Tennessee Lady Vols: Ranking toughest players to replace for 2019-2020

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) /

2 of 5

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

She was a rising freshman forward who provided valuable minutes off the bench. Mimi Collins played played in all 32 games for the Tennessee Lady Vols last year, and she started in four of them. At 6’3″, she was a valuable force in the paint and was a key rotational player despite coming off the bench. After all, she averaged nearly 15 minutes a game.

Collins, coming off the bench, averaged five and a half points and three and a half rebounds. Once a five-star recruit in the 2018 class, this was going to be her year to enter into the starting lineup and become a superstar. That’s what Holly Warlick was planning on, and it’s likely what Kellie Harper would have prepared for as well.

Unfortunately for Rocky Top, that’s not the case. Colins transferred out to the Maryland Terrapins, which was a brutal loss for Harper. Transferring to Maryland is a bit of a burn because of rumors of tense relationships with Brenda Frese and the Lady Vols program in the past.

Collins is at the bottom of this list, though, because of the fact that she wasn’t a starter. Also, the return to healthy of Lou Brown and the addition of Jaiden McCoy give Harper other options to work with at forward. But Collins was clearly the most proven player among them with the most amount of potential for success, so she was still a brutal loss.