Alexa Middleton

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#101
#101
Orange_Mamba said:
It's like she tells them don't shoot until Izzy touches the ball. We pass up good shots to get a terrible result. Anyone remember the interview that Amass gave she said Holly told them not to shoot the three then she came out and went like 4/6 shooting. I'm saying maybe Hollys gotten into Lex head and she's thinking too much. We see her driving to the basket knowing that's not her strong suit. Holly's just have to let her play her game have her sitting in the corner waiting to shoot while the opponent is sitting in a zone.
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Nared shoots the ball. That don't have anything to do with Holly. If you're a player and have confidence you're going to shoot.
 
#102
#102
Middleton had another bad game last nite, and the jury is still definitely out on her. It's just hard to tell/too early which way she'll turn out, but i'm hoping for the best. (sometimes the way she puts up awkward prayer shots amongst trees reminds me of my very self i cringe at the scene) Maybe she'll become a good role player by her junior yr, and help us win some championship trophies along the way...
 
#103
#103
The one crazy looking shot she put up in the paint was because she was trying to get two foul shots because she was fouled. The problem was the refs never whistled the foul. I don't like that she isn't taking wide open shots. She is trying to be too unselfish in that respect. Early in the year she was aggressive, somewhat selfish and looking for the shot and it was working. Now that the staff put a stop to that, she's struggling by not playing the game she is good at. She has some good instincts. I think she will be O.K. in the long run.
 
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#104
#104
Orange Maniac said:
The one crazy looking shot she put up in the paint was because she was trying to get two foul shots because she was fouled. The problem was the refs never whistled the foul. I don't like that she isn't taking wide open shots. She is trying to be too unselfish in that respect. Early in the year she was aggressive, somewhat selfish and looking for the shot and it was working. Now that the staff put a stop to that, she's struggling by not playing the game she is good at. She has some good instincts. I think she will be O.K. in the long run.
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I agree. She is a very good player if she is given the opportunity to show it. Sometimes too much instruction leads to non-production. If you begin to think the coach will come down on you when you shoot, you are not going to get into the rhythm necessary to be an outstanding shooter. A player who is thinking rather than playing with confidence will not play well.
 
#105
#105
An open shot is an open shot. Warlick has this silly, old-school mentality about "quick-shooting" the ball. That term is ancient, which shows you where her mind is. It really comes down to whether you as a player are making shots or not. If you are open but missing a lot, then the coach is going to get peeved, tell the team to work the ball around before shooting and the player will stop shooting and gradually lose confidence. If you are making shots, then there are no complaints about "quick-shooting." Middleton and Massengale have been missing, and now both seem to have lost confidence. Both should concentrate on creating opportunities for others and running the team.
 
#106
#106
Holly needs to tell her if the ball has been touched three times already on an offensive possession and it comes to you and you are open behind the three, don't hesitate, don't dribble, square up and shoot. Holly's not giving her that instruction. Holly is saying work it into the post. Also, we don't have anybody penetrating and dishing out either. Nobody. We're not coaching that.

P.S.-We also need to practice that. Who knows what we're practicing. It is all about coaching a shooter's mentality. It is obvious we don't coach that.
 
#107
#107
Sandvol said:
Holly needs to tell her if the ball has been touched three times already on an offensive possession and it comes to you and you are open behind the three, don't hesitate, don't dribble, square up and shoot. Holly's not giving her that instruction. Holly is saying work it into the post. Also, we don't have anybody penetrating and dishing out either. Nobody. We're not coaching that.

P.S.-We also need to practice that. Who knows what we're practicing. It is all about coaching a shooter's mentality. It is obvious we don't coach that.
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I agree that Middleton has the form down to be a great 3 point threat. Is the coaching staff pursuing that? Right now no because the game plan is Izzy.

Izzy played 17 minutes and scored 17 points. Thats very efficient. Izzy is good because she is so quick, post are too slow to keep up. Against a team like Florida, who can't stop Izzy (other than pretending to be fouled by her), you better be giving the ball to Izzy. I don't disagree with the coaching staff putting the ball in her hand every possession.

Also I think it sheds light on Middleton's basketball IQ. If I have a player that the defense can't stop at the moment, why would I shoot the three if I can get it inside to her?
 
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#110
#110
GBOTango said:
She's a poor man's Bjorklund.
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Angie was almost exclusively a catch and shoot player. Alexa is a better ball handler and passer, but is not a pure shooter like Angie was.

As long as she doesn't go crazy and think she'll beat players off the dribble that are considerable more athletic than her, I think she'll do fine. There are lots of PGs playing for Top 25 schools that are not elite athletes, so it's not like her average athleticism will preclude her from being a good college player. At this point, she just needs to relax and play within herself...kind of like what Cierra Burdick figured out this year.
 
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#113
#113
Middleton is the worst shooter on the team percentage wise. Bjorkland was a sharp shooter. They are nothing alike. Middleton should have a more balanced game if she can come around. We will see.
 
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#115
#115
Between Bjorklund and Middleton, I'd take the former any day. Neither is a complete player, but Bjorkund's deficiencies are less glaring than those of Middleton at this stage.
 
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#118
#118
gule said:
Angie was playing with CP at this stage of her career. :(
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Are we the only major women's team that recruited two bad 5 stars that were lights out in high school and in all star games? I just can't buy that. Last year some of us wrote about how bad our 5 star recruits were playing and some were not playing enough. It all comes down to one of several things:

1. Are our coaches bad judges of talent?
2. Are our recruits overrated?
3. Are we recruiting the wrong players for our system?
4. Can we develop players to fit into our system?
5. Are we just having bad luck?
6. Do our coaches know what the hell they are doing?
7. Last but not least, are we frustrated armchair coaches expecting way too much?

I suspect that the answer would fit into several of the above questions.
 
#119
#119
teacherdean said:
Are we the only major women's team that recruited two bad 5 stars that were lights out in high school and in all star games? I just can't buy that. Last year some of us wrote about how bad our 5 star recruits were playing and some were not playing enough. It all comes down to one of several things:

1. Are our coaches bad judges of talent?
2. Are our recruits overrated?
3. Are we recruiting the wrong players for our system?
4. Can we develop players to fit into our system?
5. Are we just having bad luck?
6. Do our coaches know what the hell they are doing?
7. Last but not least, are we frustrated armchair coaches expecting way too much?

I suspect that the answer would fit into several of the above questions.
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who were highly rated coming out of high school but have obvious deficiencies. Middleton has some game--but she's going to be a sub for us. She has got some skills and understands the game; she will help us, but don't think she's someone who's going to help us beat UConn or ND--and, yes, THAT has to be our recruiting standard. Period.

Look at Jones and Graves: two GOOD athletes with size---each 6'2". Jones is done for the year--but imagine if she and Graves had some offensive game? We'd be a real threat! But, unfortunately, they don't! Neither had ANY game coming out of high school. Jones looked like someone who'd played basketball for maybe a year when she got to UT: completely raw, didn't seem to have a very good basketball IQ. And Graves, while an excellent worker and rebounder, simply had no offensive moves and no offensive confidence except for putting in offensive rebounds (and even that was a struggle sometimes). Only now, approaching the end of her THIRD year, is she showing a bit of confidence with her outside shot--but she still doesn't show much understanding of how to score in the paint--and I blame that on coaching. Graves is not a natural like Izzy, but you've got to push people to overcome their confidence issues. There has been some development with Graves, but it's been pretty slow. We've really got to hope that Nared keeps improving: she does have some game and some basketball smarts and we will need her come tourney time.

We are very inconsistent from the 3-point line as well. I heard that we lead the SEC in three-point FG percentage. That is surprising given that Massengale's shooting touch has completely disappeared. Reynolds made at least two treys against florida but outside shooting is not her strength. Carter has a very nice shooting technique but doesn't shoot much.

One of the things that our crack staff SHOULD be doing is relentlessly pushing the offensive development of everybody not named Harrison. In the tournament, teams will make life difficult for Izzy--and so we'd better have some other people who are ready to score. I think Warlick has encouraged this idea that we MUST get the ball to Harrison at all times, and she must score. That gets us into trouble sometimes--we force passes, and Izzy forces things sometimes; that is why she strangely has a high number of turnovers. We should be using Izzy to PASS and score and not be so predictable trying to force the ball down her in the low post every possession. This is a legacy of PS's offensively philosophy: For years we had some burly bigs like Charles and Thompson, and we would always get the ball down low to them and hope for scores. IMO we'd be better off just moving the ball around and trying to get people open for easy baskets.
 
#120
#120
armchair said:
who were highly rated coming out of high school but have obvious deficiencies.
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I do wonder about the recruiting goals and logic. in high school women's basketball, a really good athlete like Graves, Jones (or Glory Johnson) can just feast on the competition who lack the speed and strength to match up.

When these players get to the upper tier of Women's college basketball, they suddenly are competing against comparable athletes who often have more skill and experience. Glory and now Bashaara have worked to improve their overall games but they were longer term projects. Like Michelle Snow, they will be playing their best ball in the WNBA.

On the other side, a skilled and smart player like Middleton or Dunbar can also compensate for athletic deficiencies at the high school level but are over matched at the next level.

Though I know she was a polarizing player, Simmons was probably the most well rounded recruit the LVs have had in a while (athleticism and skill) and she was actually a Candace Parker discovery who then demanded that the LVs send a scout down to watch her.

The LVs have a soft spot for non-athletic sharp shooters. Some like Zolman and Angie B worked out pretty well and showed a decent athletic upside while others like Smallbone never made the leap.

All in all, I would rather the team err on the side of Glory Johnson type players than Smallbones....
 
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#121
#121
madtownvol said:
The LVs have a soft spot for non-athletic sharp shooters. Some like Zolman and Angie B worked out pretty well and showed a decent athletic upside while others like Smallbone never made the leap.

All in all, I would rather the team err on the side of Glory Johnson type players than Smallbones....
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You can't compare players like Zolman or Bjorklund to Smallbone. The former two were recruited as difference makers for their team. Smallbone was never going to be more than a practice player, and that was evident going back to her high school days.

Jasmine Jones fits the mold of Glory Johnson: athletic but lacking fundamentals. It worked for Glory, but I'm not sure Jasmine has developed at the same rate, and she probably won't get a look by the WNBA unless she has a monster season next year. Middleton has a more complete game, and while she may not make it to the pros, she still has a chance to become a Zolman-esque player for the LVs.
 
#122
#122
armchair said:
who were highly rated coming out of high school but have obvious deficiencies. Middleton has some game--but she's going to be a sub for us. She has got some skills and understands the game; she will help us, but don't think she's someone who's going to help us beat UConn or ND--and, yes, THAT has to be our recruiting standard. Period.

Look at Jones and Graves: two GOOD athletes with size---each 6'2". Jones is done for the year--but imagine if she and Graves had some offensive game? We'd be a real threat! But, unfortunately, they don't! Neither had ANY game coming out of high school. Jones looked like someone who'd played basketball for maybe a year when she got to UT: completely raw, didn't seem to have a very good basketball IQ. And Graves, while an excellent worker and rebounder, simply had no offensive moves and no offensive confidence except for putting in offensive rebounds (and even that was a struggle sometimes). Only now, approaching the end of her THIRD year, is she showing a bit of confidence with her outside shot--but she still doesn't show much understanding of how to score in the paint--and I blame that on coaching. Graves is not a natural like Izzy, but you've got to push people to overcome their confidence issues. There has been some development with Graves, but it's been pretty slow. We've really got to hope that Nared keeps improving: she does have some game and some basketball smarts and we will need her come tourney time.

We are very inconsistent from the 3-point line as well. I heard that we lead the SEC in three-point FG percentage. That is surprising given that Massengale's shooting touch has completely disappeared. Reynolds made at least two treys against florida but outside shooting is not her strength. Carter has a very nice shooting technique but doesn't shoot much.

One of the things that our crack staff SHOULD be doing is relentlessly pushing the offensive development of everybody not named Harrison. In the tournament, teams will make life difficult for Izzy--and so we'd better have some other people who are ready to score. I think Warlick has encouraged this idea that we MUST get the ball to Harrison at all times, and she must score. That gets us into trouble sometimes--we force passes, and Izzy forces things sometimes; that is why she strangely has a high number of turnovers. We should be using Izzy to PASS and score and not be so predictable trying to force the ball down her in the low post every possession. This is a legacy of PS's offensively philosophy: For years we had some burly bigs like Charles and Thompson, and we would always get the ball down low to them and hope for scores. IMO we'd be better off just moving the ball around and trying to get people open for easy baskets.
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I agree with you very much, but we need to develop players better, because few players, this side of the Kentucky men's program, go from high school to D1 basketball ready. I really believe that our coaches need to up step their game. Just knowing X's and O's does not a great coach make.
 
#123
#123
The comparison is silly. It might be redundant but i'll say it again; Middleton is somewhere in-between Bjorklund and Smallbone as far as talents, skills and potential is concerned. Angie Bjorklund despite lacking elite level quickness and supreme athleticism, was still good enough of a player to be named All-conference performer multi-times, and contributed to teams which won multiple SEC titles. She even contributed to national championship as a freshman coming off bench as a 6th man. Bjorklund set the team record for most 3-pointers made. She was M-O-N-E-Y when left wide open and knocked her shots in. Middleton can only dream of having a career as good as what Angie had...
 
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#124
#124
^^^^I've never had a LV player who frustrated me more than Simmons….To say it short, I'm just glad her days at TN are over and done now, and I wish her nothing but the best moving forward. Good riddance as far as I'm concerned….
 
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