University of Tennessee Athletics
DeShields At NCAA Media Day
October 31, 2016 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE -- For the second consecutive year, Tennessee guard Diamond DeShields participated in the NCAA's National Women's Basketball Media Day. The event was held on Nov. 1 at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn.
The NCAA Media Day serves as a tipoff to the season, with select student-athletes and head coaches taking part in interviews across the many ESPN platforms. In addition to DeShields, participants at ESPN included student-athletes Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State), Kelsey Plum (Washington), Leticia Romero (Florida State), Brianna Turner (Notre Dame) and A'ja Wilson (South Carolina).
Head coaches attending the event included Karen Aston (Texas), Geno Auriemma (UConn), Cori Close (UCLA), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame), Dawn Staley (South Carolina) and Jeff Walz (Louisville).
DeShields began the day by hitting the make-up room, joining UW's Plum in getting some cosmetic touches before starting the rotation of media engagements. First up for the Lady Vol was a studio session with Rebecca Lobo, featuring a rapid-fire Q&A segment and as well as a sit-down interview.
Following a series of on-camera questions for television with ESPN producers Kerry Callahan and Beth Chappell, DeShields transitioned to digital format. She answered questions from ESPN.com women's basketball writer Mechelle Voepel and participated in several social media interviews and written exercises with other ESPN staff.
Next, DeShields participated in an Around The Rim podcast with analyst LaChina Robinson, followed by an interview session with national media members. Her final stop was a joint venture with South Carolina's Wilson, as the duo participated in a on-camera remote interview with the SEC Network crew in Charlotte.
While walking between the interview segments, DeShields was able to see and pose for photos in front of some of the network's iconic logos, signs and displays.
Content specific to DeShields' visit is available via @LadyVol_Hoops on Twitter, LadyVol_Hoops on Instagram and the Lady Vol Facebook page, BallWithTheLadyVols, as well as on a social wall on UTSports.com.
DeShields, a 6-foot-1 redshirt junior from Norcross, Ga. (Norcross H.S.), led Tennessee in scoring (14.3 ppg), steals (1.6 spg) and three-pointers made (36) while also averaging 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists despite a lingering leg injury hampering her for most of the 2015-16 season. She bumped her average to 19.3 ppg. in the SEC Tournament and hit 17.0 during NCAA play.
On the year, she scored in double digits 28 times while crossing the 20-point plateau 10 times with 30+ point games against ETSU and Stetson.
For her efforts, DeShields was named to the 2015-16 All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional All-Tournament Team. In 2016-17, she was one of five players chosen for the AP Preseason All-SEC Team.
