Pat Summitt put the number at eight. Tennessee's women's basketball coach is looking for at least that many dependable Lady Vols this season and said so at media day.
"She's added one,'' said Glory Johnson, turning up the wattage on her smile.
The sophomore forward thought the working number was "six or seven."
No, teammate Briana Bass said, those were last year's numbers.
"Lately, it's been eight strong players,'' the sophomore point guard said. (Coach says) I'm looking for eight strong players."
Junior guard Angie Bjorklund figures there's a method to this mathematical madness.
"(Summitt) has to keep us on our toes,'' Bjorklund said, "so she changes it up a little bit."
Whatever the magic number, the Lady Vols have a better grasp of how to be in that number. Summitt said as much with another comment on Monday.
"I have a different comfort level than a year ago,'' she said.
Summitt feels better after an offseason during which the players responded to a 22-11 season by putting in more workouts than any team in strength & conditioning coach Heather Mason's seven-year tenure at UT.
Summitt feels good enough to think her competitive quota is reasonable.
"We may have more than eight,'' she said. "I'm waiting to see if others will put themselves in the hunt."
The Lady Vols play an exhibition game against Carson-Newman College on Thursday night. The season opener is Nov. 15 against Baylor.
A combination of injuries, inexperience and inconsistency last season left the ranks in disarray. Twelve different starting lineups were deployed.
"Last year somebody would be working hard this day, then taking that day off,'' Bjorklund said. "I think that's why it was hard to find that solid five, six or seven (players).
Summitt has Bjorklund and sophomore guard Shekinna Stricklen in mind as starters. Stricklen looks more comfortable playing point guard than she ever did last season.
"I know the position a lot better than I did last season,'' she said. "I feel totally confident about it."
Other than those two, however, uncertainty remains in play. Summitt will put 6-foot-6 center Kelley Cain, who shot 66.3 percent from the floor in 12 SEC games last season, in the starting five, too. But her status is dependent upon her surgically repaired right knee withstanding the rigors of the season.
Bass, who has two surgically repaired knees and packs on the ice after practice, said daily maintenance will be key for Cain.
"As long as she continues to treat her knee and give it what it needs - whatever that might be - I think if she does that I think she's going to be there,'' Bass said.
Johnson wants to be there for the opening tip as well. Her status, though, depends on her playing with more poise and reliability. To her credit, she's been staying after practice lately to work on her shooting and post moves with assistant coach Dean Lockwood.
"I always want to start,'' she said. "I always want to be someone (the coaches) look to to start the team off successfully."
With these personnel issues in mind, Bjorklund thinks there's only one course of action the Lady Vols can count on.
"Everyone really needs to be consistent in their play,'' she said, "then I think our lineup will be consistent."
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 29
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
cain and baugh are BY FAR the best players on this team......however they will not be able to "go" this season, both will reinjure their fragile acl's ....it's inevitable....that leaves the rest of this team ....which NONE could start for ANY top ten team in the nation.....
it's going to be another long season for the lady vols.....coach summit's recruiting has got to get much better to be able to stay a top 5 program......i saw where uconn had a commitment from a ny player the lady vols were after......sometimes its hard to get these new yorkers to come down south when uconn is right there......prediction.....uconn will win their eighth ncaa championship before tennessee wins their ninth. i'm sure i'll be critized for my opinions by others here on this web site.....all is ask is that after these "others" read this post, then blast me for my opinion, that will go back to having a bag over their heads about the situation of womens basketball in knoxville..... do i hope i am wrong....you betcha!!!! only time will tell....
CTOWNICON writes:
Why would you wish that they will reinjure their acl injuries. You have got to be the most negative person other than that Mike thing. I don't think you hope you are wrong at all, you want them to fail because every post you put up here is negative towards the team and coaches. If you are that disappointed with the program just don't follow them period. Spare yourself and spare the positive fans on this board from your negative predictions and hopes of failure. Now with all that being said and done, it is good to hear about Glory putting in the extra work. Glory can be a great player, I saw glimpses of that last season. She just needs a little moon to go with her sun and balance it all out and put it together. The players are motivated and I am ready to see them in action. I wonder who will start this year? Kelly, Shekinna, Briana, Angie, and a healthy Vicki but I think for now Glory will get Vicki's spot.
ladivolfan writes:
IMO Strickland and Baugh are by far the best players on this team. Bjorklund would be up there with them if she can just be consistent. Bass has potential but she's got to realize she's just to small to drive down the middle. Manning is tough and just needs to keep workikng hard. She will be more and more a key player as time passes. Hoping to see more from the sophomores this year and can't wait to see the incoming freshman play. Cain and Johnson have not yet impressed me, but Pat sees something in Cain so I am hoping both she and Johnson pump it up this year. I feel sorry for Smallbone. Pat has said she is the hardest worker on the team, but it seems that Pat only plays her to punish the rest of the team. Waiting for the first game is driving me nuts.
MikeInTN writes:
Anxious to see how this team performs. I hope they win it all...but since this is a place to post opinions right now I feel this program is on the decline. Sure hope I'm wrong!
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Strickland at point guard is a mistake. She is a much bigger threat as a forward, where she can get herself open and work some magic toward the basket and either take it to the hole or kick it to Angie for 3. I would like to see Smallbone on the court more. We don't really know if she's good or not from her position on the bench. Maybe she is a point guard in hiding with the 3-ball threat! I like her work ethic. Cain can catch anything they throw to her, sure hope she can get healthy. Baugh is our leader, hope she can get healthy and do it from the floor. Johnson and Bass were still learning the system at the end of last year, hopefully they will be ready to play smart and hard this year. Brewer? Who knows, but I saw some good things in Arkansas last year. Not sure about Manning yet either, haven't seen enough of her to form an opinion yet. Sure hope these freshman are ready to go in a limited fashion until they earn a place in the line-up! Maybe we don't have any "Great" player's, someone to "steal the show", but we have several really good player's whom if they work together, will make a "Great" team.
kazoo writes:
Summitt has done a bad job of recruiting point guards, that's for sure. She had to reach into the Juco ranks to get one three years ago--and while that worked out well with Bobbitt, it's absurd that a team of UT's stature doesn't have a couple of good, natural PG's. If Stricklen is playing point guard, the Vols will be in trouble--she needs to be on the wing and giving this team much-needed scoring from the wing, which they don't get enough of with Bjorklund, who has qualities but lacks quickness. The problem is, the only other PG with experience with Bass, and she's both very tiny and not very good. Cain is a load in the paint and can score, but she's very slow, as is Brewer. The Vols need to get good years out of their athletes--Baugh, Stricklen and Johnson (will she learn to shoot before graduation?), plus Bjorklund. Some productivity out of Manning and Williams would also be helpful. Like a lot of PS teams, scoring consistently and shooting well could be a challenge for this group against tougher opponents.
londonvol writes:
The popularity of ladies BB makes recruiting a different game over the years, gone are the years where UT got everyone they wanted. Coach Summitt has an unbelievable win/loss record (look it up) so I will not never ever second guess THE coach, i.e the best ever!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
While I agree with much of what you said, your comments about Smallbone don't make sense. How can it possibly matter what WE think about her if the coaches who see her EVERY DAY don't seem to think she is making the grade at the level of some others? I get it that you would like to see her play more for whatever reason, but to say that the coaches still don't KNOW what she can and can't do in her, what?, THIRD year in the program is just silly!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
You are a pretty hard sell if you haven't seen anything out of Kelly Cain! When she has been healthy, she has been the most dominating post player on the floor. The problem is that she has NOT been healthy with her bad knees and resulting extra weight, but she has had SEVERAL really good games and, if she stays healthy, she could be one of the top five best post players in the college game this year.
vols_rule1#632965 writes:
Jesus. You'd think some people could get their facts straight before posting out their freaking minds.
First of all, Kelley Cain's knee injury was not an ACL. Just because someone has a "knee injury" doesn't mean it's an ACL. Kelley had surgery to repair the tracking of her knee cap, which is why she redshirted her first year. And her knee is fine now, BTW. But I'm sure you know that since it appears you know everything. *rolls eyes*
Next, Shekinna Stricklen and Angie Bjorklund could easily start for a lot of programs in this country, including UConn.
Did you realize that the classes of 2007 (Bjorklund, Baugh, Cain and Smallbone) and 2008 (Stricklen, Johnson, Brewer, Gray, Bass, and Manning) were the #1 classes in the country both years? Did you realize out of all of those players on Smallbone and Bass weren't McDonald's and WBCA All Americans?
Concerning UConn, who the eff cares? WE DON'T PLAY THEM ANYMORE. With that said, did you know that UConn was in the final 2/3 schools of Spani, Bjorklund, Manning? Did you know that all three took official visits therefore we KNOW they were offered scholarships?
Meghan Simmons, the guard out of Texas from whom we recently got a verbal, is BETTER than Bria Hartley, who just committed to UConn. I've seen them both play, and I'm glad we got Simmons out of the two.
You don't know your you-know-what from your elbow WRT women's basketball, so why you even want to post your "opinions" is beyond me unless you enjoy making yourself look utterly ridiculous.
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Oh no...I would never say that the coaches don't know what they are doing! Just thinking out loud I guess. Pat brags about Smallbone's work ethic all the time, so I just think it would be nice to see her more in a game setting. I don't think she's the type that would ever take a possession off like you see so many of them do. She may not be the one with the God given ability or even the quickest on the court, but I would be willing to bet she would give 100% all the time! She's a smart player...I would also be willing to bet that she would make mistakes and actually LEARN something from them!!
go_vols writes:
I agree to some extent with Long_vol. We are not a top ten team and even Pat admits it. She agrees we are ranked too high. I thinks she is just being honest. However, it still doesn't take away the fact that she is still a great coach. Nevertheless, one must question her current system of recruiting. We are getting slaughtered from Uconn on the recruiting trail. Have you seen their recruiting class for next year on ESPN website? They are getting great recruits that will become superstars. We on the other hand, are getting good players hoping to become great. In this new age of womem basketball, that's not how you maintain a powerhouse basketball program. This new development is not good for us and frankly very troubling. Uconn is seperating itself from us and the rest of womem basketball and it all starts with recruiting. Look at where their recruits are coming from and where ours are coming from. They get recruits from everywhere and we can't recruit the Northeast. Something needs to change and fast. The fact is, as good as any of our players are, they could not start at uconn. They could be on the team but not start. And that's the difference. We desperately need to recruit better and in a hurry because the alternative will be a nightmere
dwa7#337691 writes:
I think we all hate to see the truth..........Geno has the team to beat again..........and they may go 39-0 AGAIN!
Da*rn it!
CTOWNICON writes:
This may as well be the boneyard site! There is so much praise about Geno and Uconn it is filthy in here! Of course everybody wants the top recruits but sometimes that stuff is misleading! I mean the ranking system is a good guide but I would not go by that and that alone. Put those girls on a collegiate level and most don't live up to expectations and you have a select few that do. When they enter the collegiate level they all need to be surrounded by veterans in order to develop into their game and their roles on the team. Some are fortunate to have that and some are not. This group of lady vols had to do it the hard way and I think they learned from last season. This group of lady vols is battled tested and ready for action this year. They are all getting healthy and with a healthy team they will be a good team this year. Will it be easy for them, no, but no team this year will have it easy because to me the playing fields have kind of been leveled. The lady vols will rise to the occasion!
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Where are you 98? I'm sure you have some words of wisdom on the subject! You always have some great insight and posts and I for one miss you!
Southland writes:
she better find something other than the big slow plow horses she had last year. Slowest team she ever had. I wasted money to watch a much smaller faster team in Ball state put them out of the first round last year and if they do not increase their speed by a great amount they will not do much better this year. Lets face it, the other teams have caught up with us on talent and are surpassing us. Maybe coach Summit needs a new talent/recruiting coordinator. She can stay there till she is 100 and that will be okay with me but someone needs to take a good long look at the players they are getting now or are not getting
CTOWNICON writes:
There is nothing wrong with the players. The slowness can be countered with a different defense and offense. You just have to play to the strengths of the players to get the best out of them. I don't know how fast or slow they are this year but last year I don't think man to man was the defense for the team against a quick team they got beat to much off the dribble so I would have changed that. There are ways to counter a quick team with a team that is slower than them so that really should not be a problem this year for them like it was last year. I think they all learned from that mistake. They will be much better this year. The kinks have been worked out!
xvolx writes:
I think you have hit the nail on the head. This team could not have improved into world beaters in just 6 months since the drubbing by Ball State. I'll pull for them, but they couldn't be much better than last year.
kazoo writes:
I have been critical of Summitt because her recruiting and talent evaluation have been spotty--especially compared to ct.--and because her coaching style is too old-school with the constant harping on defense and rebounding. Those are important qualities in a team-but PS has got the best program in the country, and she ought to be putting the women's equivalent of the men's UNC team on the floor every year--a team like her '98 squad. But she doesn't--not even close. Her teams typically do not shoot well and lack offensive cohesion--and almost none of her players gets better offensively over their UT careers because she's constantly beating on the kids about defense.
PS does put together top-ranked recruiting classes--but a lot of times recruiting rankings don't mean a lot; a lot of players with really high rankings simply aren't as good as advertised.
For example, PS has signed a succession (three in a row) of highly ranked shooting guards--and NOT ONE of them has the athleticism/quickness needed to create and score off the dribble--which is a skill that all top-ranked shooting guards should have! I'm not digging at the kids--they are all very good students and teammates, work hard, etc; one had a good career, one is in the process of having a good career, the other may not play much--but they all lacked an essential quality for the position they play and that any top 10-ranked shooting guard should have. That's something PS and her staff should recognize. Her PG recruiting has also been very hit and miss....
Offensively, if UT does not have a go-to player like Parker or Catchings, PS teams almost always struggle to score, and that shouldn't be the case when you've got a bench full of AA's. Pat's a legend and all that, but she is beginning to remind me of Bobby Knight.
I'm sure PS is not thinking of her successor, but I would like to see her go out and hire the smartest, most dynamic young coach she can find, put her on the UT bench, announce she is retiring in three years and start the succession process. If PS is not careful, geno a. will soon surpass her in national titles. I would be pissed if that happened, and that's REALLY why I'm a critic: I want PS to keep the program in high-grade shape until she retires. She does too, obviously--you can bet the ct. rivalry drives her--and it all starts with the players.
vols_rule1#632965 writes:
And we slaughtered them in recruiting in both 2007 and 2008. What's your point?
Recruiting runs in cycles. You can't have a #1 class every year because there aren't enough scholarships availiable. Tennessee had the #1 classes in 2004, 2007, and 2008. We had sub-par classes in 2005 and 2006 (sans McMahan, who would've been great had her knee held up). 2009 wasn't bad as we got a McDonald's AA and two other players who will fit in well with our program. 2010 will be small but with two very good guards in Avant and Simmons.
To put it simply, it appears as if the majority of people who post on here don't know what they're talking about when it comes to the LVs' recruiting, which is ironic considering all I see is people saying we can't recruit. Last year's freshman class was the best in the country, as was last year's sophomore class. Not only are we fine in the recruiting aspect, we're more than fine.
The team will be fine this year. I've read Pat's comments about the team's attitude this year and how much they invested in the offseason. Will they get to the Final Four? I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. Regardless, if we get to the Final Four or probably even the Elite Eight we will be among a select three to four teams who will be favorited to win the NC in 2011.
And no, it's not a "fact" WRT our players starting for UConn, and the FACT that you're calling it a "fact" is laughable because you apparently don't know the meaning of the word.
go_vols writes:
I agree with you that highly rated recruiting classes are not the determining factors of how successful the recruits will be. If that's the case, then we have a major issue. Someone is not doing their job in evaluating the talent and how they fit into the system. We are competing with at least 10 teams year in year out for the top recruits. However, maybe we should consider the best recruits that fits our system. Just a suggestion.
YankeeVol writes:
All of this commentary on recruiting makes me think of another factor: the increasing and relentless use of negative recruiting by opposing coaches. This is (of course) speculation, but it could be a factor in what happens in the recruiting process. Negative recruiting is the use of homophobia to "scare away" recruits and their families. If it could be determined that an opposing coach used this strategy to lure away potential players, I would surely stop playing them. It is very public knowledge that there are out lesbians associated with the Lady Vols team, and that Pat does not discriminate. Could it be that this is part of the reason for "losing the recruiting battle"? If so, it's a statement about social prejudice, not the recruiting skill of Pat, Holly, Dean, and Daedra. The shameless use of negative recruiting would make a silly tour of ESPN look like nothing, and would surely make me cancel a series. I have a feeling that might be behind Pat's cryptic statement, "Geno knows" when asked why she refuses to play them.
My social justice thought of the day....
utfan00 writes:
So what's the big deal about Geno's recruiting class for next year. If you go back and look at their residential sites, have you thought about maybe those girls wanted to stay close to home.CPS is satisfied with the two she recruited.Bria Hartley is just like the other girls wanted to be close to home.
98reax writes:
[LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Where are you 98? I'm sure you have some words of wisdom on the subject! You always have some great insight and posts and I for one miss you!]
I'm here, purplexed at all this negativity. I'm wandering where all the Lady Vol fans are.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I think lots of LV fans were just so traumatized by the team's relative lack of success last year that they are afraid to expect too much out of this year's team. Even those of us who think they will better after all their force-fed experience are still waiting to see how far back they come this year. And of course the team's difficulties allow the faint-hearts, pessimists, and interlopers room to criticize Pat, the LVs, and everything they have ever stood for. I think that if the team shows they really have progressed on the court, the general level of positivity on the board will rise.
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
I agree totally. I sincerely hope the players don't read this garbage and take it to heart. If the Lady Vols were the perfect basketball player's and coaches that some of these so called "fans" like to think they are, we would have the National Championship in the bag every year. Remember Lady Vols, most of the idiots posting all this negative junk on here have never even set foot on a basketball court, much less played under the pressure that the top NCAA women's program can put on you. Give it your all, SOME of us still support you!
readyaimfire writes:
Some of the posters here should follow the team more closely before making comments. Also, do a little research before you post. Some people just want some attention.
Coach Summitt is a great recruiter. However, she only has so many scolarships to go around. We can't offer what we don't have. Just because a player is ranked number one does not mean they are a Parker or Maya. Some years are weaker than others in those rankings. Coach Summitt and staff go after the players they want.
This year we offered the player we wanted (Meghan Simmons).
The premier program in women's basketball is not on a decline. Last year the girls had no college experience. Not to mention we were completely banged up with injuries. These girls have shown flashes of amazing talent. Sooner or later they will put it all together. Even our championship teams had games where they looked incredibly awful.
This team has some amazing athletes. If you think we don't have amazing talent now you were not paying attention to much of last season. There was a lot of good along with the bad.
I have never felt the need to post on this site until today. Some of you should switch to decaf and find a better hobby than analyzing the best coach in the game, girls that could rip you apart on the court, and probably have a higher I.Q. also.
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
NICE!!! Hope to see you back here throughout the season!!
98reax writes:
Smallbone, IMHO, is a Brynae Laxton-type baller: Outstanding prep star, willing to play her guts out, has moments of greatness, way more desire than talent and limited athleticism. You gotta love this type player, but they simply do not develop into top-tier D1 hoop stars.
Pat's had many over the years. Misty Greene comes to mind. You could count on Misty for some timely 3s. LaShonda Stephens, what a beast in the paint, for a minute or two of PT, but it took her a while to get back down the court. Vonda Ward, should have been an awesome center. She was a lunch pail player, but extremely inconsistent.
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