University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Hoops Report (11/17/16)
November 17, 2016 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The #13/13 Lady Vols (3-0) met with the media on Thursday afternoon in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio to talk about their 3-0 start and the upcoming game vs. Penn State (2-1). Head coach Holly Warlick, who was joined by juniors Mercedes Russell and Alexa Middleton, also talked about Tennessee's 2017 signing class.
Below are some comments from the trio. Both the Warlick and player press conferences can be seen on the video player above.
Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"Obviously, I am pleased with our three wins. We had a solid, very difficult win at James Madison. We didn't play well during the first two quarters against Navy but came around. I thought we did some great things at ETSU. I'm really pleased with our progress, attitude and how hard we've played. I understand that it's step-by-step for us, but I think we are moving in the right direction. We've had a great team effort. Diamond DeShields was exceptional against ETSU. You saw a healthy Diamond DeShields who can dominate a game. I don't care who you are playing. That was a great performance by her and the team."
(On the three signees)
"To say that we are excited is an understatement. We're an inside-out team. Kasi Kushkituah is one of the few posts in the country at the high school level who wants to play inside. Everybody wants to play the three. She doesn't want to be a three or four. She wants to be a five. She has all the tools and has a great high school coach. She has a great work ethic. There is so much she can get done and help this program. We needed a post player like her, and we got her. We are just thrilled. She is a great student and kid. We needed her to hold us down inside.
"Anastasia Hayes is one of the best guards to come out of (the state of) Tennessee in a long time. I love that we get the opportunity to coach her. She has a big heart and is a very humble kid. Her work ethic is off the chain. She doesn't care what position she plays. She is a one, can be a two, or if we go small, she could be a three. I just love her love for this program. She is a Tennessee kid. I asked her, 'Why would you not want to come play for your state university?' I think she can be an unbelievable player for us just by how hard she works.
"Evina Westbrook was a huge catch for us. We've had lengthy conversations over what I think she can be for this basketball team. I think she is a game-changer for us. I think she is that good. She is a great leader, sees the floor and is extremely talented. She is the type of player that takes everybody to the next level. Getting her was just icing on the cake. We are extremely pleased with how hard our staff worked at getting these three young women. It's a huge deal for us and continues to take our program in the right direction."
(On improving in recruiting to bring in a top class)
"We identified these kids early last year. I think that made a difference. Our staff just stayed on them and we were relentless to narrow down who we needed. In particular, Jolette Law was huge. She had a good relationship with all three of these ladies. She was not to be denied. None of us were. I thought it was a great team effort, but Jolette established a relationship with them and we picked up from that and carried it through. All of our coaches were instrumental in getting this class. Sharrona Reaves was diligent in identifying who exactly we wanted to zero-in on and go after. That was huge. Once we established that, that is where Jolette had a prior relationship with these kids, and we made it a group effort. We hope this class isn't finished yet."
(On having so many road games early)
"It is by design. I made a commitment with [Senior Associate Athletic Director/COO at ETSU] Scott Carter, who was here. He asked us to go up to ETSU for the fans, and I thought it was a great idea and agreed to do that. JMU was a solid team that I thought would be huge on the road for us. I was extremely nervous about that game. I thought it would be a tough opening game on the road for us. They've had a tremendous amount of success. I just think it's going to help us in the long run. I love playing at home, but we can't do that all the time. We have to go to tough environments. This weekend at Penn State is going to be an unbelievable environment. They have incredible history in their program. We went down to the wire with them last year. It's a game that I looked at on the schedule and didn't want to go there. In the long run, it's going to help us."
(On improvements she expects to see in practice)
"Well, obviously, I'm concerned about our defense. I want us to continue to get better; just one-on-one basketball. I think one-on-one basketball, if we could master that or get better with our one-on-one game, then you don't have to rotate your defense. You don't want to show your weaknesses. I think if we just continue to get solid, one-on-one, then we will continue to be a solid basketball team. Sustaining our energy and our effort, we talk a lot about that, boxing out and rebounding is just effort and heart. I thought at times that we went to the boards at ETSU. Sometimes we watched, sometimes we boxed out, sometimes we didn't. When you don't do those things and come against a team that's ranked ahead of you or a Penn State, or anyone, it's going to come back and get you. Those are the things; we just have to be consistent, do the little things, just be consistent. I thought for the most part that we took care of the ball well and distributed the basketball but you could always get better at that, too."
(On opposing teams honoring Pat Summitt)
"We see it here as Pat Summitt at The University of Tennessee, and I think you're seeing an example of schools and teams across the county honoring Pat, who was so powerful in the game of women's basketball. What she meant to each individual, I think everybody has their own personal story about Pat, and how she impacted them. How the first time she met them and on and on and on. I think you're seeing the relationship of Pat and overall women's basketball. I think they obviously have a tremendous amount of respect for her, and I think it's wonderful. I will never get tired of hearing how great Pat Summitt, was because she is."
(On worries about low numbers on roster and having energy to play)
"I think at times, before the season started I think it was in my head, too. Watching them and seeing what kind of shape they are in and the ability to play the game at a high rate of speed. I think they've proven they can do that. I think we're going to play into being in shape. I think we're very capable of having the team we have and press a little bit more, run a little bit more and do more. A lot of kids are worried about playing time, but these kids shouldn't be worried about playing time because they all are going to play. I think that we're absolutely fine, running and doing the things that we want to do, maybe not press as much. I think toward the end of the year we'll get back to that. We haven't worked out on it as much. I think we've worked a lot more on our offensive half court and offense efficiency, and I think it's showing. We have to get better on the defensive end, but that doesn't mean we're not going to press down the stretch. We're going to play into shape as far as being able to play a 40-minute game and being able to press the run and doing the things we want to do."
(On offensive sets)
"It's taking us a while because generally, I think females are running a pattern. They do it when they're young, in high school, AAU. We're trying to teach them to play the game and play together. It can be ugly at times but it can be rewarding. Once you put in a couple of sets, you learn to read them more. We always say read the defense. Hopefully what we've done in the pre-season has taught them how to read defenses and react. We're doing it now but we'll see how it continues. I've been pleased with shot selection and the flow of our offense. It's going to need some tweaking, I know that. I'm just enjoying watching them play basketball, and I don't have to call every single thing that they run."
Junior Center Mercedes Russell
(On things they have practiced for Penn State)
"We had yesterday off so today we will start scouting for them and watching film on them, so it all starts today."
(On Penn State's team)
"Overall they are a good basketball team. They play hard on both ends of the court for forty minutes. They have some very talented guards and all around their players play hard for the whole game."
(On the fouls from last game)
"Once the game starts there is not much we can really do about that. I think we just have to play smart. Even on the road you don't know how the referees are going to go; it all starts with playing smarter."
(On how the team is doing with defensive rebounding)
"I would say when we played JMU and Navy I think from the start we were a little stagnant on defense and then we began to pick it up. Then Tuesday night, from the start at ETSU we played good defense and continued it on all game. We had tiny lapse in the fourth quarter, since we started so strong in the beginning that didn't make a huge impact against us."
(On Diamond DeShields)
"During ETSU she definitely played great from start to finish, and I think she was attacking really well, taking great shots and taking whatever their team gave her. I think a player like Diamond can create her shot whenever she wants to, and you will see a lot of that in the next couple of games."
(On the different team tributes to Pat Summitt)
"It definitely means a lot. It shows the impact she has had on women's college basketball and it's not just our team it's teams across the country and across the world. It just means a lot when the teams honor her before we play, and it's a blessing to be a part of this program at The University of Tennessee."
Junior Guard Alexa Middleton
(On how they have played offensively)
"I think our chemistry has come along a lot faster than it did last year. We have five people on the court playing who can score double digits on any given night. Cedes (Mercedes Russell) can go to work in the post. Diamond can score at will, Jaime can score and Jordan can score. I think that is definitely a positive for us that we have so many players that can step up and go to work on the offensive end when we need that. I think that it will definitely continue."
(On playing on the road)
"I think last year our first seven games were played at home so we expected that our first games would be away. Any gym is home. It is just another game. When we went to ETSU we had plenty of orange in there, so it never feels like we are at a disadvantage when we are at an away game."
(On the team chemistry)
"There are only eight or nine of us, so we know each night we are going to have to bring our all every game and we can't let up. Last year we had more numbers and some people might have taken a night off, and we can't do that so we have to hold each other accountable."
(On the different team tributes to Pat Summitt)
"You just see the impact she has had on other teams, coaches and players. And it's just an honor to play at this program, where she was the pioneer for women's basketball here."
