Last season, Isabelle Harrison and Bashaara Graves made up one of the best post duos in the country, but this year the two forwards are hoping to take their success to the next level.
Both Graves and Harrison were named to the preseason All-SEC first team by the coaches around the league, and that duo is going to play a big part if the Lady Volunteerss are going to be successful this year.
One aspect that has made the two players so dangerous for opposing teams is their chemistry down low in the post, which is something the two take a lot of pride in as they helped lead the Lady Vols to the SEC Tournament Championship last year.
“Honestly, I think it just comes from encouraging one another,” Harrison said. “She’ll mess up or I’ll mess up, and we’ll just be like ‘you’re fine, just get the next play,’ and I think that works really well for us.”
Harrison averaged just over 13 points and nine rebounds per game last season, and was named an All-SEC performer, as well as the MVP of last year’s SEC tournament.
The Nashville, Tenn., native recorded 18 double-doubles last year, and her great work ethic and toughness make her a great teammate to play with down low, according to Graves.
“It’s great playing with Izzy,” Graves said. “I know that she is going to work in the post, and when we both have the ball we know we want to get it to each other. I think it’s great to have a post duo just like we have.”
While Graves’ numbers took a step back last year, the Clarksville, Tenn., product was still able to average just over nine points and six rebounds per game while battling through the difficulties of playing in the post in the SEC.
Graves is known as a physical player, and playing in a conference as physical as the SEC is something she looks forward to every game.
“I definitely enjoy physicality,” Graves said. “That’s part of my game is the physicality, and I love it. Just being in the SEC you know every game is going to be tough just because of how physical they are.”
That physicality is just part of her game, though, as she helps this Tennessee team in a variety of ways, many of which go unnoticed by most people.
“Bashaara is so versatile,” Harrison said. “Most people don’t see that. She’s a good passer, she’s a good shooter and she’s a good ball handler as well. I would rather have Bashaara take the ball up the court sometimes off the rebound, but I love playing with her. We get each other.”
When the two are on the floor at the same time it helps Tennessee get into the flow of their offense, as the two players are able to feed off of each other in the post.
One aspect that is underrated in both of their games is their ability to pass the ball. Both players consistently draw double teams from opposing teams, and their ability to pass out of the double team is crucial to Tennessee’s success.
“Coach Dean (Lockwood) works with passing a lot during practice,” Harrison said. “We do a lot of cutting and passing, because we know that we’re probably going to be double teamed, and we have to be able pass out of that.”
