Fixing The Problems

[mlindsay]

Let me first start by stating what many of us are feeling. AD Hart has to strongly consider making a coaching change (although based on what I have read in the threads he could care less about the Lady Vols). Since that will never happen, someone whom Holly trust and will listen to (Coach Pat Summit) should advise her to resign if she has any real love for the program and want it to remain as one of the top programs and not end up like Louisiana Tech or USC or Old Dominion. There are a few other things (since I don't think Holly will step down) that can be done to salvage the season. I will list them below;

1.) Holly need to coach from a distance (allow Coach Elzy and the other coaches handle the coaching duties)
It is obvious based one what I have been seeing the players aren't listening/responding to Holly and that happens when players realize you can not coach them (which is part of why Diamond left UNC, she wasn't sure Coach Hatchell would return as soon as she did and was a better basketball mind than her assistant coach who was acting as head coach.

2.)Let the players play. Holly is trying to force players to do things that isn't beneficial to our success. You can't force the ball in the post when your Post players aren't set or low enough to receive the ball and make a play. As of right now we are a running team and Holly slows down our momentum and abilities to be successful by trying to force us into one style of play.

3.) Russell needs to be told/shown that she is the defensive anchor, I understand our perimeter defense may not be all that great and Diamond (along with others may gamble) but they should be allowed to when you have a 6'6" eraser back there. Most stars play defense when they want and especially if they have a player behind them that they feel can contest shots. Maya Moore took gambles because she had Tina Charles in the paint to contest/block the shot (and eventually Dolson) Odyssey Simms did the same because she had Brittany Griner in the paint to block the shot. Our guards gamble and Russell rarely gets a hand up or if she contest a shot and the team gets the offensive rebound she will not contest again.

4.) Decide on how many minutes players will get. Holly's substitution patterns are still a problems. Some players can make 4 or 5 mistakes before they are replace and others it only takes 1 mistake so how can chemistry be built if players don't know how long they are going to play.

5.) Discover what the team Identity is and assign roles. Players are doing what they want because they don't know what they roles are on this team. Some players are not scorers yet consistently jack up shot after shot. Others who can don't or wont shoot enough.

6.) Let Diamond be Diamond. Let's face it without her there is no Te'a on this team and based on how recruiting went this year and for 2016 the only freshman you would have would be MeMe. How many wins do you guys think we would have with no Diamond and Te'a on this team? (along with the same injuries to Nia and Jasmine) Part of why we were rank 4th to start the year was because of Diamond. It's amazing how the other players looked this summer (mainly Russell) when they were coached by real head coaches (and Holly was just an assistant) but when Holly is the head coach they (Russell) seem to regress. Holly doesn't have the ability Pat had to dig into a player which is what Diamond needs but trust me the rest of the girls are listening to Diamond more than they are Holly and that is the problem. When Holly took a seat at the end of the bench during one of the games early in the season we looked like a Final Four team. Players were allowed to play their game and not be micromanaged.

What other problems do you all see that need to be fixed if we are to salvage this season?

 

[RollerVol]

Amazing how a loss brings out these observations. Didn't hear anything after the Missouri win...:question:

GO LADY VOLS!

 

[mlindsay]

Amazing how a loss brings out these observations. Didn't hear anything after the Missouri win...:question:

GO LADY VOLS!

The same issues were there with the Missouri win. They haven't change Missouri didn't have a good night from the 3PT and Florida did which allowed them to stay in the game. When they (Florida) needed a key 3 they got it.

 

[RollerVol]

The same issues were there with the Missouri win. They haven't change Missouri didn't have a good night from the 3PT and Florida did which allowed them to stay in the game. When they (Florida) needed a key 3 they got it.

GatorGirls were hot just like VolMen against GatorMen.
Not saying Holly is the real answer. Just waiting out the season to get the whole picture. Holly isn't going anywhere, at least till her contract is up...IMHO.

GO LADY VOLS!

 

[Linda Lee]

Thank you for the insight. I thought you brought up very good points. We are in very deep trouble but do not think anything will be done this season. I hope with all my heart I am wrong.

I fear there will be no recruits that will want to take the chance and commit to us. Look at next years recruits, we have NONE!! I also see transfers in the near future. Remember there's a lot of great teams out there. Elite players have their pick.

I live in middle Tennessee and many people I know go to the games and have always supported our teams. We have seen recruits like MeMe and Middleton play on their high school teams. Great young ladies with great skills and positive attitudes. Look at them now! No one here is surprised that Crystal is going UConn. We are now losing players from our state to other teams.

I believe the bleeding will continue until someone at the university decides that enough is enough and a change is made. If it does not happen the stands will be empty and we will all lose a great tradition. I hope enough fans and university personnel will see that our basketball team is worth saving.

Please do not respond with comments like I am a negative person or just a complainer. It is just heartbreaking to see what is going on. It would be a wonderful thing to see us make changes and have a decent season.

 

[RollerVol]

Thank you for the insight. I thought you brought up very good points. We are in very deep trouble but do not think anything will be done this season. I hope with all my heart I am wrong.

I fear there will be no recruits that will want to take the chance and commit to us. Look at next years recruits, we have NONE!! I also see transfers in the near future. Remember there's a lot of great teams out there. Elite players have their pick.

I live in middle Tennessee and many people I know go to the games and have always supported our teams. We have seen recruits like MeMe and Middleton play on their high school teams. Great young ladies with great skills and positive attitudes. Look at them now! No one here is surprised that Crystal is going UConn. We are now losing players from our state to other teams.

I believe the bleeding will continue until someone at the university decides that enough is enough and a change is made. If it does not happen the stands will be empty and we will all lose a great tradition. I hope enough fans and university personnel will see that our basketball team is worth saving.

Please do not respond with comments like I am a negative person or just a complainer. It is just heartbreaking to see what is going on. It would be a wonderful thing to see us make changes and have a decent season.

Great post. First off don't believe in "negavols". Second, Hart is not going to fire Holly without the woman who stood up to him against eliminating the "Lady Vols" from the girls basketball team. Yeah, Pat will have a say and if she tells Hart it's time, then so be it.

GO LADY VOLS!

 

[ItsAllVols]

Let me first start by stating what many of us are feeling. AD Hart has to strongly consider making a coaching change (although based on what I have read in the threads he could care less about the Lady Vols). Since that will never happen, someone whom Holly trust and will listen to (Coach Pat Summit) should advise her to resign if she has any real love for the program.

1st let me start by saying Pat Summit would not be the one to discuss this issue, I have added a link for you to better understand Pat Alzheimers issue.

https://health.facty.com/conditions...heimer's&utm_campaign=f-h-alzheimer-signs-usa

2nd Not having leadership on the team really hurts in crunch time, learning to win and how not to lose.

 

[Jax_Vol]

The only solution I see is to get Diamond off the team. Ideally, if she would transfer to UConn or South Carolina would be best.

 

[aaronvol]

I think we get Shoop.

 

[RollerVol]

1st let me start by saying Pat Summit would not be the one to discuss this issue, I have added a link for you to better understand Pat Alzheimers issue.

https://health.facty.com/conditions...heimer's&utm_campaign=f-h-alzheimer-signs-usa

2nd Not having leadership on the team really hurts in crunch time, learning to win and how not to lose.

Hear what you're saying but, IMHO, as long as Pat is alive don't believe for a moment she won't have input into the Lady Vols program.

GO LADY VOLS!

 

[RollerVol]

I think we get Shoop.

How much do you think Hart is willing to pay...:question:

GO VOLS!

 

[WVU05UT09]

Hear what you're saying but, IMHO, as long as Pat is alive don't believe for a moment she won't have input into the Lady Vols program.

GO LADY VOLS!

I don't have the deep connections on this board like a lot of people like DeerPark but with 100% confidence I can say she may be advised of a change but she really isn't in the place to and won't be consulting on a coaching change. That's the sad reality.

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

Amazing how a loss brings out these observations. Didn't hear anything after the Missouri win...:question:

GO LADY VOLS!

You honestly think that was a good win. Look like they were playing the Columbia YWCA team! (talent wise)

 

[armchair]

You make some good points--especially about UT finding an offensive identity and Warlick getting roles and minutes straightened out. Last night was a debacle because we were lazy defensively--DeShields and Cooper especially--and Graves was terrible at coming over to help when our guards were beaten off the dribble. Russell is not very good at helping either---often because she follows her man out to the foul line or even farther away from the basket.

We are a terrible shooting team. When 40 percent shooting is a very good night for your team--as it was for us against Missouri--you have problems. I have said this COUNTLESS times: We don't really run an offense that is focused on breaking down a defense and getting easy shots. We pass it around the perimeter a few time as a prelude to getting it inside--which is always our chief focus. Problem is, teams are crowding our bigs--with zones and with man double teams--and so scoring inside is not so easy. What's more, our bigs--Russell and Graves--are not really natural scorers--a point lost on our astute coaching staff! Russell has skills and potential, but she's still young and soft--needs to get stronger. And Graves? Her basic game is rebounding and muscling in offensive put-backs. She can occasionally drive to the basket and very occasionally make an outside shot--but that is it. If Warlick thinks that our bigs are going to score consistently against defenses packed inside, she is delusional.

This means that we have to make outside shots. But we don't. Most of the outside shots we missed last night were wide open. DeShields and Cooper missed a variety of open shots. DeShields simply has to play better and make better decisions. She is a our most talented player--and she was the worst Vol player on the court last night, and that is saying something as there were several candidates. Warlick is playing Cooper half the game--why? She misses shots and plays poor defense, plus Florida was playing quite a bit of zone, against which Cooper's penetrating style is mostly useless. If your team cannot make wide-open shots, you're going to lose. I think Warlick & staff need to work on building confidence in the team's shooting, which seems to be lacking. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that because someone--say, Cooper--hasn't shown an ability to make outside shots that she should stop shooting. If you have an open shot, you should take it--that is the ONLY way to build confidence. If you stop shooting because you are afraid you are going to miss, you are useless and should be on the bench. The real issue is who should be on the court--and for how long.

As the OP suggested, Warlick should stop her incessant carping about getting the ball inside. Let the players play--and, yes, we should try to become a running team. This team HAS to play uptempo--and we did in the first quarter, and we played very well. That it all went to hell in a handbasket. We are not a good half-court offensive team and haven't been for 20 years. Warlick is carrying on that traditional weakness.

 

[golf437]

Let me first start by stating what many of us are feeling. AD Hart has to strongly consider making a coaching change (although based on what I have read in the threads he could care less about the Lady Vols). Since that will never happen, someone whom Holly trust and will listen to (Coach Pat Summit) should advise her to resign if she has any real love for the program and want it to remain as one of the top programs and not end up like Louisiana Tech or USC or Old Dominion. There are a few other things (since I don't think Holly will step down) that can be done to salvage the season. I will list them below;

1.) Holly need to coach from a distance (allow Coach Elzy and the other coaches handle the coaching duties)
It is obvious based one what I have been seeing the players aren't listening/responding to Holly and that happens when players realize you can not coach them (which is part of why Diamond left UNC, she wasn't sure Coach Hatchell would return as soon as she did and was a better basketball mind than her assistant coach who was acting as head coach.

2.)Let the players play. Holly is trying to force players to do things that isn't beneficial to our success. You can't force the ball in the post when your Post players aren't set or low enough to receive the ball and make a play. As of right now we are a running team and Holly slows down our momentum and abilities to be successful by trying to force us into one style of play.

3.) Russell needs to be told/shown that she is the defensive anchor, I understand our perimeter defense may not be all that great and Diamond (along with others may gamble) but they should be allowed to when you have a 6'6" eraser back there. Most stars play defense when they want and especially if they have a player behind them that they feel can contest shots. Maya Moore took gambles because she had Tina Charles in the paint to contest/block the shot (and eventually Dolson) Odyssey Simms did the same because she had Brittany Griner in the paint to block the shot. Our guards gamble and Russell rarely gets a hand up or if she contest a shot and the team gets the offensive rebound she will not contest again.

4.) Decide on how many minutes players will get. Holly's substitution patterns are still a problems. Some players can make 4 or 5 mistakes before they are replace and others it only takes 1 mistake so how can chemistry be built if players don't know how long they are going to play.

5.) Discover what the team Identity is and assign roles. Players are doing what they want because they don't know what they roles are on this team. Some players are not scorers yet consistently jack up shot after shot. Others who can don't or wont shoot enough.

6.) Let Diamond be Diamond. Let's face it without her there is no Te'a on this team and based on how recruiting went this year and for 2016 the only freshman you would have would be MeMe. How many wins do you guys think we would have with no Diamond and Te'a on this team? (along with the same injuries to Nia and Jasmine) Part of why we were rank 4th to start the year was because of Diamond. It's amazing how the other players looked this summer (mainly Russell) when they were coached by real head coaches (and Holly was just an assistant) but when Holly is the head coach they (Russell) seem to regress. Holly doesn't have the ability Pat had to dig into a player which is what Diamond needs but trust me the rest of the girls are listening to Diamond more than they are Holly and that is the problem. When Holly took a seat at the end of the bench during one of the games early in the season we looked like a Final Four team. Players were allowed to play their game and not be micromanaged.

What other problems do you all see that need to be fixed if we are to salvage this season?

You need to buy a book about basketball.

 

[mlindsay]

You need to buy a book about basketball.

No book needed (although I currently own several) I've played the sport and coached the sport for years, I know a thing or two about the game and If you think there isn't a problem you are delusional like our coach

 

[madtownvol]

Y

We are a terrible shooting team. When 40 percent shooting is a very good night for your team--as it was for us against Missouri--you have problems. I have said this COUNTLESS times: We don't really run an offense that is focused on breaking down a defense and getting easy shots. We pass it around the perimeter a few time as a prelude to getting it inside--which is always our chief focus. Problem is, teams are crowding our bigs--with zones and with man double teams--and so scoring inside is not so easy. What's more, our bigs--Russell and Graves--are not really natural scorers--a point lost on our astute coaching staff! Russell has skills and potential, but she's still young and soft--needs to get stronger. And Graves? Her basic game is rebounding and muscling in offensive put-backs. She can occasionally drive to the basket and very occasionally make an outside shot--but that is it. If Warlick thinks that our bigs are going to score consistently against defenses packed inside, she is delusional.

This means that we have to make outside shots. But we don't. Most of the outside shots we missed last night were wide open. DeShields and Cooper missed a variety of open shots. DeShields simply has to play better and make better decisions.

That is the catch-22. Holly complained about the outside shooting because the LVs shot a horrible %. If they had been closer to 40-45% then they win going away and none of this conversation happens. If teams pack the paint, then the perimeter tends to be open. It is not bad basketball to take the open shot.

There is a structural imbalance in this team. Opposition teams respects out inside game with Graves and Russell and the threat of penetration. But the LVs can not make other teams pay for daring them to shoot from outside.

It is unlikely that the LVs can be converted into a consistently good jump shooting team, mid season. I think we will see spotty performances. When they hit a decent percentage, like at Mizzou, I expect the team will look pretty goood (and there will be infinite posts about the Lvs turning the corner) and then they will follow up with clunker nights (and the gloom and doom narrative will dominant the board). They seem to be a statistical baseline shooting team of around 30-35%. Game in and game out, that will not win many games unless you are a tremendous defensive team, which the LVs are not (to this juncture).

It is harder to play to tough defense when shots are not falling because the team is in constant transition and some sense of demoralization and frustration kicks in. But that is where the LVs have to rise above those barriers and play lock down defense. Their defensive intensity has to go way up as well as their overall team defense in terms of switching on screens, not giving up driving lanes for easy lay-ups and Russell defending the paint and so on. If you are not scoring otherwise, you have to get stops and generate turnovers.
Diamond is getting shots but is shooting like a bench warmer in these losing efforts.

For this team in this season, I think Holly and staff are likely to have more success with a defensive orientation.
They have the players to make that turn more so than becoming a proficient shooting team. However, a big problem is that the team is not giving the defensive effort (with a few exceptions like Carter). And that does suggest that the players are now tuning Holly out. It is sad to see really.

 

[volfanIND]

That is the catch-22. Holly complained about the outside shooting because the LVs shot a horrible %. If they had been closer to 40-45% then they win going away and none of this conversation happens. If teams pack the paint, then the perimeter tends to be open. It is not bad basketball to take the open shot.

There is a structural imbalance in this team. Opposition teams respects out inside game with Graves and Russell and the threat of penetration. But the LVs can not make other teams pay for daring them to shoot from outside.

It is unlikely that the LVs can be converted into a consistently good jump shooting team, mid season. I think we will see spotty performances. When they hit a decent percentage, like at Mizzou, I expect the team will look pretty goood (and there will be infinite posts about the Lvs turning the corner) and then they will follow up with clunker nights (and the gloom and doom narrative will dominant the board). They seem to be a statistical baseline shooting team of around 30-35%. Game in and game out, that will not win many games unless you are a tremendous defensive team, which the LVs are not (to this juncture).

It is harder to play to tough defense when shots are not falling because the team is in constant transition and some sense of demoralization and frustration kicks in. But that is where the LVs have to rise above those barriers and play lock down defense. Their defensive intensity has to go way up as well as their overall team defense in terms of switching on screens, not giving up driving lanes for easy lay-ups and Russell defending the paint and so on. If you are not scoring otherwise, you have to get stops and generate turnovers.
Diamond is getting shots but is shooting like a bench warmer in these losing efforts.

For this team in this season, I think Holly and staff are likely to have more success with a defensive orientation.
They have the players to make that turn more so than becoming a proficient shooting team. However, a big problem is that the team is not giving the defensive effort (with a few exceptions like Carter). And that does suggest that the players are now tuning Holly out. It is sad to see really.

Best quote I've read regarding current situation. I wish more posters could have your public persona when it comes to 'blogs'. Your post is easy to follow because it's not filled with non-realistic information.

 

[UCMiami]

Not sure the OP and others thinking Diamond and Tea are the answer are very realistic:
Diamond is shooting: .391/.233 while taking 24% of the shots and 28% of the threes - A/TO 0.76

Tea is second on the team in shots (15%) and three attempts shoots (21%) and is hitting at .328/.217 with an A/TO of 0.85.

So between the two they represent 40% of the shots being taken and 50% of the three point shots and neither is shooting well.

I think the issue begins with coaching and having a real plan of attack against a zone defense - passing the ball to the short corner and the free throw line are the typical stress points in a zone, and then passing from there either in to a cutting player or out to a spot up shooter, and repeating that frequently and quickly, getting the zone defenders moving out of position. Dribble drives or perimeter passes to the post area are very difficult against a zone because that is what a zone is primarily designed to prevent.

The issue on defense seems to be a serious concentration on individual defense and a lack of communication and coordination of team defense. Individual offensive players are generally good enough to beat their man defender, let alone using screens to do so, so a good defensive team builds into their man defense principles of shading so that when they are beaten it is in a specific direction where a help defender is already in place. TN for years has had issues with their help defense, and it is not just the players, but the planning for defensive rotation and the coordination of all five players into a cohesive unit.

 

[Rickster]

Best quote I've read regarding current situation. I wish more posters could have your public persona when it comes to 'blogs'. Your post is easy to follow because it's not filled with non-realistic information.

One of the better posts…that's for sure.

 

[Ladyvolfan4ever]

Holly needs to consult with Coach Rick Barnes

 

[Volfan2012]

I think Holly has to fire the Assistant that is working with the guards and if Russell doesn't get more active and aggressive let Dean go to.
Not only does the team look bad on the court we couldn't recruit anybody this past season. This tells me the Assistants who are doing most of the recruiting and on court teaching are not getting the job done need to bring in some new fresh minds and see what they can do with this team.

 

[Spacejam]

I think Holly has to fire the Assistant that is working with the guards and if Russell doesn't get more active and aggressive let Dean go to.
Not only does the team look bad on the court we couldn't recruit anybody this past season. This tells me the Assistants who are doing most of the recruiting and on court teaching are not getting the job done need to bring in some new fresh minds and see what they can do with this team.

I agree. Law is usually the one that works with the guards and it's obvious that she's just not getting the job done and needs to go.

 

[VolFootballnut]

The best way to fix the problems would be to hire a new Head Coach for the LadyVols.

 

[FrozenLVFan]

The best comment in this thread is that we need a new guard coach.

THe most doubtful is that the rest of the team is listening to Diamond. I have no more inside information than anyone else here, but I would bet my sneakers that the rest of the team resents DD's lack of team play on offense and laziness on defense.