Kellie Harper previews Lady Vols’ basketball ahead of season opener

Tennessee opens the 2020-21 season Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

On if she anticipates this being a better ball handling team:
“I think we have added a few ball handlers in several positions. To me, our ball handling could improve, not just at the point guard position, but across the board. I’m hopeful that that’s the case. In terms of turnovers that we had last year, a lot of those were a result of passes, not necessarily handling the ball but decision making. We have worked very hard on that this summer and fall and feel like we’ve made a lot of progress there.”

On how she would assess the freshmen after seeing them in the summer:
“I think they have stepped up and had a really good preseason, considering everything that’s going on. Marta Suárez is going to get a lot of big-time minutes. She’s really talented, and like I said earlier, she can play multiple positions, and she just wants to win. Destiny Salary has also come in with great energy. She can handle the ball, she plays fast, and I think that’s good for us, I think, having someone like that to be out there and bring that energy, bring that competitiveness. Tess Darby has come in steady. She knocks down open shots and makes plays. I think we’ve seen that she’s a winner. She understands what a winning team looks like. I think those three freshmen are going to get solid minutes.”

On how she goes about setting season goals with the given circumstances:
“One of the things that we’ve talked about is if we’re out there, if we are going to play, somebody’s got to win, so it might as well be us. That’s the way I’m approaching it. When we talk to our team, we’re going to say that we step out to win, because somebody’s going to. Why not us? Everybody’s going to have hurdles. Everybody’s going to have challenges that you can’t foresee right now, but when you step out on the court, you’ve got one thing in mind. We’ve got to find a way to win.”