Baffled about Lady Vols

[madtownvol]

Interesting. I've been thinking they get another year even with early exit. Next year is already going to be bad without a portal miracle, so no one would oppose the change then or say they didn't get a fair chance.

I hope they don't fire Joy and/or Sam just to do some deck chair rearranging. They just got here a couple of years ago, both are very highly regarded, and no one thinks what's going on is bc of them. Although you could say Sam's recruiting results are, um, a little hard to find right now.

I really don't think so. The curse of expectations is hard to escape and the clear evidence that this team regressed would be a death knell (in my opinion). I think the media openly discussing the need for a coaching is a big shift in the culture around the team.--Hey wait, you can't win with Horston and Jackson?

Of course, there are a lot of variables in play. The LVs winning the SEC tournament would likely buy Kellie more time, regardless of how the tournament goes but she needs to show some tangible evidence the team is trending in the right direction. The narrative of let's not the same mistake as before has some resonance.

In the end, it also probably depends on who White thinks he could get as the new coach. It is not unheard to name an assistant as the interim and see how it goes and we have assistants who have the credentials.

On the recruiting front, in my exchange with GameTime (and his palpable frustration over the under use of Justine), it occurred to me that the LVs' "three years and cloud of dust" playing style may not be asset in drawing top talent to the program.


My fantasy is that Kellie goes screw it, time for a change and lines up with Horston, Jackson, Striplin, Darby, and Pissott and the latter three have strict order "to bomb away from the three point" line at every opportunity. And Justine if you are open 35 Ft. from the basket, you go Steph Curry!!!!! I want a shot up within 15 seconds of the shot clock!!!!

 

[Amb3096]

Idk y’all…..if we’re no where near Stanford, UCONN, and South Carolina in the brackets, I’m still hoping for a FF! I just feel like we have that Cinderella run in us if we’re clicking on all cylinders.

Or maybe it’s because I haven’t ate today yet!

A top 8 win on the road seems like a really huge miracle.

 

[Bakers1]

Not sure what numbers you are looking at for consistency.
UConn 6 points - 21 min
LSU 6 points - 24 min
Ole Miss 0- 16 min
MS State 10 - 24 min
3 of the last four losses

Jillian same span
UConn -11 pts. 25min
LSU- 7 pts. 18min
Ole Miss - 9 pts 23mins
MS State- 18 pts 36 mins

Production sways to one player and she doing it coming off the bench

I think both should in starting line-up. You need Tess on the floor because of her 3pt ability. Without her, who else is a serious 3 pt threat teams have to concentrate on? Her defense is fine not elite but good enough. Jillian is growing into a beast. Is playing with more confidence each game. By far our best post player.

I would start

Horston
Tess
Jackson
Jilllian

With these players in a rhythm they can be so dangerous. After that I'm not sure. One of Striplin Franklin or Puckett. It sucks Key is hurt because then there would be no question on the 5th starter.

I'm not as negative as some...lol I think Powell will be much better next year. I think Puckett will shine once she's more than a role-player and turns into a go to scorer. But right now I don't think Powell or Walker should start. Walker was used to being more of scoring threat @ WMU. She took a lot more shots than she did as a lady vol. I love her and she's given a lot to the program. She is valuable and should be on the floor quite a bit but she doesn't get the calls driving to the basket against multiple taller defenders. This really is the only part of her game that frustrates me as a fan. Bring her off he bench.

I think this team needs to have good starts. And it's not happening with our current line up. Lastly, I know Justine might not be ready per se but you need her on the court to stretch the defense and she needs playing time to gain confidence and experience. The SEC tourney is tough. I really thought KJH would have put her in a position to play good minutes in the NCAAs an SEC tourney. I haven't seen that.

This team has enough talent to make a run in the tourney. It's just not a sure thing like some of the top 10 teams. It can happen though.

 

[LadyVol1908]

A top 8 win on the road seems like a really huge miracle.

I think we can do it IF everybody is on their A game, which hasn’t happened yet this season. I’m hoping the excitement of the tournament will flip a switch for them.

 

[xtpsrh08123]

I think we can do it IF everybody is on their A game, which hasn’t happened yet this season. I’m hoping the excitement of the tournament will flip a switch for them.

Seeing as though HC has yet to play our best line up together more than 10 games i think its going to be kind of tough to develop floor chemistry quick enough to make a run in the NCAA's .

Walker
Tess
Horston
Jackson
Hollingshead

should be our starting group going forward no more changes.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Seeing as though HC has yet to play our best line up together more than 10 games i think its going to be kind of tough to develop floor chemistry quick enough to make a run in the NCAA's .

Walker
Tess
Horston
Jackson
Hollingshead

should be our starting group going forward no more changes.

Being completely honest, I’ll rather have Pissott in than Tess at this point.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Being completely honest, I’ll rather have Pissott in than Tess at this point.

Walker is the one killing us. How about Pissott in place of her?

I have no idea who can dribble the ball up against pressure.

Pissott, Tess, RJ, Jordy, Jillian

Should work against Vanderbilt.

 

[VolFuture]

Being completely honest, I’ll rather have Pissott in than Tess at this point.

The Tess hate is hilarious when we have clear other problems

 

[glv98]

The Tess hate is hilarious when we have clear other problems

And the Justine elevation. If only it was that simple. I agree, the playing time of Pissot is way down the problem list right now. Not the magic elixer.

If I wanted to replace Tess in the lineup I'd probably start Franklin and Hollinghead together, Franklin's knee allowing. Of course then we have no reliable 3 pt shooting since JW, JH, and RJ are low percentage outside shooters.

 

[Jax_Vol]

And the Justine elevation. If only it was that simple. I agree, the playing time of Pissot is way down the problem list right now. Not the magic elixer.

If I wanted to replace Tess in the lineup I'd probably start Franklin and Hollinghead together, Franklin's knee allowing. Of course then we have no reliable 3 pt shooting since JW, JH, and RJ are low percentage outside shooters.

No doubt. Franklin is among our best five. However, I'm thinking her knee limits her to around 15 minutes max per night. So, I prefer to play her a little middle of first half to break a sweat; save the majority of minutes for the end of game.

 

[37620VOL]

I really wish Horston or Jackson could run the point and flank them with two strong 3p shooters. That would really help get additional talent on the court and create space in the post and for dribble penetration.

Clearly, this is something that is not going to happen though.

 

[chuckiepoo]

I really wish Horston or Jackson could run the point and flank them with two strong 3p shooters. That would really help get additional talent on the court and create space in the post and for dribble penetration.

Clearly, this is something that is not going to happen though.

The spit balling is real up in here. That wall we are all aiming at appears to be Teflon. Would be curious to know where AD White’s mind is at regarding Kellie’s continued tenure. Does he go to all the home games?

 

[madtownvol]

I really wish Horston or Jackson could run the point and flank them with two strong 3p shooters. That would really help get additional talent on the court and create space in the post and for dribble penetration.

Clearly, this is something that is not going to happen though.

Maybe Horston, who on many sets is the de facto PG. Rickea nah, she's a scorer and her handle is a little too loose to be effective at PG. This change would be like experiment where Pat Summitt converted Megan Simmons to PG and the result was the team lost their best scorer and gained a really bad PG.

But, getting 2 three point shooters on the floor and not treating them as the option to use only when the shot clock has run down and all else has failed, would be an excellent change in offensive set.

 

[madtownvol]

The spit balling is real up in here. That wall we are all aiming at appears to be Teflon. Would be curious to know where AD White’s mind is at regarding Kellie’s continued tenure. Does he go to all the home games?

 

[xtpsrh08123]

And the Justine elevation. If only it was that simple. I agree, the playing time of Pissot is way down the problem list right now. Not the magic elixer.

If I wanted to replace Tess in the lineup I'd probably start Franklin and Hollinghead together, Franklin's knee allowing. Of course then we have no reliable 3 pt shooting since JW, JH, and RJ are low percentage outside shooters.

Not sure if either poster understands that neither Tess nor Justine have the footspeed to defend anyone in WCBB right now . Both are great shooters and people see the offensive output but continue to mask the fact that neither can defend anyone and both are picked on by the opposing team when on defense for the LV's.

 

[Majors]

Being completely honest, I’ll rather have Pissott in than Tess at this point.

You’re not alone

 

[volfanstuckinga]

We need to have at least 4 players that could be the best player on any team and score double digits against good teams. In big games Tess seems to go missing. You can't win big games if you only have 2-3 players making big scores, but the rest not contributing any scoring. This leads to other players dropping off onto JH, RJ and doubling them. If you look back at the teams of the past there were players who could take over the game at points like Kellie, the Meeks, Candace etc.

If Tess is our 3rd best player it's no wonder why we are so inept at times. That girl couldn't cover ME and I'm almost 55.

 

[madtownvol]

Not sure if either poster understands that neither Tess nor Justine have the footspeed to defend anyone in WCBB right now . Both are great shooters and people see the offensive output but continue to mask the fact that neither can defend anyone and both are picked on by the opposing team when on defense for the LV's.

Hyperbole much? Tess has defended plenty of people this season. Justine has been looking better defensively, in her more recent (albeit brief), appearances. Defense is not a 40 yard dash,. It is about positioning, effort, and team cohesion (such as effective use of switches). Sure, these players may get caught in some one-one situations where they get beat but that has been HAPPENING TO EVERY PLAYER ON The Team, even Jordan H. who sometimes gets beat when she gets the defensive angle wrong.

 

[madtownvol]

If Tess is our 3rd best player it's no wonder why we are so inept at times. That girl couldn't cover ME and I'm almost 55.

Bet she could and she might light you up when try to defend her!!

 

[LadyVol1908]

The Tess hate is hilarious when we have clear other problems

What Tess hate?

 

[Coach Jumper]

Being completely honest, I’ll rather have Pissott in than Tess at this point.

ditto

@GameTime referenced the UCF game recently,,she had a 3 game span there where she got 14 min one game and 9 in another...She showed what she could do...and her defense was VG

 

[VolFuture]

What Tess hate?

Lol

 

[ocoandasoc]

No one can dispute that this team has Final Four talent. Jackson and Horston are both predicted by ESPN to be among the top seven WNBA draft picks. (When was the last time a team with two early first round WNBA picks didn't make a run in the tourney?)
The question is whether the team has the right coaching, attitude, and will to win.

 

[37620VOL]

Maybe Horston, who on many sets is the de facto PG. Rickea nah, she's a scorer and her handle is a little too loose to be effective at PG. This change would be like experiment where Pat Summitt converted Megan Simmons to PG and the result was the team lost their best scorer and gained a really bad PG.

I think of it more like having a point forward and the example of it working would be most of the best teams in the NBA. It's such simple basketball but it works at the highest levels of the game.

Get Horston or Jackson switched onto the opponent's weakest defender, drive, kick it out if double-teamed for a 3.

 

[Jax_Vol]

No one can dispute that this team has Final Four talent. Jackson and Horston are both predicted by ESPN to be among the top seven WNBA draft picks. (When was the last time a team with two early first round WNBA picks didn't make a run in the tourney?)
The question is whether the team has the right coaching, attitude, and will to win.

I dispute that this team has Final Four talent.