BTO’s Alabama Postgame Report

[pimo1]

1. What a showing from Tennessee in this hyped up matchup, on both ends of the court Tennessee was clearly the better team and more ready to play team. The physicality of which Tennessee played with on both ends was clearly something that Alabama simply wasn’t ready for/able to handle, it’s an aspect of this team with so much experience and returning veterans that probably gets overlooked. Also many associate physical with defense and while that is also true there’s a level of it offensively that we played with that also showed up.

2. Jonas Aidoo continues to improve as this season grows on, he still has his faults and holes in his games but each time out it feels he improves in those areas. He has played against arguably 4-5 of the best big men/true post types in college basketball this season, he took some tough lessons from those games but to his credit has used those lessons to improve and it’s really showing. It now feels like on most nights we have the better post player than most teams, and given our guard/wing talent that’s a huge advantage. It remains to be seen how he will hold up against the elite big men still, but luckily there’s not a ton of those and hopefully his confidence from this stretch will serve him well for the next matchup.

3. Was so great to see Jordan Gainey come to life, just as many we calling for his move to the end of the bench he showed why the coaches have continued to put him out there time and time again against the fans wishes. That’s what they see in practice and he’s a guy that gets in tons of gym time outside of practice, they felt he’d snap out…it remains to be seen if he’ll now continue that play or not but you can see the flash. If he can be that guys for us, much like Aidoo in the paint, it’s a huge bonus…offensive spark plug off the bench who’s got confidence and teams have to find, a 15-20mpg guy off the bench that will quickly put up 6-7 shots in a game if he’s feeling it. Again it’s ugly/looks bad when he’s cold and everyone is yelling to stop shooting, but when he’s on it takes this team to another level.

4. As a team we were great defensively, but specifically what Mashack and Zeigler did to their guards borderline was unfair. Those dudes had an absolutely miserable first 25-30 minutes specifically and were not ready in the least bit for what those guys had for them. Mashack’s versatility is huge for this team as he can really play a bunch of positions, and more importantly guard every position, he’s become such a weapon. His offensive continues to grow and before it’s all said and done he could mess around and find himself as a NBA guy a year from now if he continues to grow that offensive game, especially from the 3pt line.

5. What’s pretty wild is we scored 91 and didn’t by any means shoot the lights out as you’d expect to see us hang 90+ on a projected Top 4 SEC team…36% from 3 and 68% from FT line leaves something to be desired, the 57% from 2 also isn’t elite by any means. Turning it over 7 times to their 22 was the huge difference as it allowed us 10 more shots than them overall, the offense was good don’t get me wrong, but it’s just crazy to think about if this team has one of those nights they hit 50% or whatever from 3. I hope to not regret saying this, but it just feels like the floor for this offense in many ways is much higher than in recent years, through 5 SEC games we are averaging 86ppg, that’s pretty unbelievable. This is further evidenced on KenPom…with the win Tennessee is up to a season high #4 overall on KP, and #19 ranked offensive team…the defense still at #2 means Tennessee is now in that “top end” group so often referred to as those who are Top 20 in both offense and defense.

6. Big picture that’s a big win for the Vols on a few fronts…holding serve at home is going to be huge for both the SEC race but also NCAAT seeding long term. Also getting that early leg up on Bama who we could very well end up competing with in the league race H2H is a nice feather in the cap as well. When league play started I said 7-2 would be a great start through the first 9, we sit at 4-1 with 4 to go. We have 3 games we likely will be double digit favorites and a road game against Kentucky that will be big time hyped. I have no expectations to win that one and feels like a bonus game to be honest, but win those other 3 and it’s exactly that, you’ve met that 7-2 mark and things are looking great as you head to the back half of SEC play. As a result of the Bama game projections have shifted upwards slightly to predict 24-7(14-4) for the Vols, moving up from the 23-8(13-5)…obviously a lot of time left and no way to be absolute, but I had said 23-8(13-5) was the goal and likely has you a 2 seed with outside shot of a 1 or 3 seed, well 24-7 (14-4) definitely moves that a bit towards very well filling in as that last #1 seed potentially, so something to monitor there as well. Again don’t want to get ahead of our skis too much but something fun to keep track of as other teams have games this week while we’ve got a week to wait.



GBO!!!

Mashack is turning into the next JJJ

 

[Mimi#1]

1. What a showing from Tennessee in this hyped up matchup, on both ends of the court Tennessee was clearly the better team and more ready to play team. The physicality of which Tennessee played with on both ends was clearly something that Alabama simply wasn’t ready for/able to handle, it’s an aspect of this team with so much experience and returning veterans that probably gets overlooked. Also many associate physical with defense and while that is also true there’s a level of it offensively that we played with that also showed up.

2. Jonas Aidoo continues to improve as this season grows on, he still has his faults and holes in his games but each time out it feels he improves in those areas. He has played against arguably 4-5 of the best big men/true post types in college basketball this season, he took some tough lessons from those games but to his credit has used those lessons to improve and it’s really showing. It now feels like on most nights we have the better post player than most teams, and given our guard/wing talent that’s a huge advantage. It remains to be seen how he will hold up against the elite big men still, but luckily there’s not a ton of those and hopefully his confidence from this stretch will serve him well for the next matchup.

3. Was so great to see Jordan Gainey come to life, just as many we calling for his move to the end of the bench he showed why the coaches have continued to put him out there time and time again against the fans wishes. That’s what they see in practice and he’s a guy that gets in tons of gym time outside of practice, they felt he’d snap out…it remains to be seen if he’ll now continue that play or not but you can see the flash. If he can be that guys for us, much like Aidoo in the paint, it’s a huge bonus…offensive spark plug off the bench who’s got confidence and teams have to find, a 15-20mpg guy off the bench that will quickly put up 6-7 shots in a game if he’s feeling it. Again it’s ugly/looks bad when he’s cold and everyone is yelling to stop shooting, but when he’s on it takes this team to another level.

4. As a team we were great defensively, but specifically what Mashack and Zeigler did to their guards borderline was unfair. Those dudes had an absolutely miserable first 25-30 minutes specifically and were not ready in the least bit for what those guys had for them. Mashack’s versatility is huge for this team as he can really play a bunch of positions, and more importantly guard every position, he’s become such a weapon. His offensive continues to grow and before it’s all said and done he could mess around and find himself as a NBA guy a year from now if he continues to grow that offensive game, especially from the 3pt line.

5. What’s pretty wild is we scored 91 and didn’t by any means shoot the lights out as you’d expect to see us hang 90+ on a projected Top 4 SEC team…36% from 3 and 68% from FT line leaves something to be desired, the 57% from 2 also isn’t elite by any means. Turning it over 7 times to their 22 was the huge difference as it allowed us 10 more shots than them overall, the offense was good don’t get me wrong, but it’s just crazy to think about if this team has one of those nights they hit 50% or whatever from 3. I hope to not regret saying this, but it just feels like the floor for this offense in many ways is much higher than in recent years, through 5 SEC games we are averaging 86ppg, that’s pretty unbelievable. This is further evidenced on KenPom…with the win Tennessee is up to a season high #4 overall on KP, and #19 ranked offensive team…the defense still at #2 means Tennessee is now in that “top end” group so often referred to as those who are Top 20 in both offense and defense.

6. Big picture that’s a big win for the Vols on a few fronts…holding serve at home is going to be huge for both the SEC race but also NCAAT seeding long term. Also getting that early leg up on Bama who we could very well end up competing with in the league race H2H is a nice feather in the cap as well. When league play started I said 7-2 would be a great start through the first 9, we sit at 4-1 with 4 to go. We have 3 games we likely will be double digit favorites and a road game against Kentucky that will be big time hyped. I have no expectations to win that one and feels like a bonus game to be honest, but win those other 3 and it’s exactly that, you’ve met that 7-2 mark and things are looking great as you head to the back half of SEC play. As a result of the Bama game projections have shifted upwards slightly to predict 24-7(14-4) for the Vols, moving up from the 23-8(13-5)…obviously a lot of time left and no way to be absolute, but I had said 23-8(13-5) was the goal and likely has you a 2 seed with outside shot of a 1 or 3 seed, well 24-7 (14-4) definitely moves that a bit towards very well filling in as that last #1 seed potentially, so something to monitor there as well. Again don’t want to get ahead of our skis too much but something fun to keep track of as other teams have games this week while we’ve got a week to wait.



GBO!!!

Thanks,

1. What a showing from Tennessee in this hyped up matchup, on both ends of the court Tennessee was clearly the better team and more ready to play team. The physicality of which Tennessee played with on both ends was clearly something that Alabama simply wasn’t ready for/able to handle, it’s an aspect of this team with so much experience and returning veterans that probably gets overlooked. Also many associate physical with defense and while that is also true there’s a level of it offensively that we played with that also showed up.

2. Jonas Aidoo continues to improve as this season grows on, he still has his faults and holes in his games but each time out it feels he improves in those areas. He has played against arguably 4-5 of the best big men/true post types in college basketball this season, he took some tough lessons from those games but to his credit has used those lessons to improve and it’s really showing. It now feels like on most nights we have the better post player than most teams, and given our guard/wing talent that’s a huge advantage. It remains to be seen how he will hold up against the elite big men still, but luckily there’s not a ton of those and hopefully his confidence from this stretch will serve him well for the next matchup.

3. Was so great to see Jordan Gainey come to life, just as many we calling for his move to the end of the bench he showed why the coaches have continued to put him out there time and time again against the fans wishes. That’s what they see in practice and he’s a guy that gets in tons of gym time outside of practice, they felt he’d snap out…it remains to be seen if he’ll now continue that play or not but you can see the flash. If he can be that guys for us, much like Aidoo in the paint, it’s a huge bonus…offensive spark plug off the bench who’s got confidence and teams have to find, a 15-20mpg guy off the bench that will quickly put up 6-7 shots in a game if he’s feeling it. Again it’s ugly/looks bad when he’s cold and everyone is yelling to stop shooting, but when he’s on it takes this team to another level.

4. As a team we were great defensively, but specifically what Mashack and Zeigler did to their guards borderline was unfair. Those dudes had an absolutely miserable first 25-30 minutes specifically and were not ready in the least bit for what those guys had for them. Mashack’s versatility is huge for this team as he can really play a bunch of positions, and more importantly guard every position, he’s become such a weapon. His offensive continues to grow and before it’s all said and done he could mess around and find himself as a NBA guy a year from now if he continues to grow that offensive game, especially from the 3pt line.

5. What’s pretty wild is we scored 91 and didn’t by any means shoot the lights out as you’d expect to see us hang 90+ on a projected Top 4 SEC team…36% from 3 and 68% from FT line leaves something to be desired, the 57% from 2 also isn’t elite by any means. Turning it over 7 times to their 22 was the huge difference as it allowed us 10 more shots than them overall, the offense was good don’t get me wrong, but it’s just crazy to think about if this team has one of those nights they hit 50% or whatever from 3. I hope to not regret saying this, but it just feels like the floor for this offense in many ways is much higher than in recent years, through 5 SEC games we are averaging 86ppg, that’s pretty unbelievable. This is further evidenced on KenPom…with the win Tennessee is up to a season high #4 overall on KP, and #19 ranked offensive team…the defense still at #2 means Tennessee is now in that “top end” group so often referred to as those who are Top 20 in both offense and defense.

6. Big picture that’s a big win for the Vols on a few fronts…holding serve at home is going to be huge for both the SEC race but also NCAAT seeding long term. Also getting that early leg up on Bama who we could very well end up competing with in the league race H2H is a nice feather in the cap as well. When league play started I said 7-2 would be a great start through the first 9, we sit at 4-1 with 4 to go. We have 3 games we likely will be double digit favorites and a road game against Kentucky that will be big time hyped. I have no expectations to win that one and feels like a bonus game to be honest, but win those other 3 and it’s exactly that, you’ve met that 7-2 mark and things are looking great as you head to the back half of SEC play. As a result of the Bama game projections have shifted upwards slightly to predict 24-7(14-4) for the Vols, moving up from the 23-8(13-5)…obviously a lot of time left and no way to be absolute, but I had said 23-8(13-5) was the goal and likely has you a 2 seed with outside shot of a 1 or 3 seed, well 24-7 (14-4) definitely moves that a bit towards very well filling in as that last #1 seed potentially, so something to monitor there as well. Again don’t want to get ahead of our skis too much but something fun to keep track of as other teams have games this week while we’ve got a week to wait.



GBO!!!

Thanks, BTO! I look forward to your postgame analysis every time!

 

[Lefteye]

To steal words from Jimmy Dykes during the game, we “shut their water off” from what they like to do.

Not the biggest JD fan but love that quote.

 

[Lefteye]

Also, IMO something folks should keep in mind in regards to early foul trouble from guys like SV, TA and JA, I believe(and somebody correct me if you know otherwise) CRB coaches not to give up easy buckets or drives that could lead to easy buckets. So what we might think are silly early fouls I am starting to believe is coached to MAKE the official set a tone and then adjust from there. Jmo

 

[cncchris33]

Also, IMO something folks should keep in mind in regards to early foul trouble from guys like SV, TA and JA, I believe(and somebody correct me if you know otherwise) CRB coaches not to give up easy buckets or drives that could lead to easy buckets. So what we might think are silly early fouls I am starting to believe is coached to MAKE the official set a tone and then adjust from there. Jmo

I noted it earlier, but in Santi's case at least, they are almost exclusively dumb fouls. Not the hustle fouls or fouls preventing easy buckets.

 

[spyfish007]

1. What a showing from Tennessee in this hyped up matchup, on both ends of the court Tennessee was clearly the better team and more ready to play team. The physicality of which Tennessee played with on both ends was clearly something that Alabama simply wasn’t ready for/able to handle, it’s an aspect of this team with so much experience and returning veterans that probably gets overlooked. Also many associate physical with defense and while that is also true there’s a level of it offensively that we played with that also showed up.

2. Jonas Aidoo continues to improve as this season grows on, he still has his faults and holes in his games but each time out it feels he improves in those areas. He has played against arguably 4-5 of the best big men/true post types in college basketball this season, he took some tough lessons from those games but to his credit has used those lessons to improve and it’s really showing. It now feels like on most nights we have the better post player than most teams, and given our guard/wing talent that’s a huge advantage. It remains to be seen how he will hold up against the elite big men still, but luckily there’s not a ton of those and hopefully his confidence from this stretch will serve him well for the next matchup.

3. Was so great to see Jordan Gainey come to life, just as many we calling for his move to the end of the bench he showed why the coaches have continued to put him out there time and time again against the fans wishes. That’s what they see in practice and he’s a guy that gets in tons of gym time outside of practice, they felt he’d snap out…it remains to be seen if he’ll now continue that play or not but you can see the flash. If he can be that guys for us, much like Aidoo in the paint, it’s a huge bonus…offensive spark plug off the bench who’s got confidence and teams have to find, a 15-20mpg guy off the bench that will quickly put up 6-7 shots in a game if he’s feeling it. Again it’s ugly/looks bad when he’s cold and everyone is yelling to stop shooting, but when he’s on it takes this team to another level.

4. As a team we were great defensively, but specifically what Mashack and Zeigler did to their guards borderline was unfair. Those dudes had an absolutely miserable first 25-30 minutes specifically and were not ready in the least bit for what those guys had for them. Mashack’s versatility is huge for this team as he can really play a bunch of positions, and more importantly guard every position, he’s become such a weapon. His offensive continues to grow and before it’s all said and done he could mess around and find himself as a NBA guy a year from now if he continues to grow that offensive game, especially from the 3pt line.

5. What’s pretty wild is we scored 91 and didn’t by any means shoot the lights out as you’d expect to see us hang 90+ on a projected Top 4 SEC team…36% from 3 and 68% from FT line leaves something to be desired, the 57% from 2 also isn’t elite by any means. Turning it over 7 times to their 22 was the huge difference as it allowed us 10 more shots than them overall, the offense was good don’t get me wrong, but it’s just crazy to think about if this team has one of those nights they hit 50% or whatever from 3. I hope to not regret saying this, but it just feels like the floor for this offense in many ways is much higher than in recent years, through 5 SEC games we are averaging 86ppg, that’s pretty unbelievable. This is further evidenced on KenPom…with the win Tennessee is up to a season high #4 overall on KP, and #19 ranked offensive team…the defense still at #2 means Tennessee is now in that “top end” group so often referred to as those who are Top 20 in both offense and defense.

6. Big picture that’s a big win for the Vols on a few fronts…holding serve at home is going to be huge for both the SEC race but also NCAAT seeding long term. Also getting that early leg up on Bama who we could very well end up competing with in the league race H2H is a nice feather in the cap as well. When league play started I said 7-2 would be a great start through the first 9, we sit at 4-1 with 4 to go. We have 3 games we likely will be double digit favorites and a road game against Kentucky that will be big time hyped. I have no expectations to win that one and feels like a bonus game to be honest, but win those other 3 and it’s exactly that, you’ve met that 7-2 mark and things are looking great as you head to the back half of SEC play. As a result of the Bama game projections have shifted upwards slightly to predict 24-7(14-4) for the Vols, moving up from the 23-8(13-5)…obviously a lot of time left and no way to be absolute, but I had said 23-8(13-5) was the goal and likely has you a 2 seed with outside shot of a 1 or 3 seed, well 24-7 (14-4) definitely moves that a bit towards very well filling in as that last #1 seed potentially, so something to monitor there as well. Again don’t want to get ahead of our skis too much but something fun to keep track of as other teams have games this week while we’ve got a week to wait.



GBO!!!

Coolest thing about your write ups lately is that I get hyped up for the next game immediately!

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I think you mean 24-7, but yeah. I would have to go back and do some research after work, but how often is the regular season conference champ seeded below the 2nd place team? Especially one with 2 more losses even if our strength of schedule would be a lot higher.

Yea I meant 24-7, and that’s just 1 loss difference not 2…I just think with how bad their SOS is that 1 game difference wouldn’t be enough, could be wrong.

 

[Lefteye]

I noted it earlier, but in Santi's case at least, they are almost exclusively dumb fouls. Not the hustle fouls or fouls preventing easy buckets.

Your right… but who better to test the officials whistle than a super duper senior and then adjust from there? Despite his struggle against quality 5s, starting to think the same with JA. I noticed him quarterbacking the defense in transition and after a score several times Sat. Believe he is also able to adjust with a quick whistle.

 

[Lefteye]

I noted it earlier, but in Santi's case at least, they are almost exclusively dumb fouls. Not the hustle fouls or fouls preventing easy buckets.

Also, I’d think “dumb fouls”would only apply to those without a positive purpose. And until those dudes start fouling out, feels like we’ve adjusted well so far to early fouls.

Edit.. lol also sorry for all the ALSOs…

 

[walkenvol]

I noted it earlier, but in Santi's case at least, they are almost exclusively dumb fouls. Not the hustle fouls or fouls preventing easy buckets.

IIRC, if you looked at each foul more closely I don’t think you would still think they are “almost exclusively dumb” fouls. I think there were some “dumb” ones but they were also some phantom ones, and some from hard play also. JMO, TIFWIW, AARP

 

[cncchris33]

Also, I’d think “dumb fouls”would only apply to those without a positive purpose. And until those dudes start fouling out, feels like we’ve adjusted well so far to early fouls.

Edit.. lol also sorry for all the ALSOs…

In the case of Santi, I guess I struggle to find the positive purpose when he dives on a guy laying on the ground, or reaches in on someone with no chance of making a play on the ball that won't result in a foul. I understand you may be searching for the silver lining behind his decision-making, but I just think he gets overaggressive and doesn't demonstrate a strong basketball IQ in those moments. He's always had propensity for fouling and we need him on the floor for his defense.

 

[cncchris33]

IIRC, if you looked at each foul more closely I don’t think you would still think they are “almost exclusively dumb” fouls. I think there were some “dumb” ones but they were also some phantom ones, and some from hard play also. JMO, TIFWIW, AARP

Talking about the early ones. In SEC play, there haven't been many I'd attribute to hustle or basket preventing. The ones I remember have mostly been unnecessary reach-ins.

 

[VolTull]

Talking about the early ones. In SEC play, there haven't been many I'd attribute to hustle or basket preventing. The ones I remember have mostly been unnecessary reach-ins.

.

 

[walkenvol]

Talking about the early ones. In SEC play, there haven't been many I'd attribute to hustle or basket preventing. The ones I remember have mostly been unnecessary reach-ins.

For example, I recall one early foul against Georgia (could have the game confused) where Vescovi poked the ball loose from the guy he was covering who went down on the floor to recover and Vescovi was called for attempting to get the jump ball. Vescovi stayed on his feet and was called where we regularly see guys dive on top of folks to tie up the ball and it’s called a jump ball. I also thought one of those against bama early was very ticky tack and wouldn’t have been called later in the game. Again, these are just my thoughts from watching the tv. I do agree that a player as smart and experienced as SV ought to be able to sense how the game is being called and adjust better in order to avoid 2 early fouls. As always, I enjoy your insights and the reasoned discussion .

 

[Dr H Lecter]

After watching the game, I became more of a believer in Coach Barnes opinion that effort is a skill just like other aspects of basketball. For sure the effort or “desire” rested with UT in this game.

 

[Lefteye]

In the case of Santi, I guess I struggle to find the positive purpose when he dives on a guy laying on the ground, or reaches in on someone with no chance of making a play on the ball that won't result in a foul. I understand you may be searching for the silver lining behind his decision-making, but I just think he gets overaggressive and doesn't demonstrate a strong basketball IQ in those moments. He's always had propensity for fouling and we need him on the floor for his defense.

No problem, I'm happy to agree to disagree. Like I said, had any of the early fouls led to fouling out I'd get the stance but both of those scenarios happen to aggressive defensive players. The good ones like Santi can fade the early whistles and adjust from there to remain in the game and still offer significant contributions.

 

[Lefteye]

In the case of Santi, I guess I struggle to find the positive purpose when he dives on a guy laying on the ground, or reaches in on someone with no chance of making a play on the ball that won't result in a foul. I understand you may be searching for the silver lining behind his decision-making, but I just think he gets overaggressive and doesn't demonstrate a strong basketball IQ in those moments. He's always had propensity for fouling and we need him on the floor for his defense.

Btw, I'm sure even SV would tell you those 2 were stupid.

 

[cncchris33]

No problem, I'm happy to agree to disagree. Like I said, had any of the early fouls led to fouling out I'd get the stance but both of those scenarios happen to aggressive defensive players. The good ones like Santi can fade the early whistles and adjust from there to remain in the game and still offer significant contributions.

The only thing I'll add is that while it hasn't resulted in any foul-outs, it has led to long periods on the bench. Barnes has proven time and again that two fouls in the first half is a one-way ticket to the bench. So while it doesn't necessarily result in him fouling out late in the game, it takes him out of games for long periods of time, which is obviously detrimental to the team. Our defensive guard depth and increased scoring options have helped mask that fact, but we are generally better with him on the floor as he is still a threat on both ends.

 

[Rockytop10nessee]

We were more physical than Alabama on both ends of the court which has not happened very often in the history of this series and we can take this approach into Rupp Arena and steal a win there.

if kentucky plays well, it will be difficult but not impossible to steal a win. if they play like they did last night when the bastards screwed up my parlay, we'll hammer them by 25+.

 

[SN-A-C Orange]

I do not like SV picking up 2 quick fouls ... I'm with you!
However, there are good reasons to pick up fouls! Messaging the other players is one good reason.
I used to blast the guy I was guarding on his first trip to the rim ... it was to let him know exactly what he was in for the rest of the night.

SV's first foul (@18) is on a free man that he is rotating to pick up and he is trying to create shot difficulty without fouling by 'being in the way' and he gets there a tad to late. It was a good attempt, but when you are late you can get a foul called on you.
The second one (@8) is on an Alabama run out and no one is there to pick up the middle man. Again he is trying to get to the spot to deflect an incoming pass and again he is a tad late.
It appears that he is upset with himself at his decision. Rightfully so on the second one, he should have never attempted to get there before the ball.
Both fouls are effort fouls.
The second foul was due to a poor decision. It happens.
Result: he misses 8 minutes of the first half.
Neither foul is an inordinately bad foul.

Instead of just seeing that SV picked up 2 fouls in the first half ... I recommend, go back and only watch Santi's play for the first half. It is only 12 minutes of tape.
I think you will be very surprised by what you see on how active and 'court aware' he is.
Great decisions to get the ball to Aidoo numerous times. Picking up fouls on Alabama players by running them off hard screens.
Look at how much effort he is investing, then maybe you can find it in your heart to be a little less judgmental of his two decisions, when he makes numerous great decisions.

 

[cncchris33]

I do not like SV picking up 2 quick fouls ... I'm with you!
However, there are good reasons to pick up fouls! Messaging the other players is one good reason.
I used to blast the guy I was guarding on his first trip to the rim ... it was to let him know exactly what he was in for the rest of the night.

SV's first foul (@18) is on a free man that he is rotating to pick up and he is trying to create shot difficulty without fouling by 'being in the way' and he gets there a tad to late. It was a good attempt, but when you are late you can get a foul called on you.
The second one (@8) is on an Alabama run out and no one is there to pick up the middle man. Again he is trying to get to the spot to deflect an incoming pass and again he is a tad late.
It appears that he is upset with himself at his decision. Rightfully so on the second one, he should have never attempted to get there before the ball.
Both fouls are effort fouls.
The second foul was due to a poor decision. It happens.
Result: he misses 8 minutes of the first half.
Neither foul is an inordinately bad foul.

Instead of just seeing that SV picked up 2 fouls in the first half ... I recommend, go back and only watch Santi's play for the first half. It is only 12 minutes of tape.
I think you will be very surprised by what you see on how active and 'court aware' he is.
Great decisions to get the ball to Aidoo numerous times. Picking up fouls on Alabama players by running them off hard screens.
Look at how much effort he is investing, then maybe you can find it in your heart to be a little less judgmental of his two decisions, when he makes numerous great decisions.

I'll assume this is directed at me in context of the discussion.

To be fair, I've not once discounted his effort in any other area while criticizing his propensity for silly fouls (which have existed on a much larger scale than just the Alabama game). In fact, I've applauded his basketball IQ and effort in every other facet. If that's your takeaway from my criticism, then you're reading things that aren't there.

 

[Chris4Vols22]

I'll assume this is directed at me in context of the discussion.

To be fair, I've not once discounted his effort in any other area while criticizing his propensity for silly fouls (which have existed on a much larger scale than just the Alabama game). In fact, I've applauded his basketball IQ and effort in every other facet. If that's your takeaway from my criticism, then you're reading things that aren't there.

The extent to which some will go to avoid critiquing the team is astounding. I get it, but it's outright silly at times, especially this particular discussion.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

The extent to which some will go to avoid critiquing the team is astounding. I get it, but it's outright silly at times, especially this particular discussion.

Honest and nuanced criticism of their play should be welcomed

 

[ColinS]

This is gonna be a weird take that will may not be popular but Santi's foul trouble may be helping us at the end of games. He takes 10 or 12 minutes of the first half off from foul trouble seemingly every game. We have the depth in the backcourt to cover those minutes. Then he is the freshest guy on the court in crunch time. Having him out there playing full blast with fresh legs and with his basketball IQ can be a difference maker at the end of games.

 

[SN-A-C Orange]

I'll assume this is directed at me in context of the discussion.

To be fair, I've not once discounted his effort in any other area while criticizing his propensity for silly fouls (which have existed on a much larger scale than just the Alabama game). In fact, I've applauded his basketball IQ and effort in every other facet. If that's your takeaway from my criticism, then you're reading things that aren't there.

When I am responding to something someone said I quote them. So, no this was not directed at you in any way.
I think you post good stuff.
It was more a statement that I also was frustrated by SV's 2 fouls and when I went back and looked at them, I ended up having a different take.

I'm still an advocate of foul less and play more!