Tennessee Vols morning report: Tamika Catchings to Hall of Fame
Coronavirus still surrounds Tennessee Vols news, but Tamika Catchings leads our Volunteers morning report for Monday, April 6, 2020.
Another Monday rolls around with COVID-19 shutting down everything. We have plenty of coverage to continue with how that relates to the Tennessee Vols, but coming off the weekend, we should start with a bit of good news.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with a UT women’s basketball legend putting a stamp on her career. She deserves her credit, and it’s a major piece of uplifting news against the backdrop of everything that has been happening.
However, we can’t ignore coronavirus news. More action taken by the SEC and another interview with a coach about handling it are both on the plate to kick off this week. So there are plenty of things to cover. Let’s start, though, with the good news.
Tamika Catchings inducted into Naismith Hall of Fame – HoopHall.com
Nine honorees were announced for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 over the weekend, and Tennessee Lady Vols guard Tamika Catchings was the one women’s basketball player who was inducted. Catchings joins stars like Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant as part of this class. The enshrinement will be on Aug. 29 in Springfield, Mass.
"Catchings is a 10-time WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005-2007, 2009, 2011, 2013-2015) and four-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). After winning WNBA MVP in 2011, she led the Indiana Fever to a WNBA Championship in 2012 while collecting WNBA Finals MVP honors. She played her entire 14-year WNBA career with the Fever, while being named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year five times (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) and Rookie of the Year in 2002. As the WNBA all-time steals leader, Catchings was named a member of the WNBA Top 20 Players in the league’s 20-year history in 2016. With Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols, Catchings won a national championship in 1998 and was named a four-time Kodak First Team All-American (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), as well as the consensus National Player of the Year in 2000."
Jeremy Pruitt discusses state of program – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
On Friday, Tennessee Vols football head coach Jeremy Pruitt held a teleconference to talk about how his program is progressing amidst the coronavirus outbreak. He said most meetings with the team deal with health and wellness over football and noted that guys like Jauan Jennings and Nigel Warrior won’t need pro days to prove they should be drafted. Here is a bit of what he said.
"“I know this is an unprecedented time and it’s affecting everyone in our country. It’s unfortunate right now, but I do think we need to think about our countrymen that this is affecting. Whether it’s the people this virus is affecting directly, our medical personnel, our folks out there that are without jobs right now. It’s tough times. It’s a time that we’ve all got to come together and figure out a way to work together to help solve this crisis.”"
SEC suspends all in-person activities through May 31 – SECSports.com
In an extremely unsurprising move, the Southeastern Conference suspended all in-person athletic activities through the end of May due to COVID-19. Initially, they were suspended through April 15. Remote gatherings, however, are still permitted.
"Any such activity must be scheduled in accordance with the institution’s established Time Management Policy and must not interfere with required class time for online instruction. SEC member institutions will continue to provide their student-athletes with care and support to meet needs in areas including academics, medical care, mental health and wellness, nutrition and housing as needed."