KNOXVILLE — As the lone senior on the Tennessee women’s basketball team, Alex Fuller assumed a leadership role by necessity.

But Fuller has flourished as the much-needed veteran presence on a team with six true freshmen.

The 6-foot-3 forward figures coaching a team wouldn’t be much different.

“I want to be around the game even if I’m not playing,” said Fuller, who graduated from UT in December last year.

But given the struggles this year’s team has faced, Fuller’s revelation surprised her coach, Pat Summitt.

“After this year, she wants to coach? I’m trying to decide if I want to be a coach,” quipped Summitt, whose Lady Vols suffered their fifth straight road loss Thursday at unranked LSU, 63-61.

Still, the Hall of Famer with 1,002 UT wins said Fuller has potential to be successful directing a team.

“I think Alex knows the game,” Summitt said. “I think her personality has really blossomed over her career here.”

Fuller will play her final regular-season home game when No. 18 Tennessee (19-9, 8-5 SEC) and No. 19 Vanderbilt (21-7, 10-3) tip off at 7 tonight at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

A native of Shelbyville, Tenn., Fuller expects family members to be in attendance.

“I think it’ll be emotional for my family,” Fuller said. “I told my teammates that I’m not going to cry. I will.”

Fuller said a glance in the direction of her mother, Debra Price, would probably make that happen.

It would be a rare display of emotion from Fuller, who has maintained a seemingly impenetrable exterior during her Lady Vols career. But she is all too familiar with the elation of victory and the pain of injury.

Sidelined her freshman season to recover from two knee surgeries, Fuller emerged as a key contributor off the bench on UT’s back-to-back national championship teams of the last two years.

This season, Fuller took on a new challenge as a leader of one of Summitt’s youngest teams.

“I’ve had a good five years, but I think in any experience there are ups and downs,” Fuller said.

The downturn for the Lady Vols has been precipitous this season. The loss at LSU dropped them to fifth in the SEC standings, and they may plummet out of the final Top 25 rankings for the first time in program history.

“Every year I’ve been here, it’s been a learning experience,” Fuller said. “I’ve learned something new about myself, and I’ve grown as a person.”

Her experience has taught her the importance of setting a good example for her teammates, even during difficult times.

“I can’t think about myself,” Fuller said. “I can’t be selfish. I have to keep pushing through and stay strong.”

It’s an attitude indicative of a team leader.

Or a coach-to-be.

Smallbone to start

Lady Vols sophomore guard Sydney Smallbone earned her fourth start of the season with a hard work ethic that impressed Summitt.

“She’s the one player who understands how to compete and what it takes to play,” Summitt said. “She’s not the most athletic, but she has a huge heart and loves this program and loves this team.”

With Smallbone’s addition, Summitt will use her 12th different starting lineup this season.

“We’re all searching,” the coach said. “We’re all grasping for straws.”