Preseason checklist for the Lady Vols: Three players on the media’s All-SEC First Team; three players on national watchlists for best at their position; No. 5 national ranking; and No. 2 in the SEC.
The first big media event of the 2022-23 season happened this week when 28 head coaches and 56 players gathered in a hotel in Alabama for the conference’s SEC Media Days for women’s and men’s basketball.
Naturally, after Saturday’s scintillating win in football over Alabama, a grassy field remained on the mind of coach Kellie Harper, who was captured on social media screaming inside Neyland Stadium.
“We’re thrilled about the upcoming season,” Harper said in her opening media statement about basketball inside a ballroom in Birmingham. “I do realize there’s still more football to be played, and we over in Rocky Top are going to enjoy every minute of it. Loving life right now in Knoxville.”
For those on Twitter, the video of Harper can be watched here.
Harper’s voice hadn’t fully recovered for the media circuit this week. Two seniors, guard Jordan Horston and post Tamari Key, accompanied Harper on the day trip by plane. Both are pre-season first teams as is transfer wing Rickea Jackson.
While the Lady Vols look good on paper, Harper knows, probably better than anyone, the journey it takes to become a team with high expectations and actually finish the season on top.
“If you start thinking about April when it’s October, if we start worrying about April right now, that is pressure,” Harper said. “But if we’re just trying to be the best we can be today and then tomorrow and understand that it’s a process, I think that helps.”
Harper, then known as Kellie Jolly, won three national titles at Tennessee in 1996, 1997 and 1998. When Pat Summitt heard her players talking the following preseason about how they couldn’t wait to get to postseason, it concerned her. She knows a team that looks ahead can be one that gets left behind.
“Speaking from experience, you can’t skip steps,” Harper said. “You can’t. You have to enjoy the journey together, the ups and downs, because that’s what builds championship teams. I hope our team can appreciate each and every day because this is a special group.”
Here’s the best quote of the day from the other 13 women’s basketball head coaches.
Kristy Curry, Alabama: “It’s been amazing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. This is my 34th year in the game. I grew up with a mom who was my high school coach. I grew up in the gym and on the softball field in a small town in north Louisiana. To see where we have gone just in my time and know where we can go, I think we’ve only scratched the surface. The support for women in sport has grown.”
Mike Neighbors, Arkansas: “We went and bought these 25-cent little metal carabiners. These things lock together, and we gave each player … they bring it to practice, and if you’re in our gym, whether you’re our starting player or you’re our volunteer graduate assistant athletic trainer, if you’re not locked in – if you don’t have a carabiner in our chain that day, get on out of here.”
Johnnie Harris, Auburn: Harris enters her second season of rebuilding Auburn into prominence in the SEC. “I think (fans will) see a lot of energy, athleticism, excitement. These kids play really hard. Fans always said we played hard last year, but I think they’ll really see what playing hard looks like. We’re a little bit more talented. We have more depth. Our kids are hungry. They’re ready to play.”
Kelly Rae Finley, Florida: Finley started last season as interim head coach after the sudden departure of Cameron Newbauer, who players alleged created a toxic environment. The Gators exceeded expectations, and the interim came off Finley’s title last February. “I think that our focus and my focus as a whole was on creating a great experience and on loving and caring for one another and challenging each other and lifting each other up. That will be no different this season as we embark on a whole ’nother year with a very different roster than we had last year, and I’m excited to see the growth and the opportunity that’s ahead of us.”
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, Georgia: Abrahamson-Henderson, who is called Coach Abe, is a former player who returned to her alma mater this season as head coach. “I feel very honored to be back at Georgia. I played with Katrina McClain, Teresa Edwards, Lisa O’Connor, Carla Williams. I played with some really, really phenomenal players, and just all the hard work and the culture we built back then, I feel very honored to be leading the program and being a part of the culture moving forward.”
Kyra Elzy, Kentucky: Elzy, a former Lady Vol player, enters her third season as head coach of the Wildcats with a full roster of returning players, transfers and freshmen. “Having 15 has brought everyone’s best because of that competitive spirit. I’ve been very transparent with them. I’m probably going to do a 10-player rotation. You can play your way in, or you can play your way out. There is one ball. There is five positions. There’s 40 minutes. My job is to put a team on the floor and the best people that give us a chance to win.”
Jordan Horston, Kellie Harper and Tamari Key prepare to board a flight to Birmingham for SEC Media Days. (UT Athletics)
Kim Mulkey, LSU: “This is, gosh, almost 40 years in this game. I started when I was 23 years of age, and I’ve seen a lot of things happen. I’ve seen the evolution of parity. I think there’s more parity in the women’s game now. Why? I don’t think it’s because you have more players to choose from. I think it’s because of institutions committing resources to having good women’s basketball, and I think they see the value.”
Yolett McPhee-McCuin, Mississippi: McPhee-McCuin, who is called “Coach Yo,” enters her fifth season and has taken Ole Miss from 0-16 in the SEC in 2019-20 to 10-6 last season and a fourth-place finish. “That year was definitely a character-building year for me personally about what my standards were going to be and how I wanted to be as a coach. But I think any program that is having success is not doing it without winners and really talented people. I’m not just talking about players. I’m talking about staff. Then, obviously, administration, I think it’s a group effort.”
Sam Purcell, Mississippi State: Purcell, formerly an assistant at Louisville, is making his head coach debut this season. “Not only is this my first SEC media day, but it’s also my first media day as a head coach. As I enter year one of my head coaching year, I enter year 22 of coaching strong young women. My journey to Mississippi State started in 2000 in the SEC at Auburn.”
Robin Pingeton, Missouri: The Tigers competed last season and were one of only two teams to beat South Carolina, which went on to win a national title, but didn’t make it to the NCAA tourney. “We want to build from last year. Obviously we weren’t satisfied. Felt like we were just right there on the cusp of getting into the NCAA Tournament. We didn’t control what we needed to control, and that was probably win one more game. It’s fueled our fire all summer long.”
Dawn Staley, South Carolina: The Gamecocks enter the season as the defending conference and national champions. Is Staley concerned about any complacency? “I do. It’s a big worry. Once you’ve won and you return almost your entire team, you tend to want to take the beginning part of it, the journey, the meat and potatoes of the season lightly. They haven’t shown signs of it … but it’s certainly on my mind and in my heart to keep this team engaged and challenged.”
Joni Taylor, Texas A&M: Taylor left Georgia for Texas A&M at the end of last season, so while she’s new to College Station, she knows the SEC. The position came open after the retirement of Gary Blair, who led the Aggies to a national title. “Every time we would come to College Station, the atmosphere, the culture, the tradition was always something that jumped out on the page. So when (the opportunity came to) continue to enhance the tradition, to get back to that championship level, it was something that intrigued us as a staff. After listening to their commitment to women’s basketball, it was a great opportunity for us.”
Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt: Ralph, who may be better known to Tennessee fans as a former UConn player, enters her second season in a rebuild at Vandy. “If you’re paying attention in college women’s basketball, you know the SEC is the best league, and you’ve got to go through the SEC to win a national championship. I learned a lot about myself in terms of what I needed to do to meet my players where they were, and where I came from, the goal was national championship or bust every year. Now where I am we have a tradition of excellence, but we’re trying to get it back to that level.”
Maria M. Cornelius, a writer/editor at Moxley Carmichael since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.