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

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Tennessee Volunteers fans hold up a cardboard photo of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 21, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Connecticut 60-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Tennessee Volunteers fans hold up a cardboard photo of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 21, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Connecticut 60-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Final Take

The Tennessee Lady Vols return all three starters from the back court last year. One is a redshirt senior who provides the veteran leadership, and the other two were top five recruits in the 2017 class. As a result, their transition to this year should be one of major improvement.

On top of that, Holly Warlick brought in three more five-star freshmen to back each of them up, providing lots more depth and raw talent. This is a great situation for the team overall, and you have to expect some major improvements.

However, with improvements come pressure, and that’s the nature of this unit. Evina Westbrook and Rennia Davis have gone from five-star freshmen complementing a dominant inside game of Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared to the key players on the team. They are the most important two players on the team, and senior Meme Jackson is the one who has to keep everybody in line.

There is a ton of pressure on all of them. Natural improvement with experience is one thing, but doing that with way more added pressure is another. And that’s the nature of the back court for the women on Rocky Top this year.

Meanwhile, depth is totally going to be determined on how well the new freshmen live up to their hype. The good news is they don’t have to immediately start this year the way last year’s group did. But the bad news is they don’t have the supporting inside dominance to carry them when they step in the way the freshmen last year did either.

Next. Lady Vols preview by position: Front Court. dark

Simply put, the typical improvements among elite recruits is now necessary for the Tennessee Lady Vols. It’s the only way they can return to the glory they once had, and with Holly Warlick’s recent contract extension, that is definitely an expectation for this team. The guard development this year will go a long way towards how we judge her, as guard coaching is her strength. So this entire unit depends on what Warlick can do.