Lady Vols Learning To Trust The Process

A familiar face, in a familiar place, holding the reins of a new job with a program that has always felt like home.

As the 2019-20 season quickly approaches, Lady Vol head coach Kellie Harper is working with a group of players who are excited and ready to begin what they've spent all summer working toward.

"Well, we're all excited to get started," Harper said. "It's almost unbelievable that we're less than a week away from putting on uniforms and playing in Thompson-Boling Arena. I know our players are excited about that, ready for that opportunity. I'm actually still looking forward to the practices that we have before then, but they've been giving me great energy. They've been giving us good effort, and right now I think that's the most important thing that we can be doing. So, we're all excited."

It's a squad with a solid mix of exciting newcomers and a group of experienced players who are hungry to return the Tennessee women's basketball to the heights the program has always known.

Where the common denominator lies with the entire team is that every player understands that winning doesn't happen immediately. It's a process that occurs every single day. In practice, in games, in the training room and in everything they do, day-in and day-out.

"I would say our goals are to win," freshman Jordan Horston said. "But, if I dig a bit deeper, we just want to be the best team we can be. We want to do the right things, have each other's backs and just do all of the little things right. If we do that, everything will work itself out."

"My goal for us this year is to just be the best team we can possibly be," sophomore Jazmine Massengill said. "I understand we were picked No. 6 in the SEC, and while we respect everyone's opinion, we just have to try to be the best team we can be."

"My expectation this year is that we're going to come out, play hard, be intense every game and we're going to get better," graduate student Lou Brown said. "We're going to get better throughout the season. We have a long way to go as a team, but I'm really excited to watch us get better."

Three separate players who are three different years, all with the same message and goal.

To improve and get better with every day and game.

That message hasn't been lost on Coach Harper. She knows what she wants to accomplish with this group and knows that like any new situation, adjusting and achieving takes time.

"Their effort is always there, but it's just the focus and attention of all the little details that we're working on," Harper said. "It takes time. It doesn't just happen. You can't just magically push a button, and then they remember everything they're supposed to know. We're putting a lot on them; we're pretty demanding, but I like where we're trending, because right now we can watch a possession and they know what they did wrong. That's a big step for us, because now we're able to correct it and learn."

Learning, trusting and growing.

The Lady Vols are a squad with an incredibly high ceiling. A ceiling that is left up to them to reach.

"I love teaching basketball," Harper said. "I love teaching the game, and everybody can learn. I think right now that's one thing we're seeing with all of our players. They are so willing to learn and are very open-minded right now. It's just exciting."

While the results on the floor for the current edition of the Orange & White are still to be determined, there's little doubt that the squad will be one all of Lady Vol Nation will be extremely proud to watch inside the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Lou Brown

Jordan Horston

Jazmine Massengill

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