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Tennessee Lady Vols 2021-2022 season preview: Frontcourt

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Lady Vols forward Alexus Dye (2) during practice in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, October 5, 2021.Kns Wbball Practice
Tennessee Lady Vols forward Alexus Dye (2) during practice in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, October 5, 2021.Kns Wbball Practice /
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Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper and Tamari Key (20) during the NCAA women’s basketball game against Howard at Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday, December 29, 2019.Kns Ladyvols Howard
Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper and Tamari Key (20) during the NCAA women’s basketball game against Howard at Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday, December 29, 2019.Kns Ladyvols Howard /

High expectations for the Tennessee Lady Vols entering Kellie Harper’s third year on the job stem from almost all key players returning. Caution, however, comes in with the fact that they lost their best player, Rennia Davis. On top of that, they lost their backup center, Kasiyahna Kushkituah. As a result, their two key losses were in the frontcourt.

A season-ending injury that we’ll get to in a minute makes for a third loss in the frontcourt, so this part of UT comes with many more questions. However, one player returning to health, the addition of a graduate transfer, two freshmen, a returning starter and two returning contributors still provide some reason for optimism.

As we get set to preview the women’s basketball post game this year, we’ll separate slides by returning starters, returning contributors and newcomers before closing with the biggest questions and a final take. This is our preview of the 2021-2022 Tennessee Lady Vols frontcourt.

Returning starters

Tamari Key

  • 6’6″
  • Junior
  • Cary, N.C.

By far the standout of maybe all the returning players, Tamari Key really emerged down the stretch of last season and became dominant. She averaged 8.9 points per game 5.6 rebounds and just under three blocks a game. With Davis gone, Key should easily become the team’s leading rebounder and could become their best scorer in the paint.

Given the strides she made, expectations are there for her to explode into a superstar this year. Free throw shooting at 65.1 percent is one area she can improve, but staying aggressive throughout the game down low needs to be her biggest focus.

Marta Suárez (Out for season)

  • 6′ 2″
  • Sophomore
  • Oviedo, Spain

We’re mentioning Marta Suárez as a formality here. She is out for the season after having foot surgery. Coming off an SEC All-Freshman campaign where she appeared in 22 games and started 14, her loss is devastating for the Tennessee Lady Vols. However, they do have some talent to offset it, which we’ll get to on the next slide.