GBOP's Analysis for the rest of the season

#1

GBOplayer

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#1
I started a post earlier indicating key points and takeaways from the UT-KY game last Saturday. Now I would like to indicate key points the rest of the year in order for us to be the team we want to be. This is what needs to happen if we are to compete with KY, LSU, and Duke.

1. We need to play at a quicker tempo. Our frontcourt was (lack of height and depth) exposed by KY on Saturday night. Once KY got set in their half court defense our offense struggled. Granted if we shoot well then anything can happen, but to win a SEC tournament or NCAA tournament you cannot rely on getting hot at shooting for multiple games. Jordan Bone needs to push the court as soon as we get the defensive rebound and get into our half court offense before the defense can get into their defensive sets. We do this at times, but this needs to be the standard everytime especially against teams with size like KY and LSU that can play defense.

2. Our defense needs to improve. If you look at our defensive efficiency compared to last year, we are not what we were last year. This is strange because we essentially had the same personnel. So this is certainly attainable.

3. As mentioned in point #1, this all starts with Jordan Bone. If we are to win the SEC tournament and possibly the NCAA tournament, Bone needs to play lights out. Push the tempo, keep the ball moving, take more shots, and drive more to the hoop. This is all within his capability. There is no PG that can match his all around game and his quickness.

4. Finally, here is my prediction. Jordan Bone will be SEC player of the year. We are going to see him take it to the next level and we win the SEC tournament. Before we talk about a Final Four appearance, let's see how UT adjusts to LSU this Saturday. Hopefully Coach Barnes will see the same.
 
#3
#3
I agree, but I have a feeling that UT will drop at least two more before the SEC tourney.
We could, but think one more likely. Here's how I kinda look at it. We had an awesome run, but, fair enough, some of our toughest games are, in fact, later in the year. So, where ever we end up being is where we probably should be. I think we beat LSU and certainly could lose to KY again, but don't lose past that, but don't think we lose to both of them. If we lose to LSU, but beat KY, looks like LSU may win conference. If we beat LSU, but lose to KY, we tie again for regular season championship...maybe 3 way tie, but think someone will slip up again. We're OK as long as we don't go into a slide, which I don't see happening.
 
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#4
#4
Either way, these Vols will have a hornets nest waiting for KY when they come to TBA. Just hope they have a better unbiased officiating crew.
 
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#5
#5
Kyle Alexander has caught a case of the Quickexits lately. He needs to stay on the court longer or we are at a disadvantage vs anyone w length in the post.
 
#6
#6
Kyle Alexander has caught a case of the Quickexits lately. He needs to stay on the court longer or we are at a disadvantage vs anyone w length in the post.
He disappears in too many games IMO. Dude has to stay out of foul trouble if we want to make a serious tourney run in March.
 
#7
#7
I will say we played our WORST game of the season against Kentucky..
We could not hit wide open shots..Made way too many turnovers and looked lost on defense at times..
Kentucky caught us at our worst..
I do not think we will see another game like this out of our beloved VOLS...
This game could be what we needed to propel us from a really good team to a great team...
It could bring the intensity and focus back to the team...
We see come Tuesday what comes out of this lose...
GBO
 
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#8
#8
I don't think we need to make dramatic changes to our offense based on the Kentucky game. We have won a lot of games playing a deliberate pace and running when the opportunities present themselves. Against Kentucky we did a poor job of going through Grant and moving the ball around. And uk played well. Sometimes that happens
 
#9
#9
My prediction.... we play better against Vandy. No blowout but win comfortably. Then bounce back strong at LSU. Both teams play well but we get out of there with a W and some momentum. Carries us through the next few games.
 
#10
#10
I will say we played our WORST game of the season against Kentucky..
We could not hit wide open shots..Made way too many turnovers and looked lost on defense at times..
Kentucky caught us at our worst..
I do not think we will see another game like this out of our beloved VOLS...
This game could be what we needed to propel us from a really good team to a great team...
It could bring the intensity and focus back to the team...
We see come Tuesday what comes out of this lose...
GBO
its the worst we’ve played since exactly 1 year prior in a loss at UGA. We bounced back nicely in the subsequent 3 games after that loss
 
#11
#11
I'm not as optimistic. LSU and UK just are not good matchups for UT no matter where the game is played. I don't see us winning either of those. Until proven otherwise I'm concerned about our defending the 3pt shot. Both Ole Miss and AU can give us a real problem if they get hot from outside. I see 2-3 more losses. We've never done much in the SECT so I'll expect one win there. I see us as a 2 or 3 seed and the sweet 16. A favorable draw and we can get the elite 8.
 
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#12
#12
I'm not as optimistic. LSU and UK just are not good matchups for UT no matter where the game is played. I don't see us winning either of those. Until proven otherwise I'm concerned about our defending the 3pt shot. Both Ole Miss and AU can give us a real problem if they get hot from outside. I see 2-3 more losses. We've never done much in the SECT so I'll expect one win there. I see us as a 2 or 3 seed and the sweet 16. A favorable draw and we can get the elite 8.
Gonzaga wasn’t a “good matchup” for the Vols either.
 
#13
#13
Yes, that is true that Gonzaga was not a good matchup, but that game could have gone either way. We could have just as easily lost to Gonzaga. The teams that we have lost to this year are Kansas and Kentucky. Both of those teams have size that gives us matchup problems (which is why Grant Williams fouled out against Kansas). Gonzaga has size also and we could have easily lost that game. If we continue playing the way we do, then we will lose to LSU and to KY then second time. That's why I'm saying we need to play with more pace to compensate for the size mismatch.
 
#14
#14
He disappears in too many games IMO. Dude has to stay out of foul trouble if we want to make a serious tourney run in March.
He's playing against much stronger post players, which has exposed his deficiencies inside. I think he's trying hard, but can't keep pace with other post players.
 
#15
#15
Kyle Alexander has caught a case of the Quickexits lately. He needs to stay on the court longer or we are at a disadvantage vs anyone w length in the post.
Better rebounding
Better three point shooting and three defense
 
#16
#16
He's playing against much stronger post players, which has exposed his deficiencies inside. I think he's trying hard, but can't keep pace with other post players.
It looks like he is playing scared to me. That usually backfires and ends up getting you either beaten or in foul trouble.
 
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#17
#17
I started a post earlier indicating key points and takeaways from the UT-KY game last Saturday. Now I would like to indicate key points the rest of the year in order for us to be the team we want to be. This is what needs to happen if we are to compete with KY, LSU, and Duke.

1. We need to play at a quicker tempo. Our frontcourt was (lack of height and depth) exposed by KY on Saturday night. Once KY got set in their half court defense our offense struggled. Granted if we shoot well then anything can happen, but to win a SEC tournament or NCAA tournament you cannot rely on getting hot at shooting for multiple games. Jordan Bone needs to push the court as soon as we get the defensive rebound and get into our half court offense before the defense can get into their defensive sets. We do this at times, but this needs to be the standard everytime especially against teams with size like KY and LSU that can play defense.

2. Our defense needs to improve. If you look at our defensive efficiency compared to last year, we are not what we were last year. This is strange because we essentially had the same personnel. So this is certainly attainable.

3. As mentioned in point #1, this all starts with Jordan Bone. If we are to win the SEC tournament and possibly the NCAA tournament, Bone needs to play lights out. Push the tempo, keep the ball moving, take more shots, and drive more to the hoop. This is all within his capability. There is no PG that can match his all around game and his quickness.

4. Finally, here is my prediction. Jordan Bone will be SEC player of the year. We are going to see him take it to the next level and we win the SEC tournament. Before we talk about a Final Four appearance, let's see how UT adjusts to LSU this Saturday. Hopefully Coach Barnes will see the same.

Interesting. Like another poster, I, too, think we will drop a couple more before the SEC tourney, which is okay if it helps make us better and more prepared for the show.

My biggest concern is our rotation of seven max. I don't see us having a good chance against good teams unless and until we get more from our bench. Pons, Walker and the others have to contribute and not hurt us when they come into a game. Barnes mentioned this yesterday. We will soon see what happens.
 
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#18
#18
Interesting. Like another poster, I, too, think we will drop a couple more before the SEC tourney, which is okay if it helps make us better and more prepared for the show.

My biggest concern is our rotation of seven max. I don't see us having a good chance against good teams unless and until we get more from our bench. Pons, Walker and the others have to contribute and not hurt us when they come into a game. Barnes mentioned this yesterday. We will soon see what happens.

This is my concern as well. Early on we were hearing how much depth we had. Fatigue would be the other teams Achilles heel against us. How would Barnes distribute the minutes to keep everyone happy. Now we have a 7 man rotation and a tired/gassed team. I know Barnes believed in the players on his bench just as he did Grant and admiral, but I have to wonder if he's having second thoughts on a couple of guys?

It's for this reason that I won't mind an early exit from the SECT. I'd rather get fresh for the NCAAT instead.
 
#19
#19
All good points in this thread BUT what we are missing is the focus and "want to". We are not getting 50-50 balls, we are not rebounding, and we are not defending. As soon as/if we decide to get serious again, then most of these problems will go away or at least be less of a problem.
 
#20
#20
My prediction.... we play better against Vandy. No blowout but win comfortably. Then bounce back strong at LSU. Both teams play well but we get out of there with a W and some momentum. Carries us through the next few games.
LSU is a swing game IMO.

It either adds more doubt or calms some worries after UK. If we go in there and struggle for some of the same reasons it's time for concern.
 
#21
#21
Bone has elbowed his way into being a known commodity on this team with Grant and Admiral. Hes not just playing well here and there he has found it consistently.

The long range goals for this team will be decided by Alexander, Bowden, and Turner. We re not beating really good teams without solid contributions from those 3.
 
#22
#22
LSU is a swing game IMO.

It either adds more doubt or calms some worries after UK. If we go in there and struggle for some of the same reasons it's time for concern.
Biggest game of the season for a number of reasons IMO
 
#23
#23
I started a post earlier indicating key points and takeaways from the UT-KY game last Saturday. Now I would like to indicate key points the rest of the year in order for us to be the team we want to be. This is what needs to happen if we are to compete with KY, LSU, and Duke.

1. We need to play at a quicker tempo. Our frontcourt was (lack of height and depth) exposed by KY on Saturday night. Once KY got set in their half court defense our offense struggled. Granted if we shoot well then anything can happen, but to win a SEC tournament or NCAA tournament you cannot rely on getting hot at shooting for multiple games. Jordan Bone needs to push the court as soon as we get the defensive rebound and get into our half court offense before the defense can get into their defensive sets. We do this at times, but this needs to be the standard everytime especially against teams with size like KY and LSU that can play defense.

2. Our defense needs to improve. If you look at our defensive efficiency compared to last year, we are not what we were last year. This is strange because we essentially had the same personnel. So this is certainly attainable.

3. As mentioned in point #1, this all starts with Jordan Bone. If we are to win the SEC tournament and possibly the NCAA tournament, Bone needs to play lights out. Push the tempo, keep the ball moving, take more shots, and drive more to the hoop. This is all within his capability. There is no PG that can match his all around game and his quickness.

4. Finally, here is my prediction. Jordan Bone will be SEC player of the year. We are going to see him take it to the next level and we win the SEC tournament. Before we talk about a Final Four appearance, let's see how UT adjusts to LSU this Saturday. Hopefully Coach Barnes will see the same.

Agree all the way to No. 4. If we have to rely on one player to run the whole show, direct, shoot, drive, everything, then we will not succeed. We must play as a TEAM, not depend on one guy.
 
#24
#24
they played scared and tentative against UK...it won't be the same this time around...

GO VOLS!
 
#25
#25
Bone can push the tempo all he wants but if guys don't run with him it's in vain. Many times against KY he would try to push but guys are lagging behind. This is one place where Fulkerson does a good job. He is always rim running on the break.
 

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