Alexa Middleton

[BMvol27]

Top 5 Lady Vols on the looks scale of all time:

Nikki Caldwell, Lisa Harrison, Candace Parker, Taber Spani, and Kortney Dunbar


(Jannah Tucker, Izzy Harrison, Nia Moore would make honorable mention)

Candace and Izzy are my top 2, in that order. I'm not sure who I'd rank after that. Possibly Nared.

 

[Amb3096]

Candace and Izzy are my top 2, in that order. I'm not sure who I'd rank after that. Possibly Nared.

Glory Johnson is up there. Same with Brittany Jackson, Shanna Zolman, Tabernacle Spani and Nikki McCray

 

[golf437]

Seriously?
She is a turnover waiting to happen on offense and a slow easy drive by on defense.
Not worthy of a scholarship at this level.

You need a book about basketball.

 

[gule]

kill this thread!

 

[MasterShake Vol8]

I am very glad this thread was started because I have been wanting to give my opinion on Middleton. You can tell the girl knows the game of basketball very well and has skills but she has absolutely and I mean ABSOLUTELY no athletic ability. She is not an SEC level talent and she may be able to come in and hit a shot here or there in her career if the defense is focused on Deshields or Russell down the road but she absolutely will never be able to make plays on her own at this level. She is best suited for a small D-1 program and that is it. She will continue to get recruited over and if she is ever playing big minutes and down the stretch for the Lady Vols then we are in major major trouble. Just the way it is. Her skill level/IQ is high but you can not make her the athlete needed to compete at the highest level.

Oh and for hottest Lady Vols of all time...all of you are missing an easy and possibly best ever in Ace Clement...cmon..step your game up people.

 

[BMvol27]

I think Middleton will be fine. She wasn't a McDonald's All-American and 5-star recruit for nothing. She doesn't have to be a superstar. And she's only a freshman. Look at how Izzy was her freshman year.

 

[armchair]

Middleton has a good basketball IQ and has some athletic ability but not enough to be a great player. She will probably be a backup for us for most of her career. Sumitt got into a bad habit of recruiting "heady" guards who weren't very athletic and it became a problem. Her guard recruiting over the last 10 years was bad, and we still need to get better at guard.

 

[boxerpupsrcool]

She's been ice cold from behind the arc for most of the season. If she's a 3 pt specialist, she surely hasn't been showing it.

Ya around 29%, but I still have high hopes for Middleton. I did get a chance to watch her play in highschool and she could get really hot from the perimeter on any given night but I watched one game where she was like 0-7..
She was turnover prone in hs too, and I believe she had quite a few to's in the mcdonalds AA game as well, so maybe that's something she really needs to address. As far as her cold shooting, she just needs to build her confidence. She had plenty of opportunities where she could have made some pull up jumpers tonight. She seems indecisive sometimes

 

[boxerpupsrcool]

Top 5 Lady Vols on the looks scale of all time:

Nikki Caldwell, Lisa Harrison, Candace Parker, Taber Spani, and Kortney Dunbar


(Jannah Tucker, Izzy Harrison, Nia Moore would make honorable mention)

How about Brittany Jackson? Or did someone mention her already

 

[clkou]

I think Middleton is great. She has tremendous basketball IQ and a great passing. She's an elite shooter. Her stats don't reflect it yet but that doesn't mean she isn't or won't be down the line. I don't think of her as particularly turnover prone. Here's the turnover stats in terms of average minutes elapsed to commit a turnover from worst to best (the lower minutes the worst meaning the commit them more often):

Minutes/Turnover Player*
9.19 Moore,Nia
9.48 Harrison,Isabelle
10.69 Jones,Jasmine
11.40 Burdick,Cierra
12.44 Middleton,Alexa
13.88 Massengale,Ariel
17.25 Graves,Bashaara
19.10 Reynolds,Jordan
20.38 Nared,Jaime
25.67 Carter,Andraya
95.00 Dunbar,Kortney*

 

[Amb3096]

Oh and for hottest Lady Vols of all time...all of you are missing an easy and possibly best ever in Ace Clement...cmon..step your game up people.

Yeah, you're right...easily #1. Too bad she never panned out as a big time player.

 

[FrozenLVFan]

I think Middleton just plays like a freshman. She has a high basketball IQ and will be a good PG as soon as she gains some more experience.

 

[Real Info]

I think Middleton just plays like a freshman. She has a high basketball IQ and will be a good PG as soon as she gains some more experience.

This. Look how much better Reynolds and Carter are this season. Experience will only make every freshman better. I believe our freshman have greater potential than your average freshman.

 

[a330m]

from my point of view on Middleton if she would stop some of the hotdog and stop trying to force passes when it's a low percentage pass....and shoot the ball when she is open instead of trying to go into the other teams trees and getting the ball blocked it would help her game alot

 

[oUTraged]

I think all three of the freshmen are having difficulty adjusting to the speed of the college game. IMO, both Middleton and Dunbar are finding it hard to get open for a 3. I think as they get used to the defenses, and familiarize themselves with their opponents, all three freshmen will be good players for us.

 

[jim43]

Seriously?
She is a turnover waiting to happen on offense and a slow easy drive by on defense.
Not worthy of a scholarship at this level.

She is pressing a little, but you are totally off base in your assessment. She will be a premier playing for us as she settles down and does what she is good at doing.

She is a great shooter, and when she relaxes and just shoots, you will see how really good she is.

 

[kamoshika]

She's an elite shooter. Her stats don't reflect it yet but that doesn't mean she isn't or won't be down the line. I don't think of her as particularly turnover prone. Here's the turnover stats in terms of average minutes elapsed to commit a turnover from worst to best

Good info on the turnovers, but Middleton's high school and freshman stats combined provide enough data to show that she is not an "elite" shooter by any means, and it's unlikely she ever will be.

However, I think she has enough skills and basketball IQ to be an increasingly valuable contributor as she gains experience.

 

[CannonVol80]

All I can say in response to volngeorgia and MasterShake Vol8 is that I am glad decisions on who does and does not remain/belong in the program and who does/does not play are made by the coaching staff and not a couple of fans on a message board.

Jim

 

[teacherdean]

Becky Hammon is the clear GOAT for women's basketball, especially among players with a modicum of actual basketball skill.

The day when I start looking for beautiful women in basketball will be the day. If you are beautiful/attractive and have a game then good for you, however, give me an ugly or unattractive girl who is a game changer and I am okay with it. Looks are skin deep but talent is to the bone.

By the way let's not throw Middleton under the bus, especially just yet. Maybe it is the two five stars we recruited because neither look as good as they did in all star games last year. They certainly do not look as good as several freshmen they played with. The questions, as stated before, are, is it the level of competition, is it the system, is it the players, or is it the coaching? It could be several reasons, however, it will play itself out.

 

[Mr.Vol2U]

Alexa Middleton like everyone else has stated is a freshman, so yes she is going to make mistakes. My fault with her would be she doesn't take enough 3's. If you have followed Tennessee enough this year she mostly tries to pump fake when she is above the three line and drive. That's not her game at all!!! At least not for now. She is put in the game to make threes, and help facilitate the game; which lately she has not done the greatest job. I think if she shot more 3's when she is open instead of pump faking and driving she would hit more than half. Also you all are forgetting Brittney Jackson. Now step your game up! For this team though I would have to give it to Dunbar.

 

[madtownvol]

I can categorically say that those who are writing Middleton off are sadly misguided. She is filling her role quite well for a freshman and will be a very good player. I am more concerned about Dunbar. She does have size on her side but she is much further down the curve on quickness and count awareness than Middleton.

Having said that, with a good work ethic, players can make significant improvements from their freshman to sophomore years. So, for both Middleton and Dunbar it is a little early to make definitive assessments.

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

P.S.-Back to the topic at hand. Pretty silly OP. Middleton is going to be a great player for us. Just wasn't used to the quickness of the Miss St. guards. She'll learn.

Miss St. guards were quicker than a kickup! If they could shoot as good as they move!

 

[Volfan2012]

Every player on this team has had a bad stretch during their career here. Middleton is going to be a very good player for us. She has never had her role on the team defined. She is thrown in there and being a freshman sometimes gets lost on what she is supposed to do. She was a great high school player and she will be a great college player. Fans need to give her a chance not come down on her totally ridiculous conclusion by anyone who thinks she can't play and help the team.

 

[morristown vol]

But thanks for playing.
Freshman or not....she's too slow and has bad hands...poor court awareness.
These old eyes have seen tions of Bball...this girl ain't got it... Hopefully, when Diamond comes in next year...Alexa will transfer down a level.

Ok your old eyes need some new glasses,Shes going to be a good player

 

[VOLINVONORE]

I can categorically say that those who are writing Middleton off are sadly misguided. She is filling her role quite well for a freshman and will be a very good player. I am more concerned about Dunbar. She does have size on her side but she is much further down the curve on quickness and count awareness than Middleton.

Having said that, with a good work ethic, players can make significant improvements from their freshman to sophomore years. So, for both Middleton and Dunbar it is a little early to make definitive assessments.

I have wondered why Middleton has not played more. She has a great handle, is good passer, is a great shooter, and has an in-depth knowledge of the game. I hope the reins that have been placed on her does not kill her incentive to play aggressively. I feel the same way about Nard.