Game Thread: #20 Lady Vols v #16 Ohio State: Sunday Dec 3 @ 5PM; Home, ESPN

[SATXVolFan82]

I still believe. idk who knows maybe another “Cinderella Season” Let’s go Lady Vols.

 

[WinnerCircle]

Yes the Oklahoma game would be classified thusly.... i expected a win there and i expect a win tomorrow but dont know if it will happen even with Rickea out we should have enough team talent and chemistry to pull these sorts of games through minimize turnovers hit the boards win 50/50 balls etc i thought we should have handled Notre Dame with 3 of their players out including their best player playing at home and being up 16 points mid 3rd quarter..... but as many have alluded to coaching wins tight games

There’s definitely enough talent on this LVs team to get to the Elite 8 or better.

They’ve completely debunked the exaggeration of a lack of talent.

Three elite #1 options in Wells, Spear, and Rickea.

Three quality Top 15 starter calibers forwards in Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead, and Karo Striplin.

An elite perimeter defender in Kaiya Wynn.

Consistency is what TN needs from Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, and Tamari Key.

negaVols have overplayed their hand and failed miserably. That is the one and only overstatement of this LV team.

At full strength, with a little bit of luck this team controls their own destiny.
The SEC championship and Nat’l championship is feasible.

 

[krichunaka]

The "talent" of this team has been consistently overstated. First, Rickea does elevate players because she 1) takes pressure off and 2) draws so much attention that it creates open spaces for everyone else.

So, we have one elite player Rickea who is currently unavailable.

Guards and forwards - Powell and Wells are good guards who are capable of great moments. They are not take over the game players.

Spears, can be the other very good to elite player. She is still adjusting and does not seem to be that "player" down the stretch - at least for now. If she were a bit more on her game, the LVs would have a few more wins. The talent is there and the only question is when she really finds her groove.

Tess, works hard, keeps teams honest because she is a 3 point threat. Defends pretty well but has trouble with quicker players. She is a fine role player.

Wynn - much improved but still only a solid role player,. She is not going to change a game or force teams to double team her.

Puckett - has found her groove. Nice shot, very solid offensive game, getting better and better at posting up down low but she may be one of the slowest front court players in LV history and so gets exposed defensively and is prone to mental lapses, She integral to this team but would be a role player on any other top 10 team.

Strip would be an excellent back-up center who can give you 10-15 minutes of high effort when the others teams starter is off the court, Again, a much improved player but too undersized and lacking in athleticism to defend quality players in the post. She got eaten alive in the 2nd half of the ND game

Hollingshead - a power forward being converted to the post. It is taking time. If she gets more in the zone by conference play time, that would be a huge asset,. She has the capacity to be a really good post player. A lot rides on her.

Key - I think everyone picking the LVs to be contenders envisioned Key being a force on defense. Her absence is huge because she so often erased many of the defensive weaknesses from Tess and Sara.

There is no replacement for a 6-6 going on 6-8 shot blocking machine.

In sum, with Rickea, a more integrated Spears, and a healthier Tamari, this team had the foundation to contend and in that set-up the different role players would all look much more proficient and our guards Powell and Wells, would be thriving even more.

So, the reality is that Kellie built a team very much on the edge where the season hangs on the health of two or three key players.

So, that is a real strike against CKJH and staff. Through the portal or HS paths, they needed to build a deeper team.

On the coaching front, the offense has been looking pretty good this season (particularly given the absence of RJ) but they are missing lots of easy shots, particularly from outside. When they were hitting against ND, they could get their defense set and held up,. In the 2nd half, their shooting reverted back to the mean and then the defense suffered because they are slow in transition. Under the circumstances, I think Kellie has been getting close to the most from the team she has available. The close losses hurt but all those games could have easily gone the other way - for example, if Wynn hits the wide-open 2 down the stretch against ND, the Lvs probably win.

I generally prefer to stay away from personal/personnel criticism, by name; however our players, individually, and as a team, are making too many UNFORCED errors. So your appraisal is right on the money.

We simply have to stop throwing the basketball to the other team.
We're hustling, even diving on the floor; but many-to-most of those dives are the result of being boxed out, or simply outjumped! We resort to slapping at the ball ....because we've lost the battle of position/preparation. The Irishwomen continually stepped around us because we just stood there, and didn't "find a body."

We actually are a relatively deep squad ...at guard. And while we can fairly put some of the blame on the post players for not gathering the passes, we've witnessed so many passes ...at the feet of the teammate. Making a good pass is as much about ball placement, as it is about velocity, etc.

So, our problems are directly related to the fundamentals - Protect the basketball; Box Out; Throw the ball to US ...not them! And, all of our players have been around long enough to know where NOT to go with the ball. How much any of this starts and ends with Coach Harper and staff, is ultimately up to our Athletic Director. But it's fair to state that we should have won at least two of the games we've lost: Florida State (with Rickea); and certainly Notre Dame (without). Missed free throws and layups; not securing/valuing every possession. These things will not correct themselves.

I don't care what anybody has to say here, really. Whether it's political, controversial, you name it. Some of it is mean-spirited, however; and some of it, plain silly. But, for those suggesting that we should just carry on as usual - the "next man up" approach - as though we should be good enough to win without our All American ....we will go as Rickea goes, plain and simple. This is nothing unique to us. You know this. Because she is an All American. Yes, other teams have injured All Stars of various levels; but ours is more better than theirs.

Cheers.

 

[Harpethriverkid63]

There’s definitely enough talent on this LVs team to get to the Elite 8 or better.

They’ve completely debunked the exaggeration of a lack of talent.

Three elite #1 options in Wells, Spear, and Rickea.

Three quality Top 15 starter calibers forwards in Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead, and Karo Striplin.

An elite perimeter defender in Kaiya Wynn.

Consistency is what TN needs from Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, and Tamari Key.

negaVols have overplayed their hand and failed miserably. That is the one and only overstatement of this LV team.

At full strength, with a little bit of luck this team controls their own destiny.
The SEC championship and Nat’l championship is feasible.

Why does your analysis continuously change?

 

[madtownvol]

There’s definitely enough talent on this LVs team to get to the Elite 8 or better.

They’ve completely debunked the exaggeration of a lack of talent.

Three elite #1 options in Wells, Spear, and Rickea.

Three quality Top 15 starter calibers forwards in Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead, and Karo Striplin.

An elite perimeter defender in Kaiya Wynn.

Consistency is what TN needs from Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, and Tamari Key.

negaVols have overplayed their hand and failed miserably. That is the one and only overstatement of this LV team.

At full strength, with a little bit of luck this team controls their own destiny.
The SEC championship and Nat’l championship is feasible.

Rickea is an elite player, no question.

Spears - is still getting use to the system. Potential to be great yes but right now she is "good." I think when RJ is back, that will help Spear's game immensely- she is not ready to shoulder the go to player load.

Wynn - much improved but there simply is no evidence that she is a lock-down elite defender. Potentially maybe but not right now.

In no world would Puckett and Striplin be starters for one of the top 15 teams in the country. That is just not realistic. Both fit the bill of good role players.

Hollingshead has a better case. She is being played out of her natural position as a post but I could see her fitting in at the 4 for a top 15 team.

As stated before, Powell and Wells are good guards capable of great moments. They are inconsistent only when they are expected to be great all the time.

With RJ out and Spears not settled in, they are being asked to do just that and the results are what you should expect-- mixed.

As for TK, who knows what is going on with her but it is not consistency; it is an issue of her regaining enough fitness to play at reasonable level.

Once Rickea is back, our best starting line-up would RJ, Spears, Hollingshead, Wells and Powell. That is overall, an undersized line-up but it has the most speed and offensive fire power.

If that group could gel and play the majority of minutes in tough games, they could be competitive presuming that Jillian's post play goes up a few notches.

Sara and Strip would be first choices off the bench (or perhaps Wynn depending on circumstances).

I am no longer expecting Key to be a major contributor this season (hoping she can get another year of eligibility) but if she were to get back to a serviceable level of play, that would be a big boost to the LVs season.

 

[Coach Jumper]

There’s definitely enough talent on this LVs team to get to the Elite 8 or better.

They’ve completely debunked the exaggeration of a lack of talent.

Three elite #1 options in Wells, Spear, and Rickea.

Three quality Top 15 starter calibers forwards in Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead, and Karo Striplin.

An elite perimeter defender in Kaiya Wynn.

Consistency is what TN needs from Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, and Tamari Key.

negaVols have overplayed their hand and failed miserably. That is the one and only overstatement of this LV team.

At full strength, with a little bit of luck this team controls their own destiny.
The SEC championship and Nat’l championship is feasible.

I think you got Powell and Wells mixed up
Consistency from Webb is what is needed and Powell is quickly working her way into elite status

 

[Freak]

Please keep this thread on the topic of the game. Those of you who want to critique the coaches, we’ve got a thread solely for that purpose.

Kellie Harper discussion/debate thread [merged]

Some have called it hyperbole, but here's where the current team stands now about a third of the way through the season: Field Goal Percentage: .398 WORST IN SCHOOL HISTORY (next lowest .408 in 2015-16) Free Throw Percentage: .589 WORST IN SCHOOL HISTORY (next lowest is .627 in 1985-86)...

www.volnation.com

Thanks.

 

[turbovol]

There’s definitely enough talent on this LVs team to get to the Elite 8 or better.

They’ve completely debunked the exaggeration of a lack of talent.

Three elite #1 options in Wells, Spear, and Rickea.

Three quality Top 15 starter calibers forwards in Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead, and Karo Striplin.

An elite perimeter defender in Kaiya Wynn.

Consistency is what TN needs from Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, and Tamari Key.

negaVols have overplayed their hand and failed miserably. That is the one and only overstatement of this LV team.

At full strength, with a little bit of luck this team controls their own destiny.
The SEC championship and Nat’l championship is feasible.

You clearly don't watch the games...But you're amusing.

 

[mudcat1973]

Rickea is an elite player, no question.

Spears - is still getting use to the system. Potential to be great yes but right now she is "good." I think when RJ is back, that will help Spear's game immensely- she is not ready to shoulder the go to player load.

Wynn - much improved but there simply is no evidence that she is a lock-down elite defender. Potentially maybe but not right now.

In no world would Puckett and Striplin be starters for one of the top 15 teams in the country. That is just not realistic. Both fit the bill of good role players.

Hollingshead has a better case. She is being played out of her natural position as a post but I could see her fitting in at the 4 for a top 15 team.

As stated before, Powell and Wells are good guards capable of great moments. They are inconsistent only when they are expected to be great all the time.

With RJ out and Spears not settled in, they are being asked to do just that and the results are what you should expect-- mixed.

As for TK, who knows what is going on with her but it is not consistency; it is an issue of her regaining enough fitness to play at reasonable level.

Once Rickea is back, our best starting line-up would RJ, Spears, Hollingshead, Wells and Powell. That is overall, an undersized line-up but it has the most speed and offensive fire power.

If that group could gel and play the majority of minutes in tough games, they could be competitive presuming that Jillian's post play goes up a few notches.

Sara and Strip would be first choices off the bench (or perhaps Wynn depending on circumstances).

I am no longer expecting Key to be a major contributor this season (hoping she can get another year of eligibility) but if she were to get back to a serviceable level of play, that would be a big boost to the LVs season.

Key said in interview that if she came by for a Sox year. They would call her grandma or something can recalled exactly what she said. But she did not rule out coming back next year. So keys thinks she has one year play. Redshirt plus covid =6 year's so six years maybe ago.

 

[cwbytruckers]

I want to get off the hate wagon. Lady Vols prove to me you can out play your coach. Get revenge on these Buckeyes.

 

[Rooster1]

There’s definitely enough talent on this LVs team to get to the Elite 8 or better.

They’ve completely debunked the exaggeration of a lack of talent.

Three elite #1 options in Wells, Spear, and Rickea.

Three quality Top 15 starter calibers forwards in Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead, and Karo Striplin.

An elite perimeter defender in Kaiya Wynn.

Consistency is what TN needs from Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, and Tamari Key.

negaVols have overplayed their hand and failed miserably. That is the one and only overstatement of this LV team.

At full strength, with a little bit of luck this team controls their own destiny.
The SEC championship and Nat’l championship is feasible.

You believe Wells is an elite #1 option? Look at her stats and get back to me, 6% from 3 and 34% from the field, averaging 6-7 points per game……
Puckett, Striplin and Hollingshead are each Top 15 caliber forwards? As in top 15 in the nation? Please explain that one.

Asking for a friend….

 

[LasVegasBill23]

You believe Wells is an elite #1 option? Look at her stats and get back to me, 6% from 3.
Puckett, Striplin and Hollingshead are each Top 15 caliber forwards, as in top 15 in the nation?

Asking for a friend….

wells had 4 TOs vs FL St and ND would like to see her protect ball better

 

[Golfteacher]

Few turnovers, Spears, Powel, Wells, Puckett and Tess Darby have a good game and we are cooking. Also Holingshead play like she is on fire and we win this one. Oh yes, we guard the three well and play some good defense and we win like we are capable of. Go lady Vols, we can do this.

 

[knoxvol52]

I predicted Tennessee to win in all 3 losses....

Today a little reverse psychology...

OSU 76
Tennessee71

Guaranteed Lady Vols win.....

 

[glv98]

Would be great to have a bounceback game and get all or most of the little things right. It could happen, but wo RJ the margin for error is very small and OSU is a team that forces lots of errors.

As always, while we're living thru this purgatory, I'll hope for the best but brace for the worst. I'm worried about turnovers, of course, and about who's going to guard McMahon. That might be a good assignment for Wynn.

 

[Ovol]

Madtown is on target.

 

[Rooster1]

I think you got Powell and Wells mixed up
Consistency from Webb is what is needed and Powell is quickly working her way into elite status

I think so also…..Powell is the one playing at a higher level in the absence of RJ. Wells? Not so much. Wells stat lines are actually pretty bad, esp her shooting %’s, nowhere close to an elite #1 scoring option as stated above by another.

 

[gule]

imho, Hollingshead has been the biggest disappointment so far. No effort, no defense/blocks, no offense, bad hands!

what's the over/under on how many times Puckett hits the floor today? She gets knocked off her feet more than the rest of the team combined...

 

[Rooster1]

imho, Hollingshead has been the biggest disappointment so far. No effort, no defense/blocks, no offense, bad hands!

what's the over/under on how many times Puckett hits the floor today? She gets knocked off her feet more than the rest of the team combined...

It appears Holl does not like playing 5 or is just not comfortable there, she likely plays better as a 4, just my thoughts. Either way, she needs to turn things around starting today where she will have size advantage all game. Clock is ticking on her.

Puckett is a good BB player IQ wise, and she has skills, but there isn’t much she can do about her athleticism, she lumbers tbh and has no lateral game or quickness at all, esp on defense which is important at her position. You can almost predict what kind of game she will have pregame by the opponent‘s opposite 4 player. If that player is close in size but more athletic Sara is going to struggle some. She just cannot move her feet fast enough to prevent having to play defense by reaching and on offense the same issues cause her to lack any agility in getting clean shots against athletic defenders.

I’ve liked her since her freshman season because of her BB IQ and fearless spirit, but she just has physical limitations that she has to overcome against many opponents and it’s not always easy. She often allows the player she is guarding to get their shot clean so she won’t get in foul trouble by reaching because she can’t get the right defensive position quickly enough. That is an issue.

 

[TrippieRedd]

Another L.

 

[Deebowbear]

imho, Hollingshead has been the biggest disappointment so far. No effort, no defense/blocks, no offense, bad hands!

what's the over/under on how many times Puckett hits the floor today? She gets knocked off her feet more than the rest of the team combined...

And to slow

 

[Deebowbear]

It appears Holl does not like playing 5 or is just not comfortable there, she likely plays better as a 4, just my thoughts. Either way, she needs to turn things around starting today where she will have size advantage all game. Clock is ticking on her.

Puckett is a good BB player IQ wise, and she has skills, but there isn’t much she can do about her athleticism, she lumbers tbh and has no lateral game or quickness at all, esp on defense which is important at her position. You can almost predict what kind of game she will have pregame by the opponent‘s opposite 4 player. If that player is close in size but more athletic Sara is going to struggle some. She just cannot move her feet fast enough to prevent having to play defense by reaching and on offense the same issues cause her to lack any agility in getting clean shots against athletic defenders.

I’ve liked her since her freshman season because of her BB IQ and fearless spirit, but she just has physical limitations that she has to overcome against many opponents and it’s not always easy. She often allows the player she is guarding to get their shot clean so she won’t get in foul trouble by reaching because she can’t get the right defensive position quickly enough. That is an issue.

This is correct 100%

 

[Deebowbear]

Another L.

If Jackson is not playing yes

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Another L.

I never root for a loss, but I don’t expect wins anymore. I will always watch and hope we can win.

 

[WinnerCircle]

The countdown begins
GBO