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Tennessee Lady Vols 2018-2019 preview by position: Front court outlook

By Caleb Calhoun

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

The Tennessee Lady Vols have to replace a ton of front court production under Holly Warlick. Here is our women’s basketball Volunteers preview down low.

After a red-hot start to last year’s season, the Tennessee Lady Vols ended it with a second straight second-round exit, only increasing calls for Holly Warlick to be fired. To make matters worse, she lost her top two players from last year in Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared. Both were in the front court.

As a result, this year, Warlick’s got a major rebuilding project to do there. To be fair, she had to deal with the same thing at guard last year after the early departure of Diamond DeShields. But with her own experience coaching the back court, that was a bit easier.

This is going to be a much rougher transition. If the Tennessee Lady Vols are to return to the level they were once at, they’ve got to shore up their front court fast, and it could become a major issue early on.

After all, Russell was a historically great Lady Vols, one of only six ever to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Nared, meanwhile, brought an incredible level of versatility to the team and was really the best all-around player.

Fortunately for Warlick, she was able to secure a second straight Top 5 recruiting class. All four players are six-feet tall or above, and one can play the wing while the other is a true post player. Combine that with some key returning contributors, and the roster may be even deeper here than it was last year.

Right now, three contributors from off the bench are back down low, including one significant contributor. Add in the two new recruits and a graduate transfer, and Warlick has seven people she can rotate. But who’s actually going to step up? Let’s break that down here. This is our preview for the front court of the 2018-2019 Tennessee Lady Vols.