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Top 25: Tennessee Lady Vols getting no respect despite recruiting, returners

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols got no respect in the Preseason USA TODAY Coaches Top 25 poll despite an elite recruiting class and the return of two main scorers.

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If I were to tell you a team that nearly made the Sweet Sixteen last year returned two of its three leading scorers and also had the No. 1 recruiting class come in, you’d think they would be a national championship contender in college basketball, right? Well, apparently that’s not the case for the Tennessee Lady Vols.

Holly Warlick’s team came in at No. 18 in the USA TODAY Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll Top 25. That ranking was fourth in the SEC, behind the South Carolina Gamecocks, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers.

South Carolina and Mississippi State earned the right to be ahead of Tennessee, playing for the national title. But Mizzou finished one game ahead of the Tennessee Lady Vols.

And they certainly don’t have the incoming talent that Tennessee does. So this ranking reveals a couple of things.

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For one, the voters really valued Diamond DeShields. Her unexpected departure is huge for the program.

However, the other thing it reveals is that there’s not a lot of faith in Holly Warlick.

Look, while DeShields’s departure hurts, the Tennessee Lady Vols should have way more depth overall this year to offset it. That’s what killed them down the stretch last season.

Mercedes Russell is still dominant underneath the basket. Jaime Nared can more than fill the void that DeShields left.

Warlick can now go at least eight-deep on a regular night now, and she can mostly go 10-deep. Yes, there are only 10 players on the roster this year, but they all can contribute. None of them are just filled spots.

And it’s not just the return of Nared and Russell combined with a bunch of freshmen that should make this team be significantly better. Cheridene Green is an experience newcomer who had to sit out last year due to injury. She’s fully healthy and adds another element in the post.

Meme Jackson and Kortney Dunbar likely took significant strides as well. So this team has experience along with the young, raw talent. That should make it much better and deeper than last year.

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As a result, they should be fine. And they should certainly at least be a preseason Top 10 team. But to be fair, given the struggles of the past two years and how last year ended, the burden of proof is on Warlick now to prove they are better.