Coach Kellie Harper

[StorrsCentral]

Respectfully, have you been in a coma the last six months? Players coming and proving themselves first and getting money second died a couple of seasons ago. Paying players upon recruitment has been reinforced in the courts over and over recently. It will soon be illegal not to pay them.

We can argue, and do, ad nauseum whether lack of upfront NIL $ is the LVs major recruiting problem or not. But there's no remaining sane argument that upfront payments are not required to get players, esp the good ones.

Respectfully, no I haven't. But NIL aside, I still stand by my comment that the present staff, including Kellie or not, isn't getting the job done. BTW, all the recruits going to all these various schools don't care for the almighty dollar, otherwise we would be hearing about it publicly.

 

[knoxvol52]

We will see the best of Jewell next season when she is the go to person in the offense.

Big adjustment for her to be Robin instead of Batman this season. Imo..which don't mean crap.

 

[glv98]

We will see the best of Jewell next season when she is the go to person in the offense.

Big adjustment for her to be Robin instead of Batman this season. Imo..which don't mean crap.

That's the glass half full. Glass half empty is she will have all the defensive attention Rickea has been getting. I'm afraid not having Rickea is going to hurt Jewel alot more than help her. And we definitely need another elite scorer out of the portal.

 

[Volfan2012]

That's the glass half full. Glass half empty is she will have all the defensive attention Rickea has been getting. I'm afraid not having Rickea is going to hurt Jewel alot more than help her. And we definitely need another elite scorer out of the portal.

That is why you must have a post presence that can score and a point guard willing to share the ball. I think she could've done a little bit more this season in some games if Powell hadn't went into me mode.

 

[glv98]

Respectfully, no I haven't. But NIL aside, I still stand by my comment that the present staff, including Kellie or not, isn't getting the job done. BTW, all the recruits going to all these various schools don't care for the almighty dollar, otherwise we would be hearing about it publicly.

Been public for awhile that the most successful schools (LSU, SC) have a base payment everyone on the squad gets. Stories vary wildly on how much that is, but generally thought to be around 20,000. Actually, UT just set up a fund for what they anticipate to be the next step - where those base salary payments come from schools, not collectives. Their salary idea is around 30,000 per yr so that fits in w what is currently being paid.

In order to get around what up until recently were pay to play rules, apparently salaries have some loosely defined NIL requirements. You might have to do a tik tok some day for your salary.

 

[glv98]

That is why you must have a post presence that can score and a point guard willing to share the ball. I think she could've done a little bit more this season in some games if Powell hadn't went into me mode.

Would have helped if Wells hadn't gotten hurt, at least she was a different look at PG. Also, w JP and Jewel it's kind of chicken and egg. JP went into that mode sometimes, esp the LSU game, because Jewel was already a complete nonfactor on offense and her options were limited.

I love Jewel and really hope she steps up in tourney play. But she needs development this summer if she's going to be the offensive go to next season.

 

[Volfan2012]

Would have helped if Wells hadn't gotten hurt, at least she was a different look at PG. Also, w JP and Jewel it's kind of chicken and egg. JP went into that mode sometimes, esp the LSU game, because Jewel was already a complete nonfactor on offense and her options were limited.

I love Jewel and really hope she steps up in tourney play. But she needs development this summer if she's going to be the offensive go to next season.

She needs to work on stop and pop. That is Rickea's big shot sometimes she takes it all the way to the basket or she stop and shoots the mid range. You can make your own shot that way. You don't need a screen or any help. Being able to stop and shoot in a second is valuable to a player who has ability to handle the ball and she can handle it.

 

[glv98]

She needs to work on stop and pop. That is Rickea's big shot sometimes she takes it all the way to the basket or she stop and shoots the mid range. You can make your own shot that way. You don't need a screen or any help. Being able to stop and shoot in a second is valuable to a player who has ability to handle the ball and she can handle it.

I will never not love Rickea's sudden stop to one foot fadeaway. That is a beautiful offensive basketball play.

 

[Volfan2012]

287 shots to score 357 points that is a 1.24 which makes her an exceptional offensive player. Seems all Jewell needs is game to game consistency.
Rickea was just 394 points on 332 shots which is 1.19 which is actually lower that Jewell in offensive efficiency. I know that Rickea usually gives you a great consistent performance everytime out while Jewell can go 25 one game and 4 the next.

Rickea going for 17.5 shots per game this season
Jewell going for 10 per game.

Jasmine Powell 261 points on 226 1.15 which is probably her best season as a player in college. She only went for 8.3 shots per game so that is about right for a point guard. Think the LSU game and maybe couple more are the only ones where she went bonkers on the attempts.

 

[Amb3096]

That's the glass half full. Glass half empty is she will have all the defensive attention Rickea has been getting. I'm afraid not having Rickea is going to hurt Jewel alot more than help her. And we definitely need another elite scorer out of the portal.

She didn't handle it well when Rickea was out. They absolutely need another big time scorer from the portal to help balance the team.

 

[Amb3096]

She needs to work on stop and pop. That is Rickea's big shot sometimes she takes it all the way to the basket or she stop and shoots the mid range. You can make your own shot that way. You don't need a screen or any help. Being able to stop and shoot in a second is valuable to a player who has ability to handle the ball and she can handle it.

Rickea's footwork is a thing of beauty. It's like she has her defender on a yo-yo. Poor Chloe Kitts never stood a chance lol

 

[Amb3096]

287 shots to score 357 points that is a 1.24 which makes her an exceptional offensive player. Seems all Jewell needs is game to game consistency.
Rickea was just 394 points on 332 shots which is 1.19 which is actually lower that Jewell in offensive efficiency. I know that Rickea usually gives you a great consistent performance everytime out while Jewell can go 25 one game and 4 the next.

Rickea going for 17.5 shots per game this season
Jewell going for 10 per game.

The difference between being the go-to scorer and secondary scorer. Rickea will always be taking more difficult and more tightly contested shots for the most part, so it should be no surprise that her efficiency isn't as strong.

 

[Voltopia]

Been public for awhile that the most successful schools (LSU, SC) have a base payment everyone on the squad gets. Stories vary wildly on how much that is, but generally thought to be around 20,000.

That's one of the parts that gets me most about the "Tennessee should get the recruits on name alone" stuff that gets tossed around. When you've got schools telling you flat out you'll get 20-25k the moment you walk in the door, those number represent the FLOOR for expectations. That's the minimum. I've pointed out fifteen times that Scarolina has made it known, repeatedly, that their women's basketball player start at 25k as a minimum. And people want to marvel at how they keep getting all these big names in the NIL era. Sure, Staley's reputation and her program are part of it, but MONEY is more important than anything else and acting like it isn't is just flat out disingenuous.

Tennessee's brand still has some degree of significance, but in a sport where college NIL probably represents their single best chance to recoup any of the cost or even make a few bucks on their years of work, you think those kids are gonna willingly pass up a situation that pays 25k, or 30k, or 40k more, as a minimum? Really? 'cause that might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Flat out dumb. People can like it, hate it, whatever, but if you expect any coaching staff to have success recruiting top 15 talent without having the sort of upfront money some of these schools are dangling - whatever. Just whatever. You're gonna stiffed almost every time.

And note - nowhere in here did I say Harper's done a good coaching job or a bad coaching job. That's not the point. My point is solely about people who pretend the NIL stuff isn't a major driver of some of these decisions.

 

[Volfan2012]

The difference between being the go-to scorer and secondary scorer. Rickea will always be taking more difficult and more tightly contested shots for the most part, so it should be no surprise that her efficiency isn't as strong.

True and next year Jewell just needs to be one scorer. You need a post presence and another decent scorer meaning consistent and efficient to balance it all out. Who can we get? If you could a fairly quick post player that also is good defensively and she could give you 10 and 10 and a wing that could go for about 15 then you might have a competitive team. Maybe Cooper who played a lot of point guard in high school could become a driver and a distributor. I'll have to see the final roster to form an opinion right now the shortages are mostly at the five as far as scoring.

 

[Volfan2012]

Powell and Spear have been good players this season, but in a lot of games have not given Rickea enough scoring support. Spear can be a solid two guard next season, but we need two or three other options and we needed at least one other option this year.

 

[glv98]

Maybe Cooper who played a lot of point guard in high school could become a driver and a distributor.

I think, I hope we're giving up too soon on Destinee Wells. I know she struggled in the time she played but I think she could've and will get alot better. But I'd certainly take a truly elite pg fm the portal. Unless they're elite and proven scorer, I really don't want any more guards. I want mostly posts and also wings.

 

[Volfan2012]

She didn't handle it well when Rickea was out. They absolutely need another big time scorer from the portal to help balance the team.

Wasn't assertive enough. She has been content in a lot of games just to stand out of the perimeter and let others shoot and play. It usually happens when she misses two or three shots in a row she will just stop totally. Got to keep firing if you are a scorer. You may miss five and then hit four or five.

 

[glv98]

we needed at least one other option this year.

I think we thought Wells would be a much better 3 pt threat than she was. Also thought Jill would be more of a scoring option and that Tess would have a better year in the situations she thrives in. All of that didn't happen.

 

[Volfan2012]

I think, I hope we're giving up too soon on Destinee Wells. I know she struggled in the time she played but I think she could've and will get alot better. But I'd certainly take a truly elite pg fm the portal. Unless they're elite and proven scorer, I really don't want any more guards. I want mostly posts and also wings.

Wells and Cooper unless we get someone else in the portal. Boyd can play there and Wynn, but they are going to be the fill in minutes for sure. Right now if it was a new season I see it being Cooper, Spear, Key, Hollingshead, and Puckett. Wells could be in for Cooper, but if Kellie is the coach Cooper is going to play she may or may not have offensive problems next season, but she can guard the point position better than anyone we'll have back.

What I would like to see is post player that can score inside that is really a five and Key stays. A wing that may not be Rickea,but may Dye or a little better.

 

[glv98]

Wasn't assertive enough. She has been content in a lot of games just to stand out of the perimeter and let others shoot and play. It usually happens when she misses two or three shots in a row she will just stop totally. Got to keep firing if you are a scorer. You may miss five and then hit four or five.

I mean, that's pretty hard. I know generally shooters gotta shoot, but you've missed a few, and you've got one of the best scorers in the country as an option, what would we have her do? In fact we've blasted them correctly for not getting Rickea the ball more.

Lately Jewel has done a good job rebounding even when she's not scoring, finds a way to contribute. Her D is a work in progress though.

 

[Volfan2012]

I think we thought Wells would be a much better 3 pt threat than she was. Also thought Jill would be more of a scoring option and that Tess would have a better year in the situations she thrives in. All of that didn't happen.

Wells looked like she was in awe of being a Lady Vol. She was just coming into her game when she got injured. The game she played against Oklahoma was the way we wanted her to play all season.

 

[Volfan2012]

I mean, that's pretty hard. I know generally shooters gotta shoot, but you've missed a few, and you've got one of the best scorers in the country as an option, what would we have her do? In fact we've blasted them correctly for not getting Rickea the ball more.

Lately Jewel has done a good job rebounding even when she's not scoring, finds a way to contribute. Her D is a work in progress though.

Rickea never stops shooting. I can look back was a game or two when she was like 2 of 9 to start and ended up bringing that up a lot. The Jewell we'd like to see it the one that score in the 20's two or three games in a row she was really assertive and of course was hitting the three.

 

[glv98]

Wells looked like she was in awe of being a Lady Vol. She was just coming into her game when she got injured. The game she played against Oklahoma was the way we wanted her to play all season.

I think that's exactly right. Wells seems quite shy and a bit overwhelmed by it all. Though losing her as pg depth has really hurt this year, the extra year (or 2 w the rs) around the program will really help her get more comfortable.

JP also had a great game against Oklahoma, so the most bashed starter gave us our only ranked win.

 

[Volfan2012]

I mean, that's pretty hard. I know generally shooters gotta shoot, but you've missed a few, and you've got one of the best scorers in the country as an option, what would we have her do? In fact we've blasted them correctly for not getting Rickea the ball more.

Lately Jewel has done a good job rebounding even when she's not scoring, finds a way to contribute. Her D is a work in progress though.

What Jewell was this year was hit or miss. She needs to be consistent like she was at Wake Forest of course she was their number one option she put up a lot more shots for them per game. When she was on they beat some top teams like Louisville and HVL and could also lose to the lower teams in the league.

To add we can't depend on Jewell next season like we depended on Rickea this season. She needs to be one of a trio or even four players that can all score efficiently.

 

[Amb3096]

True and next year Jewell just needs to be one scorer. You need a post presence and another decent scorer meaning consistent and efficient to balance it all out. Who can we get? If you could a fairly quick post player that also is good defensively and she could give you 10 and 10 and a wing that could go for about 15 then you might have a competitive team. Maybe Cooper who played a lot of point guard in high school could become a driver and a distributor. I'll have to see the final roster to form an opinion right now the shortages are mostly at the five as far as scoring.

The SC model this year is the one to emulate, where they have 5 players on the court who are equally comfortable taking over and opponents can't just focus on one of them. For this to work, you need to have a very high IQ playmaking PG and players that can all pass and look to find good open looks instead of 1-on-5 hero ball (Hi, Jasmine Powell!).

Tennessee's issue this year was less about the personnel and more about the offense they ran. Powell, Spear, Puckett, Jackson, and Key/Hollingshed should have been able to replicate how SC played. There was no need for them to be so predictable.