Tennessee Women's Basketball Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement…
"Thank you, guys, for being here. We are excited about this upcoming season. This team has been fun to coach. We have a ton of talent on our team. They have all been working really hard and pulling for each other. I think they are all very excited about the possibilities this year. I also understand right now no one in the country has lost a game and so everyone should be excited about their upcoming season. I think this team is special, and we understand it is a long, long journey; it is a process. You don't just snap your fingers and win a lot of games. There's a lot that goes into it, and we have a long way to go. We have a lot we need to do as a team, but I am just really excited that this is the team we are doing it with."

On managing the 16-player roster…
"I will say our practices have looked different this year. Practicing with 16 players has been challenging to figure out the best way to get reps for our team. We have designed practices differently. We might make three teams of five. With Jessie (Rennie) still not being able to play, we have 15 active players right now. We might have three teams of five. We might have two teams and our practice guys. We might have one team going against our practice guys. When you do that, you have a whole team standing on the sidelines, so we have to be creative. We've played some cut-throat, where it's rapid in and out, round robin, five on five. We've done a lot of different things to try and get reps. We are playing a lot of people different positions, so I have to be very creative on assigning positions to our players because they can play different positions within a group of five. It's been fun trying to figure out what works best, and everyday looks a little different for this group."

On the level of competitiveness in practice…
"Our practices are very competitive. There are times they are so competitive that I won't keep score. A lot of times as a coach, you are keeping score to try to create a competitive environment. Sometimes I am trying to dial it down and they want to win. They like going out and competing against each other. I could tell you a great example: when Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston get on the floor against each other, and they are guarding each other, it's pretty impressive. They will go at each other, and then give each other a high five. It's been a lot of fun to watch."

On the thought process of playing players in different positions…
"Well, I think it gives us an opportunity to utilize our strengths. A player like Jillian Hollingshead, for example, she can play a center, she can post up, she can take a center out on the perimeter and put the ball on the floor. She can play a four, so, she could post up, she could put the ball on the floor, she could shoot. We could play her at the wing. We've played her at a three. What that does, if she needs to be on the court, I can have a lot of different combinations to make that work. The more versatile we are, the more options I have in getting the right players on the court at the right time."

On the strength of the team when it is all said and done…
"Right now, the strength of our team is our depth. I think if you ask any of our players, they will tell you it's our depth. If you asked me that last year, I would have said our rebounding. It is not our rebounding right now, which a little bit of a problem for me considering that's a big deal to me. It is definitely our depth. For that to pay off, we have to play a certain way. Our pace has to be up a little bit more. We have to be very physical to be able to take advantage of that late in games."

On how Marta Suárez looks…
"Marta (Suárez) is shooting the ball really well in practices. We utilize a lot of data in our stats during live play in practice, and it has shown that she is shooting the ball over 50 percent from the field. It's pretty impressive. She gets in the gym a lot, she understands the game. She knows our offense inside and out and she's very competitive, very driven, and that shows when she's on the court. She has also had a really good positive voice for the team, and that's been a really good thing for her teammates to be able to hear from her and have that constant voice."

On the style of play from the team…
"We want our tempo to be fast. Our open scrimmage that we had a couple weeks ago, I thought our pace was too slow. This weekend, we had a closed scrimmage, and our pace was much better offensively. In addition to that, I think our tempo and pace has to be there also on the defensive end. That's going to be a lot of effort. Probably more full court opportunities, and we have to be great in the half court set defensively. This team, we've got so many different styles of players out there, we can have combinations that have different strengths. We can put a pressing team on the court. We can put a really good half court defensive team on the court. I think our overall system needs to be pace. It definitely needs to be pace."

On how to figure out the team's flow..
"I think there are going to be some questions that can't be answered until we have games. I think that is going to be some lineups, some lineup combinations. I think we will see a more accurate picture when we get to games."

On why she feels that the team is special…
"They are all driven. They all want the same thing. They are so much fun to coach, they really are. You go out and you ask them to do something, and they are going to give it to you; they are fun. We have a lot of personality on the team. I think sometimes as coaches and as people who watch teams, I think you get so caught up in where you are going sometimes that you forget to enjoy the moments you are in. They are special because I love walking into that practice every single day with them. I think there's so much more to it than their potential and what might happen. It is the day-to-day excitement that they bring that is really special and fun."

On scrimmaging Georgia Tech and honoring Georgia Tech Associate Head Coach and former Lady Vol Tasha Butts who is battling breast cancer…
"Tasha Butts, LVFL, somebody that meant a lot to this program and still means a lot to this program. She's an alum. Obviously, someone that's battling cancer and has been so strong and such a fighter. We don't always run in the same circles. With being in different leagues, we don't see her a lot during the season, and it's hard to sometimes connect. It was great opportunity for us when we were playing at Georgia Tech to go down there and show her some love and support because she is family. I wanted her to feel that from us, from her team here in Knoxville. It was a little emotional, but I'm glad we were able to do that for her. In our scrimmage, we weren't perfect, but there were some things I really liked. We looked like a veteran team on the court with little things. I like the fact that we had improved from our previous scrimmage to that day. I like that when we are challenging our players with certain things, they are stepping up and getting those things done. So, I really like to see those improvements."

On Sara Puckett's role for this season…
"I think you hit it right. Sara Puckett is different now because she is more confident. She walks onto the court more confident. She is shooting the ball more. She is looking for her shot more; she is shooting it really well. She is another player that is very versatile. We are utilizing her in a lot of different positions. She is just in a really good place right now. She crushed it in the weight room over summer and that has carried over to the court. She is playing strong, she is fit, she is more mobile. I am really excited about her. She is going to play a big part, her just being able to play inside out. She is a really good passer, she is competitive, she plays hard and is very skilled. All of those things will help her help us."

On who sticks out as one of the best recruiters on the team…
"Jordan Horston is really good. She is very genuine. She is genuinely interested in young people and where they are going and what their aspirations are. She has a story to tell about her career, how she got here, why she is still here and where she is going to go from here. I think those are important; those are impactful."

On what makes Jordan Horston special…
"Jordan Horston is a gifted athlete. She is powerful, she is aggressive, she sees the floor really well, she can make shots, she is coachable, she wants to win. She is a great teammate, and she will be there for her teammates. All of those things in a six-two package, it is not bad."

On what makes Tamari Key special…
"Obviously when you walk in, you can see how her length and her size can affect an entire offense. We have gone into games, and offenses have changed their attack based on her alone. That is where she has been dominant, but also, she is skilled. She can score, she can rebound. We are moving her around a little bit more and trying to help her find ways to get her some more touches. If you are going to shoot near seventy percent from the field, we just want you to shoot it a few more times."

On what Lady Vol fans can expect from Rickea Jackson…
"Rickea Jackson is dynamic. She can go score a bucket from about any moment. She is fast, and she is athletic. She plays hard. She is very competitive. She is a great rebounder and great defender. She plays downhill. She is in attack mode on every position. She's fun; she's fun to watch."

On the team's chemistry…
"One of the things we do now, as coaches, is that we have to intentionally work on our team chemistry. That was even before this year. We definitely knew that we had to work on it this year. When you have six new players, it's a lot. You have to work on the chemistry and help facilitate them getting to know each other, especially players. With the transfers, these are older players. Some of these players are veterans, and they are well established in their college career. It is not like they are rookies with eyes wide open; they know what they are doing. It has just been an interesting dynamic to watch, but there is definitely some organic chemistry. Not officially with books and things. They have worked on it on their own, but there are things that we have done to try and help facilitate those things. We will continue to do that. I do not think you can ever check that box. I think that is something that you have to work on just as hard as anything else, so we devote time to it. Every couple of weeks we are going to be doing something."

On what the coaches and athletes do to build chemistry…
"Everything we do is intentional. Whether it is small group meetings, rooming lists, where we go eat, or large group sessions. While we were in Atlanta, we went to the Civil Rights Museum. We are always intentional about things we are doing with our team. This week, I am having individual meetings with our players. Everything that we are doing is trying to foster that culture and that team chemistry."

On how she balances the team with so many talented players…
"Dividing minutes will be one of our biggest challenges this year. I keep saying, you cannot win a petition to play a fifth quarter. It would be nice if we could. It may be how we are playing in the first half will determine second half minutes, or practices leading up to. We have utilized practice stats more this year than ever for that reason to try and help us, because we have so many players that can be productive when they step out onto the court. We recognize that, but we also recognize that there is only forty minutes. It is going to be a difficult challenge."

On Justine Pissott…
"Justine Pissott is really talented. She has great instincts. Obviously, she can shoot the basketball, but with her size, she can rebound. She can do a lot of other things as well. She is playing on a very talented veteran team, so she is going to learn a lot this year. But it may not necessarily be by fire. You may not have to throw her in and figure it out. We are excited that she is going to be able to have the opportunity to play with some of the players that she is going to play with this year. I think it is going to be great for her development. She is going to be really good, there is no doubt about it."

On whether Rickea Jackson is motivated by not getting voted to the Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team the way she was by the media…
"I'm sure it has. She does not need any extra motivation. This kid is so competitive. If I had the opportunity to vote for her, I would have voted for her (SEC coaches weren't allowed to vote for their own players in preseason polling). I think she is that talented."

On Jasmine Franklin and how special she is…
"She is really close to our family. We were able to watch her from afar the last few years, and it is really cool to get her here and to be able to coach her one more time. She is very competitive. She is experienced, confident and talented. She is also a great voice on the court, and a big personality. A big personality off the court and those are just a few reasons why we love her. I think she fits right in."

Kellie Harper Media Availability Quotes

Tennessee Women's Basketball Head Coach Kellie Harper

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Franklin

Jillian Hollingshead

Jordan Horston

Rickea Jackson

Tamari Key

Justine Pissott

Sara Puckett

University of Tennessee | Official Athletics Site

Kellie Harper Media Availability Quotes

Tennessee Women's Basketball Head Coach Kellie Harper

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Franklin

Jillian Hollingshead

Jordan Horston

Rickea Jackson

Tamari Key

Justine Pissott

Sara Puckett

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