BTO’s Vanderbilt Postgame Report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. You find a way to win, that was the theme heading into the game, and what was still the theme with 5 minutes remaining…that’s not a great Vanderbilt team, it’s a decent squad, but road conference wins are never gimmies. It’s a funky gym, they’ve got a guard that can get hot and light it up, they play the little brother role, and we lost our jack of all trades and defensive cog early in the game, but found a way to win…obviously beats the alternative.

2. The offense took a step back tonight from the UK game, but I won’t harp too much on it, I saw some good things and I’m not sure how missing JJJ impacted it. Defensively they went right back to where they seemed to be pre-UK, which makes that look like even more of an anomaly now, especially considering this game was mostly played without our “best” defender in JJJ. Offensively Chandler/Ziegler/Nkahmoua combined to go 0/10 from deep, while Vescovi and Powell combined to go 5/10 from deep…considering the first 3 are combined 41% from deep on the year you are good with those looks and expect 4 of them to drop which gives you 12 more points obviously, so mostly I’m pretty happy with who was taking the shots tonight.

3. Barnes benched Fulky, I don’t think many thought they would see the day but it happened…I’m sure many would have rather seen them go with BHH or Zeigler and go small, but he opted for Plavsic alongside Nkahmoua, with the game now over it may be hard to criticize that move too much, Plavsic was great, Nkamhoua was serviceable, and BHH didn’t exactly look like he was ready…with that said, I think the debate of going small and JJJ at the 4 is still present and something Barnes will have to fight with going forward.

4. Everyone has talked about Grant and Admiral, how fun the 3 star that developed was, how those guys had fight and fire and these Barnes teams lack that…it might be time to welcome Zeigler to that club. That dude is scared of nothing, his fight is unquestioned, he will back down from nobody, and he leaves it all out there…oftentimes you forget he’s a true freshman, but damn, if he can continue to find his shot from the perimeter he’s going to be something here for quite awhile.

5. By god has this team been shooting free throws??? On a night we shot 34%fg and 22%3ptfg, both of which Vanderbilt beat, we go 25/29 from the line for 86%, and only turn it over 14 times compared to their 21…that was literally the difference in the game, and such a great sight to see. Ziegler was absolutely welcoming those free throws, Vescovi seemed to take a bit more time, was so nice to see that and hopefully it continues.

6. I’m not sure we got a ton of answers on what this team needs going forward, we bench Fulk and he played small minutes, Plavsic played well, but James got hurt early and we didn’t get to see much small ball unless we went Powell at the 4, which we actually did some…would a healthy James have meant less time for Fulk? Or would it result in less time for Powell? That will be something to watch going forward…Bailey got in early but then didn’t see the court again which has been a trend, why keep doing that? Mashack didn’t bring much tonight, and while I would continue to give BHH chances he didn’t exactly take advantage tonight. Still lots of questions.

7. That was a game Tennessee needed to win, had to find a way to win, and they did…Vanderbilt isn’t great, not really even good, but they’re better than Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina which are 3 teams we are going to travel to their place to play, that makes you feel a bit better that we can snag some road wins. Tennessee now comes back to Knoxville to face off against LSU, that’s a big matchup, and then follow it up with Florida before heading to Austin to take on a Texas team that suddenly looks a bit more beatable. I said heading into this stretch that 2-2 would be the floor they need to reach and 3-1 would be reason for some optimism and momentum and I maintain that, starting off that stretch with a W feels great.


GBO!!!!

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I think that Fulk was benched after picking up his 2nd first half foul. More likely that Fulk benched himself rather than a coach’s decision. BHH sure didn’t show much… maybe showed that he’s more likely to miss a corner 3 than be productive in the paint.

 

[ShowSomePride]

Plavsic player of the game.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Plavsic player of the game.

Take away some of ZZZ’s missed FGs and KC’s bad turnovers and there’d be 3 POGs to pick from.

 

[Eastknox865]

We have to remember our most talented players are freshman and they need time to grow up

 

[Kicker82]

I think BHH looks like the odd man out at this point for the big rotation. He seems to have talent but his energy and focus just isn’t there yet. Outside of foul trouble (some questionable) I thought Fulkerson off the bench was good for him. Like it or not, we need him to play well at least defensively to help this team win games.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I think it’s time to trim up the rotation some, nobody else is playing 11 guys and that’s against all things Barnes has ever done, which gives me some hope that maybe we are still building for once…

Chandler 15/Zeigler 25
Vescovi 25/Chandler 15
Powell 28/Vescovi 6/James 6
James 25/ON 15
Uros 15/Fulk 15/BHH 10

 

[VolsFan-TX]

I think that Fulk was benched after picking up his 2nd first half foul. More likely that Fulk benched himself rather than a coach’s decision. BHH sure didn’t show much… maybe showed that he’s more likely to miss a corner 3 than be productive in the paint.

Fulky’s stat line:
0-4 FG, 2-2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, and 4 fouls in 17 mins.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I hope that JJJ is ready to practice tomorrow. He’ll be needed on Saturday when LSU comes to the TBA.

 

[cncchris33]

I think that Fulk was benched after picking up his 2nd first half foul. More likely that Fulk benched himself rather than a coach’s decision. BHH sure didn’t show much… maybe showed that he’s more likely to miss a corner 3 than be productive in the paint.

To be fair, BHH didn't get many (any?) opportunities in the paint. He got position a handful of times early and they just didn't get him the ball. Dane Bradshaw even made mention of it at one point in the broadcast about BHH having position but Tennessee not getting him a look.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Aaron Torres made a good point on Twtitter after the game, one that many of us have noted. It's time to trim the rotation. We can't continue to play 11 guys a game. I know we haven't found the right mix yet in Barnes' mind, but it's time to make a decision and stick with it.

Why play Bailey for a handful of minutes? That seems like a waste and he continues to provide nothing for the team. Give those to Powell or Vescovi. Mashack will be good eventually, but I'd probably even trim his minutes entirely if JJJ can stay healthy. I think it's fine to keep giving BHH some run and hope he can learn and it pays off in the end, as we don't have much help in the post.

We absolutely should NOT be playing more than 9 players moving forward unless there is an injury.

Start:
Chandler
Vescovi
James
ON
Plavsic

Bench:
Zeiglar
Fulky
Powell
BHH

Stick with that moving forward. And, come tournament time, you trim the minutes even more if BHH still hasn't shown up and you go to 8 players.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Fulky’s stat line:
0-4 FG, 2-2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, and 4 fouls in 17 mins.

Fulk did a good job defending and rebounding, I will admit and give him that…forced a couple times offensively I thought but if he buys into an energy ~15mpg type role of just gobbling rebounds and defending he can still be a key piece

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Aaron Torres made a good point on Twtitter after the game, one that many of us have noted. It's time to trim the rotation. We can't continue to play 11 guys a game. I know we haven't found the right mix yet in Barnes' mind, but it's time to make a decision and stick with it.

Why play Bailey for a handful of minutes? That seems like a waste and he continues to provide nothing for the team. Give those to Powell or Vescovi. Mashack will be good eventually, but I'd probably even trim his minutes entirely if JJJ can stay healthy. I think it's fine to keep giving BHH some run and hope he can learn and it pays off in the end, as we don't have much help in the post.

We absolutely should NOT be playing more than 9 players moving forward unless there is an injury.

Start:
Chandler
Vescovi
James
ON
Plavsic

Bench:
Zeiglar
Fulky
Powell
BHH

Stick with that moving forward. And, come tournament time, you trim the minutes even more if BHH still hasn't shown up and you go to 8 players.

Yup, I said exactly that…no reason to be playing Bailey 2-3mpg, unless there’s just extreme foul trouble…and agreed, Mashack would be odd man out if I’m cutting to 9

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Yup, I said exactly that…no reason to be playing Bailey 2-3mpg, unless there’s just extreme foul trouble…and agreed, Mashack would be odd man out if I’m cutting to 9

Yeah, an 11-man rotation for an entire SEC season will cost us a game or two in my opinion. We're far enough along that Barnes should have a sense of what works and what doesn't with this team. You can't keep experimenting after 6 games into SEC play with a critical stretch for this team coming up.

As Aaron Torres noted, all of the best teams are running a 7-man rotation. Clearly we aren't going to shrink it to 7 with this squad, but 9 has to be the maximum. No more. Give those valuable minutes to your key contributors.

 

[Volprofch05]

Quite the dichotomy in stat lines between the good: Uros (13 pts, 6/7, 7 Reb), Santi (14pts, 3/5 from 3, 6 Reb), and KC (13 pts, 4 ast, 4 Reb, 5 stl, although 0/4 from 3 with 5 TOs) and then the not so good: BHH (0 pts, 1 Reb in 13 min), Fulky (0/4, 2pts, although 6 Reb) and ZZZ (0/8 from field, although 11/12 on FTs and of course 1 awesome stolen inbound pass!)

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Yeah, an 11-man rotation for an entire SEC season will cost us a game or two in my opinion. We're far enough along that Barnes should have a sense of what works and what doesn't with this team. You can't keep experimenting after 6 games into SEC play with a critical stretch for this team coming up.

As Aaron Torres noted, all of the best teams are running a 7-man rotation. Clearly we aren't going to shrink it to 7 with this squad, but 9 has to be the maximum. No more. Give those valuable minutes to your key contributors.

If Barnes would admit it we have…

Zeigler
Chandler
Vescovi/Powell
James
Plav/Fulk/ON/BHH

Our best “5” is all the guards, you don’t know what you’re going to get on a given night from the posts…for that reason alone I’m going small and JJJ at the 4 and just riding hot hand at the 5. If that results in a 7 man rotation on a night ok, if it’s 9 because I gotta try a few different posts then ok.

 

[Volfan1000]

Mashack should be getting Bailey's minutes.

Plavsic can build on this solid performance.

Vescovi was a baller tonight and did not take any crap from the Vanderbilt players.

Free throws and solid defense won this game for us.

 

[vol94]

I think BHH looks like the odd man out at this point for the big rotation. He seems to have talent but his energy and focus just isn’t there yet. Outside of foul trouble (some questionable) I thought Fulkerson off the bench was good for him. Like it or not, we need him to play well at least defensively to help this team win games.

I was amazed how big and athletic looking BHH is in person as our seats were close to the floor. However, my son reminded me that BHH is supposed to be a high school
senior rt now. Idk his age but assume it may take awhile mentally to adjust.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

If Barnes would admit it we have…

Zeigler
Chandler
Vescovi/Powell
James
Plav/Fulk/ON/BHH

Our best “5” is all the guards, you don’t know what you’re going to get on a given night from the posts…for that reason alone I’m going small and JJJ at the 4 and just riding hot hand at the 5. If that results in a 7 man rotation on a night ok, if it’s 9 because I gotta try a few different posts then ok.

Agreed, but watching Barnes for 7 years at Tennessee we all know he isn't going to do that. Benching Fulky finally was a shocker in and of itself, so I'm not going to hold my breath that he goes small the rest of the way when he has been adamant about trying to make the traditional 4 and 5 lineup work all season.

 

[vol94]

Mashack should be getting Bailey's minutes.

Plavsic can build on this solid performance.

Vescovi was a baller tonight and did not take any crap from the Vanderbilt players.

Free throws and solid defense won this game for us.

It was @ the other end of the court but I didn’t understand the technical on Vescovi. The refs can call a foul on any given play as the game is more physical than I realized from watching on tv or further up in nosebleeds. But they were slapping Vescovi’s arm(s) all night and reaching in. Plus they were talking smack to him all game.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

It was @ the other end of the court but I didn’t understand the technical on Vescovi. The refs can call a foul on any given play as the game is more physical than I realized from watching on tv or further up in nosebleeds. But they were slapping Vescovi’s arm(s) all night and reaching in. Plus they were talking smack to him all game.

It was perfectly understandable as the player to retaliate in any given conflict is almost always rung up with a technical first. It doesn't make it right, but more often than not officials see the person who responds before they see the person who instigates. It's why you have to keep a cool head when you're punked in critical situations because the instigator is looking to get you in trouble.

 

[Volfan1000]

It was @ the other end of the court but I didn’t understand the technical on Vescovi. The refs can call a foul on any given play as the game is more physical than I realized from watching on tv or further up in nosebleeds. But they were slapping Vescovi’s arm(s) all night and reaching in. Plus they were talking smack to him all game.

The refs caught Vescovi pushing Stute back after Stute shoved him and that is why there was a double technical called which fouled Stute out of the game.

 

[vol94]

The refs caught Vescovi pushing Stute back after Stute shoved him and that is why there was a double technical called which fouled Stute out of the game.

GOTCHA. They showed the replay once at the arena but I missed part of it.

 

[vol94]

It was perfectly understandable as the player to retaliate in any given conflict is almost always rung up with a technical first. It doesn't make it right, but more often than not officials see the person who responds before they see the person who instigates. It's why you have to keep a cool head when you're punked in critical situations because the instigator is looking to get you in trouble.

Yeah. I missed the part when Vescovi retaliated. I saw Uros push someone.

 

[Volprofch05]

Yeah. I missed the part when Vescovi retaliated. I saw Uros push someone.

Yeah, to be fair, Stute gave him a little nudge as he walked by towards the dude who had just gotten fouled, whereas Santi gave him basically a full-arm push that was pretty obvious. Think it worked out pretty well for us under the circumstances, of course knowing now that Santi didn’t foul out.