Fleser: Big Job For Big Three: Parker, Anosike, Hornbuckle told to take charge

Tennessee's coach was describing Lady Vols Candace Parker, Alexis Hornbuckle and Nicky Anosike with a title straight out of management: "The big three."

Assistant coach Dean Lockwood can relate. Having grown up in the state of Michigan, he likely heard an echo of the auto industry in the description.

"It's like a corporation,'' he said. "You have a mini-corporation within the team."

It's more important that the three Lady Vols grasp the concept. They come from different backgrounds and different stages of their basketball development. Yet they're being implored to converge as a like-minded unit.

Summitt has charged the trio with exemplifying how the team should practice and play on a daily basis. She essentially bases the ultimate fate of the season on their merger.

The first dress rehearsal is a Nov. 1 exhibition against Carson-Newman College at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"They have to understand the value of leadership and them being on the same page,'' Summitt said. "They must if they want to win.

"If they aren't committed to playing together, then erase all that talent."

Sounds like a big challenge is being issued.

The response from UT's power trio will be more locker room than boardroom. They arrived two years ago as part of a recruiting class for the ages. Since then they have been diminished by everything from the sting of unfulfilled ambitions to the pain of injury.

Anosike is the only one of the three who hasn't spent down time in the training room. Parker lost her entire first season to multiple knee surgeries. Hornbuckle played in the NCAA tournament last March with a cumbersome splint on her fractured right wrist.

Add to these experiences the transfers of classmates Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood and Sybil Dosty (to Maryland and Arizona State, respectively) and the threat of bewilderment has been very real.

Through it all, Parker, Hornbuckle and Anosike have emerged as starters and touchstones for every aspect of Tennessee's play. Hence, their new title and shared responsibility.

Parker, a 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore from Naperville, Ill, is a returning All-American and the team's go-to scorer at crucial moments.

Hornbuckle, a 5-11 junior from Charleston, W.Va., is the first line of defense on the perimeter from either guard position.

Anosike, a 6-4 junior from Staten Island, N.Y., is Tennessee's most experienced low-post player.

As if to prepare for this crucial juncture of their careers, these three have developed a healthy respect for teammates and teamwork.

Even while playing a starring role, Parker said, "This is no one-man or two-man show.''

Hornbuckle, who has helped nurture several of the new players, considered the subject of team play as if she was savoring an acquired taste.

"I think it maybe has been harder in the first few years,'' she said. "But now that we know we need each other, it shouldn't be hard."

In talking about her partnership with Parker and Hornbuckle, Anosike said, "I don't think you have to be best friends or whatever. I think being teammates is enough."

Her perspective is worth noting because these three might never be called the three amigos. That doesn't imply any animosity or jealousy. It merely speaks to the varying degrees of their relationships.

"I think people get that twisted,'' Hornbuckle said. "Just because I don't run to Candace when, say, my brother is sick, it doesn't mean we're not friends.

"Just because I don't confide in her in my deepest moments, it doesn't mean we're not friends.''

Like they've indicated, it's more important to be good teammates. If that's the case, however, they better be the best of teammates.

This will be the real test -- one of time and commitment. Parker probably was overly optimistic in saying, "I think it's just going to flow."

Lockwood thinks the season will have its share of "teachable moments" for the threesome.

"There has to be enough of a relationship where they can sit down and talk,'' he said. "There has to be a shared vision."

Communication figures to be a key element of their undertaking. Although Parker, Hornbuckle and Anosike do not endorse their vocal talents, they recognize the value of the skill.

In assessing her time at Tennessee, Anosike said, "We haven't had a verbal leader since I've been here. ... That's what we've been missing, verbal leadership done the right way.

"We haven't had anyone to pull us together. I think it's hurt us when times are getting tough. When things aren't going right."

With that in mind, this might be the most receptive team of Anosike's tenure. Seniors Sidney Spencer and Dominique Redding took it upon themselves to begin hosting regular team nights during the summer, cooking for the players and creating an environment in which everyone got better acquainted.

"We'd get together and make fun of each other,'' Hornbuckle said. "I think it was helpful. It was good for people to get together and realize we're just people."

Don't underestimate the usefulness of those moments. Consider them an investment in more meaningful dialogue. Is it a giant leap from teasing to advising? Hornbuckle gives the impression that she is standing at the precipice, calculating the distance.

"It's a matter of staying humble and putting a lot of attitudes in check across the board,'' she said. "It's being more receptive to constructive criticism. If not we'll be in the same boat as last year."

Anosike and Parker took the plunge during Wednesday's team practice. During a low point in a defensive drill, Anosike convened a team huddle. Later, when freshman Nicci Moats slipped away to have her ankle re-taped, Parker ran to the far end of the court and reminded Moats to return as quickly as possible.

Perhaps this will be basketball business as usual this season.