What Lady Vols are getting from 5-star scout team player Talaysia Cooper as she sits out season

Lady Vols basketball players have a new challenge on scout team this season: Talaysia Cooper.

The 6-foot sophomore guard transferred to Tennessee from South Carolina outside of the NCAA transfer portal window this summer and has to sit out this season. But that means everyone else gets an even bigger challenge in practices.

Cooper, a former five-star prospect ranked No. 18 in the 2022 class, splits her time in practice between playing with her teammates and on the scout team. But Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said Cooper might like her time with the scout team a little better.

Playing free on scout team has helped her "get (her) groove back" after being off all summer, Cooper said.

"Talaysia likes it when she can just play," Harper said. "She's a player that, although she can do well with structure, she also loves to just play basketball. So when we put her on scout team, you see those competitive juices coming through, and she's trying to win at everything and we love to see that. She's had a few days where she's been very hard for us to guard."

How Talaysia Cooper fits in at Tennessee after leaving South Carolina

Cooper knows the season sitting out will help her on and off the court. She'll learn the system, get stronger in the weight room, get to know her teammates and make them better.

Tennessee was one of her top two schools before she committed to the Gamecocks, wanting to stay closer to home in Turbeville, South Carolina. When she entered the portal in June, Tennessee was a top school in mind again.

Cooper played on a loaded South Carolina team last season that made a run to the Final Four. She got to learn from a senior class that landed three players in the WNBA this season, including Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, and she said they helped her through tough stretches when she wasn't getting playing time. Cooper averaged 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in eight minutes in 24 games as a freshman.

"Honestly, I had a lot of ups and downs my freshman year," Cooper said of her decision to transfer. "So I just wanted to move away from home to grow and be successful."

Her Tennessee teammates enjoy the humor she brings every day. She's somewhat of a chameleon and fits in with a lot of different people, junior guard Kaiya Wynn said, and it's clear Cooper enjoys being in Knoxville.

"She always has something to say ... a joke or something to say that brightens somebody's day or lifts somebody up," senior guard Jasmine Powell said. "That's what we need. We need sometimes comedic relief. We need somebody who's going to come in and give us that extra oomph that we need ... she pushes us and it really works with what we have here."

How Talaysia Cooper makes Lady Vols better in practice

Cooper is already making the most of her fresh start.

She isn't taking it easy because she has to sit out. It's not surprising for players to see her already in the gym before practice or getting in the gym after hours. When Cooper is eligible to play for Tennessee next season, she'll have a significant role – it wouldn't be surprising to see her make a case for a starting spot – and she'll be ready for it.

But for now, her presence on scout team has already made an impact and pushed the team to be better on both ends of the court.

"She gives us a really good look at what we're going to see in the SEC," Wynn said. "She's coming off ball screens, she's getting to the rim. She shooting pull-up jumpers, she's shooting the three, just being aggressive."

Multiple players praised Cooper's midrange game – Powell said she hits every jumper in practice.

"Her midrange is crazy," senior guard Jewel Spear said. "She can get a bucket whenever she wants to."

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But Cooper's impact on defense is felt just as much, if not more. Senior forward Rickea Jackson described Cooper as athletic with a "will for the ball."

She's gritty, tenacious, moves her feet and has incredibly active hands. Her length allows her to constantly get her hands in the passing lane and get her hand on the ball while someone's dribbling. Powell said when Cooper gets on defense, "she doesn't care who's in front of her. She wants to stop you."

She also isn't afraid to foul her teammates in practice, Wynn and Jackson said. But it's a good thing, allowing them to play through contact they're going to see night in and night out in SEC play.

"We be telling her like, 'Girl, stop fouling all the time.' But we just be joking with her," Jackson said. "It just puts a lot of pressure on the guards, but it’s pressure that we need because what she does, a lot of teams aren't going to do that. So it's probably going to be easier when we do play these teams, because it’s just like, 'Oh, Talaysia be all up in my grill every day at practice, so you’re nothing.'"

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball: Talaysia Cooper sits out but helps Tennessee