and NCAA Vice President For Women’s Basketball Anucha Browne also were on hand to get the day off to a smooth start.
Before interviews began, DeShields was whisked away to a small room, where she and UConn’s Stewart sat a few feet part in salon chairs exchanging pleasantries while ESPN make-up artists prepared the two hoops stars for their close-ups with the cameras. During the makeup session, anchor Chris McKendry popped in to share some Halloween candy with her friends and co-workers.
White then escorted DeShields down a series of corridors, along the way passing a wall decorated with famous lines uttered on Sports Center and various network broadcasts. Among the most visible was the word “BOO-YAH” in all caps, a saying made famous by the late ESPN anchor Stuart Scott.
The trek also took DeShields past the ESPN Baseball Tonight Studio, which was of particular interest to her because of the Major League Baseball careers of her father, Delino, and brother, Delino Jr. She also enjoyed looking at the X Games medals and marveled at the personalities and skills of that event’s stars.
The first interview of the day was with espnW writer Mechelle Voepel, followed by a fun Twitter Mirror session with Mitchell. The two had a brief visit before moving on to the next activity.
For DeShields, the next stop was the video interview room, where she answered a series of questions centered around learning the personalities of the student-athletes. Among the questions asked was “what do you like to listen to while working out?”
The Lady Vol standout shared that Jumpman (Drake featuring Future), Ty Dolla $ign (Blasè featuring Future and Rae Sremmurd), Finna Get Loose (Puff Daddy and the Family), Eazy E (Boyz In The Hood), Lay Up (Future), Constantly Hating (Young Thug featuring Birdman), Pipe It Up (Migos), Who Gon Stop Me (Jay Z/ &Kanye West) and Put On (Jeezy featuring Kanye West) are on her playlist.
From there, DeShields moved to the ESPN NCAA Basketball set, passing an indoor chain link cage containing hundreds of football helmets. It didn’t take DeShields long to spot the white headgear with the orange stripe and Power T logo. Shortly afterward, DeShields entered the set and met with ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo, producer Beth Chappell and Anucha Browne. Before long, Lobo and DeShields were on camera, taping a segment and also knocking out a promo and making a quick exchange in a rapid fire Q&A piece.
Up next was a taped remote interview with SEC NOW. DeShields sat in a small room on the ESPN campus in Bristol, put in an earpiece and looked into a camera while talking to SEC Network host Maria Taylor in Charlotte.
With her stomach letting her know it was time, DeShields opted for lunch around 11:30 a.m. After about 15 minutes, her break was over, and members of local and national media entered the room for interviews with the players. DeShields also chatted with Associated Press writer Doug Feinberg, local reporters and Connecticut media before gathering with the other members of the Starting Five for a group photo.
After being escorted back to the Visitor’s Center and saying goodbyes to everyone involved, DeShields had time for one more photo, taking it next to the large ESPN sign at the main entry to the campus.
From there it was off to the car for a 40-minute drive to Hartford and Bradley International Airport for a return flight home to Rocky Top.
DeShields’ Tennessee squad, ranked fourth in both the preseason AP and USA TODAY polls, turns its full attention toward its 2015 debut on Nov. 9, as the Lady Vols host Carson-Newman in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. The opener is Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. vs. Central Arkansas. Both contests will be carried online by SECN+.
