Everything Kellie Harper Said Before Heading Out West For Pair of Big 12 Opponents
On Tuesday morning, Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper met with the local media to discuss Tamari Key and Jordan Horston's impact thus far in the season, plans for Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, what she is thankful for this holiday season and more.
Harper's full transcript from Tuesday's media availability is below.
Opening statement…
"We're excited about heading to Las Vegas and looking forward to the challenge that will be Kansas and Oklahoma State. Obviously, we hope that we're taking some good positive momentum out there, some confidence with how our first four games have gone. We know we've got to be really good. We've got to be a better basketball team every time out. Teams are improving, teams are going to try to take advantage of your weaknesses and try to minimize your strengths. I think we have to do that as a basketball team as well."
On whether Rae Burrell will be ready to go this weekend…
"We have no new updates with our players. Still in the same place. She's doing rehab. We just have to take it day by day."
On the coachability and importance of Jordan Horston with the absence of Rae Burrell…
"Jordan is very coachable, and she is very talented. Each year she has improved. She was a better sophomore than she was a freshman. She's a better junior than she was a sophomore. A lot of that is her willingness to be coached, her willingness to improve. It's really just stepping out there and utilizing all the talent that she does have. She has the ability to score, she has the ability to be dominant on the boards. She has the ability to defend. Right now, we're asking a lot of her, but she is very capable. I'm proud of her. I think she's feeling good about what she can do. She knows she can she can find teammates, but also now hopefully, she's confident about her consistent ability to score."
On whether she knew Tamari Key had a triple-double when it happened…
"I'll be honest with you, I did not know until after the game that she had a triple-double. There were a few other things on my mind during that game. I'm just so proud of her. Honestly, what a cool accomplishment to have here at Tennessee."
On Tamika Catchings saying Kellie had a lot of 'Pat-isms" in her…
"Well, knowing who Pat Summitt is and what she stood for, it's a compliment. I think oftentimes people miss her so much and people want her so much, that they're looking for things. They're looking for the resemblance. I think that Pat and I had similar backgrounds. We sound alike, because we're from Tennessee. Me playing for her for four years, you can't help but absorb maybe some mannerisms and maybe some 'Pat-isms.' But you know, I think any compliment that you get from Tamika Catchings is going to be powerful. She's one of the best ever. Period. I was really excited that we had her here this weekend and really excited that were able to pull out a win with her in the building. Proud of what she's done in her communities and for women's basketball as well.
On the team's confidence level right now…
"I think right now we feel really good about what we can do. I think we have a lot of confidence in each other that we can make big plays. There's not been a lot of panic, but a lot of motivation. I think our players have played hard consistently. They're willing to fight for a win. They're willing to be gritty and tough. Those characteristics are really good for a basketball team. It's the characteristics that I want in our team. I want that to be us every time we step out on the court. Obviously, you would rather not put yourself in those positions; you'd rather coast down the stretch. That makes my job a lot easier. I do think winning those close games gives you a lot of confidence."
On whether the defense is what helped turn things around against Texas…
"Our change of defense, we changed into a zone. I think that really helped us. It took them out of rhythm. They miss some shots, and we cleaned up the boards in the fourth quarter. There's no doubt about that. I thought we got to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and made free throws. We found some easy buckets that we just hadn't found all game. We crashed the boards on the offensive end as well. I think it was a combination of a lot of things. But if you don't get those stops defensively, then you're just not chipping away into that margin. I thought the change in defense and how our players responded to that was really good for us."
On whether she wants to get Tamari Key more touches…
"Absolutely. I continue to want to get Tamari the basketball. It was definitely a little bit harder in the Texas game. We knew that was going to be the case. She's looking for the ball. She wanted the ball. Coming out of the Texas game in film, we watched clips on how we could get her the ball more. I think that's going to be an every game thing. I think we're going to try to find more opportunities for her."
On what she liked from the Texas game and what she wants to focus on…
"I thought we had players step up and make big plays. Maybe it was an offense board and a put-back. Maybe it's a drive and a score. Maybe it was a big defensive board. I thought our players stepped up and made big plays. I thought we played through some mistakes. I thought that was really good for us to be able to bounce back and not dwell on a mistake both offensively and defensively. Coming out of there, we did talk a little bit about spacing. We talked a little bit about post entries. And then defensively, we just had some mental lapses. It wasn't so much the execution, just a mental lapse. We're relaxed for just a moment and gave up a few too many buckets."
On whether the 2-3 zone was from her time on former Auburn head coach Joe Ciampi's staff…
"No, I have that match-up zone in my back pocket, and we've not used that since I've been at Tennessee. Joe Ciampi had this 'miserable to play against' match-up zone. I hated it when I was a player. A lot of opponents hated to play against it. Very similar to Central Florida, to be quite honest with you. Very similar to that. Our zone had different tendencies, and I thought our players did a nice job evolving that defense, really shifting that defense to really guard Texas' personnel."
On what she is thankful for…
"For me...I mean, everything. I love life. I absolutely love what I do every day, and I get up and one of the things about me is that I try not to take things for granted. I try to live in the moment. Most people will tell you I don't have a clue what's going to happen three days from now. I'm usually a day-to-day person anyway. I'm thankful for my family, for our children, for our health. Thankful that I'm in this position, to be quite honest with you. Like I said, I love what I do, I'm passionate about it. I love that I get to coach basketball and something that I've played my whole life. I've been able to make a career out of something that I love so much. I'm very grateful for that. I'm grateful for this community. I love living here. I hope that I portray a grateful person, because that's who I want to be."
On what all Joy McCorvey has been able to do with the post players…
"I think where Joy has really helped Tamari is with her confidence on the offensive end. Some of the things that she's worked with her are positioning and her ability to finish. I think the timing was really good. Tamari has been building and building and then Joy comes in with a different perspective and different style, and I think it's been great for Tamari. I also think Joy's ability to challenge Tamari to be better has really risen her game as well."
On whether losing Rae before a tough stretch was good for the team to learn and grow…
"I think we've had players that just wanted to step up. You talk about in sports, when there's an injury or someone's not playing, it's the next-man-up mentality. They can do one or two things, right? They can sit back and be passive and say, 'woe is me,' because Rae is sitting over there. They can step out and say, 'I can do this too.' I think that's really been the mentality that our team has taken. It's been great to see some of those players step up and make plays. That's the attitude and the mentality that you want."
On what she has seen from Kansas and Oklahoma State…
"Kansas is coming in with great momentum. They have great experience, all their players are returning. They have balanced scoring. They've got three players in double figures. Their pace is pretty quick. They're feeling really good about how they play, so they're going to be a big challenge. And then same thing with Oklahoma State. They're a very low mistake team. They take advantage of mismatches. They find the opportunity that they feel like they have an advantage to try and attack on both ends of the court. They're scouting report heavy, they're well coached. They want to try to take away your strength as the basketball team."
On the schedule for the week in Las Vegas…
"We're going to get out there tonight. We'll be there Wednesday to get practice in. We will be able to go to a show on Wednesday, and then Thanksgiving Day, we will spend together. We will practice, obviously, on Thanksgiving Day as well and have a nice meal together. Then you're playing on Friday and Saturday. It may seem long, but that time gets eaten up pretty quick, when you talk about your film sessions, your rehab sessions, your study hall and your meals and your games and practices. We will hopefully have an opportunity to get out at least on Wednesday."
To watch Harper's Tuesday availability, see the video at the top of the article.
Tennessee and Kansas tip-off this Friday, November 26, at 6:30 p.m. ET. in South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo Credit: Knoxville News Sentinel
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