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Tennessee Vols: 5 things for Vol fans to watch for in 2019

By Billy Williford

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Holly Warlick
KNOXVILLE, TN – JULY 14: Tennessee women’s basketball coach Holly Warlick speaks during a ceremony to celebrate the life of former Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt on July 14, 2016, at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. Summit died June 28 at the age of 64, five years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (Photo by Mark Humphrey – Pool/Getty Images) /

No.5 – How does Holly handle all the young talent?

A National Championship for the Lady Vols? I must be outside my mind. Tennessee hasn’t made it out of the Round of 32 the past two seasons. That’s unacceptable for one of the premier programs in the nation.

Pat Summit failed to make the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament only once her entire coaching career. However, we can’t forget that Warlick has had some success early on. In her first four seasons, she had an overall record of 108-34 with three Elite Eight appearances, which was more than Summit had in her last four years coaching.

Another thing Holly is doing well is recruiting. In 2017, the Lady Vols led the nation with the number one recruiting class and followed that up last season by signing four five-stars.

There is a ton of young talent at Warlick’s disposal now and in the near future. The Lady Vols are off to a strong 11-1 start to the season and are currently ranked tenth in the nation. Their only loss came in a hard-fought game against a Stanford team who is now ranked sixth. It’s hard to complain about losing to a top ten team.

With all that said, Warlick has to pull some magic out of her sleeve in the next two years or fans will wipe their hands with one of the most beloved programs in all of sports. Summit dominated the basketball programs when she coached, but now the Men’s team is the talk of the town.

And, more and more fans will decide to spend their hard-earned money to watch their games if Warlick can’t win big the next two seasons.

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