Lady Vols basketball had its local media day on Thursday afternoon. Afterward, Tennessee took to the court at Pratt Pavilion for an open practice. Here are my notes and observations from the practice, along with some insight from talking to Kim Caldwell and players.

The pair of Lady Vol point guards received a lot of praise today. Kennedy Fauntleroy and Jada Eads are shouldering a lot, including leading film sessions for the entire team. The result has been a lot more comfort at the top of the press and leading the offense this early in the year.

Fauntleroy really does look like an all-around weapon, too. She’s a capable scorer, but where she really shows up is as a rebounding guard, playmaker and defender. She told me today that Caldwell has SEC Defensive Player of the Year aspirations for her. If she can get her steal numbers up in this system, she could be in the conversation.

There were a few players who shot the ball well today, as well. Rylie Theuerkauf hit a few threes in a row and is lethal on catch-and-shoots, but that’s what she was brought in to do. Also saw some forwards such as Fatmata Janneh and Harper Peterson knock down shots. Aaliyah Moore and Riley Makalusky are also capable shooters.

Naomi White also continues to look like a microwave and was hitting a high clip from range. She hit some tough shots, too, including a pull-up midrange that can be a nice bailout in the halfcourt if shots aren’t opening up. Again for her, it’s just a matter of consistency. When she gets going, she looks like she could score in bunches.

Four-star freshman Gabby Minus is still in a bit of an adjustment period. There are mistakes, such as turnovers, that she’s working through, but she also showed off a jump shot that hit from three, positive defense and an ability to finish at the rim. It’ll be interesting to see how she factors into this team once rotations get trimmed down and you have to stick with 10 or 11.

My biggest concerns with the team at the moment are the lack of size and turnovers. The size does come with a tradeoff, though. Tennessee will be the fastest team every time they take the court and could make things difficult for opponents with bigger, but less mobile forwards, like it did in Caldwell’s first season. However,  if the Lady Vols get stuck in the half-court, they could be vulnerable.

The turnovers also may just be an early season thing to work through. You’d expect that number to be at its highest in October and November, as there is still an adjustment. At first, that could lead to some ugly games and transition points for opponents. If Tennessee can limit those, they have the chance to put up a bunch of points. That’s what it’s done all offseason, too, living at over 100 points per scrimmage. On the other end, some sloppiness has led to opponents also scoring at high clips.