Lone senior Fuller doesn't 'feel as alone'

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alex Fuller needs a little help from Angie Bjorklund.

And Bjorklund is ready and willing to try her best. Presumably she has something better in mind than almost landing on Fuller’s left knee. That freakish mishap occurred last Saturday during a Tennessee women’s basketball practice, when the two Lady Vols tumbled to the court while trying to secure a rebound.

The collaboration left Fuller stretched out on the floor in pain and her sophomore teammate standing over her, stressed out.

“She was freaked out, I think,’’ Fuller said of Bjorklund.

At that tense moment, Bjorklund was asking for some assistance of her own.

“I looked at her,’’ Bjorklund said, “and said a little prayer.’’

The injury scare came and went. Fuller said Wednesday at SEC Media Days that she pretty much had forgotten about it.

The team hierarchy remains unchanged with Fuller as the Lady Vols’ lone senior. The 6-foot-3 forward is the only one being referred to as “grandma” by her callow teammates. Still, she doesn’t feel lonely.

“It’s not just me by myself,’’ she said. “I feel like I can depend on the other 11 players on the team, so I don’t feel as alone.”

Fuller gives some of the credit to Bjorklund.

“She helps me on and off the court, just trying to be more vocal,’’ Fuller said. “I think that’s maybe one thing I could use more help with.”

Bjorklund’s added responsibilities were underscored by her presence at Wednesday’s media event. This UT duty is determined by seniority. In three seasons, All-American Candace Parker never made the two-player traveling squad to Birmingham. Yet here was Bjorklund on hand in advance of her second season.

The 6-0 wing player was a second-team All-SEC preseason pick. Furthermore, she’s the only returnee who started more than one game last season.

The only other Tennessee preseason honoree hasn’t played a game. Freshman guard Shekinna Stricklen also made the second team.

“She has a chance to be a special guard in our system,’’ UT coach Pat Summitt said. “She can play a lot of positions.”

Summitt also said that Stricklen “will be in the lineup unless she makes me mad between now and the opening game.”

Bjorklund thinks UT’s relative inexperience was a factor in being chosen second in the preseason standings behind Vanderbilt.

“With this program, any time you’re picked second, you’re kind of shocked,’’ she said. “But we talked about it and from the outside looking in I can see how people might see that because we’re so young and we lost our senior class.”

There’s just one senior left, meaning Bjorklund needs to be more than just another sophomore.

“Leading by example is the No. 1 thing I can do right now,’’ Bjorklund said. “Showing them what hard work is all about. Getting in early and shooting, staying after and shooting.

“… Whatever I can do, I’m going to be there to do that.”