AAU thread

[VA_VOLFAN]

Hard game to watch....The green team was scorer challenged.
Fudd does seem like the real deal....Damn UConn, again.

I would have liked to see Wynn play in that game... has her family moved yet? She probably had a really good chance at being TN Gatorade player of the year. The good thing is she is going to another state where they take girls basketball seriously and she seems like she will be playing with another good set of teammates per an article (now that was from her new coaches perspective describing returning players and calling Wynn a critical missing piece).

 

[lfvol]

Miles is not brought in to be a scorer, she is brought in for a purpose,,,to match us up with those tiny lightning quick mighty mites, that have given us fits for several years

She will become a very important role player for the Lady Vols

I’m not going to argue with you and I hope she is good. But, there are virtually no high level players scoring 4 and 0 in AAU games prior to their Sr years. I’d be concerned about a Five that had 16 rebounds and 6 blocks but didn’t score. It’s unheard of for a guard regardless of how quick she is.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I’m not going to argue with you and I hope she is good. But, there are virtually no high level players scoring 4 and 0 in AAU games prior to their Sr years. I’d be concerned about a Five that had 16 rebounds and 6 blocks but didn’t score. It’s unheard of for a guard regardless of how quick she is.

Not worried
I said Jordan would be a great and she is on her way.
I predict Miles to be a key player and I stand by that as well.

 

[PAPI]

Miles looks just like the players we have on the team now....plays too fast and turns the ball over way too much. She also mirrors our players now that force the ball and throw it in the direction of the goal. We need skilled players like Fudd. That’s the difference! That’s why we can’t make it to a Final Four!

The teams we had that went far or won a championship had a difference maker. A go-to player and sometimes two go-to players. We don’t have that and this class doesn’t have that either. Sorry if you all don’t want to hear that.

Kellie is building a 1990s era team. The game has changed! You can’t have a few slower girls who lumber up and down the court who might make a 3, but if they don’t, we will just out rebound everyone. That was our 90s championship team formula. Play good defense and rebound. You have to have scorers! You need shot makers! UConn gets these type of players and win multiple championships. They get these players because Geno wins championships. Pat did that too. We don’t have Pat. We should’ve went out and hired the very best coach that had some name recognition and had a history of winning. We are always trying to get a coach on the cheap at this university!

We have commitments from two players from Alabama, one from Kentucky and one from Tennessee. We can’t recruit nationally? Can Tennessee not go get the best player out of Ohio, or Maryland, or even Cali? At one point we could and we did. Those days are gone.

We are recruiting regionally and we are recruiting like a team that will finish as a sweet 16 team every year. Hell, Syracuse and Arkansas have better classes. These girls may end up being good, but this is just pitiful. We have better facilities and tradition than 99% of women’s basketball and we can’t get the best players?

Sorry. I know you all won’t want to hear this and will say, “we have 3 5stars...”. There is not a difference maker in that class. There just isn’t. Dawn Staley is the coach girls want to play for in this conference. You want to know why? She has won a championship!

You don’t rebuild at a Tennessee...but we are and we have been for years. I feel like deep down, most of you know that these girls would be the recruiting class of a team just happy to make it to a Final Four once in a decade. That’s not what this program was and it should have never got to this point. Pat was so competitive that if she had been making the hire, she would have hired the person who was going to get the most out of these girls. Someone who would have the pedigree to get the players needed to hang banners. We don’t have that. We have a former player who people like....who couldn’t win at NC State, where there was no pressure to win or get the beat players. She has her husband coaching our centers. Do you really think he’s a better coach than Dean Lockwood or Al Brown?

I love Kellie...as a player. Sometimes, the best coach isn’t going to be the former players. You think Miss St would have hired Kellie? What about if Dawn left USC? Would they hire Kellie? That’s how far our program has fallen.

 

[GameTime]

Coach, Miles has great shake and bake moves, BUT on her drives to the basket she is going to get a lot of shots blocked.....Of course, the idea is to get the foul called, but like in this featured game, sometimes the refs just let them play.......

 

[Bballnut1952]

Not worried
I said Jordan would be a great and she is on her way.
I predict Miles to be a key player and I stand by that as well.

She was the No. 2 player in the 2019 class. Predicting she would be great is not rocket science.

Can you define what a key player is? Is that different than a role player?

 

[Darth_Vol]

Miles puts up decent numbers in high school, but a recurring theme is how completely overwhelmed she looks against better competition. In addition to weaknesses already mentioned, her three point shot looks awful and she was actually benched most of the second half in this one - make of that what you will.

Fudd, OTOH, I don't know if she's the best high school player I've ever seen, but she's definitely on the short list. This game was a little preview of what will happen if UT and UConn decide to extend the series...

 

[Coach Jumper]

Coach, Miles has great shake and bake moves, BUT on her drives to the basket she is going to get a lot of shots blocked.....Of course, the idea is to get the foul called, but like in this featured game, sometimes the refs just let them play....She has got to learn to shoot from the outside or it will become a problem....

She has great moves, but damn hit a shot too....

Ky looked like a d2 team against a d1 team...Miles couldn't have done anything different.
No one on KY could hit the ocean with their shot and fusion/Fudd was shooting a golf ball into a barrel.

I don't grade Miles' performance on the score,,,I do grade it on what happened when she was on Fudd one on one.
And I am quite pleased with what she did when she was on the #1 player in the class.
I'd have to go back and chart it, but from what I remember, Fudd got 4 shots off against Miles when Miles was on her, making two and most of the time she was across from Miles, she looked for and got switches to weaker defenders.
If the #1 player in the class is looking for switches to avoid my kid, I am good with that

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

Miles looks just like the players we have on the team now....plays too fast and turns the ball over way too much. She also mirrors our players now that force the ball and throw it in the direction of the goal. We need skilled players like Fudd. That’s the difference! That’s why we can’t make it to a Final Four!

The teams we had that went far or won a championship had a difference maker. A go-to player and sometimes two go-to players. We don’t have that and this class doesn’t have that either. Sorry if you all don’t want to hear that.

Kellie is building a 1990s era team. The game has changed! You can’t have a few slower girls who lumber up and down the court who might make a 3, but if they don’t, we will just out rebound everyone. That was our 90s championship team formula. Play good defense and rebound. You have to have scorers! You need shot makers! UConn gets these type of players and win multiple championships. They get these players because Geno wins championships. Pat did that too. We don’t have Pat. We should’ve went out and hired the very best coach that had some name recognition and had a history of winning. We are always trying to get a coach on the cheap at this university!

We have commitments from two players from Alabama, one from Kentucky and one from Tennessee. We can’t recruit nationally? Can Tennessee not go get the best player out of Ohio, or Maryland, or even Cali? At one point we could and we did. Those days are gone.

We are recruiting regionally and we are recruiting like a team that will finish as a sweet 16 team every year. Hell, Syracuse and Arkansas have better classes. These girls may end up being good, but this is just pitiful. We have better facilities and tradition than 99% of women’s basketball and we can’t get the best players?

Sorry. I know you all won’t want to hear this and will say, “we have 3 5stars...”. There is not a difference maker in that class. There just isn’t. Dawn Staley is the coach girls want to play for in this conference. You want to know why? She has won a championship!

You don’t rebuild at a Tennessee...but we are and we have been for years. I feel like deep down, most of you know that these girls would be the recruiting class of a team just happy to make it to a Final Four once in a decade. That’s not what this program was and it should have never got to this point. Pat was so competitive that if she had been making the hire, she would have hired the person who was going to get the most out of these girls. Someone who would have the pedigree to get the players needed to hang banners. We don’t have that. We have a former player who people like....who couldn’t win at NC State, where there was no pressure to win or get the beat players. Who has her husband coaching our centers. Do you really think he’s a better coach than Dean Lockwood or Al Brown?

I love Kellie...as a player. Sometimes, the best coach isn’t going to be the former players. You think Miss St would have hired Kellie? What about if Dawn left USC? Would they hire Kellie? That’s how far our program has fallen.

I agree with a lot of what you said... but Kellie got the best player in Ohio to stay committed to the team the team also has one of the better players in her class from NC. I also get recruiting nationally but let’s be fair one of the two Alabama girls is probably going to be a Gatorade player of the year and the TN girl was going to be at the top of the list for the top player in the state. Vic didn’t have any difference makers until he made them into that. It actually took Dawn getting the Welsch young lady to stay home to help turn the tide because she helped get Tiffany Mitchell who in turn helped get Aja Wilson the difference maker.

I know I know well we are TN and shouldn’t be starting like they started but when you are rebuilding a program (which we are) you have to make moves that you may not have had to previously make before.

The thing with these young ladies is they can score the ball. We do need that player that is top notch to take us up a level but we got some scorers.

 

[MLTS05]

Miles hasn’t played a single second and she has people picking her apart ... welcome to the Lady VOLS I guess lol

 

[Coach Jumper]

Miles hasn’t played a single second and she has people picking her apart ... welcome to the Lady VOLS I guess lol

sigh
But, expected

 

[stlvolsfan]

Miles looks just like the players we have on the team now....plays too fast and turns the ball over way too much. She also mirrors our players now that force the ball and throw it in the direction of the goal. We need skilled players like Fudd. That’s the difference! That’s why we can’t make it to a Final Four!

The teams we had that went far or won a championship had a difference maker. A go-to player and sometimes two go-to players. We don’t have that and this class doesn’t have that either. Sorry if you all don’t want to hear that.

Kellie is building a 1990s era team. The game has changed! You can’t have a few slower girls who lumber up and down the court who might make a 3, but if they don’t, we will just out rebound everyone. That was our 90s championship team formula. Play good defense and rebound. You have to have scorers! You need shot makers! UConn gets these type of players and win multiple championships. They get these players because Geno wins championships. Pat did that too. We don’t have Pat. We should’ve went out and hired the very best coach that had some name recognition and had a history of winning. We are always trying to get a coach on the cheap at this university!

We have commitments from two players from Alabama, one from Kentucky and one from Tennessee. We can’t recruit nationally? Can Tennessee not go get the best player out of Ohio, or Maryland, or even Cali? At one point we could and we did. Those days are gone.

We are recruiting regionally and we are recruiting like a team that will finish as a sweet 16 team every year. Hell, Syracuse and Arkansas have better classes. These girls may end up being good, but this is just pitiful. We have better facilities and tradition than 99% of women’s basketball and we can’t get the best players?

Sorry. I know you all won’t want to hear this and will say, “we have 3 5stars...”. There is not a difference maker in that class. There just isn’t. Dawn Staley is the coach girls want to play for in this conference. You want to know why? She has won a championship!

You don’t rebuild at a Tennessee...but we are and we have been for years. I feel like deep down, most of you know that these girls would be the recruiting class of a team just happy to make it to a Final Four once in a decade. That’s not what this program was and it should have never got to this point. Pat was so competitive that if she had been making the hire, she would have hired the person who was going to get the most out of these girls. Someone who would have the pedigree to get the players needed to hang banners. We don’t have that. We have a former player who people like....who couldn’t win at NC State, where there was no pressure to win or get the beat players. She has her husband coaching our centers. Do you really think he’s a better coach than Dean Lockwood or Al Brown?

I love Kellie...as a player. Sometimes, the best coach isn’t going to be the former players. You think Miss St would have hired Kellie? What about if Dawn left USC? Would they hire Kellie? That’s how far our program has fallen.

She kept the best player out of Ohio, her name is Jordan Horston.

 

[PG1]

Watching Miles and her team play as well as lots of other so called Exposure Showcase kids play just tells me the Scouting and Ranking services are wrong more often than right!

 

[GameTime]

Watching Miles and her team play as well as lots of other so called Exposure Showcase kids play just tells me the Scouting and Ranking services are wrong more often than right!

I thought the same thing...The only excuse I can come up with is that Fudd is that much better than everyone else...She scores almost at will.

 

[mcannon1]

Geno will have Fudd plus 4 other shooters on the floor. UCONN will be a threat from all 5 positions. That's how they'll win.

 

[GameTime]

So true mcannon....Geno knows the value of great offense....Step one is get players that can score, and score again....The rest is a mathematical certainty.

 

[Amb3096]

I agree with a lot of what you said... but Kellie got the best player in Ohio to stay committed to the team the team also has one of the better players in her class from NC. I also get recruiting nationally but let’s be fair one of the two Alabama girls is probably going to be a Gatorade player of the year and the TN girl was going to be at the top of the list for the top player in the state. Vic didn’t have any difference makers until he made them into that. It actually took Dawn getting the Welsch young lady to stay home to help turn the tide because she helped get Tiffany Mitchell who in turn helped get Aja Wilson the difference maker.

I know I know well we are TN and shouldn’t be starting like they started but when you are rebuilding a program (which we are) you have to make moves that you may not have had to previously make before.

The thing with these young ladies is they can score the ball. We do need that player that is top notch to take us up a level but we got some scorers.

A'ja was the star of the championship team, but Mitchell was IMO the difference maker they needed to make them relevant and make them a recruiting threat.. She was a 2-time SEC POY and a 2-time WBCA. Much like what Vic did with Vivians, Dawn had to build Tiffany into a difference maker. Kellie had the luxury of inheriting two of them (Rennia, Jordan) when she took over the team.

As I've said in the past, there are no obvious difference makers on this team and no one you look at like a Candace Parker or even a Jordan Horston and think, "This is a player that can lead us to a NC". I think Horston has to be the best player on the team, and the 2021 recruits can play the Sidney Spencer role: not the most decorated player, but a key part of the team's success. It will be tough with Rennia leaving before they come in, but over the next 3-4 years Tennessee needs to pick up some wins against the top SEC teams and stop finishing in the middle of the pack. They also need to start getting some high profile OOC wins. Otherwise, everying @PAPI said will continue to be true.

 

[Amb3096]

So true mcannon...Every position has got to be a scorer, or you will never be a championship team...Never....Never....Never....

Geno knows the value of great offense....Step one is get players that can score, and score again....The rest is a mathematical certainty.

He knows how to build a team, but I wouldn't say he just goes for the proven scorers. He's got a lot of athletic "projects" on the team, but he also couples them with strong floor leaders and the best offensive sets in the country to rely less on players creating their own shots and more on excellent ball movement to create easy shots. That IMO is what Kellie needs to do. Get rid of the outdated 90s style "crash the boards for putbacks" and "hero ball" that has plagued the team since Parker graduated.

Tennessee doesn't necessarily need the best shooters/scorers, but they need a modern offense that will make them harder to defend in ways beyond just "out-athleting" the competition.

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

A'ja was the star of the championship team, but Mitchell was IMO the difference maker they needed to make them relevant and make them a recruiting threat.. She was a 2-time SEC POY and a 2-time WBCA.

As I've said in the past, there are no obvious difference makers on this team and no one you look at like a Candace Parker or even a Jordan Horston and think, "This is a player that can lead us to a NC". I think Horston has to be the best player on the team, and the 2021 recruits can play the Sidney Spencer role: not the most decorated player, but a key part of the team's success. It will be tough with Rennia leaving before they come in, but over the next 3-4 years Tennessee needs to pick up some wins against the top SEC teams and stop finishing in the middle of the pack. They also need to start getting some high profile OOC wins. Otherwise, everying @PAPI said will continue to be true.

As, I have previously stated we need top notch players but we have to get back to getting those with all that went on.

WE DEF need hard workers which seems these young ladies fit the bill and hopefully that rolls over into practice which pushes them to roll over in games to win some of those topnotch games you speak of.

But if there is a bunch of undisciplined people on the court who aren’t willing to put in the work talent doesn’t do any good.

Yes we all realize we need top talent but if we get “good” kids and can get some more of those wins then those top kids will come.

I like how we are working things... HELL people were saying Kellie couldn’t even pull top 100 talent (remember that?)... now she has put together a solid class and people don’t want to realize this is a process.

 

[GameTime]

He knows how to build a team, but I wouldn't say he just goes for the proven scorers. He's got a lot of athletic "projects" on the team, but he also couples them with strong floor leaders and the best offensive sets in the country to rely less on players creating their own shots and more on excellent ball movement to create easy shots. That IMO is what Kellie needs to do. Get rid of the outdated 90s style "crash the boards for putbacks" and "hero ball" that has plagued the team since Parker graduated.

Tennessee doesn't necessarily need the best shooters/scorers, but they need a modern offense that will make them harder to defend in ways beyond just "out-athleting" the competition.

Amb, Geno's starting 5 are scorers....Once they have built up a substantial lead, he will sub in some of his "projects." But, in most cases, those projects would be starters on most teams...

I have watched a lot of UConn ball, not as a fan, but as a very interested observer of how that program stays at the top year after year......Not only do they always have scorers at all 5 positions, but like you pointed out, they have a great offensive scheme to free up their shooters.

 

[PG1]

Waiting on Davis to score is our only set offense.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I thought the same thing...The only excuse I can come up with is that Fudd is that much better than everyone else...She scores almost at will.

Defense is nice, but unless you can score a basket when you have the shot, wins will be hard to come by...Someone teach our girl to shoot....We've seen this before.

Coach you are my friend and I respect you, but a player that can't score away from the basket is a potential problem. Teams will back off of her and wait for her to drive to the basket and block her shot. She will counter by making a quick pass that may too often be fumbled away by our post players...

GT, if you watched that game you had to see no shooters. For Miles to drive the defense has to respect the outside game and there was none. She had no chance to score bc the defense could collapse without fear.
Miles scored 20 a game in both HS and AAU. She can score, but not when she is the only threat!

I am not worried GT, I don't miss my evaluations and they are not totally based on what an athlete can do now, but as well, potential and this kid has speed, handles and no fear.

Not worried...But I understand the concerns. At this viewing they are valid.
Once the kid gets a little help, you'll see what I see

 

[gule]

they don't give points for dribbling,

 

[GameTime]

they don't give points for dribbling,

 

[lfvol]

Watching Miles and her team play as well as lots of other so called Exposure Showcase kids play just tells me the Scouting and Ranking services are wrong more often than right!

Some of the services had her not top 100. Her consensus rating was not high. Are you saying she was still overrated?

If not, she scored 4 and 0 in AAU games on a team that is not talented. They need her to do a lot and she scored 4 and 0. That’s not picking her apart. It’s just shocking results of someone expected to be high D1 level.