Tennessee Vols morning report: Coaches hold star-studded, far-reaching zoom call
A couple of Tennessee Vols coaches in different sports holding a far-reaching zoom call leads our Volunteers news for Monday, April 13, 2020.
There wasn’t a ton of coronavirus-related news over the weekend, but the Tennessee Vols had a bit of a unique event that was worthy of covering. It’s just something to lift everybody’s spirits during this time.
Our morning update on Rocky Top to kick off this week leads with that event, and it involves a zoom call that brought in huge names from UT legends to major celebrities. Hey, something cool like that is always fun to talk about.
Beyond that, we’ve got extending coverage of a new Lady Vol who committed as a graduate transfer last week and coverage of where a former Lady Vol and recent men’s basketball transfer have just ended up. Let’s start with the fun news, though.
Vol coaches host star-studded zoom call – WBIR
Tee Martin, Brian Niedermeyer, Nick Hardesty and Clay Bollinger started a zoom call over the weekend by opening the app, inviting VFLs and then encouraging those VFLs to invite the most famous people they know. The result was a celebrity-filled call that included NFL stars, Vol legends and even comedians and musical artists.
"From Josh Dobbs to Kevin Hart, quite a few recognizable names popped up over the course of the 10-minute video. Some notable moments include Vols Baseball coach Tony Vitello getting starstruck by Big Boi and Peyton Manning singing the Nationwide jingle."
Keyen Green discusses transfer to Lady Vols – Maria M. Cornelius, GoVols247
Last week, Liberty Flames graduate transfer forward Keyen Green committed to the Tennessee women’s basketball program. She recently discussed her decision to transfer to Rocky Top, noting that it came after a zoom call with the coaches. Here’s a bit of what she said.
"“They talked about how much I could benefit the program just doing what I do. I didn’t need to change my game a whole lot, just fine tune some things. I have a year left. I don’t have time to become a three-point specialist. They like how I play. They like my footwork. They like my hands. They want me to come in and produce the way I have been.”"
Former Lady Vol hired by Mississippi State – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com
Nikki McCray-Penson, who starred as Nikki McCray for the Tennessee Lady Vols from 1991 to 1995, has been hired to replace Vic Schaefer as head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Schaefer just left for the Texas Longhorns. McCray-Penson has spent the past three years leading the Old Dominion Monarchs and was C-USA coach of the year this past season, going 24-6 overall.
"McCray-Penson also was a 1996 and 2000 Olympic gold medalist and played professionally in the ABL and then the WNBA. She finished her WNBA career in 2006, and entered the coaching ranks as an assistant at Western Kentucky, then joined her former USA Basketball teammate (Dawn) Staley at South Carolina."
Jalen Johnson transfers to ETSU – WJHL
Just short of three weeks after entering the transfer portal to leave the Tennessee Vols basketball program, Jalen Johnson confirmed he is staying in-state. The 6’6″ redshirt junior guard announced on Twitter that he will join the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers.
"Johnson averaged 3.5 points and two rebounds per game last season. He shot 37 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc. He averaged 15.7 minutes per game and played in all 31 of Tennessee’s games."