KNOXVILLE – The first day of official basketball practice isn’t what it used to be.
There already had been many days like Tuesday when the Tennessee Lady Vols gathered at Thompson-Boling Arena. Some had occurred on the same court, where UT will conduct an exhibition dress rehearsal against Carson-Newman on Oct. 29.
More off-season workouts along with the NCAA-mandated flexibility regarding official starts have diminished the day’s significance. First-year coach Kellie Harper created a moment for herself when she snuck out for an early glimpse of the floor. But later she conceded that the day’s work was “continuing with what we’ve been working on, building on.”
Along with basketball fundamentals, Harper listed some practice priorities that sounded more suitable for group therapy, namely body language, how players act toward each other and their sense of enjoyment.
The Lady Vols’ last game at Thompson-Boling was one of the most dispirited performances of their disappointing 2018-19 season. A 76-69 loss to Vanderbilt, UT’s first setback at home to the Commodores in program history, all but guaranteed the coaching change that followed at season’s end. The chain of events brought Harper from Missouri State back to where she played point guard on three national championship teams in the late 1990s.
Point guard Jazmine Massengill, a sophomore from Chattanooga, paused on Tuesday when asked to differentiate between the personality of Harper and her predecessor, Holly Warlick, before saying: “In the end, they still push us to do the same things.”
Harper and Warlick both are former Lady Vols point guards and are ardent disciples of UT coaching legend Pat Summitt. Their love for the program is comparable. The style of play likely won’t change dramatically from one coach to another either.
A change in results, though, will require a noticeable difference in Harper’s push. She said last week that she’s trying to create a greater sense of responsibility within the ranks by telling the players: “Not only are you playing for your team and each other, you’re playing for your community and you’re playing for all of women’s basketball because a lot of people are going to be watching.”
Recruits have been watching and recent events have not helped UT. Forward Angel Reese, who’s ranked second in the Class of 2020 by ESPN HoopGurlz, made an official recruiting visit last month but no longer is considering Tennessee. East Hamilton star Madison Hayes didn’t make an official visit before committing last week to Mississippi State.
Madeline Westbeld, a five-star forward from Fairmont, Ohio, is scheduled to visit this weekend. She’s also considering Notre Dame, Louisville, Ohio State and UCLA.
Tennessee has offered Tess Darby, a 6-1 guard/forward from Greenfield High, a Class 1A school in West Tennessee. According to the Jackson Sun, Darby, who averaged 19.1 points per game last season, has scholarship offers from West Virginia, Texas Tech, Illinois and Georgia Tech. She will make a campus visit the weekend of Oct. 12.
Darby assuredly will watch a Tennessee practice, where Harper will be trying to distinguish herself with traits Massengill already appreciates.
“She doesn’t accept anything but the best from you,” Massengill said. “So when you feel like you can’t do it, you can’t go, she takes it to the next level. She’s a hard coach. That’s what we need.”
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri who covered University of Tennessee athletics for the Knoxville News Sentinel from 1988-2019. He may be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.