It would be seemingly impossible to improve on a 39-0 record, but the
three-time-defending national champion Tennessee Lady Vols are going to
give it their best shot.
The 1998-99 version of the Lady Vols basketball team was unveiled at
Monday’s Media Day at Thompson-Boling Arena. Head coach Pat Summitt,
beginning her 25th season at the helm, welcomes back the core of a team
that was unbeatable last season.
Leading the way is the reigning SEC and national Player of the Year, senior
forward Chamique Holdsclaw. She will try to lead the Lady Vols to an
unprecedented fourth consecutive national title.
“I’m excited about this upcoming season,” Holdsclaw said. “We’re gonna do
the best we can to take our game to the next level.”
Summitt is excited about this season’s team because of the addition of
Michelle Snow and Shalon Pillow, two highly-recruited post players who
should help solidify the lane for Tennessee.
If the Lady Vols had a weakness last season, it was a lack of muscle
inside. They were pushed around in a couple of games late in the season and
Summitt said that her players have worked hard to improve their
strength.
“The players are really committed,” Summitt said. “They’ve become much
stronger and are ready for more physical play after spending the summer in
the weight room.
“Last year there was a concern about our post game. We were able to address
that with two of the top post players from last year’s senior (prep)
class.”
The Lady Vols lost three players from last season’s team. Point guard
Laurie Milligan graduated and would-be seniors Brynae Laxton and Misty
Greene left the team to pursue other interests.
In addition to Snow and Pillow, the Lady Vols also welcome two walk-ons
onto the roster.
Freshmen Sarah Edwards and Amanda Canon are two of only 11 walk-ons to join
Tennessee since 1980.
“Sarah Edwards and Amanda Canon came in and convinced me to let them join
the team and they are very serious about their roles as walk-ons,” Summitt
said.
Also returning for the Lady Vols is senior point guard Kellie Jolly,
juniors Kyra Elzy, Niya Butts and LaShonda Stephens and sophomores Tamika
Catchings, Semeka Randall, Kristen “Ace” Clement and Teresa Geter.
Elzy, who missed the last half of the ’97-98 season with a torn anterior
cruciate ligament, and Butts, who is recovered from shinsplints, will help
bolster the Lady Vol defense and, in particular, their full-court
press.
Randall and Catchings, along with Holdsclaw, make up the three “Meeks.”
Catchings joined Holdsclaw as a Kodak All-American last season after
averaging 18.2 points and eight rebounds per game during her rookie
season.
Jolly and Clement will handle the Lady Vols’ point guard duties, and Geter
and Stephens are the incumbents in the middle.
The Lady Vols once again have one of the nation’s deepest rosters, and
they’ll need it. Tennessee, as usual, faces a killer schedule that includes
trips to perennial powers Connecticut, Louisiana Tech, Purdue and Old
Dominion. They will also play host to consensus top-10 programs UCLA and
Stanford.
“I think the road schedule is comparable to that of two years ago,” Summitt
said. “It’s tougher to win on the road now because we have situations where
we have back-to-back road games … I anticipate we will play in front of
some hostile crowds.”
The Lady Vols, who have won 45 games in a row dating back to the ’96-97
season, hope that they won’t have to deal with a loss. But, with such a
difficult schedule, that is a definite possibility.
However, Summitt doesn’t think that a loss will hurt her team if one
comes.
“I think that they’re great competitors, and if they do lose a game, it
won’t break their spirits,” she said. “It will just fuel the fire.”
The Lady Vols kick off the regular season on Nov. 13 when Portland comes to
town.
