BASKETBALL PREVIEW
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, November 3, 2021
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Lady Vols looking to return to the top of SEC this season RILEY THOMAS Contributor
The Lady Vols have not been a major player in the SEC since 2015 — the last time they were SEC regular season champions after posting a 15-1 record in league play. This season brings new hope for the Lady Vols, as they look to reach the top of the SEC once again and potentially bring home another title. For the upcoming 2021-22 season, Tennessee was projected to finish second in the conference, right behind the No. 1 team in the country, South Carolina. Preseason rankings are nice to look at and talk about and the players use it as motivation to continue to compete and get better everyday. “I think it’s just a good testament that shows how hard everybody’s worked,” senior guard Rae Burrell said. “People worked hard for it. We compete in practice. We push each other every single day. I think it’s a good honor, but we’re still focused on the actual season and getting better every day.” One reason the Lady Vols believe they have a shot to compete with South Carolina and other top dogs in the conference is that they are led by experienced, veteran players. Head coach
Kellie Harper and company returns nine letterwinners and six returnees with starting experience, from a team that placed third in the SEC and advanced to the NCAA second round. “I think you rely on your experience in a lot of ways. You can’t skip that step,” Harper said. “One of the things I am excited about in November is getting some of these young players, these freshmen some big minutes. When we get to SEC play, I need them to be a little bit more like sophomores than freshmen. One thing that is going to help them are our upperclassmen who have been there. They are going to be able to share those experiences with them but also walk on the court confident in a lot of situations.” There will be many hurdles for the Lady Vols once they begin SEC competition. The biggest challenge will be trying to knock off juggernaut South Carolina. The Gamecocks finished second in the SEC regular season, after falling to Texas A&M on the final day of the regular season, but won the SEC Tournament Championship for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. South Carolina reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament before falling to the eventual National Champions, Stanford. Head coach Dawn Staley returns for her 13th season as do AP First Team All-American Ali-
yah Boston and All-SEC first teamer Zia Cooke. In Lexington, the Kentucky Wildcats return the reigning two-time SEC Player of the Year and preseason SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard. She led the Wildcats with 20.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Howard’s 90 assists paced Kentucky, and she finished second with 61 steals. Kentucky was projected to finish fourth in the SEC for the upcoming season. Down in Aggieland, the reigning SEC regular season champs started the 2021-22 season ranked 23rd nationally and were projected to finish third in the SEC. Just this past week, Texas A&M announced this upcoming season will be the last for legendary head coach Gary Blair. Blair has been in College Station since 2003, leading the Aggies to 430 wins and a national championship in 2011. He is ranked 12th in Division I and fourth among active head coaches with 838 total wins. It will be a steep climb for the Lady Vols to return to glory in the SEC in 2021-22, but the team is excited to be on the court again and play in front of Volunteer Nation when SEC play begins Dec. 30. “I am looking forward to some normalcy,” Harper said. “I am looking forward to some fans in the stands and the excitement that we can generate and our fans can generate. I think sports was a much-needed thing during 2020.
Hopefully, we can get back to some normalcy in 2021.”
Rae Burrell, No. 12, shooting a three pointer in the first quarter against Ole Miss on February 27, 2020 in Thompson-Boling Arena. File / The Daily Beacon
