'I felt like there was three of her on the floor at times': Vandy HC Shea Ralph praises Teonni Key following career outing

Kentucky’s 84-83 loss to Vanderbilt was disappointing to say the least, and a lot of things went wrong in Historic Memorial Coliseum on Thursday. What didn’t go wrong? Teonni Key in her second game back from injury. In 37 minutes, the 6-foot-5 forward posted a career-high 27 points on 11-15 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds along the way.

Following the game, Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph had some glowing remarks on Key. Specifically, Ralph praised the fact that Key is so active on the floor. She’s not just a back-to-the-basket big. Key can really do it all just about.

“She brings a lot to the table,” Ralph said following the game. “I love her length. I felt like there was three of her on the floor at times, where like, wait a minute, she’s bringing the ball up, then she got the rebound, how’s she over there getting a drive to the basket, it felt like she was all over the place.”

Even outside of her on-court abilities, Ralph appreciates the type of character that Key portrays.

“I told Kenny before the game how happy I am that he got her back because that was a pretty tough injury that kid had,” the fifth-year head coach noted. “To be able to come back the way that she did and play the kind of basketball that she’s playing right now says a lot about her.”

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Ralph knows what it’s like to go through a serious injury. In fact, she went through not one ACL tears, not two, not three, not four, but five. Five ACL tears. So, it makes sense why she has so much respect for Key, who has obviously battled through a number of her own injuries as well.

“I have a lot of respect for what he does and the way that he utilizes his players,” Ralph mentioned. “The fact that she was as successful as she was tonight, I didn’t love that as the opposing coach, but I respect it as a basketball player, having gone through what she just went through, and I think Kenny does a really good job as a whole with the team and putting them in positions of success.”