Game Thread: #25/RV LADY VOLS VS. #16/18 TEXAS A&M

[Creekdog]

Texas A&M runs that high screen and our defenders drop behind leaving wide open jumpers. They’ve ran that play at least 5 times. Glad they’re not hitting them all.

Yep, grumbled about that the whole game.

 

[Prophet1]

If us long suffering LV fans have learned anything the last few years its that the star system is worthless AF. There has been a virtual parade of 5 stars thru here the last few years, most leaving as more potential than actual talent. I base zilch on stars.

Five stars players are also in need of a elite coach
like Dawn, Kim,Geno, or Vic.
Elite coaches can also take scrubs and pull out the
PROtential within and they come with coaching staffs
that develop players.

 

[GameTime]

You have players who can't catch. Players who can't pass. Players who can't shoot free throws. You're instituting a new system with a new coaching staff. So lets spend some time on shot blocking. Good Plan!

Orange are you being facetious, or do you think a shot blocking drill might be a good idea? It doesn't have to take up a lot of time, but if one more shot had been blocked today and not scored, well it might have been a different result...

I'm trying not to criticize coaching, just in case a prospect reads this board. In any event, on to Arkansas...Bad News for the Razorbacks.....Got to be positive.....

 

[T_Vol376]

Maybe Jordan can spend the summer working out with Coach Jumper. He should contact Jordan's mom and set it up.

 

[Orange Maniac]

Five stars players are also in need of a elite coach
like Dawn, Kim,Geno, or Vic.
Elite coaches can also take scrubs and pull out the
PROtential within and they come with coaching staffs
that develop players.

Like hall of famer Muffet at ND. Well, maybe not so much. I think it goes a little deeper than this theory.

 

[glv98]

But the Lady Vols ... it's like the whole program, from the fans to the press, are perched on a wound up spring of expectations which magnifies mistakes and dismisses success right now. "Final Four or bust."

Really? Maybe just me but I haven't seen much FF or Bust. Someone thinks that? I remember a few drunk with optimism when KJH was first hired, but certainly since Zaay got hurt and we actually saw this team on the court expectations have been pretty tame around here. I think most, like me, just want to see improvement and moving in the right direction away from the morass of the last few seasons. And a few players actually starting to reach their potential.

I'm pleased with off season improvements - it appears KJH has conquered the culture problems and at least 2 players, Davis and Massingill improved dramatically. Not so impressed with improvements during the season with the major exception that we now beat those we should beat Thought we'd be a little farther along on offense and ball handling by this point though.

Big test is next year, when its reasonable to expect significant improvement with everyone back a year older, stronger and wiser. But I still don't see reasonable folks demanding FF.

 

[PG1]

We need a guard or two to run the offense hopefully there is a Grad transfer we can get. Horston needs to move to a position where she isn't trying to pass inside her passes are telegraphed and weak.

Bench?

 

[Nute Gunray]

This is a humorous and non-serious post. If Coach Kellie does not make the grade, maybe UT can hire the head coach who succeeded her at Missouri State (11-1 in conference and 21-3 overall). LOL!

 

[orangealways]

Since poor Horston is having such a hard time right now why not trot out Rennie ? She won’t hurt you w turnovers and at least will spread out the offense w her shooting . Plus I guarantee she could hit FT.
she’s no Michael Jordan but nobody eae is ether . I know y’all will think I’m crazy but I’d try it .

 

[Prophet1]

Maybe it's me but can someone please tell me why
are opposing guards lighting up our defense?
Can someone say stick her like flies on sh%$t
and don't let her score Jack even if you have to
put a elbow......awww, never mind.

 

[KrazyVolFan]

Since poor Horston is having such a hard time right now why not trot out Rennie ? She won’t hurt you w turnovers and at least will spread out the offense w her shooting . Plus I guarantee she could hit FT.
she’s no Michael Jordan but nobody eae is ether . I know y’all will think I’m crazy but I’d try it .

U r Krazy

 

[orangealways]

U r Krazy

No maybe you are . Or that’s what your name says haha

 

[Voltopia]

Really? Maybe just me but I haven't seen much FF or Bust.

I didn't mean literally, I should have been more specific and less rhetorical. Sorry abut that. I meant "Final Four or bust" as a general expectation, as set by a legendary coach who was very vocal about making the Final Four every year. That coach set Tennessee's bar for success, for 30+ years, as "being there in March." Even if we've been off that measuring stick for a decade now, I feel like it still exists in peoples' minds. It doesn't mean we _get_ there this year, or even the next two or there years, but I think subconsciously (and consciously) if Tennessee isn't moving *toward* making a Final Four, then it is not succeeding. That's technically true of any program in the sport, but when your program makes the Final Four 50% of the time for twenty plus years, it becomes almost instinctive. I don't think I've heard anyone say, literally, "Final Four or bust" this year, but I do think we've all got the Final Four in mind when we ask ourselves "Did the Harper hire work out? Is Tennessee back on course?" We want them to look well coached and competitive, yes, but at the end of the rainbow, I think the finish line is seeing Tennessee's logo on another one of those awful Final Four t-shirts where they just put the four team logos and "MARCH MADNESS" or "NCAA FINAL FOUR" on them and then sell 'em for 30 bucks in the vendor stand. Ugh. Ugly shirts. Anyway.

 

[FrozenLVFan]

Since poor Horston is having such a hard time right now why not trot out Rennie ? She won’t hurt you w turnovers and at least will spread out the offense w her shooting . Plus I guarantee she could hit FT.
she’s no Michael Jordan but nobody eae is ether . I know y’all will think I’m crazy but I’d try it .

Rennie is a good spot-up shooter, good passer, and her defense has vastly improved since the start of the season. However, her ball- handling skills need work, and she can’t create her own shot, yet. Hopefully she will improve over the summer and become more than an occasional role player. She seems like a very hard worker.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

And that's why the star system sucks. You mean they fail to take level of h.s. competition into account when they award stars? We know it makes a difference, we talk about it here all the time. So how could ratings services and college recruiters continue to get fooled by it? Makes no sense. Actually, we've heard there's alot of politics and money surrounding some of those rankings. Stars reliably predict potential but not how or if potential becomes effective productive talent.

Me too, unfortunately, because mental is the hardest to fix. I'm not sure her passes are lazy, even though my Granny could intercept them. I think she's overthinking them, being too careful, too tenative. Her penchant for turnovers has become a big presence now and she's obviously aware of it. Classic case of the sports yips, she's the allstar second bassman who can no longer make the short throw to first. You can see she's terrified everytime the ball leaves her hand, as am I, and for good reason.

This is going to be a major offseason challenge to fix. Here's my advice: don't do whatever Holly did when Evina was in the exact same spot. Do whatever somebody did for Jazz this last offseason when she was in the exact same spot.

Sometimes her passes look like panic, rather than tentative/careful, to me. When she stops dribbling and needs to pass, she sees someone and treats the ball like a hot potato, throwing it to someone whether they have a good chance of catching it, or not. Also, the other players need to make a better effort to come back to her, or at least be more aggressive about getting open to catch the pass.

 

[orangealways]

Rennie is a good spot-up shooter, good passer, and her defense has vastly improved since the start of the season. However, her ball- handling skills need work, and she can’t create her own shot, yet. Hopefully she will improve over the summer and become more than an occasional role player. She seems like a very hard worker.

Great points . But look at Fulky on the men’s side . Didn’t contribute too much last year and this year is still always the weakest athlete in the court but look what has happened . Hope the same for Rennie . Still would like to see how she could contribute a bit this year .
GBO!

 

[JohnTN]

She sure didn't do the team any favors today with in game coachimg, lack of stopping wrong defense late, and players letting time run without fouling. Staff maybe working on passing issues but I don't remember one force turnover, but lots of the same broadcasted, and just lack of any skill trained passing. End of third quarter pass, Key cross court over everyones head, another cross court over Rae, pass to Horston's ankle in lane. If they work on passing, than they are just bad coaching, as it hasnt gotten better, maybe worse, these ladies have talent. Coaches lost this game with season long correctable errors still not improved, but worse, lack of clock control and communicating down the stretch. No excuse team does not know to press, or foul, except in game by coaching. Kellie saw them not pressing and instead of using a timeout, she let it go. Do your job Kellie!. Love Kellie but she was our downfall today. Hope she realises it

Yes there were some fumbles and bad passes, but this game was lost on at least one missed open layup plus a missed free throw. Coach can't make those for the players. And LV came back from 10 points down in the second half - they played hard but the free throws weren't falling. They are frustrating at times, but better than last year - could have beaten a ranked team today.

 

[Darth_Vol]

Rennie is a good spot-up shooter, good passer, and her defense has vastly improved since the start of the season. However, her ball- handling skills need work, and she can’t create her own shot, yet. Hopefully she will improve over the summer and become more than an occasional role player. She seems like a very hard worker.

Give her some burn with Jaz and run some plays to get her some open looks. See what she can do. I doubt she turns it over 6 times a game, but even if she does how will it be different than the status quo? Jordan just needs to sit. For a while...

 

[NeedOrange]

Orange are you being facetious, or do you think a shot blocking drill might be a good idea? It doesn't have to take up a lot of time, but if one more shot had been blocked today and not scored, well it might have been a different result...

I'm trying not to criticize coaching, just in case a prospect reads this board. In any event, on to Arkansas...Bad News for the Razorbacks.....Got to be positive.....

I wholeheartedly support the coaching staffs brilliant decision to allow shot blocking take its natural course right now and focus on areas of greater need. The team is functioning at a high rate as shot blockers and is demonstrating increasing skills in problem areas that will lead to more victories.

I'm sure shot blocking is addressed in the regular flow of scrimmages. There are only about 5 basic points to shot blocking and they are all defensive fundamentals; 1) never jump first, 2) always go vertical, 3) don't get too close, 4) don't reach across (left hand blocks right hand shot, right hand blocks left hand shot), 5) don't swat. They can all be covered with scrimmage repetitions. The actual goal is to cause a miss without fouling. If you do get the block, that is great. It pumps your team and causes adjustments for the opponent.

As far as today's game the 1 more aspect of your question, it is true 1 more block could have impacted the game, but also must be looked at in the context of;
1 more layup made
1 less layup missed
1 less turnover
1 less foul
1 more 3 pointer
would have impacted the game.

So yes I was trying to be humorous but ended up being facetious.
on to Arkansas...Bad News for the Razorbacks.....Got to be positiv

 

[LasVegasBill23]

Well a disappointing lossllll Not too often these past few years do we win games we are not favored in .... prohibitively or marginally.... one of these times we will surprise i hope....

If we lost this game on the foul line, we should have won it shooting almost 50% that is amazing.... also as it has been noted.... why can't we put some kind of restraining defense on Carter.... we knew she was a big resource for them... and we seemed not to arrest her and her offensive initiative....

On the subject of freshmen, they develop at their own pace... can't expect overnight success.... and it is true that big freshmen .... the post players e.g..... take longer than the guard position.... who can often make a more immediate change to the dynamic of a team.... Players like Horston will improve eventually and live up to billing and the turnovers will hopefully decrease with seasoning and practice

i wish we rebounded with more tenacity.... we are the tallest team around... but our rebounding mechanics are not strong.... letting the LSU guard get 10 defensive rebounds... wow.... and we were out rebounded again today.... although it was close as i recall....

Along with rebounding.... we need to hustle..... from what i can say.... and anyone can jump on me for this.... we are being out hustled by most teams we play.... we usually are not the first player on the floor to fight for 50 50 balls.... our individual and collective motor seems slow vs the highlights of the glory years when we had the talent yes, but also our hustle index was out of sight.... players wanted the loose balls they refused to lose.. in the Mississippi State game Danberry out hustled our whole team in the second half... it was embarrassing to me anyway.....

I am not worried about losses to A and M as I am squeakier wins vs East Tennessee State and Alabama... no reason for that with talent we have.... having said that.... it is very hard to operate a team without solid guard play and too bad we do not have depth there.... when Green went down that was a big OUCH

I have always thought that in WCBB, the most important position is Head Coach!!! followed by Point Guard.... All good game planning, thought and execution starts there..... we need to improve in this light.... KJH is a good improvement from Holly no doubt.... I watch her all the time because I know that ALL issues with a team at this level are 100% the responsibility of the Head Coach because it is ALL under her control to alter and fix things.... even stuff that many on this board put under the responsibility of the players...... you can't coach free throws.... well of course you can... Holly used to say in public pressers I can't coach effort well of course you can... starting by communicating expectations to the player and sitting them on the end of the bench if they are not putting out.... can't coach too many turnovers... of course you can.... it goes on and on....

Well i hope we can get better...

 

[Lucy]

Early on in this thread someone mentioned seeing several recruits with Jon before the game. Did anyone ever identify who these kids were?
Great game for a recruiting visit. Attendance 12.7k and the team playing hard and coming back from a 10 point deficit. Carter is the real deal but is she all they have? Liked Rae’s comment post game - Carter flops. Rae brings it during and after game!

 

[PG1]

Since poor Horston is having such a hard time right now why not trot out Rennie ? She won’t hurt you w turnovers and at least will spread out the offense w her shooting . Plus I guarantee she could hit FT.
she’s no Michael Jordan but nobody eae is ether . I know y’all will think I’m crazy but I’d try it .

Not crazy. Right now Horston is a minus in pretty much every statistical category plus her body language is awful. Continuing to play her is doing her more harm than good.

 

[stlvolsfan]

Bright spot: Jazz continues to be steady and awesome - 5 pts, 3 rebs, 4 assist, 2 steals, and no turnovers in the first half. If we could only get this kind of consistent play from any other guards.

Hooray for Rae's late scoring spree but that early turnover spree was painful. And poor JH, right now she is just cursed, plain and simple. Lid on basket and butter on fingers. Please may the spell be broken soon!

Offense tentative and hesitant as always, except Rae's wild bursts. Sure wish we could overcome this long nagging problem.

Dang Carter shoots alot, like every single time she gets the ball. Guess when you hit em as often as she does its ok but I'd sure hate to be her teammate.

Yeah, JH looks beat down. I feel bad for the kid. She can’t buy a bucket and can’t keep the ball in her hands.

 

[stlvolsfan]

Not crazy. Right now Horston is a minus in pretty much every statistical category plus her body language is awful. Continuing to play her is doing her more harm than good.

How will she ever break out of the slump on the bench. You gotta play and love her through this.

 

[stlvolsfan]

Rennie is a good spot-up shooter, good passer, and her defense has vastly improved since the start of the season. However, her ball- handling skills need work, and she can’t create her own shot, yet. Hopefully she will improve over the summer and become more than an occasional role player. She seems like a very hard worker.

Love how the narrative is building that Rennie is a “hard worker” and JH is lazy. Not saying this particularly about you Frozen, but it’s definitely building on this board and I think it’s bs.