3x3 results

[mcannon1]

TN in the quarterfinals this a.m. vs. Stanford. They've only lost their 1st game, vs. Iowa State. Iowa state has the best record, so far, of all the teams.

From USA Basketball:
"En route to a quarterfinals bye, Iowa State showed out on Saturday, claiming a 3-0 record and the most points scored through pool play (33 points). The Cyclones were led by captain and two-time Cheryl Miller Award winner Ashley Joens, who scored a women’s tournament-high 13 points against Hoopers NY."

 

[mcannon1]

Here's the link:

They play at 10:50 eastern this morning (Sunday, May 15th) vs. Stanford.

 

[LVsinceJV]

Lauren Cox's team playing against Essence Carson's team now. Carson's team got destroyed, Texafornia is tough!

Is that Kara Lawson in the background?

 

[glv98]

Lost to Stanford.

Stop me if you've heard this before: started out terrific, Key was unbelievable, the Key of our fondest dreams. Catching passes, hitting shots, dominating. Meanwhile, her teammates could not hit an outside shot,and repeatedly drove haplessly into the lane and threw up prayers. Jo probably set an event record for having most shots blocked. Fell behind due to no help for Key, but mounted a furious, scrambling comeback and made the game close late. Comeback attempt fell short due to lack of outside shooting and desperation offense. Sound familiar?

I hope the short shot clock is to blame, but if Walker and Wynn continue to play like this their minutes will be limited this season. Pure and simple. Again, maybe 12 sec clock and the 3x3 setting is to blame but the LVs should no longer tolerate, much less depend on, this kind of forced desperation offense.

Whoever can at least semi-consistently hit 3s is going to get that llast starting spot next season. I have leaned toward Puckett, but she showed in this tourney she is capable, but not yet consistent. I do like her all around game though.

Overall a good experience and a really good representation of the program. Way to go ladies, hope you had fun.

 

[LVsinceJV]

I really hope we continue participating in this, I see alot of upside in this super fast paced, extremely physical game. Getting the opportunity to play against pros is very cool also.

 

[VolBall09]

TN in the quarterfinals this a.m. vs. Stanford. They've only lost their 1st game, vs. Iowa State. Iowa state has the best record, so far, of all the teams.

From USA Basketball:
"En route to a quarterfinals bye, Iowa State showed out on Saturday, claiming a 3-0 record and the most points scored through pool play (33 points). The Cyclones were led by captain and two-time Cheryl Miller Award winner Ashley Joens, who scored a women’s tournament-high 13 points against Hoopers NY."

Ashley Joens is built for a 3x3 competition like this. She can play inside and out on both ends. Then with Ryan and Donarski hitting shots they are tough.

They were a tough matchup for our first game.

 

[dapeak]

The game is super fast paced and the better three point shot you have the better you’ll do. Honestly it’s more a versatile players game. Tess woulda been great alongside Puckett/Key/Wynn because a PG situation isn’t really necessary but two good shooters and a slasher/midrange and a good post player will win you the tourney due to strategy but they all had a good showing imo. Very fun!

 

[gule]

I watched UT's game today and it looked like their legs were shot from yesterday. no energy.. Wynn needs to spend the whole summer putting up outside shots against a defender. At least 200 shots a day. imvho

 

[VolBall09]

One thing I will say, it’s important to remember we didn’t send our best 4 players. We sent the 4 players who will benefit from this experience most.

Iowa State sent all of their star players. I like that our staff are using this as an opportunity for growth

 

[Terrells Bay88]

One thing I will say, it’s important to remember we didn’t send our best 4 players. We sent the 4 players who will benefit from this experience most.

Iowa State sent all of their star players. I like that our staff are using this as an opportunity for growth

Some of teams send of their star players and some didn't. Stanford didn't send their 4 best players while UNC sent 3 of their best players.

 

[Dak1219]

I really hope we continue participating in this, I see alot of upside in this super fast paced, extremely physical game. Getting the opportunity to play against pros is very cool also.

All sweet 16 teams were invited to this years tournament. If Redbull continues doing that, I expect that we will be invited on a yearly basis.

 

[VolBall09]

Some of teams send of their star players and some didn't. Stanford didn't send their 4 best players while UNC sent 3 of their best players.

Yes, exactly. I think those sending their players that need more development are smart.

It’s certainly good for the others as well, but I believe Stanford and Tennessee will be better and deeper for the experience where UNC and Iowa State will be about the same.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

Well, TN lost 17-14 to Stanford in the quarterfinals. Here’s what I wrote down:

Key made 9 layups, missed 2 layups, missed 1 foul shot, had 1 block that was called a foul.

Sara made 1 3 pointer (which is 2 points), made 1 outside shot (not a layup or 3 pt), missed 3 3 pointers, missed 2 outside (non 3 pt)-1 blocked, missed 1 layup.

Walker made 1 layup, missed 3 layups, missed 5 3 pointers (one was blocked), lost the ball going for a layup.

Wynn made 1 layup, missed 5 layups, missed 1 3 pointer, missed 1 outside shot (non 3 pt).

Key 9 points
Sara 3 points
Walker 1 point
Wynn 1 point

We missed 11 layups and 1 foul shot, and made only 1 from 3 point range. Maybe because of the 12 second shot clock it was harder for Walker and Wynn to kick the ball out to Sara. This type of play reinforces drive first, instead of pass to another for a better shot, which is not good for 5 player Team first basketball. While Wynn doesn’t need to learn to drive first, this practice may have helped Sara with dribbling to get to the basket and quicker 3 point shooting, and was good practice for Key to finish under the basket.

Still, we made it to the quarterfinals over a lot of teams. Good effort by all, lots of work to be done.

GO LADY VOLS!!!

 

[LVsinceJV]

All the college teams have been eliminated, it's been a tough tournament! Two pro teams in the finals.

 

[VolBall09]

This experience gives each of these players a clear picture of what they need to work on for next season.

Tamari needs to stay aggressive and I’d love to see her add more mid-range looks to her game. She has a beautiful stroke, no reason not to use it. She was finishing extremely well through a lot of contact in the tournament. Tells you how much worse the SEC can be…

Sarah just needs to shoot the ball more. Period. She is a complete player with a pro ready body. Would love to see her work on rebounding a bit more naturally. With her size I really think she should be snagging 6-8 boards a game. Would like to see her with at least 5 3 point attempts a game next year. She can truly stretch the floor and then it will open things up in the paint for her.

Walker could improve her passing in the paint. I noticed a lot of the layups she missed were heavily contested and often with two players coming at her. I love her tenacity and focus, but that’s where the IQ has gotta come in. She could be wrapping it around for an easy 2 quite often. TK showed throughout that she has great hands. If you put the ball in the right place she will snag it. I think Jordan’s shot is what it is at this point, her quickness looks better and better all the time.

Wynn is a player who has got to figure out how to finish through contact or develop a pull-up j. She is so athletic and so quick she gets by everyone, she has a terrible time at the rim though. I think she could really benefit from the Mikan Drill, it’s so simple, but so effective if you do it regularly. Her percentage would improve a lot. More than anything she has got to get in the gym and in the film room. Right now she’s an athlete, she needs to make herself a basketball player.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

This experience gives each of these players a clear picture of what they need to work on for next season.

Tamari needs to stay aggressive and I’d love to see her add more mid-range looks to her game. She has a beautiful stroke, no reason not to use it. She was finishing extremely well through a lot of contact in the tournament. Tells you how much worse the SEC can be…

Sarah just needs to shoot the ball more. Period. She is a complete player with a pro ready body. Would love to see her work on rebounding a bit more naturally. With her size I really think she should be snagging 6-8 boards a game. Would like to see her with at least 5 3 point attempts a game next year. She can truly stretch the floor and then it will open things up in the paint for her.

Walker could improve her passing in the paint. I noticed a lot of the layups she missed were heavily contested and often with two players coming at her. I love her tenacity and focus, but that’s where the IQ has gotta come in. She could be wrapping it around for an easy 2 quite often. TK showed throughout that she has great hands. If you put the ball in the right place she will snag it. I think Jordan’s shot is what it is at this point, her quickness looks better and better all the time.

Wynn is a player who has got to figure out how to finish through contact or develop a pull-up j. She is so athletic and so quick she gets by everyone, she has a terrible time at the rim though. I think she could really benefit from the Mikan Drill, it’s so simple, but so effective if you do it regularly. Her percentage would improve a lot. More than anything she has got to get in the gym and in the film room. Right now she’s an athlete, she needs to make herself a basketball player.

Actually, with her size, Sara needs to also improve her layup shooting.

 

[stllvf]

thanks for the update and assessment, a speculative question - were you surprised the four players selected? Walker was the only one I wondered about, perhaps the need for coaching on the floor? Wynn was a natural as a player who would benefit.

I also wonder if coaches use 3x3 in practice as a change of pace. As was stated in the intro tape the game requires the players to coach themselves. the downside is the potential for bad habits ie quick shots.

 

[VolBall09]

Actually, with her size, Sara needs to also improve her layup shooting.

Yes, needs to improve her vertical leap if at all possible

 

[NoBackBoard]

Texafornia (Lauren Cox, Kayla Wells, Joanne Allen-Taylor, Kianna Smith) wins the title over Rain City Force 10 (Linnae Harper, Blake Dietrick, Keyona Hayes, Camille Zimmerman).

I watched Texafornia in their first game (16-9 win over K State) and they didn’t look good.

But as the tourney progressed, they began moving better and upping their offense. All the players hit 2 point shots to help the team. ( A 2-pointer in 3x3 is a 3 in a regular game).

I believe all those players were once drafted into the WNBA, though not all made a final roster.

I was most impressed with Cox and Allen-Taylor. Cox’s defense and movement improved and she finished layups with contact and made some clutch 2 pointers.

Allen-Taylor finished well, played great D and made pull up jumpers and 2 point shots.

All around a great tourney and I saw Carolyn Peck, Kara Lawson, Courtney Vandersloot and others watching. Hopefully some of the ladies will find their way on a roster one day.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

The game is super fast paced and the better three point shot you have the better you’ll do. Honestly it’s more a versatile players game. Tess woulda been great alongside Puckett/Key/Wynn because a PG situation isn’t really necessary but two good shooters and a slasher/midrange and a good post player will win you the tourney due to strategy but they all had a good showing imo. Very fun!

Striplin can make layups, get rebounds, and shoot away from the basket, plus she and Sara played some together before college. I’d have liked to have seen Sara and Striplin playing together in this.

 

[lvocd]

thanks for the update and assessment, a speculative question - were you surprised the four players selected? Walker was the only one I wondered about, perhaps the need for coaching on the floor? Wynn was a natural as a player who would benefit.

I also wonder if coaches use 3x3 in practice as a change of pace. As was stated in the intro tape the game requires the players to coach themselves. the downside is the potential for bad habits ie quick shots.

I'm guessing there were multiple factors were taken i to consideration when the staff was deciding who to send. Who's healthy, experience, the need for some to GAIN experience, position and, not the least of which, who was in a good position to be available to go.

Like you, I kinda thought Walker was the most obvious choice to be the leader since she's the most mature and actually has a desire to get into coaching.

Maybe Sara and Wynn because they both would benefit from the experience, and each of them had their strengths to bring: Sara her outside shooting, and Kaiya her ability to get to the basket and good defense.

Tamari was the obvious choice, as she brought experience AND the level of inside presence few other teams could compete with.

I'm extremely happy with how they competed because I didn't think they'd fare as well as they did after such a short period of preparation. Before it started I kept thinking that their practices to learn how to play it will be a LOT different than going up against an unknown opponent in actual competition when nerves can play a big role starting out. And when I saw they'd be playing Iowa State in their first game -- YIKES! To be brutally honest, I actually worried we might have trouble scoring three points before they'd already quickly scored 21 off rapid-fire threes! But after the initiall shell-shock, Tennessee got it together and competed with Iowa State.

 

[NoBackBoard]

Just me or did 3x3 show just how much Tamari can score if refs allow contact? I believe she also got some defensive reps for when teams bring her out. She was scored on but had some great defensive stops. I encourage all fans to watch the replays. I’m interested in what others observed.

 

[Darth_Vol]

One thing I will say, it’s important to remember we didn’t send our best 4 players. We sent the 4 players who will benefit from this experience most.

Iowa State sent all of their star players. I like that our staff are using this as an opportunity for growth

True, this experience is invaluable for our sixth year guard with failing knees who projects to have a reduced role next season...

 

[youcancallmeAl]

True, this experience is invaluable for our sixth year guard with failing knees who projects to have a reduced role next season...

She wants to be a coach. Good learning experience for her.

 

[stllvf]

My take away from watching many games was the ability to secure contested rebounds given the physicality of play around the hoop was essential. The play was similar to high level playground games. Three players can "spread" the court especially for the women's game which was superior to watch IMO.