12/14/13 Huge Day

#77
#77
I think in order for UT to pull off a win next Saturday.......

1. Play tough physical defense from the opening tip.
2. Win the turnover and rebounding battles.
3. Limit the 3 point shots and feed Maymon and Stokes inside all game.
4. Stretch the bench by giving Pops and Cheivous a few minutes to rest Stokes, Maymon and Richardson.

This will be a tough game but it is winnable.
 
#78
#78
jcv0010 said:
Flame on fellas

I still think we have the better team. Their best player is Ron Baker. Would you take him or Mcrae?

Early is gone and he was the main reason they gave us problems last year. We have a clear advantage down low, and dare I say we have a better guard play too.

Stop looking strictly at the fact that they are ranked #11.

Hall* not Early.
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Early is their best player, not Baker. Baker may average the most points, but that's strictly because of the attention Early draws. Cleanthony Early is in the 1st round of most mock drafts, Baker isn't in any round of most European drafts.
 
#79
#79
sport3500 said:
I think in order for UT to pull off a win next Saturday.......

1. Play tough physical defense from the opening tip.
2. Win the turnover and rebounding battles.
3. Limit the 3 point shots and feed Maymon and Stokes inside all game.
4. Stretch the bench by giving Pops and Cheivous a few minutes to rest Stokes, Maymon and Richardson.

This will be a tough game but it is winnable.
Click to expand...

Agree with everything except 4. Shrink the bench don't stretch it. That's exactly what we did against Xavier in game one and UTEP, play 10 or 11 guys, since then we've played 8 or 9 and are undefeated.

It's hard to get in a rhythm or play comfortable when you know you're getting yanked every 5 minutes.
 
#82
#82
bleedingTNorange said:
Gotta go 4-1 over the final 5 OOC games. Have to beat one of Virginia/Wichita State, obviously WSU would look better, but losing to Virginia would be worse.

Obviously 5-0 would be best, but go 4-1, finish 11-3 OOC and we are in a good spot.
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I'd be elated if we beat WS on the road, but VA at home might be even tougher.
Bennett's defense is even better than last season.
No uncontested shots. Don't allow penetration. Few fouls.
Could come down to perimeter shooting.
Will be low scoring and maybe what many call ugly.
 
#83
#83
calban said:
I'd be elated if we beat WS on the road, but VA at home might be even tougher.
Bennett's defense is even better than last season.
No uncontested shots. Don't allow penetration. Few fouls.
Could come down to perimeter shooting.
Will be low scoring and maybe what many call ugly.
Click to expand...

Catch Virginia last night?

Lost a game in the 70s to Green Bay (not the packers).
 
#85
#85
calban said:
Meant to watch that.
We'll get their best game though. Never fails.
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I like that it's at home, that should help us. First 5-8 minutes will be telling, wouldn't mind seeing us start out using that press we've played around with some to speed them up a bit.
 
#86
#86
Better practice well this week because WSU is a really good team and even more so at home.
 
#88
#88
Greetings UT fans, looking forward to the game Saturday. Happy to answer any questions and discuss the game (if you are even interested in the opponent's perspective).

Some of these have been answered, but I wanted to clarify a couple of things:

Indeed the game will not be on our usual home court with 10,506 in attendance. It will be downtown where the team has played 1 game a year since it opened. It may or may not be a sellout, but there will be 12000+ and history tells us these fans will be a little more engaged than a usual home game. It should be a fun atmosphere.

Baker is our best player. Early is the toughest guy to match up against, and is the one guy that can get his points anytime, anyway. But Baker is very good and makes everyone else better. And Baker is in fact in the top 40 right now on next year's draft board. NBA scouts come to see Early, and leave talking about Baker.

I'm concerned about our PG Fred VanVleet. While he's been superb (11+ PPG and more than a 3.5 to 1 A/TO ratio, he struggled some with bigger, athletic guards at St. Louis. IF UT can turn WSU over, the Vols will be in good shape. Neither team turns it over much so that might be a moot point.

Both teams rebound well and I suspect that will have a large bearing on the game. Also, as always, whomever shoots it well is going to have a big advantage. WSU looks to be the superior FT shooting team which usually matters.

The intangibles however appear to be a big favorite for WSU. Just the natural home court advantage (UT hasn't won a road game yet this season) alone would be enough to favor WSU, but aside from the F4 run which certainly gives the kids a boost, this WSU team has a bunch of winners. VanVleet, Baker and Cotton are not only really good, they're winners. They're good, tough, talented and don't make mistakes and they find ways to win.

Lastly, I read several comments about how the Shocks haven't played anyone. I would offer both BYU and St Louis are better than anyone UT has played. WSU won both, and neither were at home. Food for thought.

Good luck after Saturday. I have no problem rooting for the Vols to win the SEC. I liked Coach Martin when he was at Missouri State and I'm sure he'll be good at UT.
 
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#89
#89
WuDrWu said:
Greetings UT fans, looking forward to the game Saturday. Happy to answer any questions and discuss the game (if you are even interested in the opponent's perspective).

Some of these have been answered, but I wanted to clarify a couple of things:

Indeed the game will not be on our usual home court with 10,506 in attendance. It will be downtown where the team has played 1 game a year since it opened. It may or may not be a sellout, but there will be 12000+ and history tells us these fans will be a little more engaged than a usual home game. It should be a fun atmosphere.

Baker is our best player. Early is the toughest guy to match up against, and is the one guy that can get his points anytime, anyway. But Baker is very good and makes everyone else better. And Baker is in fact in the top 40 right now on next year's draft board. NBA scouts come to see Early, and leave talking about Baker.

I'm concerned about our PG Fred VanVleet. While he's been superb (11+ PPG and more than a 3.5 to 1 A/TO ratio, he struggled some with bigger, athletic guards at St. Louis. IF UT can turn WSU over, the Vols will be in good shape. Neither team turns it over much so that might be a moot point.

Both teams rebound well and I suspect that will have a large bearing on the game. Also, as always, whomever shoots it well is going to have a big advantage. WSU looks to be the superior FT shooting team which usually matters.

The intangibles however appear to be a big favorite for WSU. Just the natural home court advantage (UT hasn't won a road game yet this season) alone would be enough to favor WSU, but aside from the F4 run which certainly gives the kids a boost, this WSU team has a bunch of winners. VanVleet, Baker and Cotton are not only really good, they're winners. They're good, tough, talented and don't make mistakes and they find ways to win.

Lastly, I read several comments about how the Shocks haven't played anyone. I would offer both BYU and St Louis are better than anyone UT has played. WSU won both, and neither were at home. Food for thought.

Good luck after Saturday. I have no problem rooting for the Vols to win the SEC. I liked Coach Martin when he was at Missouri State and I'm sure he'll be good at UT.
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Welcome to the board :hi: Excellent post. Looking forward to the game.
 
#90
#90
WuDrWu said:
Greetings UT fans, looking forward to the game Saturday. Happy to answer any questions and discuss the game (if you are even interested in the opponent's perspective).

Some of these have been answered, but I wanted to clarify a couple of things:

Indeed the game will not be on our usual home court with 10,506 in attendance. It will be downtown where the team has played 1 game a year since it opened. It may or may not be a sellout, but there will be 12000+ and history tells us these fans will be a little more engaged than a usual home game. It should be a fun atmosphere.

Baker is our best player. Early is the toughest guy to match up against, and is the one guy that can get his points anytime, anyway. But Baker is very good and makes everyone else better. And Baker is in fact in the top 40 right now on next year's draft board. NBA scouts come to see Early, and leave talking about Baker.

I'm concerned about our PG Fred VanVleet. While he's been superb (11+ PPG and more than a 3.5 to 1 A/TO ratio, he struggled some with bigger, athletic guards at St. Louis. IF UT can turn WSU over, the Vols will be in good shape. Neither team turns it over much so that might be a moot point.

Both teams rebound well and I suspect that will have a large bearing on the game. Also, as always, whomever shoots it well is going to have a big advantage. WSU looks to be the superior FT shooting team which usually matters.

The intangibles however appear to be a big favorite for WSU. Just the natural home court advantage (UT hasn't won a road game yet this season) alone would be enough to favor WSU, but aside from the F4 run which certainly gives the kids a boost, this WSU team has a bunch of winners. VanVleet, Baker and Cotton are not only really good, they're winners. They're good, tough, talented and don't make mistakes and they find ways to win.

Lastly, I read several comments about how the Shocks haven't played anyone. I would offer both BYU and St Louis are better than anyone UT has played. WSU won both, and neither were at home. Food for thought.

Good luck after Saturday. I have no problem rooting for the Vols to win the SEC. I liked Coach Martin when he was at Missouri State and I'm sure he'll be good at UT.
Click to expand...

I was blasted for stating WSU was bringing back most of last years team. Who better than you to clarify.
 
#91
#91
Great to hear a very good post from the other perspective.

Xavier>st Louis or byu. Sorry I can't buy that part.



With this game not being at the home site will Rpi treat it as a true road game or neutral???
 
#92
#92
Well "most" is subjective, and in WSU's case "last year" also can mean a lot of things.

Okay, first, here's who left:

2nd leading scorer, leading rebounder and heart of the team Carl Hall. 12/7
3rd leading scorer and starting PG, set a season record for steals, Malcolm Armstead.
5th leading scorer and winningest all time player in program history Demetric Williams. This is a little misleading as DWill saw a lot of time when Baker was out with the injury (suffered in the UT game last season) for most of the regular season. At the end, DWill was playing sparingly.
Defensive big man Ehimen Orupke only averaged 2/4 but played great defense.
Reserve stretch 4 Jake White (4/3) decided to transfer out.

They return leading scorer Cleanthony Early `14/5. Many are down on Cle this season because he's not had a super start, but he's still averaging 14/6. He's turning the ball over a little too much and honestly isn't quite as engaged as many of the other players, so far, but I feel it's because he's expecting himself to dominate. When he settles down and let's the game come to him without spasms of lucidity, he'll take off.

Ron Baker played the first 10 games and the last 8 games last season. We're a totally different team when he plays. Everyone gets better. He's just that special. Some may not be impressed, but NBA scouts are. He's good at everything and he's more athletic than most think. He leads the team in blocked shots because he's smart AND athletic.

Fred VanVleet backed up Armstead last year as a freshman and now it's his team this year. Fred closed the Gonzaga and Ohio State games last season. He's a playmaker and like Baker, is a hell of a winner. He's not the most athletic guy but he gets the job done. Good scorer, very smart defender, fantastic floor leader. If you're open, you're going to get the ball.

Tekele Cotton is the unsung hero. Relentless defender, not a great scorer, but is excellent in transition and getting to the rim. One of the toughest kids I've ever seen play at WSU, outside Xavier McDaniel. Uber athletic and strong as an ox.

Both Chadrack Lufile and Nick Wiggins struggled as juco players last year, and both have really improved this season, especially Lufile who runs the court well and is coming on strong lately.

Evan Wessel also missed the last 28+ games of the season and really hasn't returned to his form yet. He gives us a great effort defensively, but just can't get his shot back. His minutes so far are limited.

Derail Green redshirted and didn't play nor did walk on Zach Bush. Neither are part of the usual rotation now, or in the foreseeable future, imho.

So did we lose most of the team? Well, we lost 5/13 scholarship players....of the main 6 guys that led to the F4, 2 are gone, but so too are 4 of the main 8 or even 5 of the main 9.

47% of the scoring....49% of rebounding (my counts..no promises but should be close) departed. The thing is, the guys we lost were the ones we were most ready to replace. It's a tough call, but I'd say most of the team that went to the F4 is back. The thing is, they really haven't reached high yet...and that's not meant to be arrogant. They've played well in spurts. Last night for 10 minutes of the 2nd half they would have beaten anyone. Few teams could handle their defense, and they were relentless in transition, but most games have been 1 good half, at best. If they ever put 40 minutes together watch out.

Kadeem Coleby sat out last season as a transfer. A lot was expected and he's kind of stuck in transition mode, partly due to sitting out last season, and partly because Lufile is playing so well. Still, big body, ultra athletic and very serviceable in the paint on both ends.
 
#93
#93
BruinVol said:
Great to hear a very good post from the other perspective.

Xavier>st Louis or byu. Sorry I can't buy that part.



With this game not being at the home site will Rpi treat it as a true road game or neutral???
Click to expand...

Sorry you can't buy it, but you should be able to defend it. Nothing says X > SLU. St. Louis returns 4 starters from a team that finished 4 clear of Xavier in the A10 last season and was a 4 seed. They are 7-2 with a current 52 RPI and have lost only to WSU and Wisky who is ranked 9 I believe. Xavier is 6-3 with a 115 RPI.

BYU's RPI is 10. 3 losses to teams that are a combined 23-0 against D1 competition. They also gave Texas their only loss and beat a 6-2 Stanford team on the road. BYU is good. And both BYU and St. Louis are marginally better than Xavier.

The game will be treated as a road game for the Vols and a home game for WSU. No cooking the books there. We're a legitimate home team, just not on our home floor. But prepare for the noise, it will be loud.
 
#94
#94
WuDrWu said:
Sorry you can't buy it, but you should be able to defend it. Nothing says X > SLU. St. Louis returns 4 starters from a team that finished 4 clear of Xavier in the A10 last season and was a 4 seed. They are 7-2 with a current 52 RPI and have lost only to WSU and Wisky who is ranked 9 I believe. Xavier is 6-3 with a 115 RPI.

BYU's RPI is 10. 3 losses to teams that are a combined 23-0 against D1 competition. They also gave Texas their only loss and beat a 6-2 Stanford team on the road. BYU is good. And both BYU and St. Louis are marginally better than Xavier.

The game will be treated as a road game for the Vols and a home game for WSU. No cooking the books there. We're a legitimate home team, just not on our home floor. But prepare for the noise, it will be loud.
Click to expand...

Good news for us on the Rpi. Thanks for the answer
 
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#95
#95
WuDrWu said:
Well "most" is subjective, and in WSU's case "last year" also can mean a lot of things.

Okay, first, here's who left:

2nd leading scorer, leading rebounder and heart of the team Carl Hall. 12/7
3rd leading scorer and starting PG, set a season record for steals, Malcolm Armstead.
5th leading scorer and winningest all time player in program history Demetric Williams. This is a little misleading as DWill saw a lot of time when Baker was out with the injury (suffered in the UT game last season) for most of the regular season. At the end, DWill was playing sparingly.
Defensive big man Ehimen Orupke only averaged 2/4 but played great defense.
Reserve stretch 4 Jake White (4/3) decided to transfer out.

They return leading scorer Cleanthony Early `14/5. Many are down on Cle this season because he's not had a super start, but he's still averaging 14/6. He's turning the ball over a little too much and honestly isn't quite as engaged as many of the other players, so far, but I feel it's because he's expecting himself to dominate. When he settles down and let's the game come to him without spasms of lucidity, he'll take off.

Ron Baker played the first 10 games and the last 8 games last season. We're a totally different team when he plays. Everyone gets better. He's just that special. Some may not be impressed, but NBA scouts are. He's good at everything and he's more athletic than most think. He leads the team in blocked shots because he's smart AND athletic.

Fred VanVleet backed up Armstead last year as a freshman and now it's his team this year. Fred closed the Gonzaga and Ohio State games last season. He's a playmaker and like Baker, is a hell of a winner. He's not the most athletic guy but he gets the job done. Good scorer, very smart defender, fantastic floor leader. If you're open, you're going to get the ball.

Tekele Cotton is the unsung hero. Relentless defender, not a great scorer, but is excellent in transition and getting to the rim. One of the toughest kids I've ever seen play at WSU, outside Xavier McDaniel. Uber athletic and strong as an ox.

Both Chadrack Lufile and Nick Wiggins struggled as juco players last year, and both have really improved this season, especially Lufile who runs the court well and is coming on strong lately.

Evan Wessel also missed the last 28+ games of the season and really hasn't returned to his form yet. He gives us a great effort defensively, but just can't get his shot back. His minutes so far are limited.

Derail Green redshirted and didn't play nor did walk on Zach Bush. Neither are part of the usual rotation now, or in the foreseeable future, imho.

So did we lose most of the team? Well, we lost 5/13 scholarship players....of the main 6 guys that led to the F4, 2 are gone, but so too are 4 of the main 8 or even 5 of the main 9.

47% of the scoring....49% of rebounding (my counts..no promises but should be close) departed. The thing is, the guys we lost were the ones we were most ready to replace. It's a tough call, but I'd say most of the team that went to the F4 is back. The thing is, they really haven't reached high yet...and that's not meant to be arrogant. They've played well in spurts. Last night for 10 minutes of the 2nd half they would have beaten anyone. Few teams could handle their defense, and they were relentless in transition, but most games have been 1 good half, at best. If they ever put 40 minutes together watch out.

Kadeem Coleby sat out last season as a transfer. A lot was expected and he's kind of stuck in transition mode, partly due to sitting out last season, and partly because Lufile is playing so well. Still, big body, ultra athletic and very serviceable in the paint on both ends.
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Thank you.
 
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#96
#96
WuDrWu said:
But prepare for the noise, it will be loud.
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I would hope we aren't shocked by the noise.

I'm sure it's nothing like playing at Rupp, and I would venture to guess that our opening game at Xavier was louder than this will be.
 
#97
#97
bleedingTNorange said:
Early is their best player, not Baker. Baker may average the most points, but that's strictly because of the attention Early draws. Cleanthony Early is in the 1st round of most mock drafts, Baker isn't in any round of most European drafts.
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I'm going to have to disagree.
Whether he is or isn't being scouted by the NBA does not determine his role as being their best player.

Chris Lofton was our best player for years but was never considered as a potential NBA player, and he would have been a lot of teams best player.
 
#98
#98
jcv0010 said:
I'm going to have to disagree.
Whether he is or isn't being scouted by the NBA does not determine his role as being their best player.

Chris Lofton was our best player for years but was never considered as a potential NBA player, and he would have been a lot of teams best player.
Click to expand...

You ask Martin who the first guy is he scouts and worries about...I'll guarantee you it's Early. With that said I do believe Early is overrated and should've gone pro last year, but that's jmo.
 
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#99
#99
jcv0010 said:
I'm going to have to disagree.
Whether he is or isn't being scouted by the NBA does not determine his role as being their best player.

Chris Lofton was our best player for years but was never considered as a potential NBA player, and he would have been a lot of teams best player.
Click to expand...


What about Tyler Smith? He may not have been a 1st round guy but prior to his arrest he was NBA bound.

I think you could make an argument that when Tobias Harris was here he wasn't our best player, yet he went in the 1st round.
 
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