bleedingTNorange
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1. Sorry for the delay, got crazy busy and haven’t had the time to put together a well thought out report, was able to watch it live though, and what a win. Not sure about everyone else, but really felt like the first time this year I’ve screamed at the TV multiple times, or really been fired up, maybe that was just because of it being our biggest test to date, maybe it was the hostile crowd (kudos to Illinois), maybe it was the feeling of battling the refs along with road crowd, not sure, but it was the most “into” a game I’ve been this year, multiple times thought we’d fall short, but our guys found a way.
2. I think I used to do player of the game and got away from it, but gonna bring it back, and obviously there’s nobody more deserving than Jordan Gainey. Obviously he hit the game winning shot, but he also had to play PG for majority of the 2nd half and not only handled those duties but also hit huge shots and defended incredibly well also. He’s been a guy that’s drawn a lot of criticism over his career here, some warranted, but he’s really having a great senior season and is a great piece to have coming off the bench, in addition that game should really give him a ton of confidence.
3. Likewise on the confidence note, have to mention Bishop Boswell, Darlinstone Dubar and also Cade Phillips, to a smaller degree. For those guys to have to play the minutes they did, in that atmosphere, and not only do it, but do it well and have huge parts that led to a victory should give those guys a mega confidence boost. Boswell defended well and handled the ball fine, forced a turnover in a big spot, clearly the coaches trust him defensively and we saw why. Dubar hit a monster 3, blocked a shot of a 7+ footer, and had a nice little floater in the lane at a huge moment when we needed a bucket in the worst way. Neither guy is likely to become a start this year, but developing more depth and getting them that experience should pay dividends later on.
4. Igor Milicic clearly had a rough game shooting, but he defended well and rebounded his ass off, as bad as he was shooting we don’t win that game without his rebounding effort. His physicality has really impressed me and right now he’s the teams best rebounder, given the struggles of Okpara I think you’ll continue to see even more of Milicic at the 5 assuming we aren’t going against just a massive and dominant big, he also gives you a true 5 out option which can be difficult for opponents to try and adjust to. Again he obviously didn’t shoot it well but he’s shown to be a plus shooter over his career, sometimes you have bad games shooting, I liked he wasn’t hesitant and even late we went to him again on an open look, keep shooting.
5. On that topic, as well as the above mentioned struggles of players such as Okpara, Jahmai Mashack has got to watch the tape, hopefully read postgame quotes from Underwood, and also listen to the broadcast, and then go spend every free second he has shooting 3’s in the facility. He’s an elite defender, possibly the best in the country, he has a solid handle and has shown a good ability to get to the rim and finish, however at his size you are a detriment to your team offensively if teams can sag off you from the 3pt line as if you’re Shaq (coincidence), and you won’t even look at the basket. I’m not asking him to be Lofton or Lanier or Knecht, but if teams play you like that you should feel disrespected by that…that’s a practice 3 and you should shoot them each and every single time, that has to change. I mentioned Okpara, he definitely struggled, not sure if it’s the hip pointer bothering him or just bad play, Barnes went away from him in the 2nd half and to the best of my memory never went back to him.
6. I mentioned going into that game it should be a great barometer, and it was…I was surprised at how well we handled their big man who had been really good to start the year, he was essentially a non factor, felt like the tempo in which we played caused him a lot of issues, and again credit to Milicic & Okpara for their physicality when playing the 5. To go into that atmosphere, deal with the foul trouble that we did and shoot the percentages that we did, no way I would’ve thought we leave with a W, but it goes to show that while our offensive efficiency has improved and is very good, defense and rebounding travels and it’s always nice to be able to fall back on those.
7. So the Vol move to 10-0 out of conference and have 3 home buy games before SEC play starts up, we’ll likely be 20+ point favorites in all 3, given they’re sandwiched around holidays it's not uncommon for some guys to overlook and games be closer, biggest thing for me is obviously just don’t lose for 1, but also, get some guys some confidence and build on some things. Would love to see Mashack get some confidence from 3, Okpara gain some confidence, Dubar continue to carve a role, and Boswell continue to get some meaningful run. No reason this team should finish OOC 13-0, that’s obviously better than any of us could have asked for and has us set up as well as possible at our first ever program 1 seed. Given how difficult the SEC is looking we are going to lose games folks, please understand and realize we will lose, it doesn’t require a freak out or some doom and gloom outlook. Every single game in league play should be Q1 & Q2, so that means we shouldn’t have a single bad loss on our resume at seasons end, assuming we make it through these next 3 unblemished. To me 12-6 in league play probably is a success, would leave you 25-6(12-6), almost certainly a double bye for SECT, and imo has you right on that 1 seed line as well heading into conference tournaments. Again, the league play this year is going to be nuts, there’s talk of this being the best conference for basketball in a season in the history of the sport, it’s impressive stuff, any road win I would look at as a toss up at best, you’ll try your best to protect home court as best you can for those 9 games, and then steal a few on the road along the way, gonna be tough sledding, but should make for a really fun and exciting couple months of college hoops.
GBO!!!
2. I think I used to do player of the game and got away from it, but gonna bring it back, and obviously there’s nobody more deserving than Jordan Gainey. Obviously he hit the game winning shot, but he also had to play PG for majority of the 2nd half and not only handled those duties but also hit huge shots and defended incredibly well also. He’s been a guy that’s drawn a lot of criticism over his career here, some warranted, but he’s really having a great senior season and is a great piece to have coming off the bench, in addition that game should really give him a ton of confidence.
3. Likewise on the confidence note, have to mention Bishop Boswell, Darlinstone Dubar and also Cade Phillips, to a smaller degree. For those guys to have to play the minutes they did, in that atmosphere, and not only do it, but do it well and have huge parts that led to a victory should give those guys a mega confidence boost. Boswell defended well and handled the ball fine, forced a turnover in a big spot, clearly the coaches trust him defensively and we saw why. Dubar hit a monster 3, blocked a shot of a 7+ footer, and had a nice little floater in the lane at a huge moment when we needed a bucket in the worst way. Neither guy is likely to become a start this year, but developing more depth and getting them that experience should pay dividends later on.
4. Igor Milicic clearly had a rough game shooting, but he defended well and rebounded his ass off, as bad as he was shooting we don’t win that game without his rebounding effort. His physicality has really impressed me and right now he’s the teams best rebounder, given the struggles of Okpara I think you’ll continue to see even more of Milicic at the 5 assuming we aren’t going against just a massive and dominant big, he also gives you a true 5 out option which can be difficult for opponents to try and adjust to. Again he obviously didn’t shoot it well but he’s shown to be a plus shooter over his career, sometimes you have bad games shooting, I liked he wasn’t hesitant and even late we went to him again on an open look, keep shooting.
5. On that topic, as well as the above mentioned struggles of players such as Okpara, Jahmai Mashack has got to watch the tape, hopefully read postgame quotes from Underwood, and also listen to the broadcast, and then go spend every free second he has shooting 3’s in the facility. He’s an elite defender, possibly the best in the country, he has a solid handle and has shown a good ability to get to the rim and finish, however at his size you are a detriment to your team offensively if teams can sag off you from the 3pt line as if you’re Shaq (coincidence), and you won’t even look at the basket. I’m not asking him to be Lofton or Lanier or Knecht, but if teams play you like that you should feel disrespected by that…that’s a practice 3 and you should shoot them each and every single time, that has to change. I mentioned Okpara, he definitely struggled, not sure if it’s the hip pointer bothering him or just bad play, Barnes went away from him in the 2nd half and to the best of my memory never went back to him.
6. I mentioned going into that game it should be a great barometer, and it was…I was surprised at how well we handled their big man who had been really good to start the year, he was essentially a non factor, felt like the tempo in which we played caused him a lot of issues, and again credit to Milicic & Okpara for their physicality when playing the 5. To go into that atmosphere, deal with the foul trouble that we did and shoot the percentages that we did, no way I would’ve thought we leave with a W, but it goes to show that while our offensive efficiency has improved and is very good, defense and rebounding travels and it’s always nice to be able to fall back on those.
7. So the Vol move to 10-0 out of conference and have 3 home buy games before SEC play starts up, we’ll likely be 20+ point favorites in all 3, given they’re sandwiched around holidays it's not uncommon for some guys to overlook and games be closer, biggest thing for me is obviously just don’t lose for 1, but also, get some guys some confidence and build on some things. Would love to see Mashack get some confidence from 3, Okpara gain some confidence, Dubar continue to carve a role, and Boswell continue to get some meaningful run. No reason this team should finish OOC 13-0, that’s obviously better than any of us could have asked for and has us set up as well as possible at our first ever program 1 seed. Given how difficult the SEC is looking we are going to lose games folks, please understand and realize we will lose, it doesn’t require a freak out or some doom and gloom outlook. Every single game in league play should be Q1 & Q2, so that means we shouldn’t have a single bad loss on our resume at seasons end, assuming we make it through these next 3 unblemished. To me 12-6 in league play probably is a success, would leave you 25-6(12-6), almost certainly a double bye for SECT, and imo has you right on that 1 seed line as well heading into conference tournaments. Again, the league play this year is going to be nuts, there’s talk of this being the best conference for basketball in a season in the history of the sport, it’s impressive stuff, any road win I would look at as a toss up at best, you’ll try your best to protect home court as best you can for those 9 games, and then steal a few on the road along the way, gonna be tough sledding, but should make for a really fun and exciting couple months of college hoops.
GBO!!!
