UT MARTIN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO LEAN ON EACH OTHER WHILE SEEKING NEW IDENTITY IN 2021-22
11/10/2021 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – While teams all over the country had the benefit of returning veteran players to their roster who otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility due to COVID extensions – making for squads stacked with super seniors and vast experience – the University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team will unfortunately not fit that description when the 2021-22 season tips off on Friday, Nov. 12. Instead, the Skyhawks will be looking to replace over 70 percent of the team's scoring output off a team which won its second straight Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship along with setting a conference and school record with a pair of postseason victories in the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Any team at the mid-major level would have a difficult time replacing the production lost that a two-time OVC Player of the Year and WNBA draft pick like Chelsey Perry contributed, averaging around 23 points per game over the past two seasons along with a veteran leader like Maddie Waldrop who provided intangible qualities and quantitative statistics as a top-line player in the league. While the Skyhawks may not have that next program-great to step into the spotlight at first glance, veteran head coach Kevin McMillan believes the team will have to rely on each other to fill the open gap.
"We do not feel like we have that one person that we can just throw the ball to and just get out of the way," McMillan said. "My prediction is that this group will have to depend more on each other than any team since our first team we had here. We are going to have to figure out how to score and how to slow people down. It is such a different team than we have been in recent year. I like the core of the team with Kyannah, Paige and Seygan. They are so solid, but how are we going to build, figure it out and tweak is going to be difficult. Then when you add in the schedule, it will make it really hard for the girls."
The schedule won't waste any time getting ramped up as the Skyhawks open the season in the Preseason Women's NIT with three games in four days against Kansas State, North Carolina A&T and Western Kentucky beginning on Nov. 12 before traveling to nationally ranked Louisville just a few days later. That won't be all as the Skyhawks square off against Illinois State, George Washington, Virginia Tech, Saint Louis, Mississippi State, Southern Illinois, Akron and Bowling Green before opening OVC play just prior to the new year.
"The schedule when you look at it is daunting in itself, but for me it is not, because we are going to learn a lot about our kids," McMillan said. "You can't really figure much out about your team unless you play really good teams that can show you your weaknesses. We will learn a lot from these early games to hopefully get an idea of our identity."
With McMillan entering his 13th season at the helm of UT Martin and fresh off winning his fourth OVC Coach of the Year honor, he is looking to the trio of Kyannah Grant, Paige Pipkin and Seygan Robins to take over leadership of an inexperienced team. Grant brings the most on-court experience for the Skyhawks – playing in 80 games over three seasons – while Pipkins has been in the program for five seasons despite playing her first full season last year due several injuries.
Robins, a two-time OVC Newcomer of the Week last year, ranks as the team's top returning scorer averaging 7.7 points with 2.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in her debut season. Pipkin was close behind, averaging 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Meanwhile, Grant chipped in 3.4 points and 2.0 assists.
While those three are projected to fill three spots in the starting lineup, the Skyhawks will turn to a mixture of the team's other four returners and its seven newcomers to round out their other needs. After seeing limited action last season coming off an injury in 2019-20, Hayley Harrison is primed to take the next step in her development after chipping in 2.4 points per game and shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc while Emma Davis is working back from a knee injury which cost her the entire 2020-21 campaign. Martin native Raegan Johnson will also vie for minutes in the post rotation.
Several newcomers will have their name called early for contributions, especially from graduate transfer Holly Forbes who spent the past two seasons at Robert Morris. After playing and starting in 46 games the past two seasons for the Colonials averaging 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, Forbes will likely slot into a starting role in the post. Meanwhile, freshmen Ella Thompson, Shanice Simpson-Whiteley and Gabi Melby will be looked to for significant roles early in their careers.
"We are going to count on some players early," McMillan said. "Holly is a graduate transfer that we are going to ask to hold down the fort inside. Ella, Shanice and Gabi will also have to step up and give us some big minutes. The thing is, Holly knows what she is getting herself into, but the others don't have a clue yet. How quickly those others figure out the world so to speak will make it easier, we just don't have a lot of depth."
Despite the team's inexperience and expected growing pains, McMillan has seen the team's fight to get better through the preseason and live up to the program's lofty standards. "I have seen hard work in practice, kids that are pushing and leadership on the court. We are seeing the things you need to see. We do not ask our kids to do things that they are not capable of, but we do ask them to play to the best of their ability and hold them to a high standard. You try to get individuals to be the best they can be, then figure out how to fit that into what that team can mold into. Each team has its own identity."
The Skyhawks will get their first test at building their identity on Friday, Nov. 12 night when opening the season against Kansas State in the Preseason NIT to start a 30-game regular season slate.
Guards: Emma Davis, Kyannah Grant, Hayley Harrison, Mia Hurst, Shae Littleford, Gabi Melby, Paige Pipkin, Seygan Robins
Forwards: Taylor Dupree, Holly Forbes, Hayley Harrison, Raegan Johnson, Haley Nichols, Shanice Simpson-Whiteley, Ella Thompson
Any team at the mid-major level would have a difficult time replacing the production lost that a two-time OVC Player of the Year and WNBA draft pick like Chelsey Perry contributed, averaging around 23 points per game over the past two seasons along with a veteran leader like Maddie Waldrop who provided intangible qualities and quantitative statistics as a top-line player in the league. While the Skyhawks may not have that next program-great to step into the spotlight at first glance, veteran head coach Kevin McMillan believes the team will have to rely on each other to fill the open gap.
"We do not feel like we have that one person that we can just throw the ball to and just get out of the way," McMillan said. "My prediction is that this group will have to depend more on each other than any team since our first team we had here. We are going to have to figure out how to score and how to slow people down. It is such a different team than we have been in recent year. I like the core of the team with Kyannah, Paige and Seygan. They are so solid, but how are we going to build, figure it out and tweak is going to be difficult. Then when you add in the schedule, it will make it really hard for the girls."
The schedule won't waste any time getting ramped up as the Skyhawks open the season in the Preseason Women's NIT with three games in four days against Kansas State, North Carolina A&T and Western Kentucky beginning on Nov. 12 before traveling to nationally ranked Louisville just a few days later. That won't be all as the Skyhawks square off against Illinois State, George Washington, Virginia Tech, Saint Louis, Mississippi State, Southern Illinois, Akron and Bowling Green before opening OVC play just prior to the new year.
"The schedule when you look at it is daunting in itself, but for me it is not, because we are going to learn a lot about our kids," McMillan said. "You can't really figure much out about your team unless you play really good teams that can show you your weaknesses. We will learn a lot from these early games to hopefully get an idea of our identity."
With McMillan entering his 13th season at the helm of UT Martin and fresh off winning his fourth OVC Coach of the Year honor, he is looking to the trio of Kyannah Grant, Paige Pipkin and Seygan Robins to take over leadership of an inexperienced team. Grant brings the most on-court experience for the Skyhawks – playing in 80 games over three seasons – while Pipkins has been in the program for five seasons despite playing her first full season last year due several injuries.
Robins, a two-time OVC Newcomer of the Week last year, ranks as the team's top returning scorer averaging 7.7 points with 2.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in her debut season. Pipkin was close behind, averaging 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Meanwhile, Grant chipped in 3.4 points and 2.0 assists.
While those three are projected to fill three spots in the starting lineup, the Skyhawks will turn to a mixture of the team's other four returners and its seven newcomers to round out their other needs. After seeing limited action last season coming off an injury in 2019-20, Hayley Harrison is primed to take the next step in her development after chipping in 2.4 points per game and shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc while Emma Davis is working back from a knee injury which cost her the entire 2020-21 campaign. Martin native Raegan Johnson will also vie for minutes in the post rotation.
Several newcomers will have their name called early for contributions, especially from graduate transfer Holly Forbes who spent the past two seasons at Robert Morris. After playing and starting in 46 games the past two seasons for the Colonials averaging 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, Forbes will likely slot into a starting role in the post. Meanwhile, freshmen Ella Thompson, Shanice Simpson-Whiteley and Gabi Melby will be looked to for significant roles early in their careers.
"We are going to count on some players early," McMillan said. "Holly is a graduate transfer that we are going to ask to hold down the fort inside. Ella, Shanice and Gabi will also have to step up and give us some big minutes. The thing is, Holly knows what she is getting herself into, but the others don't have a clue yet. How quickly those others figure out the world so to speak will make it easier, we just don't have a lot of depth."
Despite the team's inexperience and expected growing pains, McMillan has seen the team's fight to get better through the preseason and live up to the program's lofty standards. "I have seen hard work in practice, kids that are pushing and leadership on the court. We are seeing the things you need to see. We do not ask our kids to do things that they are not capable of, but we do ask them to play to the best of their ability and hold them to a high standard. You try to get individuals to be the best they can be, then figure out how to fit that into what that team can mold into. Each team has its own identity."
The Skyhawks will get their first test at building their identity on Friday, Nov. 12 night when opening the season against Kansas State in the Preseason NIT to start a 30-game regular season slate.
Guards: Emma Davis, Kyannah Grant, Hayley Harrison, Mia Hurst, Shae Littleford, Gabi Melby, Paige Pipkin, Seygan Robins
Forwards: Taylor Dupree, Holly Forbes, Hayley Harrison, Raegan Johnson, Haley Nichols, Shanice Simpson-Whiteley, Ella Thompson
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