Game Thread: #11/12 Lady Vols vs. Memphis, Home, Monday, 6:32PM, SEC+ (stream)

[AntiochVol81]

Where have I heard that last sentence lately? If you have 75 mil...

They fired him because they felt like the program was stuck in Neutral does that sound familar…

 

[glv98]

We didn't have Rickea before we added Rickea. Same with Jill, Jewel, and others.

A lot of the "impact" players for others teams were transfers no one saw coming. Many things change over the course of a year. For instance, did anyone see Rickea staying for a fifth season exactly one year ago? Did anyone foresee Tamari's blood clot issues?

Absolutely we can keep waiting on miracles fm the portal. Certainly getting RJ for one, let alone two years was magical. But I'd love our recruiting to be a bit more sustainable than a whispered prayer. Like solid in both hs and portal.

welcome aboard! Hopefully we won’t be on this train for too long my friend!

Well we are known for hopping on and off trains. No shame in our games!

 

[LadyVol1908]

What is John Harper’s role with this team? I see no benefit with him being on staff.

Have yall not noticed John on the sidelines, he’s basically the coach! He’s always up whispering in Kellie’s ear and Kellie is always kneeling next to him asking questions. I noticed it live at both games I’ve been to while they were in Fayetteville.

 

[madtownvol]

The negas aren’t having a good morning = in their feelings.

Not one true fan loss sleep last night and the LVs woke up ranked #15 in the country.

They here talking about no elite talent outside of a projected lottery pick in Rickea Jackson when this is a 1 of 1 player.

I’ve seen Jillian Hollingshead dominate LSU so I’m not worried.

I’ve seen Destinee Wells score 30 points in 5 consecutive games so I’m not worried.

I’ve seen Jewel Spear drop 34 on y’all portal fav and through 3 games average 19.0 points a game! Spear is the best shooter on the team take a look at her percentages.

In addition, as the 4th ranked portal transfer she is averaging more points than the top 3!
Elite.
I’m not worried.

Sara Puckett = Buckett. Same player that hit the legendary 3pt game winner against Belmont as a freshman in the NCAA tourney. Led the victory on the road at Virginia Tech as a freshman.
Scored her career high 24 pts last night.
I’m not worried.

This team scored 84 points without a 20 ppg scorer and you folks won’t even mention this but complain about everything.


This level of contradiction speaks volume. These same people discrediting every single player on this roster beyond the 1 of 1, will glorify the #1 ranked portal transfer that is averaging less than double figures on another team. Is that player still elite?

The other one.. the #2 portal transfer that is averaging just over 10pts and about 5rebs.. is that player still elite?

Don’t tell me you are only concerned about TN’s roster because all some of you do is glorify other teams and their roster when they aren’t doing any better than TN.

The negas going out sad lol..

The negavol versus "sunshine pumper" (I suppose most would place me in the latter camp) misses something. Why are people watching these games?

Many seem to be obsessed with the role playing as an AD whose job depends on winning an NC or perhaps acting like they're managing a fantasy team where the details of every players performance impacts their league ranking.

But neither of those situations actually apply, nor does the fate of the world hinge on the outcome of these games.

After every game (including victories), so many on this boad are immediately whining and moaning about we are not good enough, we didn't do this, we didn't do that, Kellie can't this and that....or that win doesn't matter because the opponent was not much and on and on.

It really is a misery-fest, justified by the ridiculous idea that all this carping and kvetching is holding the program to a "standard." Naw, it is just making yourselve miserable over a game played by 18-22 year old women.

Some like Darth Vol are trolling the board and at least having fun with it. Others just seem like they need a dose a prozac for fans.

Last night, the LVs were playing a fired up team (who clearly wanted one for their coach) who had some really good athletes. On the flipside, the LVs entire game plan was sitting on the bench in an ankle boot and they had to adjust on the fly.

And yes, they mismanaged the last 2-3 minutes and that led to an OT. But what happened then? Something clicked and they dominated those five minutes (and even righted their sinking FT ship).

In a world of donuts and holes, why not enjoy the donut and quit worrying that hole is going to swallow you?

 

[madtownvol]

What are Coach Sam and Coach. Joy's exact roles?

And what are those other folks doing on the sidelines? I demand full an organizational chart and specification of everyone's duties by 5:00 PM today!!!

 

[Coach Jumper]

Its funny how people like to use the term 'negavols'... I prefer 'realists'.

That’s what they call u when u point out any flaws, like this is a perfect team or something.

I am very much a realist, but have yet to be called a "negavol"
Negavol, is a term I personally set aside for 4-5 posters on here that ONLY post negatively!
To me there are (right now) four absolute negavol-posters

I try to see the team from a very unique perspective:
pitting my importance-meter as;
The Lady Vol Organization 1st, players 2nd and Coaches 3rd
This allows me to put more scrutiny on the staff and support the players fully

For instance, I do not fault the players for letting Memphis back in the game several times
I fault the coaching for not using more than one timeout to stop four different runs
Yes, a time out was used to stop the run in Q1
at 3:32 the score was 6-14 TN,,,at end of QTR it was 22-23.
A timeout was called during the 16-9 run

But there were runs in other qtrs where a timeouts was not used
(each time we were leading before the run)
Q2 8:21 to 5:45 a 10-0 run,,score before run 22-23 after run 32-23
Q3 3:46 to 2:40 a 9-2 run,,score before run 40-48 after run 49-50
Q4 3:03 to 0:23 a 8-1 run,,score before run 57-66 after run 65-67 (then all 3 timeouts were called in the last 22 seconds
I am a firm believer in 2 timeouts in-game and 2 timeouts end-game

If we continually let teams run on us without trying to interrupt them,,,after a while the "here we go again" syndrome will get into the minds of our players and once that happens (just like last year),, the players will begin to not believe the coach will use their timeouts as a tool and only use them as an emergency tactic

 

[VolBalls33]

After having had a few too many watching the game last night I waited until today to comment. Still pissed and after reading Kellie's post game quotes when I woke up today made me even more upset.

 

[VolBalls33]

I am officially off the Kellie bandwagon. Even watching Kent State right now play at LSU. They are well coached and run an actual offense. Hope AD White goes out and hires a real coach and with no ties to UT.

 

[creekdipper]

welcome aboard! Hopefully we won’t be on this train for too long my friend!

The Hell-bound Train or the Train To Glory?

That Rocky Top Line, she's a mighty fine line....

 

[creekdipper]

Have yall not noticed John on the sidelines, he’s basically the coach! He’s always up whispering in Kellie’s ear and Kellie is always kneeling next to him asking questions. I noticed it live at both games I’ve been to while they were in Fayetteville.

It's almost like they're a married couple!

 

[glv98]

Many seem to be obsessed with the role playing as an AD whose job depends on winning an NC or perhaps acting like they're managing a fantasy team where the details of every players performance impacts their league ranking.

The exact function of a sports fan board. What fun would it be otherwise?

It really is a misery-fest,

Maybe for you. Pseudo ADing is fun for some. Or else we wouldn't do it. And since very few in your real life want to do it with you, you find community w others who also enjoy it.

But neither of those situations actually apply, nor does the fate of the world hinge on the outcome of these games.

We are aware. It's a hobby, based on long standing relationship w LVs going back 30 years. Is that wrong?

Also madtowne, did you notice the return of the Magical Timeout? Part of the fun, not misery, of this board.

 

[creekdipper]

Good morning, America, how are ya?
I say, don't you know me, I'm ol' # 1;
I'm the train they call The City of Pat Summitt,
I'll rack up 10,000 wins when the day is done.

 

[glv98]

It's almost like they're a married couple!

She sat his ass down at one game, I believe Fla St. He was standing behind her and she shook her head and pointed to the chair and he sat down. He absolutely does not dominate her as some claim.

I don't think anything w the assistants, including Jon, is a problem. And if there are internal things about roles, etc, I'm sure they'll work them out. Or make changes.

I noticed Sam was very, very passive last night, and Joy is usually quiet. Joy and Jon both take bigger roles in practice.

 

[madtownvol]

I am officially off the Kellie bandwagon. Even watching Kent State right now play at LSU. They are well coached and run an actual offense. Hope AD White goes out and hires a real coach and with no ties to UT.

So, which of Kellie's post-game quotes were so upsetting that you "suddenly" had to jump off the Kellie bandwagon (that I am soooh sure you were on)?

 

[Coach Jumper]

So, which of Kellie's post-game quotes o upset you that you "suddenly" had to jump off the Kellie bandwagon (that I am soooh sure you were on)?

personally,,I am NOT off the Kellie bandwagon,,,but in that post-game presser I heard "we" "they" and "us",,,not once did I hear "I", "Me" or my staff

 

[Volfan2012]

We've had a few surprises early in the season that no one was expecting. I thought we would be solid in the post. Tamari blocking 100 shots and Jill and then Karoline as a third wheel helping to elevate that position to a high level. Looks to me like Tamari should not be playing any minutes, but should be in a rehab program to try and regain her coordination and conditioning. Surprise number two has been the play of Destinee Wells who played very well against some top P5 opponents including our team suddenly looks a little lost and her 45 percent three point shooting somehow totally gone. Surprise number three which we only found out about last night is that Rickea has some kind of lower leg problem that she's had for a while which could clear up or be a lingering problem. Those three surprises take high expectations way down the ladder and again make this look like sweet sixteen will be the ultimate we can hope to reach again this season.

I know we can't get to concerned about what happened in just one game. Memphis had a very good press and the best on the ball pressure we have played against this season. Still based mostly on past seasons under Coach Kellie seems to be trending in the same direction. Maria tried to ask the question about the last 12 seconds all the players went around answering it. How do you not just hold the ball or pass it out to the perimeter when you have a two point lead. Why you trying to score with 12 seconds left and the lead? Besides some players playing way below their level of past ability we still have way to much shaky decision making and unlike any other season this is Kellie's team. Everyone on the team other than Tamari was recruited here by Kellie. So really not anymore excuses for coaching or players. If we are not there then guess we can now almost assuredly say with certainly enough information Coach Kellie is not going to get us there meaning final four and SEC Championships. Which if that is not what you care about and are ok with third and fourth place league finishes and a trip to the NCAA sweet sixteen then nothing is wrong. Otherwise it may be time if coaches can't do it this season to go in another direction. I don't really like it because I like Coach Kellie wanted her to succeed. Everything just seems to be repeating season after season. High expectations turning quickly. Hopefully we can still turn it around if Rickea can get back and Wells finds her game. Tamari is not going to help us this season that is obvious she has a long way to go to get back to the player she was before she became ill. So here we are on to the next game.

 

[madtownvol]

personally,,I am NOT off the Kellie bandwagon,,,but in that post-game presser I heard "we" "they" and "us",,,not once did I hear "I", "Me" or my staff

Perhaps you should go back and read the transcript of her post-game comments:

On what changes were made at halftime for Memphis' 3-point shooting in the first half…
"We emphasized it again and I thought we did a much better job at trying to find that urgency to guard. We made a couple of schematic changes, switched our defenses a couple of times, even in our man made some tweaks out there, several times in our ball screen defense and our help defense. I thought for the most part, our players did a nice job with the changes that we made."

On the team's confidence in overtime...
"I am not sure. I am glad you said that. I didn't know where we were when we walked down the court. I was trying to read them and determine where we were. I think that's hard. I think we were in a position to win, made a couple mistakes and now we are in overtime. As much as I would have loved to have a teaching moment and go right into a few mistakes and the corrections we needed to make, that wasn't the time. Our focus literally in that timeout was to get them in the present to not worry about any play that just happened, to really really focus on the present. I think in that huddle we had some players that were great teammates, really picking each other up and encouraging one another. I think going out there and making a play early was probably where they got that confidence."

On the defensive performance of Jasmine Powell and the offensive performance from Jillian Hollingshead...
"Well, I thought Jillian (Hollingshead) really came alive there in the second half. We have to have a presence down low. We didn't have that at all in the first half. We were shooting perimeter shots. That's great, but we have to things to the basket. We have to paint touches off the dribble or off the pass, and Jillian (Hollingshead) gave us some of that in the second half. We need her to be a go-to player. I think the great thing is that she can be that. The thing we have been talking with Jasmine (Powell) about is being that defensive player for us. I think she took some pride in it. Hopefully, she is excited about it. We have to get her where we need her, but everybody else has to follow suit on both ends of the court for both of those players."


[To clarify, when Kellie ways "we" in the first passages, she is referring to her staff. It is more fluid and efficient to communicate with the shorthand reference to "we" than stating "myself, Kellie Harper head coach, Jon Harper, my assistant coach, Samantha Williams, my other assistant coach, Joy McCorvey my other, other assistant coach, and Liza Fruendt, my other, other, other assistant coach emphasized that... ]

Junior Forward Sara Puckett​

On what Coach Harper said to spark the scoring coming out of the half…
"She (Harper) got us good. We were ready, it was short, it was quick. It was quick, so we were ready to come out there swinging. We came out and were really tough and I think that is something that she (Harper) really focused on especially at halftime. That toughness and grit is who we can be, but we have to step into that, and I felt like we did that. We pulled out a hard win and it was not pretty, but toughness doesn't always mean pretty."

 

[alexvol]

The portal isn't open yet, so I wouldn't say there's no hope getting one there when it doesn't open until March

What I was referencing is that no post worth a hoot is expected to be in portal.....we shall see what comes forth.

 

[madtownvol]

The exact function of a sports fan board. What fun would it be otherwise?

Maybe for you. Pseudo ADing is fun for some. Or else we wouldn't do it. And since very few in your real life want to do it with you, you find community w others who also enjoy it.

We are aware. It's a hobby, based on long standing relationship w LVs going back 30 years. Is that wrong?

Also madtowne, did you notice the return of the Magical Timeout? Part of the fun, not misery, of this board.

Oh, I mentioned the magic timeout in my first post on the game. But Kellie did not signal it with sufficient force to conjure the right spirits. Also, she had her head tilted to the left when she called for it and everyone knows a good coach tilts one's head to the right when calling timeouts.

We are doomed....

 

[volforlife10]

What I was refencing is that no post worth a hoot is expected to be in portal.....we shall see what comes forth.

how would anyone know who is entering the portal this early.. there’s girls who enter the portal that no one would expect every year. there will be options in the portal, trust.

 

[alexvol]

Ok, have about had enough of pointing out mistakes, although not counting the very end of regulation mistake by Sara, if she doesn’t miss that layup before that, there’s probably no overtime.

Btw, no need to exaggerate, our point guards are not 5’5, Wells and Powell are 5’6, and Edie is 5’7.

Call me crazy, but I still have very high hopes for this team this season. True, our best shooter, rebounder, and defender are all one person, Rickea, but finding ways to win games brings Championships, and that’s what we did last night. Everyone had to step up, because Rickea wasn’t there, so it was good for us.

We still have, I think, great potential, and the season is young.

GO LADY VOLS!!!

I hope you are correct .Having said that ,if Key does not return to full form sometime by mid-January or at latest Feb1 ,you can kiss all aspirations on a good to great season .....especially in March at NCAA tourney time......goodbye.

 

[djtee]

how would anyone know who is entering the portal this early.. there’s girls who enter the portal that no one would expect every year. there will be options in the portal, trust.

You are correct no one knows who will be in the portal after the season. But one thing i do know there will be no one with the ability to replace Jackson or on her level.

 

[alexvol]

Have yall not noticed John on the sidelines, he’s basically the coach! He’s always up whispering in Kellie’s ear and Kellie is always kneeling next to him asking questions. I noticed it live at both games I’ve been to while they were in Fayetteville.

It certainly appears that way but I do not know what is being said nor how it is being said ....do you ?

 

[Coach Jumper]

Perhaps you should go back and read the transcript of her post-game comments:


[To clarify, when Kellie ways "we" in the first passages, she is referring to her staff. It is more fluid and efficient to communicate with the shorthand reference to "we" than stating "myself, Kellie Harper head coach, Jon Harper, my assistant coach, Samantha Williams, my other assistant coach, Joy McCorvey my other, other assistant coach, and Liza Fruendt, my other, other, other assistant coach emphasized that... ]

Not once does she say, I failed to, I should have,,,NOT ONCE!

A coach has to take some of the responsibility,,,personally
especially in a <5 pt win loss
Otherwise what the team here's it is all "Their" fault

Teams win and lose blowouts,,coaches win, lose close games
its a hard fact, but it is a fact
As a coach, I have to realize and accept this

Holly did this (we, they, it's hard, scratch) and lost the respect that a coach needs
Kellie has to not make the same mistake

 

[madtownvol]

Not once does she say, I failed to, I should have,,,NOT ONCE!

A coach has to take some of the responsibility,,,personally
especially in a <5 pt win loss
Otherwise what the team here's it is all "Their" fault

Teams win and lose blowouts,,coaches win, lose close games
its a hard fact, but it is a fact
As a coach, I have to realize and accept this

Holly did this (we, they, it's hard, scratch) and lost the respect that a coach needs
Kellie has to not make the same mistake

There is an entirely different vibe with Kellie than Holly. Those comparisons are getting tiresome.