Fatmata Janneh was back on the floor for Tennessee on Thursday, a welcome sign after the Lady Vols forward had been in a boot and sidelined during last Saturday’s public scrimmage at Food City Center.
Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell said Janneh had returned to practice, and Janneh backed that up by saying she felt good. During the open portion of practice, she was a full participant.
The update matters because Janneh is expected to bring a lot more than size to Tennessee in her first season with the program. After a strong year at Texas A&M, the 6-foot-2 forward arrives with a track record as one of the SEC’s more productive frontcourt players.
She averaged 11.4 points per game last season while shooting 43.3% from the field. She also showed range, knocking down 1.1 three-pointers per game at a 33% clip.
Her calling card, though, is on the glass. Janneh averaged 9.7 rebounds per game, which ranked fifth in the SEC, and 2.6 of those came on the offensive end.
“I think she’s going to be one of the best rebounders in the SEC,” Caldwell said about Janneh on The Mike Keith Show this week. “She’s a very good three-point shooter.
We’re trying to get her confidence up in her driving ability, but she is a scorer. And we’re going to need her to be a scorer for us more than just a rebounder.
She’s a very underrated defender. She can guard multiple positions.
We’ve got to keep her out of foul trouble because she does hack a lot.”
Janneh’s path to Knoxville started with two seasons at St. Peter’s, where she emerged as a major force by averaging 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore. That breakout made her a heavily pursued transfer before she landed at Texas A&M, where she was the nation’s leading defensive rebounder and also averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds as a freshman.
The London native, who attended Barking Abbey Sixth Form, is now the second player from England on Tennessee’s roster. The Lady Vols also added freshman Irene Oboavwoduo, a former Boston College signee, this offseason.
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