She is big, strong, athletic, and 6-foot-8. And yes, Baylor freshman Brittney Griner can dunk.
Griner's only dunk came during warm-ups before No. 8-ranked Tennessee dunked No. 7 Baylor 74-65 Sunday in front of 12,824 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.
It wasn't the first time UT coach Pat Summitt had seen Griner, and it surely won't be the last.
"I tried to recruit her," Summitt said. "She didn't like orange, but that's OK. She's a difference-maker in this game and she's only going to get better. She's a freshman, and that's the difference maybe right now between Kelley (Cain, UT sophomore post, and Griner).
"Kelley, I think her ability to catch at the rim, she's running to the rim all the time, and got great touch, but Griner's right there, and she's got other things that Kelley doesn't have, obviously with her size and shot-blocking ability. It's amazing. She's going to have a powerful impact not only at Baylor but on the game."
There was plenty of hype about Griner's dunking ability before the game, and as a result Summitt had a message for the Lady Vols.
"I didn't want that to be a distraction for our team," Summitt said. "It's only two points. I told Angie (Bjorklund), if Griner dunks, then she has to hit a three and we're one up."
Griner's impact Sunday was big - both when she was on the court and when she went to the bench in the second half in foul trouble.
Cain picked up two fouls in the game's first three-plus minutes and went to the bench. Alyssia Brewer, a 6-3 sophomore forward, entered for Cain and got two quick fouls trying to block shots by Griner. Brewer went to the bench, and 6-3 freshman Faith Dupree entered to guard Griner.
UT trailed 26-24 at halftime, and that's when there was a Griner-sized momentum swing.
Griner got her second foul less than a minute into the second half.
After a missed shot by Griner, the Lady Vols got three offensive rebounds on their next possession. Cain got the third rebound, scored on the follow shot, was fouled by Griner, and made the foul shot.
"That gave us a spark right there," Cain said. "It was just getting the rebound and putting it back in and getting fouled. It helped us get started again."
On its next possession, Baylor missed a shot, and UT's Glory Johnson grabbed the rebound away from Griner. As Johnson turned to go down court, Griner reached over Johnson, tried to grab the ball, and was called for her fourth foul.
"She got a little frustrated, and I guess she thought since I was smaller I couldn't out-rebound her," Johnson said. "The rebound went her opposite way and I got it. I was taking advantage of a couple of her weaknesses. I'm a little quicker than she is."
Griner went to the bench and didn't return until the 11:42 mark when UT had a 46-38 lead.
"I wouldn't say it was frustration," Griner said. "They were petty fouls. That's part of learning. I will have to learn how to play with four fouls and watch the petty fouls that aren't necessary."
Griner scored 10 of her 15 points after coming off the bench in the second half. She was 3-of-8 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the line and grabbed four rebounds.
"She's going to be good, no doubt," Cain said. "All she needs is some experience."
Lobo In House: ESPN sideline reporter Rebecca Lobo, who led Connecticut to victory over UT in the 1995 NCAA Championship game, was covering the game and was introduced at halftime along with the five other inductees in the 2010 Class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. There was a smattering of boos when Lobo was first introduced before the crowd gave her a warm ovation.
Dave Link is a freelance contributor.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee Lady Vols 60, South…
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 8
hcjournals#206623 writes:
I'll take Kelley........She is going to help take us all the way. We are a lot further along than I thought we would be at this point......We may not lose much in the regular season.....I'm not kidding. As long as we mentally prepare for each and every game we have the players.....
CTOWNICON writes:
Kelly admits that Griner will be good. But Kelly will also get better as time goes on. Kelly has not had much playing time due to injuries so she is not as far along as she should be and she will be better. Griner has so much potential and to be honest the supporting cast she has is not all that great. UT was the better team and they will go far this year. Like hcjournals said they have the players, they just have to mentally prepare for each game. If the lady vols stay healthy and Vicki comes back, I will not count this team out. I know it is early in the season but I see a different team. The attitude is different and the desire to win is there. They got some big tests coming up and I think they will rise to the occasion as they did tonight. This team is only going to get better as the season goes on and that is a dangerous thing for other programs.
armyvol22 writes:
Yes your vision of free throws and fouls will never advance past summer AAU games or HS scrimmages, and it shouldn't even get that far. That is part of the game and shooting free throws is a big part of the game. I understand how you feel though, because basketball is the only sport that looses a player for the rest of the game. Hockey on a foul you lose a player for the time of the foul or until the other team scores, but that would not work in basketball.
j44jn#592027 writes:
As a basketball fan, I was very disappointed when what could have been a really interesting second half was negated by over-zealous referring(and UT fans and coaches praying/braying for more fouls to be called).
I really wish that basketball had a more "spirit of the game" approach to refereeing like soccer. The center ref in a soccer match's first objective is to the game. He/she talks to players, warns players, discusses points of emphasis with coaches and more, all in an effort to keep the game "beautiful". Yesterday was frustrating for basketball fans. I watched the beginning of the second half again on television after getting home from the game and Griner's first foul in the second half was not a foul(it was a chance for the ref to step in and tell both players quit it-both players were squabbling over position-like they do in basketball.) Her second foul was a result of Baylor's inability to rebound and UT's inability to make a layup. A frustrating time that usually ends in a foul and it just happens to have been Griner. Oh well. The fourth foul I give to Coach Mulkey. She absolutely should have pulled her even if for one minute. The fourth foul occured when Glory Johnson fouled her(and it wasn't called) and she retaliated from frustration. Oh well that's basketball.
yank9 writes:
Those of you who wish to eliminate the free throw would eliminate one of the key elements of the game. A not-so-athletic team can compete by being proficient at free throws and putting together a game plan to get the opponent in foul trouble as a team and as individuals. Eliminating the free throws would eliminate a key element in the game.
CTOWNICON writes:
You are right, some fouls get called and some don't, that's basketball. Although Glory did not foul Griner she took the ball, where was the foul in that. She should have kept the ball high. It happens to a lot of post players when the bring the ball down, they get it taken! Keep it real!
pammyvol1000 writes:
I thought Kelley looked great! With all she's been thru with all the knee surgeries..she has come a long way. It's hard to come back and rehab after surgery..It's painful but she looked thinner faster and she will improve along the way. I wonder if Vickie will be back this year?
CTOWNICON writes:
Pammy I am wondering about Vicki as well! I hope she is healthy enough to return, she is such a good player and she brings so much to the team.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.