BTO’s Arkansas Postgame Report

[GBO18]

I may be on an island here but I have been telling my friends for a couple of weeks we might be a better team without ZZ. I think he is a great player but we worked the inside game last night better than we have all season and we’re unstoppable. ZZ’s turnovers were critical in some of our recent losses and all defenses had to do was to pressure him.

Do not get me wrong. I love the kid but his performance this last month created uncertainties in our offense. I think what we saw last night gives us the best chance to go farther on the post season with our existing talent.

P.S. I am no Rick Barnes.

Arkansas is soft inside that is why we had so much success. Let’s hope what we saw last night continues but we tend to struggle against bigger teams that push us around down low. Then we have to hope that the 3s are falling.

 

[ColinS]

No sane person can try and paint this as a net positive…you lose arguably your best on ball defender, one of the few guys who can break someone down off the dribble and create in the lane for others (oops/dump off), a good FT shooter from the PG spot for late game situations. And that’s not even mentioning how it now pushes Vescovi or Key on the ball where they aren’t nearly as good as off the ball scorers. As others have mentioned I like how Mashack looked more than anyone, but he’s no Zeigler and when teams decide to press and trap him every trip down the court not sure how he’s gonna handle that.

It's pure delusion to think this isn't gonna hurt us not having ZZ. We haven't even faced a team that's game planned for it yet. The only positive I see is it almost forces us to stop the excessive dribbling at the top of the key And attempt to go down hill which is what this team should have been doing all along.

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

I got crushed for saying Jahmai Mashack would be a good ball handler and potential PG for us, and don’t look now but he is bringing the ball up a lot more now. Driving and kicking, driving and drawing fouls, and driving and finishing sometimes. He had 6 points 5 assists and 4 steals last night. If Key can’t get healthy I think you’ll see more of Mashack at PG. It’ll be Vescovi, Mashack, and possibly Edwards if he seizes this opportunity in front of him. Losing Zakai is absolutely gut wrenching, but it leads to an opportunity for BJ Edwards. Especially if Key is still out. Might see some JJJ at PG too, but with how his injuries are affecting his speed I don’t know. I think this team is still capable of getting a 3 seed and making it to a sweet 16. Not as high of a ceiling without Zakai though.

 

[scottchatt]

ZZ is obviously a huge loss. Primary ball handler and the only guy you don’t worry about staying in front of a quick guard. Vescovi couldn’t cover Black last night, and while he’s a good guard, we’re going to see better.

We lucked out last night. Arkansas tried to go small and Barnes didn’t take the bait. We’re fast and disciplined enough on D to be able to handle small ball even with 2 bigs on the floor. Arkansas gave up the paint and it cost them….but in reality, they aren’t a great team, this year has to be a big disappointment for them. They mostly win by getting you in foul trouble, basically Bama with less talent (and less murders)

We’ll be ok at PG. Santi, JJJ, Key, and probably a lot more of Mashack than anyone would have imagined a few weeks ago. We’d be better with ZZ, but it’s hard to play defense when the point keeps switching.

I don’t think I have ever heard TBA go as quiet as quickly as it did last night when Zakai went down. You can’t help but love #5. He’ll be back. With the road that kid has had to walk to get to today….He’s going to be fine.

 

[CAVPUT]

No sane person can try and paint this as a net positive…you lose arguably your best on ball defender, one of the few guys who can break someone down off the dribble and create in the lane for others (oops/dump off), a good FT shooter from the PG spot for late game situations. And that’s not even mentioning how it now pushes Vescovi or Key on the ball where they aren’t nearly as good as off the ball scorers. As others have mentioned I like how Mashack looked more than anyone, but he’s no Zeigler and when teams decide to press and trap him every trip down the court not sure how he’s gonna handle that.

Exactly my concern. While we can use length as a weapon, ZZs speed and quickness can't be replaced. Can Key and Vescovi penetrate? Can the offense run adequately? More importantly, can they deal with the press because you know teams will test is until we've proven we can handle it. I can see Pearl salivating at the thought. Huge blow to lose the one player we could not afford to lose.

 

[ReadCT]

No sane person can try and paint this as a net positive…you lose arguably your best on ball defender, one of the few guys who can break someone down off the dribble and create in the lane for others (oops/dump off), a good FT shooter from the PG spot for late game situations. And that’s not even mentioning how it now pushes Vescovi or Key on the ball where they aren’t nearly as good as off the ball scorers. As others have mentioned I like how Mashack looked more than anyone, but he’s no Zeigler and when teams decide to press and trap him every trip down the court not sure how he’s gonna handle that.

First of all, TY BTO for superb postgame report. Would have been impossible to describe Arkansas game without highlighting the impact of the non-impact injury to ZZ at the 4 minute mark

Huge win in the face of an existential challenge

Purist fans--humor me from this point--just hit 'like' and read no further

Pretty sure this game puts to rest the idea that our Vols are better w/o JJJ and JP; James is the Vols engine and transmission. Phillips the oil that makes the BasketVols offense not seize up

But ZZ is the steering wheel and fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view that makes the Vols a muscle car

As a whole, they can put the brakes on anyone

I will take the ridiculous car analogy too far: silly words about Vescovi being the supercharger, Uros the police push bumper, ON the sports package upgrade and Awaka/Aidoo/BJE/Mashack the levitating car of the future

But I will not (I kind of just did, sorry)

If I were an opposing coach I full court press TN for 40 minutes and make us prove we have a competent ball handler. Not ready to use past tense... but Ziegler IS the little engine that could. If he is out, he will be missed and opposing teams will exploit a Vols weakness at point guard

It is what CRB would do

 

[JCP201]

JJJ didn’t look that comfortable bringing the ball up tonight. The offense didn’t get going and he fumbled around with the ball and Arky bailed him out by fouling him.

He didn't look comfortable at all with the ball. As others have said, the press might kill us since Z is our best ball handler by a landslide. by I am sure Barnes will realize the weakness right now and will work on that. I would say play point by committee.

 

[smokey90]

Well, all I can say: it is what it is. I hate it, but I'm just sayin. Go Vols

 

[The Dog]

ZZ is obviously a huge loss. Primary ball handler and the only guy you don’t worry about staying in front of a quick guard. Vescovi couldn’t cover Black last night, and while he’s a good guard, we’re going to see better.

We lucked out last night. Arkansas tried to go small and Barnes didn’t take the bait. We’re fast and disciplined enough on D to be able to handle small ball even with 2 bigs on the floor. Arkansas gave up the paint and it cost them….but in reality, they aren’t a great team, this year has to be a big disappointment for them. They mostly win by getting you in foul trouble, basically Bama with less talent (and less murders)

We’ll be ok at PG. Santi, JJJ, Key, and probably a lot more of Mashack than anyone would have imagined a few weeks ago. We’d be better with ZZ, but it’s hard to play defense when the point keeps switching.

I don’t think I have ever heard TBA go as quiet as quickly as it did last night when Zakai went down. You can’t help but love #5. He’ll be back. With the road that kid has had to walk to get to today….He’s going to be fine.

You know Anthony Black is probably a top 10 NBA pick, at the least, a first round lock. Last mock draft I saw, he goes 8th to the Thunder. So Vescovi isn't going to face much better

 

[JMSqb11]

No sane person can try and paint this as a net positive…you lose arguably your best on ball defender, one of the few guys who can break someone down off the dribble and create in the lane for others (oops/dump off), a good FT shooter from the PG spot for late game situations. And that’s not even mentioning how it now pushes Vescovi or Key on the ball where they aren’t nearly as good as off the ball scorers. As others have mentioned I like how Mashack looked more than anyone, but he’s no Zeigler and when teams decide to press and trap him every trip down the court not sure how he’s gonna handle that.

No one is painting losing ZZ as a net gain. I do see some painting losing ZZ as this team’s season just ended. I am not going to that extreme. We haven’t had a full squad for most of the last month. It isn’t like he went down in a healthy team. His shot attempts per game are simply going to rotate to the guys who are now back and healthy, JJJ/Phillips, and eventually Key….

This is a very deep team and while we lost our most elusive guy, our defense gets bigger and longer. Santi stepped up very nicely at PG and wasn’t just jacking up shots like he has been doing. For the last month, Santi has not been consistent off the ball. If he can take those mid range floaters and shots he’s gonna get looks at driving, he’s likely to bump his scoring up. Him not throwing up 10+ threes a game could be a big confidence boost for him going forward. There were 3-5 drives he had he passed out of last night when he could tried a floater or layup from inside 5-7 feet.

If you can get 40-50 points out of JJJ/Vescovi/Phillips/Key per game, we will be formidable. Losing ZZ is awful because it looks like 50/50 shot his injury could impact next season. But this season isn’t over like all the doom and gloomers fired off last night. This is still a talented and very deep team

 

[JMSqb11]

I’m afraid that the injury to ZZ will cause Auburn to be a more difficult game because of the quick point guard that they have. Hopefully the length of Mashack and others will compensate for the loss of quickness of ZZ.

Someone said last night that Santi isn’t patient and is too eager to pass. I really think Bruce is going to press all 40 minutes…. Honestly there is no better test for Santi running point than having to deal with Bruce running his stifling press

 

[scottchatt]

Double post fixed

 

[bleedingTNorange]

No one is painting losing ZZ as a net gain. I do see some painting losing ZZ as this team’s season just ended. I am not going to that extreme. We haven’t had a full squad for most of the last month. It isn’t like he went down in a healthy team. His shot attempts per game are simply going to rotate to the guys who are now back and healthy, JJJ/Phillips, and eventually Key….

This is a very deep team and while we lost our most elusive guy, our defense gets bigger and longer. Santi stepped up very nicely at PG and wasn’t just jacking up shots like he has been doing. For the last month, Santi has not been consistent off the ball. If he can take those mid range floaters and shots he’s gonna get looks at driving, he’s likely to bump his scoring up. Him not throwing up 10+ threes a game could be a big confidence boost for him going forward. There were 3-5 drives he had he passed out of last night when he could tried a floater or layup from inside 5-7 feet.

If you can get 40-50 points out of JJJ/Vescovi/Phillips/Key per game, we will be formidable. Losing ZZ is awful because it looks like 50/50 shot his injury could impact next season. But this season isn’t over like all the doom and gloomers fired off last night. This is still a talented and very deep team

Someone in this thread literally said “we are a better team without ZZ”, that sure seems like someone painting it as a net gain to me.

 

[JMSqb11]

Someone in this thread literally said “we are a better team without ZZ”, that sure seems like someone painting it as a net gain to me.

My apologies. I saw your comment under my two posts so figured it was a subtle jab in my direction....

I will say this... I think there some advantages we gain with his injury putting him out for the year... Primarily on defense and with Santi specifically... There are obvious disadvantages to him being out with his speed and ball handling.... Tennessee hasn't been a 100% healthy team for a while. When someone comes back, usually someone gets hurt.... I'm not worried about replacing ZZ's shots per game.... Especially with JJJ/Phillips back and Key likely being back for postseason....

 

[cncchris33]

I may be on an island here but I have been telling my friends for a couple of weeks we might be a better team without ZZ. I think he is a great player but we worked the inside game last night better than we have all season and we’re unstoppable. ZZ’s turnovers were critical in some of our recent losses and all defenses had to do was to pressure him.

Do not get me wrong. I love the kid but his performance this last month created uncertainties in our offense. I think what we saw last night gives us the best chance to go farther on the post season with our existing talent.

P.S. I am no Rick Barnes.

He had 63 assists to 24 TOs in the last 10 games. Add to that his 13 steals. That’s pretty elite. Now you could argue he’s hurt us shooting the ball from deep in that span (only 28.1% on 64 attempts), but his ball-handling and decision-making has been All-SEC level. We are definitely NOT better without him. We adjusted to not having him and took advantage of our size advantage in the paint over Arkansas.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

So, the good…..gutsy performance. Overall, they executed extremely well in all phases of the game. I loved seeing us pound the ball inside, which opened up the rest of the floor. It’s the type of back-to-back performances that would be encouraging going into March….

….however, to speak to the elephant in the room, I’m just gutted. For ZZ. For this team. And, yes, for the fans. We’ve had some truly miserable luck with injuries all year long. I would have loved to see what this team could have done if fully healthy.

With teams now game planning for ZZ’s absence, I don’t expect things to go quite as smoothly moving forward. I do think Key will help with some of the ball handling….but, I can’t help but think we might be a better team without him playing. Harsh, I know. I know. But, we’ve now strung together two really good offensive performances in a row with Key on the bench. He’s had a few good outings this season, but he has mostly been an empty suit on the court.

I’m not so sure I wouldn’t limit his minutes going forward. Maybe I’ll be surprised and Key will step up, but he’s limited athletically and I think what is going to HAVE to carry this team far is our defense and our athleticism. Ideally, I’d like to see us run more lineups with JJJ, SV, JP, JM, and one of ORN/Awaka/Aidoo. Just put all your freakish athletes on the court and see what happens.

I do think the blueprint for March success changes now. We have got to play inside out and use Awaka/Aidoo/ORN and hope Jahmai can attack the rim consistently. That will open up the outside shots.

Ultimately though, I think this team’s X factor is still Phillips. We’ll go as far as he wants to go. He’s the most talented player on that court every night and it’s time for him to show it. We need his scoring burst we saw earlier in the season.

My excitement for the rest of the season is kind of diluted. It’s all about matchups after the Round of 64, but it just feels like this team is an average shooting night from being bounced. Before, I thought average might be good enough with ZZ, I don’t think so anymore. It’s going to have to be good or great. I’ll go ahead and say it now though, if Rick Barnes finds a way to get THIS group of guys to the Elite 8, it will be the best coaching job of his career, even better than his Final Four.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

My apologies. I saw your comment under my two posts so figured it was a subtle jab in my direction....

I will say this... I think there some advantages we gain with his injury putting him out for the year... Primarily on defense and with Santi specifically... There are obvious disadvantages to him being out with his speed and ball handling.... Tennessee hasn't been a 100% healthy team for a while. When someone comes back, usually someone gets hurt.... I'm not worried about replacing ZZ's shots per game.... Especially with JJJ/Phillips back and Key likely being back for postseason....

I’m not worried about his shots per game being redistributed, I’m worrying about a guy who was picked as the teams best defender by national analysts being out, and our quickest/best ball handler being out, along with the only guy we’ve seen beat his man off the dribble and take advantage of the lobs to big men. Any quick guard team with some length that can press/trap scares me now, we already struggled with length against us at times, lose the 1 guy we had that could beat folks off the dribble and I have a hard time thinking we are just fine. As you and others have said we are about to find out as Bruce likely will press and trap us all game long, running Santi at point who’s our best 3pt shooter by far is going to be an added toll to him and wear him down I’m afraid.

 

[JMSqb11]

He had 63 assists to 24 TOs in the last 10 games. Add to that his 13 steals. That’s pretty elite. Now you could argue he’s hurt us shooting the ball from deep in that span (only 28.1% on 64 attempts), but his ball-handling and decision-making has been All-SEC level. We are definitely NOT better without him. We adjusted to not having him and took advantage of our size advantage in the paint over Arkansas.

I think that guy's statement is a bit weird to make.... Could we be a better team without ZZ on the floor? Sure, but we won't be the same team without ZZ.... That doesn't mean we will be better or worse....

Our defense I think gets better... While we might not have someone that steps up and replaces his production exclusively, it isn't far fetched to think that the committee of Santi, JJJ, Mashack, and Key couldn't.....

It is just a weird time right now because there will be some advantages to having a longer defense on the court in ZZ's absence.... It just seemed to me last night our length overpowered them on the boards that led to points. Arkansas are world beaters, but the real test with Santi at PG comes Saturday where Bruce is a million percent going to full court press right out of the gate.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Oh, and another thing I forgot to add. FREE THROW SHOOTING. I mean, this team has GOT to be better with that. We lost one of our best, if not our best, free throw shooters tonight. In March, in crunch time, free throws might determine a game, like Vanderbilt or Mizzou. Santi needs to get right mentally, because he’s been uncharacteristically inconsistent from the line in February.

He’s going to be the guy we get the ball to for free throws late in the game if we’re up and are trying to close things out. We cannot afford for him to keep missing.

 

[Stoked]

You know Anthony Black is probably a top 10 NBA pick, at the least, a first round lock. Last mock draft I saw, he goes 8th to the Thunder. So Vescovi isn't going to face much better

A mock that I'm looking at now has Anthony Black going 4th, Nick Smith going 8th, and Ricky Council going 27th... so yeah I think you're right in saying Vescovi isn't going to face much better.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I think that guy's statement is a bit weird to make.... Could we be a better team without ZZ on the floor? Sure, but we won't be the same team without ZZ.... That doesn't mean we will be better or worse....

Our defense I think gets better... While we might not have someone that steps up and replaces his production exclusively, it isn't far fetched to think that the committee of Santi, JJJ, Mashack, and Key couldn't.....

It is just a weird time right now because there will be some advantages to having a longer defense on the court in ZZ's absence.... It just seemed to me last night our length overpowered them on the boards that led to points. Arkansas are world beaters, but the real test with Santi at PG comes Saturday where Bruce is a million percent going to full court press right out of the gate.

It also felt like Arkansas was a good matchup for no ZZ, not saying we couldn’t have had success last night with ZZ but Arkansas has big guards who aren’t the quickest, and they also can’t shoot from deep. Santi and Mashack had no problem guarding those guys, not sure that’s the case against smaller quicker guards who can shoot the ball.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Oh, and another thing I forgot to add. FRES THROW SHOOTING. I mean, this team has GOT to be better with that. We lost one of our best, if not our best, free throw shooters tonight. In March, in crunch time, free throws might determine a game, like Vanderbilt or Mizzou. Santi needs to get right mentally, because he’s been uncharacteristically inconsistent from the line in February.

He’s going to be the guy we get the ball to for free throws late in the game if we’re up and are trying to close things out. We cannot afford for him to keep missing.

Give me JJJ at the line, he’s right at 90% on the year.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

As unspectacular as Key has been most of the season, he just became critical to this team's stretch run.

 

[cncchris33]

I think that guy's statement is a bit weird to make.... Could we be a better team without ZZ on the floor? Sure, but we won't be the same team without ZZ.... That doesn't mean we will be better or worse....

Our defense I think gets better... While we might not have someone that steps up and replaces his production exclusively, it isn't far fetched to think that the committee of Santi, JJJ, Mashack, and Key couldn't.....

It is just a weird time right now because there will be some advantages to having a longer defense on the court in ZZ's absence.... It just seemed to me last night our length overpowered them on the boards that led to points. Arkansas are world beaters, but the real test with Santi at PG comes Saturday where Bruce is a million percent going to full court press right out of the gate.

I’d feel a little more like you if this had happened in December. Happening a week before the postseason kicks off, I don’t share your optimism. I just don’t see how we become a better team without ZZ on the floor. The number of roles that change and shift with no time to adjust just throws things into a great level of uncertainty.

 

[scottchatt]

You know Anthony Black is probably a top 10 NBA pick, at the least, a first round lock. Last mock draft I saw, he goes 8th to the Thunder. So Vescovi isn't going to face much better

He’s ranked that high for on his potential not where he is now. Above average size for the position, shows signs of having what it takes. He’s kinda like Will Levis….looks the part doesn’t totally deliver…..yet.

He’s good, but currently I’d say not on the level of Quinerly at Bama, Green at Auburn or Wheeler at Kentucky….and that’s just the SEC. I’m not even sure I’d put him above Smith and Davis from his own team as far as where his game is right now.

He may end up having a great NBA career, definitely has the build for it. But I stand by we’ll face better guards in the SECT and NCAAT as far as where their play is right now.