Measuring Lady Vols progress

Women's basketball practice ended early Tuesday for Tennessee, which affirmed two things about the Lady Vols' work level.

First, they had reached the end of five consecutive days on the court, the longest stretch since the official start of practice Oct. 16. Second, they didn't drag through the day.

"The intensity was great,'' UT coach Pat Summitt said.

With the first exhibition game (Nov. 5 vs Carson-Newman College) eight days away, the progress report is generally encouraging, especially regarding Vicki Baugh.

The 6-foot-4 junior forward, who's recovering from her second torn anterior cruciate knee ligament, has been an active participant, regardless of the practice drill. She's been running, jumping and absorbing some contact.

Since she's not up to speed yet, Baugh has been playing with prudence. During Sunday's practice, she wisely turned down a lob pass in transition from freshman Kamiko Williams, swatting the ball to the ground instead

"I was thinking 'No don't throw that pass up there,' " Summitt said.

While Summitt is "surprised and pleased" with Baugh's progress, the coach still favors a wait-and-see view of Baugh's recovery.

"As I told her, I don't want to force anything, push anything time-wise,'' Summitt said. ". . . The overall comfort level has to be hers, not ours."

Conversely, Summitt is trying to accelerate Williams' maturation, no matter how challenging that might be. On Tuesday, Summitt yanked the 5-11 guard from a shooting drill because of her casual manner and had her running instead.

"She's a typical freshman and she's giving in to fatigue,'' Summitt said.

"She's got a chance to be a special guard. She's a great handler. Of all our guards, she does as good a job as any of them in creating and getting to the paint."

Summitt said the only two players she is having any effort issues with are Williams and sophomore forward Alyssia Brewer.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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