The All-Time Tennessee Women's Basketball Starting 5

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers have been a perennial powerhouse since the women's basketball program began in 1974. Pat Summit took over as head coach in 1980 and led the program to eight national championships, including an undefeated 39-0 season in 1997-98.

The program is right up there with the UConn Huskies in terms of winning championships and having legends of the game pass through the program. Picking an all-time starting five for the Lady Vols is no easy task. Yet five players do stand out as not only the best in program history, but in the history of women's college basketball.

1. Center: Candace Parker

Candace Parker is one of the greatest players in women's basketball history, period. She won two national championships at Tennessee and was a two-time John R. Wooden Award winner. Parker was also named the Most Outstanding Player for the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and 2008, and went on to be taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, where she still plays today and is a five-time All-Star and former Finals MVP. There is no Tennessee all-time starting five without Parker.

2. Forward: Daedra Charles

The late Daedra Charles has her No. 32 retired by Tennessee, one of just six players to earn that distinction. She was a part of two national championship teams and is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. A two-time All-American, she averaged over 17 points per game in her final collegiate season in 1991, winning the Wade Trophy as the nation's top player. She played in the WNBA's inaugural year. The Lady Vols legend spent several years as an assistant coach in the college ranks before tragically passing away in 2018 at the age of 49.

3. Forward: Chamique Holdsclaw

Chamique Holdsclaw was a star player with the Lady Volunteers. / Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Chamique Holdsclaw won three consecutive national titles as a Lady Vol. That amazingly earned her back-to-back NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors and National Player of the Year awards in 1998 and' 99. The Queens, New York native's success in college led to her being the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft. She played until 2010 and was a six-time All-Star. Her No. 23 jersey hangs from the rafters in Knoxville after a college career that stands alone for its sheer excellence.

4. Guard: Tamika Catchings

Tamika Catchings will become a Hall of Famer in 2020. / Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

With 10 All-Star nods, Tamika Catchings is one of the greatest players in WNBA history, and before she went pro, she was a part of the 1997-98 Lady Vols' undefeated national championship team that also featured Holdsclaw. Opposing teams stood no chance against Catchings; she was the Naismith Player of the Year in 2000 and was taken No. 3 overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft. Catchings averaged 18.2 points per game as a Tennessee freshman, and her career only went up from there.

5. Guard: Holly Warlick

Holly Warlick became head coach at Tennessee following Pat Summit. / Donald Page/Getty Images

Holly Warlick just beats out two other super-talented guards in Kara Lawson and Dena Head. A member of the class of 1980, she helped lead the Lady Vols deep into the AIAW Tournament several times before the NCAA hosted its first women's tournament. She was one of the first true stars in program history, and was the very first to have her number retired. Several generations of fans know her for her role as a coach in Knoxville -- Warlick was an assistant under Pat Summit from 1985-2012, and took over as head coach after Summit's departure, serving through 2019.

ALL-TIME BENCH: Bridgette Gordon, Kara Lawson, Michelle Marciniak, Dena Head