Tennessee Lady Vols freshmen mostly living up to the hype of a No. 1 class

Tennessee’s women’s basketball freshmen have closed the books on their fall semester.

A movie, some shopping or extra sleep can temporarily fill the void left by no homework during the team’s West Coast road trip. Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick imagines that the tradeoff will be received like an early Christmas present.

“They’ll love it; I promise you,” she said.

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Warlick feels likewise about the book on these players. While their work on it has just begun, the initial returns are encouraging.

Two freshmen — guard Evina Westbrook and forward Rennia Davis — will start when No. 7 Tennessee (10-0) visits Long Beach State (2-7) at 5 p.m. ET Sunday. A third freshman, guard Anastasia Hayes, is logging 25.1 minutes per game, enough for assistant coach Dean Lockwood to consider her “the sixth starter.”

Davis and Hayes are scoring in double figures at 12.8 and 12.1 points, respectively. Westbrook leads the team in assists with 49.

The freshmen's temperaments and skills combined with an improved team environment all have served to enhance the nurturing process.  Senior Jaime Nared thinks they are exceeding expectations.

“With freshmen, you don’t really know what to expect out of players,” Nared said. “They’ve done a great job of competing and doing everything the coaches ask and we ask of them.”

A McDonald’s beginning

Warlick traces the roots of this process back last March, when Westbrook, Davis, Hayes and fellow freshman Kasi Kushkituah convened for the McDonald’s All-American girls’ game. They constituted a signing class ranked No. 1 nationally by at least two recruiting services (ESPN HoopGurlz and Prospectsnation.com). They made a point of spending time together in Chicago, enough to get comfortable with teasing each other.

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“They knew each other through AAU, but when they got in that environment, they all stuck together,” Warlick said. “That’s great.”

Their arrival at UT during the summer followed an offseason of player attrition that whittled the roster to 10 players. Less roster depth meant more clarity involving roles. The upheaval also helped usher in a different feeling, one that’s been enhanced by the leadership of seniors Nared, Mercedes Russell and Kortney Dunbar. They’ve sought to create a more open, inclusive environment.

“I think being able to call freshmen after school and see if they need a ride somewhere, that’s one of those small things that makes them be able to trust you on the floor and ask for advice,” Dunbar said.

The freshmen, in turn, have not demonstrated any discernible sense of entitlement or self-importance.

“Their spirit has been very teachable,” Lockwood said. “They deserve credit because it’s very easy, especially at age 17 to 18, to get kind of pumped up with all the accolades and the good things that have happened to you. You think you’ve got it a little more figured out than you do.”

After last week’s 131-69 rout of Troy, Warlick singled out the freshmen for fitting in.

“They ask questions, and it’s questions because they want to get better,” she said. “They listen. They listen to their teammates. They don’t listen all the time, but they’re willing to listen to their teammates and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make this team special and important. That’s hard to come by.”

A balancing act

Westbrook played an important role in Tennessee’s 82-75 victory over then-No. 2 Texas last Sunday. She set a personal high with 15 points. When the Longhorns pulled even at 29-29 early in the third quarter, she swished a 3-pointer, restoring the Lady Vols’ lead for good.

Westbrook also committed a game-high seven turnovers and was charged with an ill-advised technical foul in the fourth quarter.

Afterward, she offered a full accounting of her performance.

“I know that I have a lot of freedom, especially as a point guard,” Westbrook said. “But to myself I can’t make mistakes. Everyone is waiting on me to call the play, tell them where to go, tell them what to do. So for me, my part is huge. I never shied away from it. I always embrace having the part that I have and I love it. I just have to do what’s best for my team, and I know that I have to make the least mistakes on the team.”

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Westbrook essentially was describing a balancing act, one that all the freshmen are attempting. Given their roles, Hayes and Davis are filtering their experiences much like Westbrook. Kushkituah is weighing the frustration caused by an early season foot injury against the realization that she’s playing catch up conditioning-wise.

The meat of Tennessee’s schedule still lies ahead. The sheer length of the season alone will add to the challenges faced by these players.  

“We know not everything is going to be easy,” Lockwood said. “They need to know that.  … As much as anything you watch how they are.”

It goes with the nurturing.