Why did the Tennessee Lady Vols lose two star guards?

In two days, the Tennessee Lady Vols may have lost two of their most elite guards. Could this be a major concern for the women’s basketball Volunteers?

Sorry guys, but this doesn’t happen. You don’t lose two guards who were five-star recruits in the same class in back to back days. But that could end up being what happened to the Tennessee Lady Vols after the news that broke each of the previous two days.

On Wednesday, Jazmine Massengill, who started 30 games this year under Kellie Harper, entered the transfer portal. Then came Thursday, when Zaay Green, who suffered a season-ending injury two games into the season, announced she would be leaving UT in an Instagram post.

Both of these players were five-star guards in the Tennessee Lady Vols’ 2018 recruiting class, and they figured to take another major step this year. Now, theoretically, Massengill could still come back. Perhaps she was leaving because she thought her playing time would be limited with Green returning next year.

However, at this moment, neither Green or Massengill is in the program. When you take into account that Evina Westbrook, another five-star guard from a previous class, transferred out last year to the UConn Huskies, a clear trend is emerging.

At the time, everybody blamed Westbrook, and given the way she spoke of Holly Warlick at the end of last season before transferring, it’s fair to criticize her. She all but suggested Warlick should be fired, and then when Warlick was fired, she transferred out.

Looking beyond that, though, the facts are clear. Ever since Warlick was fired, three elite five-star guards she recruited have all transferred out. It’s also worth noting the way Geno Auriemma criticized the culture of the program back during the season, and you have to wonder if something is happening that we don’t know about.

Now, to be fair, maybe they don’t like the direction Harper wants to take the program. After all, Harper had the tallest team in school history this past year, and she is clearly valuing length, starting two wing players down the stretch at the two and the three in Rae Burrell and Rennia Davis. Warlick’s schemes were much more guard-oriented.

That is certainly possible. It’s also possible, as we said, that Massengill could come back. And Green, in her Instagram post, noted her actions as well as the actions of the coaches as reasons for her leaving, but that’s too vague.

More from Vols Women's Basketball

• Tennessee Lady Vols lose in the Sweet Sixteen: Tournament takeaways
• Tennessee Lady Vols: Two takeaways from the SEC tournament
• Tennessee Lady Vols lose to South Carolina at home: Two takeaways
• Tennessee Lady Vols beat Auburn 83-76 at home: Two takeaways
• Tennessee Lady Vols beat Arkansas 87-67 on the road: Two takeaways

All we know for sure is that both Green and Massengill had superstar potential, as did Westbrook, and all three are gone. Only Jordan Horston, a five-star guard in the Tennessee Lady Vols’ 2019 class, is back.

Horston is a star, and Harper has two guards committed. But next year’s team could have had Westbrook, Green, Massengill and Horston as the four guards in a two-deep rotation. That would be four five-stars, one of whom is a senior, two of whom are juniors and one of whom is a sophomore. How epic could that have been?

Instead, the Tennessee Lady Vols will be putting more pressure on Horston, and they need Jessie Rennie to step up as the three-point specialist she was recruited to be. Finally, the length of Tamari Key, Emily Saunders, Kasiyahna Kushkituah and Jaiden McCoy needs to come through next year, as Davis and Burrell remain the star.

Harper can work with that, but it’s still important to question exactly what has happen that would prompt Green and Massengill to leave in back to back days. What is going on with the Tennessee Lady Vols, who were supposed to be excited about having everybody back next year? That’s a question that definitely needs answering.