Dan Fleser
My recent trip to California felt like a month’s worth of experiences got squeezed into one week.
The compression of time typically is a good sign for these excursions, reflecting an abundance of fellowship or scenery. In this instance, the feeling was enhanced not only by the hugs and backslaps of old friends and the jaw-dropping walks along the Pacific coast but also the end of Tennessee’s basketball seasons.
When I departed, the months of hardwood ebb and flow had been compressed into the Vols’ and Lady Vols’ respective NCAA tournaments. Their seasons were still building like one of those Pacific waves rolling toward shore. While I was out West, the Vols managed to put a fine curl on their surge, avenging two regular-season losses to Kentucky with a resounding Sweet 16 victory.
And then suddenly it was over for both teams. Their waves turned to breakers as they crashed into immovable opponents. In the Lady Vols’ case, it was Texas in the round of 16. The Vols were thumped by Houston a round later.
To each team’s credit, their accomplishments – rather than recede immediately into the offseason – earned recognition from what lingered in their wake.
Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma referenced a February loss to the Lady Vols on Sunday in the aftermath of the Huskies winning their program’s 12th national championship. UConn was a different team after that loss. For those Huskies, a journey to Knoxville apparently pointed them toward a Road to Damascus moment.
On Monday night, Florida played Houston for the men’s national championship. It was the same Gators who had lost by 20 points to UT on Feb. 1 in Knoxville, a day in which the Vols played without starters Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic Jr.
Zeigler and Milicic are now gone for good, along with five other teammates. The attrition adds a sense of finality to the Vols’ ending. The departure of Zeigler and teammate Jahmai Mashack feels like the end of an era, a unique and fulfilling four-year period.
And yet the Vols already are working on what’s to come. Point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and forward Jaylen Carey have been plucked from the transfer portal in recent days and UT reportedly is in the hunt for up to five other players.
The Lady Vols’ roster churn has been comparable to the Vols’ turnover. To date, the portal has claimed another player, Avery Strickland, rather than provide some needed 3-point shooters or another forward.
Nonetheless, this ending feels more like a beginning for a program that has undergone a dramatic transformation under first-year coach Kim Caldwell. The Lady Vols certainly packed a lot into one season. Heck, the third quarter of their second-round NCAA victory at Ohio State played out like my California trip in that a lot happened in a short period of time. There were whiplash-inducing differences between the two experiences but, in the end, they were equally worthwhile.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters, U.S Basketball Writers and Greater Knoxville Sports Halls of Fame. He can be reached at
danfleser3@gmail.com.