The ATO improved not because of more assists in a shorter season, but also fewer turnovers. But when she wants to turn the ball over, she delivers. The problem is that when that happens, she generally brings very little in way of offense and the whole flow of the game turns into a bunch of 1-on-5 plays.
21/22 Line-up Options
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The ATO improved not because of more assists in a shorter season, but also fewer turnovers. But when she wants to turn the ball over, she delivers. The problem is that when that happens, she generally brings very little in way of offense and the whole flow of the game turns into a bunch of 1-on-5 plays.
PG: Walker, Miles, Horston
In that order only if Miles is committed to defense from day one. I’m thinking Horston may be playing more 2/3 next season and I hope she embraces it. Can take over the point in late quarter and end of game situations. She did a fabulous job with that last season. Her crunch time execution was great. Walker should be brace free and more mobile. If her 3 point shot is better she will be dangerous. Year two at this level and no brace hopefully means better defense and shooting. She already did a great job rebounding the ball from the guard spot this season, only expect that to improve.
2G: Horston, Burrell, Wynn, Suarez
Again, hoping Jordan H improves her shooting, gets healthy and comfortable and embraces a scorers mentality. At the 2 consistently it takes so much pressure off of her. She can still do her thing, but without the responsibility of setting up the offense. That really seemed to trip her up and we were more fluid when Walker initiated the offense.
Burrell will move to the 3 mostly and get a lot of the plays we ran for Rennia. Instead of a short corner fade away she can shoot the corner 3 ball. At the 3 she can create some mismatches offensively and should be able to post up some smaller teams. A little post up game would really round out her offensive arsenal.
Wynn looks like she could be a spark off the bench for sure. Her body is SEC ready and she is ultra athletic. I’ve been impressed every time I’ve been able to watch her games. Doesn’t seem to press or rush but really gets the job done. Her defense will get her some minutes. She’s fast enough and aggressive enough to be a menace from the get go.
SF Burrell, Puckett, Dye, Darby, Suarez
I think this is going to end up being the 3 point specialist slot and Dye. We are going to use our SF to stretch the defense from the corners. All 3 of these ladies are capable and give us options to see who is hot from 3. I like this idea as well because it changes it up from Rennia who did most of her work around the basket and in the mid-range.
Will be great to have Puckett as I think she will be able to Spell Rae without losing so much on both ends. Last season we did not have a good sub for Rae, anytime she was out it was very noticeable. Tess may crack a few more minutes if she’s healthy and can change her body. Her physical fitness, speed and strength all had room for growth.
Dye, IMO, is probably coming off the bench with the players we have returning. I don’t see her cracking the starting lineup right away unless she hits another level. Has 6th woman of the year vibes written all over her. Would be a huge spark at the 3 with her mid-range and rebounding game. Would likely come in for Horston and Burrell would move to the 2 when she and Alexus are on the court together.
PF: Green, Striplin, Suarez, Dye
Green appears to be a leader and Kellie is really high on that. The team seemed to really respect her last season even though she didn’t play. That’s not easy to do, especially being a newcomer to the team. The only hangup may be if she’s not in shape due to her ACL issue. I’m also counting on her having added a mid-range shot. Just do not think she can consistently score only at the rim in the SEC. Just not big enough.
Striplin’s game looks college ready to me and I think she’ll be getting a lot of time at the PF. She rebounds the ball and initiates the break with her passing very well. Great shot and absolutely money from the free throw line. Looks like she may be good for the occasional trail 3 as well. Like Wynn, her body looks college ready to me.
I’ve listed Marta on every list from 2-4 but haven’t mentioned her yet. She’s a bit of an enigma for me right now. I believe she could play anywhere from 10-30 minutes a game lol. She has tons of potential but, like Tess, her injury hampered her physically and she was out of shape to finish the season. If she can sort out her foot and get back in shape she’ll be able to fill in wherever needed if we have foul trouble or other issues. With her handle and improving shot, plus her frame and aggressive mentality she can really play from 2G-PF.
Alexus will likely get some minutes at the 4, but more sparingly as the season progresses. In the SEC she would be a good 4 player against teams with minimal size like MIZZOU or Arkansas. Otherwise she’s just too small/slim defensively IMO.
Center: Tamari, Keyen, Emily
IMO the only reason Tamari didn’t play more minutes this season is because she couldn’t. We really need her to be able to play about 35 minutes a game. She is the anchor of our defense and we are a much better team when she is on the floor. You could tell there were times Kellie wanted to play her more but she was just out of gas. Time to step up and make the leap. She has the potential to be unstoppable on offense as well, beautiful shot. Just needs the little jump hook and she’s un-guardable.
Keyen will play the 5 when we play small ball. This will actually be a really good option for us against some teams. We can also use her at the 5 against teams with two big, slow, posts. Get some easy buckets in transition from her and Dye going small.
Emily is going to have to trim down and speed up. I think Kellie would really like to play her more but she just doesn’t get up and down fast enough. Against slower teams she got her some minutes which tells me she likes her game but just can’t play her against a quicker center. Mentally Emily needs to be ready to receive the ball on offense. She actually does a nice job getting open but is totally surprised by the pass almost every time. Her timing with Horston in particular is not good. The two of them combined for quite a few TOs.
Rennie is the only player I have yet to mention I think. Was actually very excited for her future her freshman season. Her 3 point shot was money. I’ve got no idea what happened but she seemed to regress more than anyone on the team last year. Did not shoot it well, or confidently, even in non-con games. Physically she was a step slow on both ends and turned it over trying to drive to the basket too many times. She seemed mostly confused. Probably down the depth chart unless she makes a massive improvement in some of those areas.
I do think we will see 11-12 players in the rotation consistently. Not all of them for a lot of minutes but I suspect that more players will enter every game than did this last season. Kellie likes to spread it around and our injuries didn’t allow for that.
Rennie, Darby, and Saunders are likely furthest down the depth chart. Miles may be as well, what I’ve seen so far is inconsistent effort. The talent and speed is there but in the games I watched she loafs around some. Can be none of that at this level or she’ll sit.
In that order only if Miles is committed to defense from day one. I’m thinking Horston may be playing more 2/3 next season and I hope she embraces it. Can take over the point in late quarter and end of game situations. She did a fabulous job with that last season. Her crunch time execution was great. Walker should be brace free and more mobile. If her 3 point shot is better she will be dangerous. Year two at this level and no brace hopefully means better defense and shooting. She already did a great job rebounding the ball from the guard spot this season, only expect that to improve.
2G: Horston, Burrell, Wynn, Suarez
Again, hoping Jordan H improves her shooting, gets healthy and comfortable and embraces a scorers mentality. At the 2 consistently it takes so much pressure off of her. She can still do her thing, but without the responsibility of setting up the offense. That really seemed to trip her up and we were more fluid when Walker initiated the offense.
Burrell will move to the 3 mostly and get a lot of the plays we ran for Rennia. Instead of a short corner fade away she can shoot the corner 3 ball. At the 3 she can create some mismatches offensively and should be able to post up some smaller teams. A little post up game would really round out her offensive arsenal.
Wynn looks like she could be a spark off the bench for sure. Her body is SEC ready and she is ultra athletic. I’ve been impressed every time I’ve been able to watch her games. Doesn’t seem to press or rush but really gets the job done. Her defense will get her some minutes. She’s fast enough and aggressive enough to be a menace from the get go.
SF Burrell, Puckett, Dye, Darby, Suarez
I think this is going to end up being the 3 point specialist slot and Dye. We are going to use our SF to stretch the defense from the corners. All 3 of these ladies are capable and give us options to see who is hot from 3. I like this idea as well because it changes it up from Rennia who did most of her work around the basket and in the mid-range.
Will be great to have Puckett as I think she will be able to Spell Rae without losing so much on both ends. Last season we did not have a good sub for Rae, anytime she was out it was very noticeable. Tess may crack a few more minutes if she’s healthy and can change her body. Her physical fitness, speed and strength all had room for growth.
Dye, IMO, is probably coming off the bench with the players we have returning. I don’t see her cracking the starting lineup right away unless she hits another level. Has 6th woman of the year vibes written all over her. Would be a huge spark at the 3 with her mid-range and rebounding game. Would likely come in for Horston and Burrell would move to the 2 when she and Alexus are on the court together.
PF: Green, Striplin, Suarez, Dye
Green appears to be a leader and Kellie is really high on that. The team seemed to really respect her last season even though she didn’t play. That’s not easy to do, especially being a newcomer to the team. The only hangup may be if she’s not in shape due to her ACL issue. I’m also counting on her having added a mid-range shot. Just do not think she can consistently score only at the rim in the SEC. Just not big enough.
Striplin’s game looks college ready to me and I think she’ll be getting a lot of time at the PF. She rebounds the ball and initiates the break with her passing very well. Great shot and absolutely money from the free throw line. Looks like she may be good for the occasional trail 3 as well. Like Wynn, her body looks college ready to me.
I’ve listed Marta on every list from 2-4 but haven’t mentioned her yet. She’s a bit of an enigma for me right now. I believe she could play anywhere from 10-30 minutes a game lol. She has tons of potential but, like Tess, her injury hampered her physically and she was out of shape to finish the season. If she can sort out her foot and get back in shape she’ll be able to fill in wherever needed if we have foul trouble or other issues. With her handle and improving shot, plus her frame and aggressive mentality she can really play from 2G-PF.
Alexus will likely get some minutes at the 4, but more sparingly as the season progresses. In the SEC she would be a good 4 player against teams with minimal size like MIZZOU or Arkansas. Otherwise she’s just too small/slim defensively IMO.
Center: Tamari, Keyen, Emily
IMO the only reason Tamari didn’t play more minutes this season is because she couldn’t. We really need her to be able to play about 35 minutes a game. She is the anchor of our defense and we are a much better team when she is on the floor. You could tell there were times Kellie wanted to play her more but she was just out of gas. Time to step up and make the leap. She has the potential to be unstoppable on offense as well, beautiful shot. Just needs the little jump hook and she’s un-guardable.
Keyen will play the 5 when we play small ball. This will actually be a really good option for us against some teams. We can also use her at the 5 against teams with two big, slow, posts. Get some easy buckets in transition from her and Dye going small.
Emily is going to have to trim down and speed up. I think Kellie would really like to play her more but she just doesn’t get up and down fast enough. Against slower teams she got her some minutes which tells me she likes her game but just can’t play her against a quicker center. Mentally Emily needs to be ready to receive the ball on offense. She actually does a nice job getting open but is totally surprised by the pass almost every time. Her timing with Horston in particular is not good. The two of them combined for quite a few TOs.
Rennie is the only player I have yet to mention I think. Was actually very excited for her future her freshman season. Her 3 point shot was money. I’ve got no idea what happened but she seemed to regress more than anyone on the team last year. Did not shoot it well, or confidently, even in non-con games. Physically she was a step slow on both ends and turned it over trying to drive to the basket too many times. She seemed mostly confused. Probably down the depth chart unless she makes a massive improvement in some of those areas.
I do think we will see 11-12 players in the rotation consistently. Not all of them for a lot of minutes but I suspect that more players will enter every game than did this last season. Kellie likes to spread it around and our injuries didn’t allow for that.
Rennie, Darby, and Saunders are likely furthest down the depth chart. Miles may be as well, what I’ve seen so far is inconsistent effort. The talent and speed is there but in the games I watched she loafs around some. Can be none of that at this level or she’ll sit.
Rickster
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37620VOL
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@VolBall09 that's all really well written but major holes at 3 point shooting. I don't find it realistic to trot out a line up where RB is your only > 30% 3 point shooter. When she drives she needs at least 2 kick out options that can still a 3. You've got to be able to spread the defense out, break it down, cause it stress. Can't do that without shooters.
When you look at our weaknesses last year, the only glaring weakness was 3 point shooting and shooting overall. All the games we lost, we got destroyed at the 3 point line and that was the only common thread in our losses.
When you look at our weaknesses last year, the only glaring weakness was 3 point shooting and shooting overall. All the games we lost, we got destroyed at the 3 point line and that was the only common thread in our losses.
37620VOL
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The key for Key is staying on the floor. She has the best per minute player efficiency rating on the team, the second highest win share, and the best +/-. I think the best thing she can do is learn that an affected shot is practically as good as a blocked shot. Don't foul, stay on the court, that's it. 30+ minutes per game from Key is the goal.
madtownvol
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I think Tamari is still learning what she can do. My main thought on her is she needs more strength and conditioning work. If her lower body gets stronger and she gets a touch more explosive in her jumping, she would become (I believe) a near unstoppable force. She still does most of her work 1 inch off the ground at best but her height and wingspan let her get away with it defensively. But offensively, I think that is why she tends to miss so much at the rim and sometimes has trouble get her position down low.
Volfan2012
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37620VOL
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I'm only taking about shooting with range. Being able to stretch the defense to create space. If we use a lineup with four players that do not shoot threes well, Burrell can be doubled or triple-teamed on her drives with no consequence. When she drives there has to be at least two kick out options that can make the defense pay from behind the arc.
mlindsay
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understand you're reasoning but the key is to score, so if she drives and kicks it out, doesn't always mean that kick is going behind the 3pt line. That kick out could go to the top of the key and the shot can be made there. I get it that we want consistent 3 pt shooting but, that isn't the end all be all. At the end of the day you only need to have 1 point more than your opponent when the final buzzer sound. We've been missing 3pt shooting but we have also missed a player who constantly attacks the basket and isn't always looking to shoot the jumper. We haven't had that since Annie. If Dye can bring us that, that will be a step in the right direction.
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mlindsay
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I also think she lives by the mindset, "If it aint broke, don't try to fix it." If you can't defend me when I attack or shoot 15 to 18 feet, why would I help you defend me by taking 3pt shots that I don't have to. And this isn't directed at your comment, just the frequent complaint that Dye can't shoot the 3. We honestly wouldn't know because she doesn't take them and hasn't had to and she still puts points on the board.
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creekdipper
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Volfan2012
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I believe we are missing something in this discussion. First is off-season work with coaches. Could not do this last year due to covid as well as strength and conditioning. Second with Dye in lineup you do open the floor more she is a scorer i do not care if she shoots 3 she Averaged 20 plus against Sec . Third is Defensive. Before Marta injury and even with KK you could not trap effectively to slow. But with Walker Horston Burrell Dye and Key protecting Rim now you can extend your Defense and trap more creating more OFFENSE. If you choose to continue this type of D with Bench Miles and Wynn and Puckett are athletic enough to roll with and Striplin will be backup to Key in post. My two cents. In CHRIST Alone
youcancallmeAl
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Thanks for the summary. I’d definitely disagree with Suarez as 2G option against anyone. She really has a lot of improving to do in terms of ability to move to even think about SF. I suppose you listed her there due to the handful of occasions she made 3s. I’d rather see that from a stretch 4 role though rebounding would be a challenge.
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