Game Thread: #11 Lady Vols at #15 Kentucky. Thursday, Feb. 27, 7pm ET, SECN.

#601
#601
glv98 said:
Biggest question: will we have anyone who can CONSISTENTLY shoot the 3 without disappearing in big games.

LOL I have two completely useless mantras this season: what if we had gotten Nye and what if we had a pg like Spencer last yr w Rickea.
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Ky guarded the 3 point line consistently .....in fact their defense against drives was also excellent.Kim will need to tweak her half court offense because everyone knows the simple offensive plays she runs....most of which is one-on -one basketball.Ky Coach had his team running the LV's offense in shoot around ( the TV announcers said ) and they were in great defensive positions all game. Fact is the Ky Coach ( Va Tech ) played Kim's Marshall team in NCAA tourney last year and beat their socks off .Kim got outcoached last night and the team did not execute but Ky had a lot to say about that.

I said in two previous posts that KY height and rebounding was key for them to win the game and not only did they sweep the boards but shot the lights out also.

Now we will see if this team can rebound from such a bad beat down ....the answer to that question will be partly evident Sunday against Georgia. Hopefully Kim will also make some tweaks to both her half court offense and press over time because both are needed to compete in SEC....it won't happen this season but maybe next year
 
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#602
#602
On the whole, I think this game was probably “one of those nights” where bad shooting compounds defensive breakdowns compounds an hostile crowd and it all falls apart. The men had that game in their first meeting with Florida. Nobody would have thought they would dominate FL just a few weeks later in the rematch.

However, it is a tad worrying that Brooks’ teems have obliterated CKC’s teams in similar fashion in their 2 meetings. It was the same PG and center doing much of the damage. But structurally, KY is built to be nightmare for us. A pg who can break our press with relative ease. Bigs that can run the floor and dribble and good athletes at every position. The LVs can’t have a dismal shooting night and stay competitive against an opponent built like that.
 
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#603
#603
glv98 said:
Biggest question: will we have anyone who can CONSISTENTLY shoot the 3 without disappearing in big games.

LOL I have two completely useless mantras this season: what if we had gotten Nye and what if we had a pg like Spencer last yr w Rickea.
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Or if Cooper had entered the portal earlier and been eligible (still no guarantee that she would played starter minutes).

Re: the platooning system, Caldwell looked a little poleaxed in the third quarter. In pregame, she said that she hoped KY would be 'gassed' in fourth quarter due to only going about seven deep.

Instead, we were the ones looking gassed while KY basically ran circles around us and beat us to nearly every 50/50 ball on the floor. I'm sure that a large part of that was our being demoralized by the shellacking we were absorbing. Some of our ladies were gasping as they came off the floor after a short stint while Kentucky was laughing and getting stronger throughout the game.

Amoore must have some of the most amazing cardio in WCBB history, and I've watched her play a lot. Energizer Bunny. We need to get her workout routine.
 
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#604
#604
creekdipper said:
Or if Cooper had entered the portal earlier and been eligible (still no guarantee that she would played starter minutes).

Re: the platooning system, Caldwell looked a little poleaxed in the third quarter. In pregame, she said that she hoped KY would be 'gassed' in fourth quarter due to only going about seven deep.

Instead, we were the ones looking gassed while KY basically ran circles around us and beat us to nearly every 50/50 ball on the floor. I'm sure that a large part of that was our being demoralized by the shellacking we were absorbing. Some of our ladies were gasping as they came off the floor after a short stint while Kentucky was laughing and getting stronger throughout the game.

Amoore must have some of the most amazing cardio in WCBB history, and I've watched her play a lot. Energizer Bunny. We need to get her workout routine.
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A paraphrase from a coach shellacked by a glory years Pat Summitt team -- as the game wears on, tall girls stay tall; small girls get tired.
 
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#605
#605
Once Kentucky started out so strong with everything -- I mean EVERYTHING -- going right for them as Tennessee was simultaneously having their worst game ever, I really think it was sheer adrenaline that fueled the Cats. It really struck me that it may not have been happening because the Cats were in so much better cardio condition than Tennessee, but that they could possibly be experiencing a bizarre, team-wide boost of powerful adrenaline. I know some of y'all know what I'm talking about. In those times of pure exhilaration and feeling of invincibility, a person CAN mentally block fatigue.

We never had a chance once that clicked on for Kentucky. They could have played us again immediately after and still not have gotten gassed. They had what must have felt like superpowers last night. Man, they brought it!
 
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#606
#606
creekdipper said:
Or if Cooper had entered the portal earlier and been eligible (still no guarantee that she would played starter minutes).

Re: the platooning system, Caldwell looked a little poleaxed in the third quarter. In pregame, she said that she hoped KY would be 'gassed' in fourth quarter due to only going about seven deep.

Instead, we were the ones looking gassed while KY basically ran circles around us and beat us to nearly every 50/50 ball on the floor. I'm sure that a large part of that was our being demoralized by the shellacking we were absorbing. Some of our ladies were gasping as they came off the floor after a short stint while Kentucky was laughing and getting stronger throughout the game.

Amoore must have some of the most amazing cardio in WCBB history, and I've watched her play a lot. Energizer Bunny. We need to get her workout routine.
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First time I remember a team not showing any sign of fatigue or wear late in the game, even among other teams who beat us.

KY was prepared , to say the least. I've wondered what the effect of having played the LVs before would be. Like a pitcher going thru the batting order. Brooks said it helped a ton:
 
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#608
#608
glv98 said:
First time I remember a team not showing any sign of fatigue or wear late in the game, even among other teams who beat us.

KY was prepared , to say the least. I've wondered what the effect of having played the LVs before would be. Like a pitcher going thru the batting order. Brooks said it helped a ton:
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Did Kentucky really do anything any different than they always do besides make more shots and have the benefit of a sustained adrenaline rush? Or is saying that him facing Kim's system before was key just a power play?
 
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#609
#609
lvocd said:
Did Kentucky really do anything any different than they always do besides make more shots and have the benefit of a sustained adrenaline rush? Or is saying that him facing Kim's system before was key just a power play?
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Mostly power play. TN missed in the 1st quarter gimme shots around the rim had nothing to do with Ky at all then some 3's again nothing Ky did. To top it off Ky made several tough fade away jumpers and certain balls fell there way so after that quarter TN was fatigued mentally and was a step slow rest of the game and Ky just built upon it. Had we just made the shots we normally make it would have played out better and I'm not saying we win i still believe Ky was going to have one of those nights at home but it would have been single digits whole game and not the embarrassment it became. Happened to SC at home against Conn. It happened to Lsu but they fought back but Bama was going to win last night. In CHRIST Alone
 
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#611
#611
lvocd said:
Once Kentucky started out so strong with everything -- I mean EVERYTHING -- going right for them as Tennessee was simultaneously having their worst game ever, I really think it was sheer adrenaline that fueled the Cats. It really struck me that it may not have been happening because the Cats were in so much better cardio condition than Tennessee, but that they could possibly be experiencing a bizarre, team-wide boost of powerful adrenaline. I know some of y'all know what I'm talking about. In those times of pure exhilaration and feeling of invincibility, a person CAN mentally block fatigue.

We never had a chance once that clicked on for Kentucky. They could have played us again immediately after and still not have gotten gassed. They had what must have felt like superpowers last night. Man, they brought it!
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"90% of the game is half mental."

Edit: Or it may have been, "[Basketball] is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."

Either way, attributed to (and adapted from) the great Yogi.
 
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#612
#612
KnoxLikeUs said:
Good stuff right here let’s keep talking!
I feel this is an important situation to grow from at the right time in the season. It’s not about recruiting class or anything down the road. Tonight is about accountability and reflection.
Every possession matters this late in the season.
Tonight, it was a lot of miss shots, coaching errors, and a lack of a sense of urgency that caused this setback. Defense is all effort. Takes no talent to play tough defense.
I saw Favor Ayodele as a post player force a turnover when she stepped on the court late in the 4th qtr that only Alyssa Latham makes consistently at the 4 and 5 spot. I’ve said from day 1 play Ayodele because she’s always going to give you winning defense. She’s out the rotation and it’s the coaching staff called so at this point scoring 58 points relying on offensive minded senior players off the bench and starting in key roles to carry your system can’t be accepted. They can’t ever go scoreless playing 15 to 20 minutes a game while one of best defensive players is out of the rotation. That’s where the issue has to be resolved by Sunday.
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Agreed
 
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#613
#613
glv98 said:
I’ve wondered if the incredible amount of maximum energy needed is even possible to sustain consistently over the long course of the season, especially against top talent. May be another reason this system is rarely tried.
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The only other coach I can think of who did wave substitutions was Doug Bruno. If memory serves, he made it to the Elite Eight one year. Of course he had less talent to work with at DePaul than UT typically attracts.
 
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#614
#614
dillyo51 said:
While TC has obvious talent, l see her playing too much hero ball with a bad attitude when things are not going well.
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YES!!!! 100%. The player who scored 25 pts. on 11 for 22 shooting is the real problem here! Not Zee who went 0-10, Not Jewel who went 0-5; Not Ruby who was 2-8; not Tess who was 1-6. Shakes fist at sky "Cooper!!!"
 
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#616
#616
1reVOLver said:
The only other coach I can think of who did wave substitutions was Doug Bruno. If memory serves, he made it to the Elite Eight one year. Of course he had less talent to work with at DePaul than UT typically attracts.
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Doug Bruno has never made to the Elite 8. He has made it to the Sweet 16 twice.
 
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#618
#618
madtownvol said:
YES!!!! 100%. The player who scored 25 pts. on 11 for 22 shooting is the real problem here! Not Zee who went 0-10, Not Jewel who went 0-5; Not Ruby who was 2-8; not Tess who was 1-6. Shakes fist at sky "Cooper!!!"
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Madtownvol, you should be ashamed of yourself! Just kidding of course! However, as you said with humor sarcasm, Cooper was NOT the problem. CKC must realize that her system does not work against well coached D1 teams. The UConn win was a rare exception. CKC needs to change her game strategy to defense, rebounding and clutch offense. She needs to examine her player substitution strategy also. It did not work against Kentucky.
 
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#622
#622
ShortyMac10 said:
Maybe she just wanted to take a diff route..I don’t remember the recruiting process with her
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Some of the folks on here like Jumper or Madtown could tell you for sure, but I don’t remember her showing any interest in playing for the Lady Vols.
 
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