KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Senior Jaime Nared and Head Coach Holly Warlick met with members of the media prior to No. 7/7 Tennessee’s practice on Wednesday. The Lady Vols are preparing to leave for California, where they will face Long Beach State (2-7) on Sunday before traveling north to play No. 18/17 Stanford (5-4) on Dec. 21.
Nared was named SEC Player of the Week on Tuesday, Dec. 12 after posting 27 points and 6 rebounds against Troy the previous Wednesday and following that up with 23 points and 13 rebounds against Texas on Sunday. Answering questions from the media, Nared shared her thoughts on how the team is preparing for its upcoming west coast trip and what it means for the program to be ranked in the Top 10. Warlick’s answers included discussion on how the team has responded to challenging opponents and situations this season, as well as how the seniors have emerged as leaders.
Tennessee will face Long Beach State on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) in Long Beach, Calif. The game will be available for viewing online via Beach Vision.
Head Coach Holly Warlick
On how the team will respond on the road:
“Yes, I am anxious to see how the team will respond. We’ve been through some tough games as well, and they have practiced well. We practiced yesterday, and they did a great job, so I anticipate them being very focused and continuing to do what we’ve been doing.”
On her thoughts about the team’s performance against Texas:
“We fought for loose balls, we rebounded out of our area, and we were physical. I just loved our heart and our passion. It really stood out to me, and it was really fun to watch.”
On if the freshmen had exceeded her expectations:
“I had great expectations for them, so I think they’re pretty spot on. They’re talented; they’re mature. We put them in situations when we were in Cancun to play three games back-to-back-to-back, and they responded. So I think they’re right where we thought they would be.”
On the seniors being leaders for the freshmen:
“It’s a combination of both – it’s who they are. They have a little bit of a calming effect to them, and I think Jaime and Mercedes have done a great job of taking (the freshmen) in and making sure they understand what’s expected and what’s going to happen. Those two have done an excellent job… they’ve talked to them about their experiences, and I think it’s prepared them.”
On the team consistently getting to the free throw line:
“It’s a product of the shots we’re taking that have been created out of our offense. That’s our goal, to get to the line. And we’re doing that. We’re not settling. We’re not settling for a contested jump shot. If it’s going to be contested, get to the basket. And we’ve got players that can get to the basket, so that helps the situation with the free throws.”
On if recent success will affect the way the team plays:
“I would be shocked if they changed their demeanor, personality or how they play. I’d be shocked. We’ve been pretty consistent since day one about how hard we’ve been playing and the things we’ve been doing, so that really hasn’t changed. We’ve missed shots, but for the most part, our effort has been solid.”
Tennessee Senior Jaime Nared
On learning things about her team through the past 10 games:
“Just everybody’s heart. I didn’t really know how everybody was going to respond to such big games, but I think everybody is super competitive, and everybody wants to compete and win. That’s what I’ve learned about this group, and I’ve been really happy to see that they’re willing to compete and just play hard.”
On what she means when she uses the term playing hard:
“Definitely competitiveness, especially with the freshmen. Freshman year you kind of don’t really know what to expect, and they’ve done a great job with just competing and doing everything the coaches have asked of them. They’ve over exceeded expectations.”
On how eager she is to see how they play on the road:
“We’ve played in Cancun. I thought we did pretty good. California is beautiful, and there are a lot of things that could be a distraction, but I think seeing how we’ve handled the first 10 games just shows the maturity of our team, and how competitive everybody is. I think that everybody will be fine on the road trip.”
On advice she would give to the freshmen heading into a tough road matchup at Stanford:
“I think just playing our game and just staying together. That’s the biggest fear of road games – giving into the crowd and people saying inappropriate things or things that they shouldn’t say. You don’t really know what to expect, but just always staying together as a team, always be dialed into the game, making sure we’re just staying together.”
On stressing communication on the road:
“(In the) Texas game, it was hard to hear. We really had to come together and sometimes we found ourselves saying things ten times before we finally got together because it was just so loud. At any game that you play, and especially road games, it’s going to be like that. I’m not really sure about Long Beach, but I know it’s going to be loud. They have a small arena, but as long as we’re paying attention to coaches and to each other, I think we’ll be fine.”
On how starting the game strong benefits a particularly younger team:
‘It’s great. I thought about this same thing the other day. We used to get off to terrible starts last year, but this year it seems like everybody is just ready. In warmups we don’t really have to say, “Come on, focus guys.” We don’t have to get everybody dialed into the game. It’s just completely different, and it’s been great. Having that opportunity and everybody focusing, doing their part. It’s really great.”
On being less nervous when they are consistent:
“Sometimes shots just don’t fall, but you can’t really let that affect your game. It may not happen every game. You may miss your first couple of shots, but I think defensively we’ve been doing great in the beginning of the games, which has kind of helped us to propel our offense.”
On their additional focus:
“Maybe just our attention to detail. I think that’s a big thing. When we start the game off, everybody is focused. Everybody knows what their job is for the game and is dialed in to what they need to do, so I don’t think it’s anything in particular rather than everybody being focused in on what they need to do, and being together.”
On what it means to be in the Top 10:
“It’s great. It’s still early December. It doesn’t really matter right now. I like to see that we’re growing each game, and that we’re just playing well together. That’s something I like to see, especially this early in the season. Obviously we have to keep it going. We can’t settle with where we are now. We have to keep getting better each game and keep working hard, not letting our little success that we’ve had so far affect the rest of our season because that could make for an up and down season. We’re not letting that get to us.”
On if freshmen have asked quested about what to expect on the road:
“They don’t really know what to expect. I think they’ll be fine though. That’s just what I’ve learned about them. They’re true competitors. They’re freshmen, and that’s just great to see. They work hard. I don’t think it will really affect them. It’s easy to tell them how it’s going to be, but when we’re in the environment and we’re working together they’ll calm down because they understand that we have each other’s back.”
On the freshmen being really composed:
“Sometimes we do get a little happy with our passes, kind of up-tempo, but we always just remind each other to slow our pace down and remind ourselves who we are. At the end of the day, we’ve just done a great job accepting what everybody has to say to them and just making changes.”
On freshmen exceeding expectations:
“I remember what freshman year was like. Obviously it was a big adjustment, and you just have to kind of accept your role in college and do whatever it takes for your team. Obviously they’ve had different roles. Everybody has a different role once you get to college, and it’s finding out what that is and doing what you’re told. I just know that they’re still in the gym. It’s easy to do it when you first get here and probably don’t have as much, but as the season goes on and you’re trying to get better, that’s a product of who they are and success that they’ve had.”
On the roles of the freshmen being pretty clear:
“We have 10 people on our team. We don’t have a big team, which kind of is cool just because we’re all close together, and we all have an understanding of what we’re supposed to do. We all met with Holly maybe last week or a couple weeks ago, and she basically told everybody what they’re role is on the team, what she expects of us, and just to do what we can every night. Just compete. That’s her biggest thing. She wants us to compete. That’s not really something that we’ve had to question from each other this year. I think everybody has just done a great job.”
On what the older players learned from being on the road:
“I think we learned a lot from last year – the past couple of years, honestly. Our teams in the past couple of years have been not very cohesive. We were one of the most talented teams in the country (last year), and we had one of the most up and down seasons. That’s not something that we’re really focusing on as much this year. We know what we needed to fix. We’ve warned everybody about what we needed to do every single game, and everybody’s responded. Last year is just kind of whatever now; it doesn’t really matter anymore. We can’t fix the past, we’re just worried about now.”
On freshmen being able to focus solely on basketball while on road trip:
“I think it’ll be fun. We’re going to the movies, so we’re going to do a little team bonding as well. We’re going to Bubba Gump; I’m excited for that. School is a little part of it, but I mean, how they’ve handled it during school and finals week, I’m excited to see how they’ll handle basketball without school. Sometimes you get worries about your school work and stuff, but when you don’t have it, it’s easier to just focus on the game.
On if consistency and cohesiveness makes playing games more fun:
“Yes, it does. It makes it easier to play together and play for each other. We have each other’s back. I don’t question that with the people on our team. I think you kind of see that when we play together. Somebody gets beat, somebody’s there and we’re rotating. We’re always communicating with one another, and we genuinely want each other to do well. It makes all these games so much better. It’s just been a fun year, and just seeing how well we get along and everything that comes along with our success so far. How much we can grow throughout the rest of our season, I’m excited to see.”
-UT Athletics
