Kasiyahna Kushkituah

#1
creekdipper

creekdipper

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#1
What a great person! 💘 💘 💘

Kasi is the ultimate role player. Starter, sub, cheerleader...she is always willing to do what the team asks her to do and puts her team ahead of herself.

Can't count the number of times we've yelled, "Kasi??!!!" after a bricked FT, missed bunny, fumbled pass, or travel. But never yelled in anger, just frustration. Because you could never accuse Kasi Kushkituah of lacking heart, effort, or desire to win. She might not be able to reach the three-point shooter in time, but by Golly, she was going to try.

And when Kasi was on...it was beautiful to watch her power game. She sometimes played above her height and speed and just outworked opponents. And she could finish smoothly, block shots, rebound in beast mode, dish assists to Tamari, hit short jumpers, get the break going with a great outlet pass, etc. She could step up in big games and be instrumental in the win or at least keeping us in it to the end. And she gave it her all on every play.

You cannot help but respect Kasi. Her hard work to improve is obvious and had been noted by Kellie many times. Kellie also said that Kasi is one of the kindest, if not the kindest, players she has ever been around. You can hear it in Kasi's voice, see it in her blogs and videos, and see it in her interactions with coaches, teammates, and fans. Hope someone can post her senior vid reading the letter from her mom.

Kasi is certain to be successful in life after basketball, whenever that time comes. But she's already a success in the most important things in life. If you had to temporarily entrust the care of your kids to someone, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone as dependable and trustworthy as Kasi. And that says far more than basketball awards.

And Lady Vol history will always remember The Ragdoll Swing when Kasi bearhugged Kellie in the locker room and played pendulum with her coach.

Kasi Kushkituah. You just can't help loving her!

Thank you for everything, Kasi!!!

💘
 
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#2
#2
I haven't posted here in a while but wanted to chime in for Kasi and Rennia.

Folks, if you haven't watched the post-game interviews with Kasi and Rennia after today's Senior Day win, do yourselves a favor and spend the time watching them. They were two of the absolute BEST post-game interviews in my memory -- both positively beautiful and inspiring. I'll put it this way: If you don't come away from watching them feeling incredibly proud of both of them, you are probably a dangerous sociopath. Check yourself into a hospital ASAP. lol

But seriously, I remember how both of them came across on camera as freshmen. Rennia was a woman of VERY few words -- shy and reluctant. Kasi was bubbly and sweet, but came across -- sorry, Kasi! -- as somewhat lacking in maturity. I remember thinking way back then that Ms. Kushkituah had a LOT of growing up to do if she ever expected to one day be considered a team leader.

Well, mission accomplished.

The maturity and growth they are both displaying now in their play and in their words and actions are so touching to me. They each very easily could have permanently checked out after their first two emotionally challenging seasons, but they didn't. They stuck it out and are now reaping the benefits of their own hard work and love for their teammates and the program.

Seriously, go watch the interviews. They are incredibly poignant.

Much love to our TENNESSEE LADY VOLS!
 
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#3
#3
creekdipper said:
And Lady Vol history will always remember The Ragdoll Swing when Kasi bearhugged Kellie in the locker room and played pendulum with her coach.
💘
Click to expand...

My hope is that that moment of pure joy captured on video will be one that shows up regularly in future video montages about the Lady Vols. It was truly special.
 
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#4
#4
Great interviews, thanks for the pointer-- you just want to hug Kasi and Rennia as they are great Vols who stuck with Tenn through the coaching change. Love when Kasi said in the sweetest way "I'm a Tennessee girl" in response to why she stayed at Tenn. And it was charming when Rennia spoke about being appreciative of the fan support, especially today on Senior Day. Congrats ladies, well done!
 
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#5
#5
lvocd said:
I haven't posted here in a while but wanted to chime in for Kasi and Rennia.

Folks, if you haven't watched the post-game interviews with Kasi and Rennia after today's Senior Day win, do yourselves a favor and spend the time watching them. They were two of the absolute BEST post-game interviews in my memory -- both positively beautiful and inspiring. I'll put it this way: If you don't come away from watching them feeling incredibly proud of both of them, you are probably a dangerous sociopath. Check yourself into a hospital ASAP. lol

But seriously, I remember how both of them came across on camera as freshmen. Rennia was a woman of VERY few words -- shy and reluctant. Kasi was bubbly and sweet, but came across -- sorry Kasi! -- as somewhat lacking in maturity. I remember thinking way back then that Ms. Kushkituah had a LOT of growing up to do if she ever expected to one day be considered a team leader.

Well, mission accomplished.

The maturity and growth they are both displaying now in their play and in their words and actions are so touching to me. They each very easily could have permanently checked out after their first two emotionally challenging seasons, but they didn't. They stuck it out and are now reaping the benefits of their own hard work and love for their teammates and the program.

Seriously, go watch the interviews. They are incredibly poignant.

Much love to our TENNESSEE LADY VOLS!
Click to expand...

So glad to see you back, lvocd! Amazing post, as always!!
 
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#7
#7
lvocd said:
I haven't posted here in a while but wanted to chime in for Kasi and Rennia.

Folks, if you haven't watched the post-game interviews with Kasi and Rennia after today's Senior Day win, do yourselves a favor and spend the time watching them. They were two of the absolute BEST post-game interviews in my memory -- both positively beautiful and inspiring. I'll put it this way: If you don't come away from watching them feeling incredibly proud of both of them, you are probably a dangerous sociopath. Check yourself into a hospital ASAP. lol

But seriously, I remember how both of them came across on camera as freshmen. Rennia was a woman of VERY few words -- shy and reluctant. Kasi was bubbly and sweet, but came across -- sorry, Kasi! -- as somewhat lacking in maturity. I remember thinking way back then that Ms. Kushkituah had a LOT of growing up to do if she ever expected to one day be considered a team leader.

Well, mission accomplished.

The maturity and growth they are both displaying now in their play and in their words and actions are so touching to me. They each very easily could have permanently checked out after their first two emotionally challenging seasons, but they didn't. They stuck it out and are now reaping the benefits of their own hard work and love for their teammates and the program.

Seriously, go watch the interviews. They are incredibly poignant.

Much love to our TENNESSEE LADY VOLS!
Click to expand...
Whoever is doing the LV video content needs to have gatorade poured over their head and be given a huge pay raise. Starting with those golf cart coaching staff drive arounds, the videos have been fantastic since KJH got here. Whoever had the idea for Kellie to come out and give Re the letter from her Mom to read on camera deserves an emmy or whatever they give for video content. Could so easily have gone cheesy, but instead was on of the most effective moments I've ever seen.

Of course, the subject matter and the stars, Re and Kasi, plus their epic journey, makes it pretty easy to capture video poignancy. I agree, the growth and maturity of these two during the LVs Wild Ride has been so gratifying. I remember them both at the lowest of their low points and to see them work thru and emerge victorious, whatever the hell happens the rest of the season, has been a gift I needed in the hardest emotional year of my professional life.
 
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#8
#8
I've come around on KK. Is she limited in some areas? Sure. But she is the physically strongest player that I've seen this year, plays with great effort, runs the floor very well for her size, seems like a very genuine good person. You can tell she has worked very hard to become an effective player at the SEC level, and she has achieved that status.
 
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#9
#9
37620VOL said:
I've come around on KK. Is she limited in some areas? Sure. But she is the physically strongest player that I've seen this year, plays with great effort, runs the floor very well for her size, seems like a very genuine good person. You can tell she has worked very hard to become an effective player at the SEC level, and she has achieved that status.
Click to expand...

Against Auburn, she was finishing a lot better at the rim. Let's hope she can maintain that focus during the tourneys.
 
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#13
#13
creekdipper said:
What a great person! 💘 💘 💘

Kasi is the ultimate role player. Starter, sub, cheerleader...she is always willing to do what the team asks her to do and puts her team ahead of herself.

Can't count the number of times we've yelled, "Kasi??!!!" after a bricked FT, missed bunny, fumbled pass, or travel. But never yelled in anger, just frustration. Because you could never accuse Kasi Kushkituah of lacking heart, effort, or desire to win. She might not be able to reach the three-point shooter in time, but by Golly, she was going to try.

And when Kasi was on...it was beautiful to watch her power game. She sometimes played above her height and speed and just outworked opponents. And she could finish smoothly, block shots, rebound in beast mode, dish assists to Tamari, hit short jumpers, get the break going with a great outlet pass, etc. She could step up in big games and be instrumental in the win or at least keeping us in it to the end. And she gave it her all on every play.

You cannot help but respect Kasi. Her hard work to improve is obvious and had been noted by Kellie many times. Kellie also said that Kasi is one of the kindest, if not the kindest, players she has ever been around. You can hear it in Kasi's voice, see it in her blogs and videos, and see it in her interactions with coaches, teammates, and fans. Hope someone can post her senior vid reading the letter from her mom.

Kasi is certain to be successful in life after basketball, whenever that time comes. But she's already a success in the most important things in life. If you had to temporarily entrust the care of your kids to someone, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone as dependable and trustworthy as Kasi. And that says far more than basketball awards.

And Lady Vol history will always remember The Ragdoll Swing when Kasi bearhugged Kellie in the locker room and played pendulum with her coach.

Kasi Kushkituah. You just can't help loving her!

Thank you for everything, Kasi!!!

💘
Click to expand...
Beautiful post.
 
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#14
#14
KK made a big play last night. It's awesome to see how far she has come. In fact, every player is much better than they were last year, some by a mile. Player development is one of the major reasons this team is a legitimate contender and KK is a starter.
 
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#15
#15
Rickster said:
KK made a big play last night. It's awesome to see how far she has come. In fact, every player is much better than they were last year, some by a mile. Player development is one of the major reasons this team is a legitimate contender and KK is a starter.
Click to expand...

KK made more than one big play last night and in recent games. She's finally become the player we've wanted and needed, and one of the reasons is that she's worked so hard on her conditioning and it shows.
 
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#17
#17
glv98 said:
Whoever is doing the LV video content needs to have gatorade poured over their head and be given a huge pay raise. Starting with those golf cart coaching staff drive arounds, the videos have been fantastic since KJH got here. Whoever had the idea for Kellie to come out and give Re the letter from her Mom to read on camera deserves an emmy or whatever they give for video content. Could so easily have gone cheesy, but instead was on of the most effective moments I've ever seen.

Of course, the subject matter and the stars, Re and Kasi, plus their epic journey, makes it pretty easy to capture video poignancy. I agree, the growth and maturity of these two during the LVs Wild Ride has been so gratifying. I remember them both at the lowest of their low points and to see them work thru and emerge victorious, whatever the hell happens the rest of the season, has been a gift I needed in the hardest emotional year of my professional life.
Click to expand...
Good comment! Thanks 😊
 
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#25
#25
LadyVols_WBK said:
she is likely not getting drafted(making a WNBA roster is realllllllyy hard) overseas is the route for her if she wants play professional
Click to expand...

If she does it’ll be third round and that would help for the purposes of securing and overseas contract. I think third round isn’t impossible if Tennessee has a postseason run considering how she’s played of late, it’d put more eyes on her.
 
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