Hey, Darius Rucker: Tennessee Lady Vols have the roster to beat South Carolina, Dawn Staley | Adams
John AdamsSinger Darius Rucker helped South Carolina celebrate its national championship in women's basketball and took a profane shot at Tennessee in the process.
He altered the lyrics to “Wagon Wheel” and encouraged the crowd to join him by singing “F … Tennessee.” Classy, huh?
But all is fair in love, war, and championship celebrations, which in this instance included Rucker’s free concert at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. In fact, the amended version of “Wagon Wheel,” which went viral, was an unintended compliment to the Lady Vols program.
Tennessee hasn’t been to a Final Four since 2008 when it won its eighth national championship under former coach Pat Summitt. Nonetheless, 14 years later, the UT program is still a measuring stick for women’s basketball.
Coach Dawn Staley has built South Carolina into the SEC’s preeminent program, won 30 or more games five times, won two national championships in the past six years and will be favored to win a third next season.
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However, that’s a mere fraction of what Summitt accomplished. In fact, as good of a coach as Staley has been through 14 seasons at South Carolina, she’s not even the best coach in the SEC. LSU second-year coach Kim Mulkey, who won three national championships at Baylor, is the league’s top coach.
Mulkey and Tennessee coach Kellie Harper will both challenge South Carolina for conference supremacy. And that won’t take as long as you might think.
Mulkey’s track record speaks for itself. She flipped a switch and turned LSU from a loser into a 26-game winner in one season, which ended with her being named national coach of the year.
Harper’s resume isn’t comparable to Mulkey’s. But the program has improved in each of her three seasons, and she has assembled a staff that can recruit effectively. Moreover, she has proved she can succeed in a changing game.
Harper has embraced the transfer portal and the NIL business, which enables players to make money off their name, image and likeness. As a result, she has assembled a team that could make a Final Four run and challenge South Carolina for the SEC title.
Reaching the Final Four might be easier than winning the SEC, given how much talent and experience South Carolina will return. But the Lady Vols aren’t short on talent, either.
Tennessee basically will field an all-star team as well as an all-senior team next season.
It could start five seniors who have been either first- or second-team all-conference: center Tamari Key, guard Jordan Horston, Mississippi State transfer forward Rickea Jackson, Minnesota transfer guard Jasmine Powell, and Missouri State transfer forward Jasmine Franklin.
That doesn’t account for the overall strength of its roster, which also includes promising younger players like freshman Sara Puckett; star signee Justine Pissott; and versatile returnee Marta Suarez, who was injured this past season.
Tennessee also has improved its chances of competing against South Carolina by adding Georgia transfer Jillian Hollingshead, a 6-foot-5 center.
The secret to beating South Carolina is being competitive in the post against 6-5 Aliyah Boston, the national player of the year, and the rest of its tall, athletic front line. The 6-6 Key can’t do that on her own.
Hollingshead is regarded as a potential All-SEC player. The only concern would be a knee injury that sidelined her at times during her freshman season at Georgia.
If healthy, she could provide the rebounding UT lacked against the Gamecocks last season when they outrebounded the Lady Vols 59-38. That rebounding proved decisive in South Carolina’s 67-53 victory.
But Tennessee will be stronger in all areas next season. And if it still needs extra incentive to overtake South Carolina, it can check out Rucker’s concert on YouTube.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.