Vintage Lady Vols

[xtpsrh08123]

I’m sure you all have seen the barrage of Lady Vol games on YouTube from the golden age , but watching this game always gives me chills! KJH was such a trooper on a squad full of soldiers! #GOLadyVols

 

[VolBall09]

Fun that this is available for her players to see. Love that they get an opportunity to see the passion she had as a player.

 

[BigDave]

I’m sure you all have seen the barrage of Lady Vol games on YouTube from the golden age , but watching this game always gives me chills! KJH was such a trooper on a squad full of soldiers! #GOLadyVols

I think of KJH as more of a general than a trooper . . . she had such command on the floor, distributed the ball, directed traffic, played really good defense . . . she was the glue that made those teams so special yet she wasn't the one getting the press coverage. How she played was Pat in every sense: tough, fiery, demanding and disciplined. I view Lawson in the same manner.

GBO

 

[VolBall09]

I think of KJH as more of a general than a trooper . . . she had such command on the floor, distributed the ball, directed traffic, played really good defense . . . she was the glue that made those teams so special yet she wasn't the one getting the press coverage. How she played was Pat in every sense: tough, fiery, demanding and disciplined. I view Lawson in the same manner.

GBO

Agreed. In that particular game where she knocked down all the 3s you could tell Pat had told her to let it fly. Pat knew La Tech was going to try to not guard her. Love that she stepped up and made them pay. She was the difference maker in that game. Hard nose and tough.

 

[lvocd]

I think of KJH as more of a general than a trooper . . . she had such command on the floor, distributed the ball, directed traffic, played really good defense . . . she was the glue that made those teams so special yet she wasn't the one getting the press coverage. How she played was Pat in every sense: tough, fiery, demanding and disciplined. I view Lawson in the same manner.

GBO

When I compare Kellie and Kara I agree they were alike in their toughness and discipline. But Lawson indeed had a "fiery" attitude, while Kellie was at her best when she was "fired up." Those are two different things, IMO. While Lawson was a really good point guard, Kellie was, IMO, the overall better floor general and, certainly, better defender than Kara was -- even after having endured a torn ACL. And speaking of enduring a torn ACL, in the history of the program there were few players tougher than Kellie Jolly -- perhaps to her detriment. The way she rehabbed back from that ankle injury in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tourney to lead the team to the natty? Doesn't get any tougher than that. Maybe only Candace Parker still dribbling to maintain possession of the ball in a Tourney game in which her dang shoulder was hanging out of the socket, only leaving the game long enough to get it popped back into place, would edge out Kellie for the All-Time Toughest Award.

I always saw Kara as so incredibly intense -- in a good way. That look she'd get on her face when she was "on" was something I'll never forget. But then, that little sequence of Jolly punching the air as she was running up the court after hitting another long-range bomb in the 1998 Championship game is really one of the more iconic Lady Vol film clips of all time for me. Much to my regret, I didn't get to attend the 1998 Final Four and had to watch it on TV, but when she ran up the court like that, fired up like she was, well, it was special.

So, I see a lot of similarities, and a few differences. I feel blessed that both are Lady Vols For Life.

 

[Rickster]

When I compare Kellie and Kara I agree they were alike in their toughness and discipline. But Lawson indeed had a "fiery" attitude, while Kellie was at her best when she was "fired up." Those are two different things, IMO. While Lawson was a really good point guard, Kellie was, IMO, the overall better floor general and, certainly, better defender than Kara was -- even after having endured a torn ACL. And speaking of enduring a torn ACL, in the history of the program there were few players tougher than Kellie Jolly -- perhaps to her detriment. The way she rehabbed back from that ankle injury in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tourney to lead the team to the natty? Doesn't get any tougher than that. Maybe only Candace Parker still dribbling to maintain possession of the ball in a Tourney game in which her dang shoulder was hanging out of the socket, only leaving the game long enough to get it popped back into place, would edge out Kellie for the All-Time Toughest Award.

I always saw Kara as so incredibly intense -- in a good way. That look she'd get on her face when she was "on" was something I'll never forget. But then, that little sequence of Jolly punching the air as she was running up the court after hitting another long-range bomb in the 1998 Championship game is really one of the more iconic Lady Vol film clips of all time for me. Much to my regret, I didn't get to attend the 1998 Final Four and had to watch it on TV, but when she ran up the court like that, fired up like she was, well, it was special.

So, I see a lot of similarities, and a few differences. I feel blessed that both are Lady Vols For Life.

I agree with you. I will suggest however that it helps in Generalmanship (not sure that is really a word) when you have the Meeks on the team. Regardless, Kellie is one of my most favorite VFL's.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

Saw it again, I always watch it when someone posts it here, and I always love it! What a great team! Pat was in her prime. Kellie scored a career high in a National Championship game, not bad. So much fun to watch! It’s almost 3 am, and I’m smiling.

 

[bobkitten]

Great trip dowm memory lane! I had thought about the differences between then and now but this really brought it home!

 

[creekdipper]

I wish I could scan and post the cover and inside page from a media guide from Chamique's and Kellie's senior season. All three Meeks and Kellie are dolled up in prom gear (Kellie in a resplendent, shimmering turquoise baby blue gown, hair all piled up on top). In the inside photo, they're sitting in a horse-drawn coach...and Kellie is showing a lot of leg. No wonder Jon was smitten.

Great times...coming off an undefeated season capping a three-peat and being favorites for a career sweep...the world was their (and our) oyster.

Edit: Found the cover on Google and on an eBay listing. Now to see if the image works:

 

[MsSportsGuy]

That was a great game and one for the record books with the LVs performance. I had no doubt in my mind they would win that game and it was a great performance while also being a little anticlimactic.

I've posted this before on this board but two of my favorites to watch were close victories over UConn teams that were overall better than the LVs those years. The 2000 game at UConn saw the LVs give the Huskies their only loss of the season when Randall hit a shot big shot with just a few seconds left to get the win. In 2001 when UConn came to Knoxville the LVs played one of their most complete games of that run and went all out on offense for a 92-88 win.

The 1998 squad is no doubt the best LVs team of all time and arguably one of the 3 or 4 best ever.