With UCONN’s drubbing of Louisville on Tuesday night in the Women’s National Championship college basketball is officially over, and Holly Warlick is already itching for the next season to begin.
“I can’t wait,” Warlick said. “I wish we were starting tomorrow with practice and starting a new season.”
The Lady Vols’ season came to an end at the hand of the Louisville Cardinals at the Elite Eight, but the season wasn’t a disappointment to the first-year head coach.
“We did a lot of things well this year, but obviously we have to get better,” Warlick said.
She expects more from her team.
“We need to get better defensively and be more consistent scoring the ball on offense,” she said. “We are going to use the time to work on some things defensively and ball handling. Fundamental skills that we need to tighten up and work on before we get into team stuff.”
Warlick and the Lady Vols immediately turn their focus to the 2013-14 season and their goal of returning to the Final Four — something that is unfamiliar territory for the players on the current roster.
Motivation beyond the obvious goal to win a national championship is that next year’s Final Four will be held in Nashville, giving Tennessee somewhat of a home court advantage if it is to make it back to the promised land.
“I think not being in the Final Four is incentive enough,” Warlick said. “But it would be tremendous to get to play in a Final Four in our state. It would be great for the program.”
To help in that endeavor will be the crop of highly touted incoming freshman. Mercedes Russell, the consensus No. 1 recruit in this year’s recruiting class; Jordan Reynolds, the No. 10 ranked guard in the class; and Jannah Tucker, the No. 8 overall player in the 2013 class will all contribute next year, according to Warlick.
“I think all three of them are going to be huge for us,” she said. “Mercedes Russell is going to be huge for us and is just a tremendous inside along with what we have. I think Jordan Reynolds is going to give us some needed help at the point position and I look forward to her there.”
Warlick is especially excited about Jannah Tucker, who she feels has been overlooked due to her recent knee problems. Tucker missed her senior season because of a knee injury and did not receive as much publicity as other players.
“Nobody knows about Jannah right now,” Warlick said. “She got her start during USA Basketball, she’s been on the radar forever, she’s been one of the top eight players in the country as a junior. She didn’t make any of the All-Star teams because she sat out the year to rehab her knee. But I think all three of them will have a major impact for us and give us depth.”
The Lady Vols will get in one week of practice next week and are allowed to put players through two-hour workouts during the summer months, where all returning Lady Vols have elected to stay in Knoxville.
“We’ll start next week with workouts, then they will go home and we have a new rule where we can work them out in the summer,” Warlick said. “That’s why they are all staying. We can work out with them two hours a week and they are going to see us quite a bit this summer.”
