With Warlick as an assistant coach and Harper (then Kellie Jolly) as a player from 1995-99, the Lady Vols went 131-17 and won three national championships. You have come to the ESPN Africa edition, for other ESPN editions, click above.

Not that I'm trying to be Pat Summitt, but it was a way for me to learn how she handled all of that.".

It was 21 years ago this month that Harper -- then Kellie Jolly -- started her senior season at Thompson-Boling Arena as Tennessee was coming off its third consecutive national championship, having gone 39-0. Tennessee is her dream job, of course, but it's also a major undertaking. It has been a whirlwind for Harper and her husband and assistant coach, Jon Harper, since she was picked in April to replace Holly Warlick, who replaced Summitt in the spring of 2012. However, the inside-outside game with Lou Brown, Tamari Key, Kasiyahna Kushkituah, Kamera Harris and even four minutes of Jaiden McCoy, who is playing through a wrist injury, set everything up. On Thursday, she wore a dark-orange dress that she acknowledged wasn't exactly the right shade. This year, Brown has been critical as a true four. Harper exists as a duality to a lot of Lady Vol fans, with her past and present selves both so important to them. "And it was going to be Pat's job forever. But as fate would have it, Harper has come back home.

Tennessee improves to 2-0 after a dominant night defensively in a 63-36 rout of Central Arkansas. It wasn't even a fleeting thought.". "Finding Tennessee orange in coaching attire is really difficult," she said with a smile. The former Lady Vol guard and three-time NCAA champ represents the best of what was and the hope of what Tennessee … "It's kind of cool. We'll never pass along your email address to spammers, scammers, or the like. Harper is doing something that would come with risk even for a program that doesn't have the immense history of an eight-time NCAA champion. ... Kellie Harper, Lady Vol Head Coach ... What it is like to put that jersey on and play … "But it's just different when it's your alma mater.

Harper knows there won't be another Summitt, just as Warlick knew it.

But as fate would have it, Harper has come back home. Then she went off on the path to become a coach.

Harper would have been on the list anyway, but her Missouri State team's run to the Sweet 16 seemed like serendipity. It's an unbelievable place to be, and I'm so happy that they get to grow up in it. Warlick also signed Tamari Key and Emily Saunders. "In this position, you're constantly needed in so many ways," Harper said. I just mean I always felt that we were our own team, but we were so educated about the tradition and how many had laid that foundation.". There's a different passion.

After all, they were able to overcome 28 turnovers and the loss of one of their best guards on the team to win that game. Tennessee Lady Vols guards are alway going to be key, and the backcourt in general will have the stars this year. In 2009, she had her first tenure as legend replacement, taking over for the late Kay Yow at NC State. Tennessee has the highest of standards, but Harper -- overseeing a team that lost three starters and has six newcomers, four of them freshmen -- needs time to establish herself. But she also wants to go deep into the rotation so teams like Notre Dame hurt themselves when trying to turn up the tempo. Tennessee reached into its storied past to determine the Lady Vols’ future with the hiring of Kellie Harper. Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on Tennessee Volunteers and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. Now she's 42, and her son, Jackson, who turns 6 this month, wears a No. "I wanted her to succeed because I love this program and wanted it to win.". Now she's 42, and her son, Jackson, who turns 6 this month, wears a No. She had persevered through so much: Summitt's illness and death, an acrimonious athletic department merger that cost some of her longtime colleagues and friends their jobs, and an attempt by former athletic director Dave Hart to essentially get rid of the Lady Vol logo and brand name. Harper -- then Kellie Jolly -- was the point guard for the national champions in 1998, as Tennessee went 38-0 and won its third NCAA title in a row and sixth overall.