Kellie Harper recalls her Lady Vols debut vs. Team USA ahead of scrimmage

Her introduction to the world of college basketball was unusual, though. Her first time every putting on a Lady Vols jersey wasn't against another team in the NCAA. Instead, it was to square off with one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

The 1996 Team USA olympic team visited Knoxville with legends making up the entire roster. This included former Tennessee stand outs Nikki McCray-Penson and Carla McGhee.

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It was McCray-Penson who would ultimately give Harper one of her first memories as a college athlete. With Summitt instructing Harper to feed the ball to the post, McCray-Penson swooped in and effortlessly recorded a steal and score.

"My very first opportunity to put on a jersey was against Team USA," said Harper. "And it was the Dream Team. The '96 Dream Team. I got in the game, I remember I was holding the basketball, I was looking for someone to throw it to. I was going to pass it to the post because Pat told me to pass it to the post. I'm a rule follower. So, I'm ready to pass it to the post and Nikki McCray took the ball and went and shot a layup. And that was literally my first experience in an orange jersey. An orange and white jersey I should say. Very competitive. You're playing the best in the world. It was a fun experience to be able to do that."

This wasn't the beginning or end of a fun day for McCray-Penson either. She also sung the National Anthem in the pregame festivities, accepted her future husband's proposal and took down her alma mater 82-58 that night.

Now, Harper will have the chance to compete in a scrimmage against Team USA again. However, this time, she'll be on the sideline as the Lady Vols' head coach.

She feels this opportunity will benefit both her team and the national squad. It will give her team a taste of playing the best competition in the world while giving Team USA a chance to practice and be seen by the public.

"I think the competition first and foremost," said Harper. "I think the excitement. It's a great opportunity to get to play a team that will hopefully be competing for a gold medal. We're also doing this for Team USA. We want to help give them an opportunity in front of a lot of fans to be able to support them. To me, it's helping everyone. It's growing our game. It's giving our players the opportunity to play the best and hopefully supporting them while they're doing it."

Tennessee's roster has players with some experience representing the United States already. Rickea Jackson and Jewel Spear are two of the players with this on their resume after playing in the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup this off-season.

Harper plans to rely on their experience in the match.

"We only spoke with them briefly about the game itself," said Harper. "We just talked to them about playing the best in the world and playing grown women. We've had some players that have experienced USA basketball. I think those experiences we're going to draw off of. Going to share with the team."

The event will take place on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Tickets are on sale at AllVols.com.

In the Lady Vols' program history, they are 1-2 in these scrimmages with a Final Four appearance in each of the following seasons.

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