KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Head Coach Holly Warlick met with members of the media on Saturday ahead of the No. 11/13 Lady Vols’ home matchup with No. 2/4 Texas at 3 p.m. on Sunday (ESPN2). She discussed what to expect in the marquee matchup and how the former players from three Tennessee national championship teams (1987, 1997, 2007) returning for tomorrow’s game are a great testament to the heritage of the program and what it means to be a Lady Vol.
Both Tennessee (9-0) and Texas (7-0) are looking to remain unbeaten. The two teams have played at least once every season since 1982. Tennessee leads the series 23-15 and has an 11-6 edge in Knoxville.
Head Coach Holly Warlick
On how this Texas team compares to Texas teams Tennessee has played in the past:
“(They’re) a year older, more mature. They play very well together. They’re just a hard-nosed Texas team. I watched quite a bit of them, and they’re very good.”
On how Texas’s backcourt has improved:
“They’ve improved just because they’re older, and they just work extremely hard. When you’ve been together – their backcourt – you play very well together. And they know each other, so they’ve just got great experience, and there’s nothing like time and playing together and getting that great experience that helps you and gives you a lot of confidence.”
On why last year’s Lady Vols team tended to play their best against tough competition:
“They thought that we were gonna get beat. I think last year, the teams we should’ve won (against), we didn’t appear to get up for those games. We got up for the games we weren’t supposed to win. That’s what brought the inconsistency. This year’s team has been very consistent. We’ve played well against teams we’re supposed to beat, we’ve played well against teams that are very competitive. So I’ve seen a very even keel of play from us, just because we approach every game the same, and that’s been really a positive for us.”
On whether the team will be addressed by former Lady Vols who are returning for national championship recognitions on Sunday:
“Absolutely. They’ll have the opportunity to meet our players and get to know them. The players coming back just want to to meet our players, and they’re not going to be coaching them, they’re just going to show them their support, and I think it’s awesome. It’s awesome to understand the Lady Vol brand, and the sisterhood that we have being a Lady Vol, it’s truly special. When you bring your alumni back, you can feel it, you can see it, and I know our kids are looking forward to it.”
On what matchups will be most important during the Texas game:
“They’re great defenders, they’ll turn you over, which leads to what I think is one of the best parts of their game, their transition offense. And they’re tremendous rebounders. So, we’ve got to take care of the ball. We’ve got to keep them off the boards, and we’ve got to make them try to play in the half-court game.”
On whether she feels the 1987 national championship was the most special in program history:
“Well, probably so. It took a while for us to win a championship. We had been to the final four and in championship games for a long time and didn’t win them. So, to get that opportunity, it was special. It’s your first one. And so, then you get hungry and want more, but that set the tone for the rest.”
On what the scheduling process was like when making Sunday’s game the last home game for three weeks:
“Exams. Every other year we go to the West Coast. We’ve got two games out there, then we’ll take a break. The SEC schedule kind of starts a little early, so we couldn’t get a game in between. We’ve had some games here, but exams kind of dictate what we need to do.”
On how the team will stay fresh during upcoming period with no games:
“We’ll practice. We’ll just do what we’ve been doing. We’ll practice, we’ll scrimmage, prepare for Long Beach (State), prepare for Stanford, take a break, and then we will get after it starting our SEC and preparing for Kentucky. So, we’ll just do what we’ve been doing. Like in the preseason, you break down, you do fundamentals, you do a lot of shooting, you do a lot of different defensive breakdowns, and you just get better.”
On how to make sure the team does not lapse after Texas game:
“That’s not the feel of this basketball team. We’ve been really good at taking it one game at a time. We’re excited about this game, obviously. It’s a measuring stick for us, but the outcome is not going to determine how our year’s going to go. Regardless of win or lose, we’re going to go back to work, and that’s just how this team has operated. Whether we’ve won big, we’ve not won big, we go back to work, and that’s what I love about this team. They get the win and then we go back and focus and get ready for the next game and that’s what makes me excited about this basketball team.”
On whether the freshman class may be too hyped up for Texas game:
“I haven’t seen it. It’s their personality – they don’t get too high and they don’t get too low. They attack the game of what we’re doing, and that’s just their demeanor. And that’s a good thing. They stay in the moment, and that’s a great thing for a basketball team.”
On if she feels it is unusual for freshmen to have reached that level of maturity:
“I think that our seniors have been great leaders and have prepared them. I’m sure they’ll be a little more hyped tomorrow than they have been for our other games, but they’re going to settle in and just play the game. They’ve been in big situations, not in this, but comparable to them when they played in high school. They played in big games, so we’ll see how they handle it. I can’t imagine them handling it any different.”
On what she expects the tempo to be like in the Texas game:
“I think it’s going to be an up-and-down game. That’s what we want, that’s what they want, but then they want to slow us down and we want to slow them down. I would expect it’s going to be an up-tempo, athletic, physical basketball game.”
On how fun the game style will be for fans:
“I think it’s a great opportunity for fans to come out and see an excellent basketball team in Texas. They’re ranked two in the country because they’re good. It’s a great measuring stick for us to see how good we are. It’s a great opportunity to see women’s basketball at its best, and we get the opportunity to play here in Knoxville.”
On athletic director Phillip Fulmer’s message to the team:
“It was good to see him. I think it was great for our kids to put their eyes on our new athletic director. (He was) positive, just wanted to show his support, and I appreciate that. (He wanted) to make sure that they’re not getting lost in all the football search, tell them he’s proud of the team and they’re extremely important to this university. I was excited he came by.”
On whether players had questions for Phillip Fulmer:
“They didn’t. It was just him talking. They all afterwards got up and introduced themselves to him individually. They appreciate him being here, so it was a good day.”
On if her history with Fulmer provides a level of comfort:
“Sure. He’s been here for a while; I’ve been here for a while. There’s something to be said about a person that’s lived and breathed this program. I’ve been here as a player, he’s been here as a player. I’ve been here as an assistant, he’s been here as an assistant. I’ve been a head coach, he’s been a head coach. So, there’s a lot of love and understanding of tradition from both of us, because we’ve lived it. We know how important it is to us, and we want everybody else to know how special this place is. I think he’s the person to get that out there and (for everyone to) understand that this university is awesome. We have a great chancellor; we have a great administration. We’re building championships, and that’s what we all aspire to do in every sport. I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
-UT Athletics
