Game thread: #15 Lady Vols host #18 Alabama, Thurs., Feb 20, 6:30 ET, SECN+

[brittannica]

I hadn't seen it mentioned yet, and I could be wrong, but I was super impressed with the second half defense on Nye. I do not think she scored a bucket. Great adjustments by the staff on putting the clamps on her.

I agree. I was losing my mind, yelling about the coaching that was allowing her to get so many easy buckets. They adjusted, and I really do think the coaching has improved alongside the performance of the team this season. It's nice to watch a team get better overtime!

 

[Rons1989]

I think we probably end up the 5 seed even if we win out. The losses to Vandy and OU make it really hard for us to get that double bye.

Definitely think we can win out though. Kentucky is the only test in our way and I think we’re a matchup nightmare for them. They cannot guard out perimeter players. They’re big and slow and teams like that have not fared well defending this Lady Vol offense. Most teams have opted to go small against us, like LSU and found more success that way.

I think we can really bother Kentucky with the press as well, Amoore can probably break it on her own some, but she’s going to get tired and after her they don’t have a PG. Ole Miss crushed them on the boards which surprised me, if we do the same and turn them over some I don’t think they can hang with us.

Facts....i think we turn them over ALOT dont have the ballhandlers to consistently break our press i watched zay green yesterday tug at her jersey letting the sidelines know she needed a break we can most def do the same with amoore as she has to play 40 mins for them to have success.....

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

GBO!

 

[madtownvol]

In the SEC tourney, it will be interesting to see what happens when teams see the LVs the second time. Like a pitcher going thru the batting lineup for the second time, it can be different once they've experienced your stuff. And tons of film to study. Bama pretty much put on a clinic how to beat our balls out press the first qtr.

Another big risk in conceding the bunnies is it could dig us in a hole we can't dig out of against Top Ten teams.

None of it matters unless we keep our hot shooting going. Fingers crossed.

All true again. The shock and awe factor of facing this press for the first will be diminished on repeat match-ups.

But for all the talk of "the system," we are seeing that CKC has put together a pretty formidable line-up who are being maximized by the fast paced, high energy style. Cooper is monster. She is Jordan Horston 2.0 (Horston in this system would have been a world beater too). Spearman is becoming quite a player right before our eyes and Latham seems to be fast tracking in these last few games. Spencer is a quality PG. Ruby has been a little inconsistent offensively but she is capable of 20 pts on any given night. Jewell, now free of her ankle, has obviously been on a shooting tear but her overall game has ramped up. Boyd continues to be an ahead of schedule freshman. And Tess, Jillian, and Sara are contributing in their roles.

 

[Dak1219]

I am also just loving the improvement in Spearman's game. Truly remarkable how far she has come. She used to not be able to stay in games due to foul trouble. The last few games, not at all. She didn't get her first one until the second half in this game. Her leaping ability and overall agility are amazing, best seen in some of the offensive rebounds she gets. With Morrow graduating after this year, I think that Zee has the potential to be one of the best offensive rebounders in the league next year. Perfect for Kim's philosophy. She does miss the occasional layup, but she seems to have learned to get refocused after a miss rather than stew about it like she did earlier in the year.

If Zee can add 10-15 pounds of lean muscle in the off season, continue to improve her face up shooting, handles and mental part of the game, she may find herself as a draft pick going to the W.

What I find amazing about that, is if she would have stayed at Miami, she would have probably been looking for some boring desk job after graduation next year. This type of system has really allowed Zee to capitalize on her athleticism and improve all facets of her game. Playing for the biggest brand in women's college basketball doesn't hurt either...

 

[th2421]

If Zee can add 10-15 pounds of lean muscle in the off season, continue to improve her face up shooting, handles and mental part of the game, she may find herself as a draft pick going to the W.

What I find amazing about that, is if she would have stayed at Miami, she would have probably been looking for some boring desk job after graduation next year. This type of system has really allowed Zee to capitalize on her athleticism and improve all facets of her game. Playing for the biggest brand in women's college basketball doesn't hurt either...

I've already seen her as a 2nd round pick in a few mock drafts (and Ruby as a 3rd round pick)!

 

[VolBall09]

Facts....i think we turn them over ALOT dont have the ballhandlers to consistently break our press i watched zay green yesterday tug at her jersey letting the sidelines know she needed a break we can most def do the same with amoore as she has to play 40 mins for them to have success.....

I agree, I think we can get her gassed and take her out of her offensive game.

She is also very foul prone, pushes off a lot because she doesn’t have the size. Our guards need to react when she pushes off and see if we can tag her with a couple cheap ones early.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

Team athleticism is off the charts!

 

[Scotty4lvs]

All true again. The shock and awe factor of facing this press for the first will be diminished on repeat match-ups.

But for all the talk of "the system," we are seeing that CKC has put together a pretty formidable line-up who are being maximized by the fast paced, high energy style. Cooper is monster. She is Jordan Horston 2.0 (Horston in this system would have been a world beater too). Spearman is becoming quite a player right before our eyes and Latham seems to be fast tracking in these last few games. Spencer is a quality PG. Ruby has been a little inconsistent offensively but she is capable of 20 pts on any given night. Jewell, now free of her ankle, has obviously been on a shooting tear but her overall game has ramped up. Boyd continues to be an ahead of schedule freshman. And Tess, Jillian, and Sara are contributing in their roles.

Couldn't agree more. The media loves the hype up the "system" and the substitution pattern, but this team is so much more than that. In post game comments both Geno and Curry felt like their teams handled the press just fine, but...the Lady Vols play hard, tenacious, basketball and are playing smarter and with more cohesion as the season goes on with a sneakily great roster for their athletic style...and a coach that apparently knows how to push all the right buttons to get the players bought in. There's a lot to love about this team!

 

[Volfan2012]

If Zee can add 10-15 pounds of lean muscle in the off season, continue to improve her face up shooting, handles and mental part of the game, she may find herself as a draft pick going to the W.

What I find amazing about that, is if she would have stayed at Miami, she would have probably been looking for some boring desk job after graduation next year. This type of system has really allowed Zee to capitalize on her athleticism and improve all facets of her game. Playing for the biggest brand in women's college basketball doesn't hurt either...

31 percent three point shooter 17 of 55 that is good for a post player to have that kind of success outside. A better percentage than Puckett, Cooper, or Whitehorn. 11.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg in about 23 minutes per game is some exceptional numbers. She can make free throws at 70 percent. Her play lately has been elevated showing that the Assisitants we have and Coach we have know how to make players better.

 

[Volfan2012]

Team athleticism is off the charts!

The upside for Latham is so high and she is starting to show it on the court with the extra playing time she is getting. Getting better on not fouling which allows her to play more. She is a tenacious defender. I see Latham, Spearman, Boyd, Cooper, and Spencer on the floor I know our defense is elevated more than any other five we can put out there.

 

[Volfan2012]

Quarter 2 and 3 last night they put a beatdown on Alabama that was classic. Bad Start and bad finish coach says when they get a big lead they slack off I don't know, but seems to happen a lot. One of the few games where we've put it all together for most of the game with an SEC opponent was Auburn. We did it for a half against A&M. Guess we did it well enough against Arkansas as well.

The top part of our game last night was not fouling. They got just 11 free throws to our 16. Actually it was the difference in the game in the end as we were plus 7 from the line.

 

[Volfan2012]

Our Q1 and Q 2 record is 9 and 6. Duke ranked 8th in net is 9 and 7. They have lost to two Q2 teams. They only have four Q1 wins. I don't have an explanation why they are ranked 11th in the country and 8th in the Net. Common opponent they lost to UConn by 13 we won by 4. They lost to Sc by 11. They did win over Oklahoma. We have five Q1 wins they have 4. So I'll wait and see if we get any movement, but after two losses they are holding the 8 spot in the net remains to be seen where they go in the polls next week.

 

[volforlife10]

I agree, I think we can get her gassed and take her out of her offensive game.

She is also very foul prone, pushes off a lot because she doesn’t have the size. Our guards need to react when she pushes off and see if we can tag her with a couple cheap ones early.

sick spencer on her. that girl knows how to react she has the mike neigbors mentality still in her with that.

 

[knoxvol52]

IMO they're less likely to abandon that part, but will back off it some, like last night, when they don't think they can outscore the bunnies it gives up.

One thing I've come to realize is what a mental tool that trapping press is. When I saw how thoroughly it rattled and sped up UConn I saw how much it gets into even the most elite heads. Also wears them down physically and they start missing shots, like ALA did in the second qtr. It's actually a great tool to dial it back a bit, but then jump on it suddenly when the situation calls for it. That a real "oh sh*t" moment for the opposition.

A big reason it's worked also is that Coop is the most physically gifted defensive player in the press I've ever seen. Her hands were made for this. She will shatter every LV steals record that ever existed. Good fortune that she and CKC found each other.

I still like Boyd or Latham at head of press, would rather see Cooper play center field in the press.

 

[jsc1973]

Our Q1 and Q 2 record is 9 and 6. Duke ranked 8th in net is 9 and 7. They have lost to two Q2 teams. They only have four Q1 wins. I don't have an explanation why they are ranked 11th in the country and 8th in the Net. Common opponent they lost to UConn by 13 we won by 4. They lost to Sc by 11. They did win over Oklahoma. We have five Q1 wins they have 4. So I'll wait and see if we get any movement, but after two losses they are holding the 8 spot in the net remains to be seen where they go in the polls next week.

That doesn't make any sense to me, either. But then again, how can UConn be #1 with a 4-3 record against Q1? Sure, they looked the part against SC, but that's just one game.

It looks like with Duke, they're getting a boost compared to the LVs because they won a bunch of Q3 games and UT won a bunch of Q4s--both 11-0 against Q3/4, but Duke had five more Q3s. But that's irrelevant. No team near the top of any system should ever lose to a Q3 or a Q4, and if they do, shame on them. Playing and beating #200 and playing and beating #300 is no meaningful difference to a good team, and no Q1 team should get a bonus for beating any Q3.

 

[lvocd]

I still like Boyd or Latham at head of press, would rather see Cooper play center field in the press.

I go back and forth on that. I absolutely love seeing Boyd and Latham in that role, but I keep seeing all those steals on opponents' inbounds plays under our basket that Talaysia has gotten for easy layups this year. And those have typically been firestarters for us.

But yeah, Boyd and Latham seem to really bother opponents when they are defending at the head of the press. And when Cooper's quick hands get in the heads of opposing ballhandlers, she's amazing. It's great knowing we'll have all three them for more seasons to come.

 

[VolBall09]

sick spencer on her. that girl knows how to react she has the mike neigbors mentality still in her with that.

Exactly who I had in mind.

 

[lvocd]

I know it has been discussed over and over, but let me say that the crowd at TBA@FCC was royally ticked off for most of last night over the maaaaaaany bogus calls. Lots more boos last night than usual. And yes, there were a few phantom fouls called on Alabama, too, but it seemed like things went 75/25 their way last night. I truly believe the Lady Vols would have won by 20-plus if not for all the momentum-stopping, breathing-breaks-to-Bama-giving, ridiculous officiating.

 

[VolBall09]

I know it has been discussed over and over, but let me say that the crowd at TBA@FCC was royally ticked off for most of last night over the maaaaaaany bogus calls. Lots more boos last night than usual. And yes, there were a few phantom fouls called on Alabama, too, but it seemed like things went 75/25 their way last night. I truly believe the Lady Vols would have won by 20-plus if not for all the momentum-stopping, breathing-breaks-to-Bama-giving, ridiculous officiating.

Lot of questionable no calls as well. Spear got absolutely hacked on the last play of the first half. Barker got away with about 5 push offs in the first half alone. She’s not athletic enough to score over our players so just pushed off all night and got away with it. Irritating to watch when we are playing good defense.

 

[LadyVol1908]

sick spencer on her. that girl knows how to react she has the mike neigbors mentality still in her with that.

Her or Boyd! Boyd has a knack so early in her career to draw those push off fouls! It seems the refs don’t want to call it, but she gets in position a lot of times and doesn’t mind hitting the floor at the slightest of push offs!

 

[Knoxville Nation]

Another tally mark on the in the left column for the Lady Vols, YAY! Alabama, almost 100 total, takes more shots that the LVs, but the LVs had 7 more FTs. Interesting that only 4 total FTs were missed in the game (either team; 9-11 and 16-18). 5 more Oboards and 9 more Dboards for the LVs is nice.

Ruby with another off game scoring wise (5 points) but picked up 5 boards. Hope she gets back to "usual" 10+ points per game.

Go Lady Vols! Don't let those Gators or Bulldogs nip at you, keep rollin' Big Orange.

She has to learn how to pass. She seems to be like Cooper at times and forces shots not getting teammates involved

 

[VolBall09]

She has to learn how to pass. She seems to be like Cooper at times and forces shots not getting teammates involved

Ruby looks to me like she might have had the flu or something. She looked tired from the start which is unusual for her. She’s usually our spark to start the game. Wasn’t getting the lift on her shot she usually does either.

 

[th2421]

31 percent three point shooter 17 of 55 that is good for a post player to have that kind of success outside. A better percentage than Puckett, Cooper, or Whitehorn. 11.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg in about 23 minutes per game is some exceptional numbers. She can make free throws at 70 percent. Her play lately has been elevated showing that the Assisitants we have and Coach we have know how to make players better.

Yes! And she's upped that to 35% on 3s in SEC games (compared to 27% in the non-con).

 

[KTrain]

The other piece of the puzzle is not giving up so many easy buckets when teams break the press. Letting opponents get behind your last defender for an easy touch down pass play (multiple times) is a frustrating defensive lapse. They eliminated that failure in the 2nd half but the 1st half of the Bama game and the first half of the Ole Miss were a slight regression to the early season breakdowns.

Usually some of those home run over the top passes go to far and end in a turnover in the men's games but so far we have not had that fortunate overthrow. Not sure if its lucky on spot passes or the girls don't have the arm to overthrow.