MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — When asked about his two graduating seniors, Rick Insell didn't first go to one of Courtney Whitson's more than 1,000 rebounds or any amount of Savannah Wheeler's more than 2,000 points. He didn't bring up Wheeler's deadly floater or Whitson's record setting three-pointers or even the pageantry of Senior Day itself.
Instead, the veteran head coach was brought back to when he recruited his two seniors, Whitson when she was just a prep player from Dobyns-Bennett High School, trying to decide whether she wanted to play for Middle Tennessee or Missouri, Wheeler when she first entered the transfer portal after three standout years at Marshall, with his assistants Kim Brewton and Matt Insell immediately contacting Savannah and her dad, respectively, within minutes of Wheeler's name popping up.