All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee Lady Vols: Five potential breakout players for 2019-2020

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Tennessee football
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

Junior. 1. player. Pick Analysis. Center. Kasiyahna Kushkituah. 534. Scouting Report

This one’s obvious. Kasiyahna Kushkituah is likely locked in for the starting position at center, the third starter at the position in three years after the losses of Mercedes Russell in 2018 and Cheridene Green in 2019.

More from All for Tennessee

Tamari Key brings the hype as a top-rated recruit at this position, and Emily Saunders also brings some hype. Both players are 6’5″ and contributing to the Tennessee Lady Vols being the tallest team in school history, while Kushkituah is only 6’4″.

But it looks like Kushkituah will be the starter. And her time last year was limited just enough for her to qualify for this list. She did start 11 games and played in 28 of them last year, and she averaged 14 minutes a game. Off the bench, she averaged just under five points and right at three and a half rebounds.

In the exhibition against Carson-Newman, she only had four points but picked up seven rebounds. So she’s got some finesse to add to her game, and that can be tricky with a new head coach, but she showed signs of being able to be a go-to player in the post in the future. Her defense appears to already be there.

Next. Ranking four toughest Lady Vols to replace. dark

What could help Kushkituah is the fact that the Tennessee Lady Vols will play bigger this year than they did the last two years with a true four player at forward. That will take less pressure off her, and she could take a huge leap as a result. It may just take some time.