Vanderbilt lost to South Carolina 84-63 in the SEC women’s tourney quarterfinals but still earned an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Commodores missed the NCAA tourney for 9 straight years from 2015-2023, but have now won 22+ games and made the NCAA tourney for the 2nd year in a row. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Vanderbilt SR PG Jordyn Oliver about playing for a trio of terrific coaches and making the NCAA tourney.
In the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship you played for Team USA: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was a blessing. When I was in high school my dad had me make a list of things I wanted to accomplish, and that was on my bucket list.
In 2019 you were named a McDonald’s All-American: could you tell at the time that your fellow honoree Aliyah Boston was going to become a star? Yes: you could tell right then and there. We knew that she would be great, and even as a freshman at South Carolina her skills did not decline at all.
You spent your 1st few years of college at Baylor/Duke: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Vanderbilt? I had 2 great coaches at my previous schools and made some lifelong friends, but I wanted to find the perfect fit…and thanks to Coach Shea Ralph I did.
You have played for 3 amazing coaches in Kim Mulkey/Kara Lawson/Shea Ralph: what is the most important thing that you learned from any of them? I learned a lot from each of them. Coach Mulkey is in the Hall of Fame and the other 2 are right behind her. The most important thing I learned is that the work you do now will show itself later.
Last month your teammate Mikayla Blakes set a D-1 freshman record with 55 PTS in a 10-PT OT win over Auburn: where does that rank among the most amazing performances that you have ever seen? That is #1. You rarely see a freshman drop 50 PTS twice in a season. She is a great player and a great person.
The SEC received a record 14 bids to this year’s men’s tourney, which further establishes it as the greatest conference in the history of the sport: where does the women’s side of the conference rank among the best in the nation? We are #1 for sure! I have played in 3 conferences now and taken the lay of the land, and I can tell you that the SEC is the best.
During the past few years, you have made the NCAA tourney with 3 different schools and won at least 1 tourney game every single year: what is the key to winning games in March? Just having a sense of urgency. You can be an underdog or a top-4 seed, but you must play with urgency during the entire month.
Your uncle LaTroy Hawkins played in MLB for 21 seasons and your cousin Jared Cunningham played in the NBA: who is the best athlete in the family? If you asked them they would probably say themselves. We are a pretty competitive family…but I would say me!
How do you feel about being a #7 seed, and what do you know about Oregon? I am excited to be a 7-seed and we are grateful to be back in the NCAA tourney. I do not know too much about Oregon but I am VERY familiar with Deja Kelly: we both grew up in the Texas area, and we faced each other in ACC play when she was at UNC and I was at Duke.
If you end up beating the Ducks, then you might have to face your old Blue Devils team: how exciting/weird/fun would that be? It would be fun: I still have a few friends left on the team. I graduated from Duke with a degree in sociology so it is exciting to be going back to Cameron Indoor Stadium…but if we end up playing them it will be my team vs. their team: I will not make it “JO vs. Duke”.
