BTO’s South Carolina Postgame Report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. A 20 point win over a conference opponent is not something you take for granted, so while there are plenty of things to work on still you feel good about the result. The defense played at an elite level and the offense struggled yet again, although it looked a little bit better, is that a good sign or just an outlier? Only time will tell.

2. On the defense, they were elite, that’s South Carolina’s worst offensive showing in 2 years and 4th worst in last 20 years…they did some self inflicted damage but majority of that credit goes to the defense. We do a really good job of turning teams over, and that’s a direct correlation to the on ball defense of Chandler, Zeigler and Vescovi and James ability to switch and guard multiple positions. The defense is likely to be this teams calling card, a defense like this can take you a long ways and will have you in games most nights, but still need to improve offensively.

3. On the offensive end, I thought after the first 10 minutes we played much better on that end, definitely started slow again though. The shooting was a bit bitter and given we shot 33% from deep with Vescovi going 2/9 I will take that, he’s typically going to shoot better than that, and maybe it helps get the others on track. We only took 21 3’s tonight which was nice to see we found other ways to get looks, we got to the rim a lot and Fulkerson looked more assertive tonight as well and brought some post scoring to the offense. Now the obvious issue was we got to the free throw line and proceeded to shoot 44% from there on 11/25 overall, that’s horrible and can’t happen. For an offense that struggles anyways we aren’t doing ourselves any favors by doing that, whether it’s a lack of focus/practice or whatever, that has to change.

4. If you could clone a game for JJJ and say I don’t need you to be a star, this is all I need, today is that…33m 11p 12r 2a 1blk 1stl 3-6fg 2-4 from deep. His defense is so good, his passing as well, and the vocal leadership as an extension of the coach out there is valuable, he just has to be a threat offensively and bring something like he did tonight and we are SOOO much better that way.

5. Similarly, I would probably take that from John Fulkerson on a nightly basis as well, 28m 10p 7r 2b on 5-8 shooting, he gave us an inside presence, did a pretty good job of making quicker moves rather than ball sticking on him and leading to a 20 second post up and back down. He did a better job playing with some space/separation rather than trying to out muscle a guy bigger than he is, and according to Rick Barnes he went hard and pulled himself out when he felt tired, if he can continue to give us that it would be nice. Nkahmoua played well in his 10mins but couldn’t stay out there, if those post guys can bring that each night and that aggression and we go small ball and just rotate those guys we will be better offensively than we have been imo.

6. I get that Barnes likes his depth, but we are now half way through the year and getting to the point we need to be settling on something and working towards developing that for March. Playing 11 guys is too many, maybe it was just trying to steal some minutes in the 1st half, but BHH/Mashack/Bailey all played 2-8 minutes, outside of foul trouble I am rolling with the other 8 guys. This team is at its best playing small ball anyways, which we did a fair amount tonight, with JJJ at the 4 there’s just not many minutes for BHH available. Zeigler has been tremendous and at times has looked better than Chandler, he’s warranting big minutes which limits anything for Bailey obviously…Mashack would be my 9th guy if someone in that group is needed. Going forward I would like to see…

Zeigler 25/Chandler 15
Chandler 15/Vescovi 25
Vescovi 10/Powell 20/James 10
James 25/ON 15
Fulk 25/Plav 10/ON 5

7. This was a game Tennessee needed to win and they got it, I said weeks ago this could be a 2-3 start to SEC state and that all things considered that wouldn’t be a bad start if that’s how it played out, well we are guaranteed at least that and with a chance Saturday to kind of “steal one” or turn the direction a bit…right now we are trending right along the expected line of the season and probably 5-6 seed territory, a win at Rupp would go a long way towards a potentially better seed come selection Sunday.


GBO!!!

 

[jp1]

JJJ had the game that this team needs him to have. I don't ever forsee him as the primary scorer on any team that he plays for moving forward. What a tremendous asset he is when he embraces his strengths.

 

[vols1071]

Watching Auburn Alabama.... We are not even close to the level of Auburn... Love their attacking aggressive style... They run and gun but even when they are slowed down they are looking to attack... Its saddening cause we have had the better recruiting but yet the style and coaching is much more player friendly... Barnes is a great man im sure but the game has blown him by

 

[golfballs]

I think with as poorly as we shoot it I’m not necessarily opposed to throwing out some bench players to see if someone might start hitting some shots. But I would like to see a more cohesive rotation out there. I think Bradshaw might be right… we don’t even shoot FTs well. We need some confidence

 

[Vol49er]

I still think Mashack deserves more minutes, 35 seems like a lot for Josiah, I wouldn’t mind giving JM 10 a game. Otherwise I agree on everything

Good win so hate to be negative but man even as someone who had relatively muted expectations, Powell just does not seem to have clicked with this team. Someone mentioned after last game it seemed like players don’t pass to him as much and so I looked for that this game and while I may have seen that a little I think mainly he just looks disengaged most of the time. I know he played some PG at auburn so that would be one way to get him going maybe, though we have so many options at point already. I hope he figures stuff out this year, and if not that he sticks around next year when there may be more opportunity

 

[orangemadam]

Much better performance for the most part. Disappointed in ON but relieved that Fulky looked more like himself.

Vescovi is the clear cut MVP for the season with JJJ a close second.

Ky seems to be peaking and it's not looking good for us in the next game. Hope we continue to get better. (if we could only hit foul shots!)

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I think with as poorly as we shoot it I’m not necessarily opposed to throwing out some bench players to see if someone might start hitting some shots. But I would like to see a more cohesive rotation out there. I think Bradshaw might be right… we don’t even shoot FTs well. We need some confidence

The issue is that we don’t exactly have known “shooters” on the bench, outside of Powell…Mashack and Diboundje it’s been said shooting is both guys weaknesses right now.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I still think Mashack deserves more minutes, 35 seems like a lot for Josiah, I wouldn’t mind giving JM 10 a game. Otherwise I agree on everything

Good win so hate to be negative but man even as someone who had relatively muted expectations, Powell just does not seem to have clicked with this team. Someone mentioned after last game it seemed like players don’t pass to him as much and so I looked for that this game and while I may have seen that a little I think mainly he just looks disengaged most of the time. I know he played some PG at auburn so that would be one way to get him going maybe, though we have so many options at point already. I hope he figures stuff out this year, and if not that he sticks around next year when there may be more opportunity

Was said postgame that Powell said he’s not hunting his shot, he’s focusing on defense because that’s what he needed to do to earn minutes….kudos to him for buying in but he’s also gonna have to realize he’s got to hunt his shot too, Barnes has said they want him shooting, so it’s just a matter of them all getting on same page. He’s not super quick so he’s pretty easy to defend as well, guys stay on his hip and don’t help off him, we have to scheme up some stuff for him.

 

[berryvol]

Watching Auburn Alabama.... We are not even close to the level of Auburn... Love their attacking aggressive style... They run and gun but even when they are slowed down they are looking to attack... Its saddening cause we have had the better recruiting but yet the style and coaching is much more player friendly... Barnes is a great man im sure but the game has blown him by

Our defensive will give auburn issues. They, like all Pearl teams, play fast and loose and are very streaky. Games like that are like we saw with Arizona - if our offense shows up, we can beat anyone in the nation.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I should’ve added it to my report, but man, how good of a find was Zeigler and how fun is he gonna be to have. Obviously no risk of NBA departure with his size, he’s gonna be a guard that opposing teams absolutely hate for the next 3.5 years…and will allow us to play Vescovi/Edwards off the ball next year.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I have a new theory on the season strategy. A lot of times coaches work their rotations down to a cohesive group of 7 or 8 players with another role player or two. Then they each go for stretches of at least 5 plus minutes without any subs. TN seems to regularly go about 10 or 11 deep this year with every combination imaginable (instead of getting a group used to always playing with the same guys). Other than a couple of veterans (and I guess a PG or two), the time on the court is usually in short, intense bursts of less than 4 minutes. They can be effective on defense. Offense will be a struggle.

The short minutes and any possible combination works on the defensive end as long as there are no weak links. Everybody does their job, knows their job, knows what their teammates are doing, and the defense is stifling.

Now on the other end, it is very difficult to get guys working cohesively with the constant changes and short duration of court time. Plus a lot of shooters need lots of minutes to settle in. BUT… by sticking with the concept, the offense can come around by late in the season. ANY combination might be able to be effective on the offensive end by March.

By late in the game, the hot hands stay on the floor. Bailey was in the game instead of KC at the end tonight… amazing personnel decision (reliability at the free throw line had a lot to do with that odd grouping). Even by putting Bailey or Uros or Mashack in for only 2-3 minutes, they are being conditioned to be able to be productive in those brief minutes.

Most likely the staff had no plan whatsoever to use ZZZ as he’s been used. But now EVERY one of his teammates is getting court time with him and they’re learning to play beside him. The timing and anticipation was going to be difficult to overcome in the first half of the season. But by the last quarter and the post season opponents won’t know what combination they’ll be facing and ALL of the combinations will be gelling.

Another benefit of going 11 or so deep of players that are of similar skill, it’s not as big of a problem when refs put somebody on the bench with fouls or players are sick or injured. TN was in deep trouble when Grant or Admiral picked up quick fouls. TN was in deep trouble when Kyle Alexander had an injured hip. TN was in deep trouble when Fulk was walking wounded. Or when Springer had to miss games with an injury. BUT… right now when TN needs a basket they don’t have that specific great player to go to. It’s a missing role. But there are several that can develop into a reliable must have basket maker. TN is guard oriented, so ZZZ and KC should develop into that late possession go to player. Or Powell. Or Vescovi will be effective when one of those three draw attention.

Or maybe Barnes will shorten his bench after reading all of the whiny VN BBF posts about his crazy substitution groupings and the calls to permanently bench Uros, JJJ, and VBj. No doubt he’s probably reading the USC in-game thread right now looking for advice as he prepares for Rupp.

 

[cncchris33]

1. A 20 point win over a conference opponent is not something you take for granted, so while there are plenty of things to work on still you feel good about the result. The defense played at an elite level and the offense struggled yet again, although it looked a little bit better, is that a good sign or just an outlier? Only time will tell.

2. On the defense, they were elite, that’s South Carolina’s worst offensive showing in 2 years and 4th worst in last 20 years…they did some self inflicted damage but majority of that credit goes to the defense. We do a really good job of turning teams over, and that’s a direct correlation to the on ball defense of Chandler, Zeigler and Vescovi and James ability to switch and guard multiple positions. The defense is likely to be this teams calling card, a defense like this can take you a long ways and will have you in games most nights, but still need to improve offensively.

3. On the offensive end, I thought after the first 10 minutes we played much better on that end, definitely started slow again though. The shooting was a bit bitter and given we shot 33% from deep with Vescovi going 2/9 I will take that, he’s typically going to shoot better than that, and maybe it helps get the others on track. We only took 21 3’s tonight which was nice to see we found other ways to get looks, we got to the rim a lot and Fulkerson looked more assertive tonight as well and brought some post scoring to the offense. Now the obvious issue was we got to the free throw line and proceeded to shoot 44% from there on 11/25 overall, that’s horrible and can’t happen. For an offense that struggles anyways we aren’t doing ourselves any favors by doing that, whether it’s a lack of focus/practice or whatever, that has to change.

4. If you could clone a game for JJJ and say I don’t need you to be a star, this is all I need, today is that…33m 11p 12r 2a 1blk 1stl 3-6fg 2-4 from deep. His defense is so good, his passing as well, and the vocal leadership as an extension of the coach out there is valuable, he just has to be a threat offensively and bring something like he did tonight and we are SOOO much better that way.

5. Similarly, I would probably take that from John Fulkerson on a nightly basis as well, 28m 10p 7r 2b on 5-8 shooting, he gave us an inside presence, did a pretty good job of making quicker moves rather than ball sticking on him and leading to a 20 second post up and back down. He did a better job playing with some space/separation rather than trying to out muscle a guy bigger than he is, and according to Rick Barnes he went hard and pulled himself out when he felt tired, if he can continue to give us that it would be nice. Nkahmoua played well in his 10mins but couldn’t stay out there, if those post guys can bring that each night and that aggression and we go small ball and just rotate those guys we will be better offensively than we have been imo.

6. I get that Barnes likes his depth, but we are now half way through the year and getting to the point we need to be settling on something and working towards developing that for March. Playing 11 guys is too many, maybe it was just trying to steal some minutes in the 1st half, but BHH/Mashack/Bailey all played 2-8 minutes, outside of foul trouble I am rolling with the other 8 guys. This team is at its best playing small ball anyways, which we did a fair amount tonight, with JJJ at the 4 there’s just not many minutes for BHH available. Zeigler has been tremendous and at times has looked better than Chandler, he’s warranting big minutes which limits anything for Bailey obviously…Mashack would be my 9th guy if someone in that group is needed. Going forward I would like to see…

Zeigler 25/Chandler 15
Chandler 15/Vescovi 25
Vescovi 10/Powell 20/James 10
James 25/ON 15
Fulk 25/Plav 10/ON 5

7. This was a game Tennessee needed to win and they got it, I said weeks ago this could be a 2-3 start to SEC state and that all things considered that wouldn’t be a bad start if that’s how it played out, well we are guaranteed at least that and with a chance Saturday to kind of “steal one” or turn the direction a bit…right now we are trending right along the expected line of the season and probably 5-6 seed territory, a win at Rupp would go a long way towards a potentially better seed come selection Sunday.


GBO!!!

Agree with most everything except the idea that Nkamhoua played well in his 10 minutes. He only played 10 minutes for a reason, and it wasn't solely foul trouble. Sure, he had 6 pts and 4 rebs, but he also had 3 TOs and continued to display a terrible set of hands.

We need him to play well because we are hopelessly inconsistent in the post. Tonight wasn't his best effort, IMO.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I should’ve added it to my report, but man, how good of a find was Zeigler and how fun is he gonna be to have. Obviously no risk of NBA departure with his size, he’s gonna be a guard that opposing teams absolutely hate for the next 3.5 years…and will allow us to play Vescovi/Edwards off the ball next year.

There’s always going to be a risk of transferring when players are immediately eligible anywhere else. TN needs to build up a nice basketball only, N-I-L “endowment” fund.

 

[Vol49er]

Oh you mentioned it but I wanted to emphasize it too, Kennedy has improved a lot on defense in a short time. He’s obviously slumping bad on offense and that needs to be corrected (though I think some of that has been not on him but on some poor offensive sets and lack of spacing) but he’s not let it affect his effort on D and he’s doing a great job there

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

BTW, this was game 15 of 30. If Aidoo sets foot on the court even once the rest of the season any appeal for a medical “redshirt” waiver is off the table. I’m hoping for a retro rule change allowing redshirts for players only appearing in a handful of games like the football rule. Aidoo and Diboundje have both appeared in 5 games.

 

[Ttucke11]

ZZ was such a steal. Absolute gem of scouting. IF this team could just click. We have seen flashes of brilliance from KC, Fulk, ZZ, JJJ, and ON. Vescovi is always pretty consistent, and even Uros is earning minutes. I just wish they would click at the same time. Powell has been my disappointment though. Not getting any production from the 8th man, ever. Hopefully the other 5 freshman minus ZZ really take this year to learn. They all appear to have good potential. Hopefully the roster stays together.

 

[VolArmy74]

I hope South Carolina keeps Frank Martin around a few more years.

We won by 20 tonight without being able to hit free throws at all. I don't know that we could miss that many free throws and beat anyone else in the SEC, let alone blow them out.

Now to add to the Kentucky lost thread.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

BTW, this was game 15 of 30. If Aidoo sets foot on the court even once the rest of the season any appeal for a medical “redshirt” waiver is off the table. I’m hoping for a retro rule change allowing redshirts for players only appearing in a handful of games like the football rule. Aidoo and Diboundje have both appeared in 5 games.

Saw the A10 is petitioning for a waiver for this year from NCAA, allowing guys that teams were planning to redshirt to play in a certain number of games and still redshirt because of players missing time for COVID.

 

[ColinS]

Much better performance for the most part. Disappointed in ON but relieved that Fulky looked more like himself.

Vescovi is the clear cut MVP for the season with JJJ a close second.

Ky seems to be peaking and it's not looking good for us in the next game. Hope we continue to get better. (if we could only hit foul shots!)

JJJ a close second for MVP???? He has not even been serviceable on offense most of the season.

 

[i2amavol]

I have a new theory on the season strategy.

Another benefit of going 11 or so deep of players that are of similar skill, it’s not as big of a problem when refs put somebody on the bench with fouls or players are sick or injured. TN was in deep trouble when Grant or Admiral picked up quick fouls. TN was in deep trouble when Kyle Alexander had an injured hip. TN was in deep trouble when Fulk was walking wounded. Or when Springer had to miss games with an injury. BUT… right now when TN needs a basket they don’t have that specific great player to go to. It’s a missing role. But there are several that can develop into a reliable must have basket maker. TN is guard oriented, so ZZZ and KC should develop into that late possession go to player. Or Powell. Or Vescovi will be effective when one of those three draw attention.

Or maybe Barnes will shorten his bench after reading all of the whiny VN BBF posts about his crazy substitution groupings and the calls to permanently bench Uros, JJJ, and VBj. No doubt he’s probably reading the USC in-game thread right now looking for advice as he prepares for Rupp.

In a major COVID year, this just might be a brilliant strategy. We will see.

 

[Volfan1000]

1. A 20 point win over a conference opponent is not something you take for granted, so while there are plenty of things to work on still you feel good about the result. The defense played at an elite level and the offense struggled yet again, although it looked a little bit better, is that a good sign or just an outlier? Only time will tell.

2. On the defense, they were elite, that’s South Carolina’s worst offensive showing in 2 years and 4th worst in last 20 years…they did some self inflicted damage but majority of that credit goes to the defense. We do a really good job of turning teams over, and that’s a direct correlation to the on ball defense of Chandler, Zeigler and Vescovi and James ability to switch and guard multiple positions. The defense is likely to be this teams calling card, a defense like this can take you a long ways and will have you in games most nights, but still need to improve offensively.

3. On the offensive end, I thought after the first 10 minutes we played much better on that end, definitely started slow again though. The shooting was a bit bitter and given we shot 33% from deep with Vescovi going 2/9 I will take that, he’s typically going to shoot better than that, and maybe it helps get the others on track. We only took 21 3’s tonight which was nice to see we found other ways to get looks, we got to the rim a lot and Fulkerson looked more assertive tonight as well and brought some post scoring to the offense. Now the obvious issue was we got to the free throw line and proceeded to shoot 44% from there on 11/25 overall, that’s horrible and can’t happen. For an offense that struggles anyways we aren’t doing ourselves any favors by doing that, whether it’s a lack of focus/practice or whatever, that has to change.

4. If you could clone a game for JJJ and say I don’t need you to be a star, this is all I need, today is that…33m 11p 12r 2a 1blk 1stl 3-6fg 2-4 from deep. His defense is so good, his passing as well, and the vocal leadership as an extension of the coach out there is valuable, he just has to be a threat offensively and bring something like he did tonight and we are SOOO much better that way.

5. Similarly, I would probably take that from John Fulkerson on a nightly basis as well, 28m 10p 7r 2b on 5-8 shooting, he gave us an inside presence, did a pretty good job of making quicker moves rather than ball sticking on him and leading to a 20 second post up and back down. He did a better job playing with some space/separation rather than trying to out muscle a guy bigger than he is, and according to Rick Barnes he went hard and pulled himself out when he felt tired, if he can continue to give us that it would be nice. Nkahmoua played well in his 10mins but couldn’t stay out there, if those post guys can bring that each night and that aggression and we go small ball and just rotate those guys we will be better offensively than we have been imo.

6. I get that Barnes likes his depth, but we are now half way through the year and getting to the point we need to be settling on something and working towards developing that for March. Playing 11 guys is too many, maybe it was just trying to steal some minutes in the 1st half, but BHH/Mashack/Bailey all played 2-8 minutes, outside of foul trouble I am rolling with the other 8 guys. This team is at its best playing small ball anyways, which we did a fair amount tonight, with JJJ at the 4 there’s just not many minutes for BHH available. Zeigler has been tremendous and at times has looked better than Chandler, he’s warranting big minutes which limits anything for Bailey obviously…Mashack would be my 9th guy if someone in that group is needed. Going forward I would like to see…

Zeigler 25/Chandler 15
Chandler 15/Vescovi 25
Vescovi 10/Powell 20/James 10
James 25/ON 15
Fulk 25/Plav 10/ON 5

7. This was a game Tennessee needed to win and they got it, I said weeks ago this could be a 2-3 start to SEC state and that all things considered that wouldn’t be a bad start if that’s how it played out, well we are guaranteed at least that and with a chance Saturday to kind of “steal one” or turn the direction a bit…right now we are trending right along the expected line of the season and probably 5-6 seed territory, a win at Rupp would go a long way towards a potentially better seed come selection Sunday.


GBO!!!

On point 4, JJJ had a basket in the paint as did Bailey. Would like to see James and Fulkerson and Nkamhoua go at Tshib on Saturday and get him in foul trouble which brings me to point 7, Use every available post player on Tshib and guard Grady and Mint and Walker as these are Kentucky's main players.

Limit the three point looks on offense and drive and dish on Saturday and we should win.

 

[Special Ed]

Coming into this season, I figured our men's team would have a much better record than our women's team at this point.
Boy, was I wrong!!!

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Not hitting a FG before the first TV time out isn’t nearly as bad as the LoM want to point out. They leave off the part about TN playing high level defense taking USC down to the shot clock on nearly every possession PLUS 3 fouls were drawn in the act of shooting creating 6 FT attempts. Getting fouls called early on opponents is an excellent outcome.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

7 fouls drawn the first 9:24. Excellent work.

10 fouls drawn in first 11:08.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

TN forces 9 turnovers and held USC to 35% shooting through the under 8 media break.