Game Thread Lady Vols v Georgia: Sun 1PM @ TBA; SEC-network

[madtownvol]

Kellie on Jackson's play:

If I had one critique of her tonight, I would've liked her to have taken a couple of more shots. I thought looking for a couple more opportunities maybe.

If only there was some way coach could facilitate that...

Please, hold your exasperation. Particularly in the 4th quarter, Rickea had two or three decent shot opportunities and forced a pass into the paint which caused a TO. After a few of those, she made the dagger turn around fade shot. On the one side, it is hard to fault a player for being unselfish but as CPS once said to Holdsclaw, we did not bring you here to lead the team in assists. Kellie is exactly in the process of correcting this little decision making quirk. I guess 6-0 in the SEC has you scrapping the barrel for your passive-aggressive barbs.

 

[Dak1219]

Not pretty but we got it done

6-0 start to SEC play is an achievement.

Great job, Ladies. Still got to get the TOs fixed (hallmark of Warlick/KJH eras)

Pat Summits Last Championship team with Parker, Bobbitt, Hornbuckle averaged 17+ turnovers a game. This is nothing new and this years lady vols are averaging about 15 per game right now. It is not abnormal for fast paced teams to average 12-15 per game.

 

[Volfan2012]

Georgia is an excellent defensive team. Putting up 70 against them is tough to do don't know how Florida put up 77 earlier this year. They still lost but that is an impressive total. Jordan Horston is in a slump last three games 11 made field goals on 39 shot attempts. She has committed 16 turnovers in those three games. If she was on her game all would've been 20 point wins. We have to hope she bounces out of it or goes more to setting up other players and taking a few less shots. She also has to be a little more careful with the ball telegraphing a lot of passes that have been easy steals. She gets going again we become lethal scoring back towards 80 a game.

 

[Coach Jumper]

seems weirdly familiar that one PG is on par and playing freely,,,while the other two who handle most of the other bringdowns-J Powell, JH,,,are slumping.

This tells me that undue pressure and non-in-game negatives are influencing their games and clouding their minds,,,BC both have shown a much more precise and controlled game in the past.

"Thinking clouds actions on the court".
There's no thinking in basketball.
At the PG spot, by the time you "see" an opening, it is already closing...There's no time for thinking.
What are they thinking about that is preventing them from pro-acting?

Figure this out and both will get back on track!
Coach K,,,you listening?

 

[glv98]

Accurate. Jackson is the All-American on this team, and it's scary to think where they would be without her.

But fortunately we don't have to because in her greatest recruiting success by far, Kellie Harper recruited her. We have a little over two months to continue to enjoy that, and I would encourage folks to make an effort to see RJ play while she's here. Most fun I've had a LV games in a very long time.

I am officially concerned about Jasmine Powell. She seems to be caught in the vicious cycle of self-doubt and over thinking which leads to mistakes which leads to more self-doubt and hesitancy. The staff really needs to find a way to help her find herself. On the more positive flipside, Jordan Walker is going the opposite direction. She is feeling it. Great defensive work, making plays and good decisions, and now hitting some shots. She still has a tendency to drives into "the trees" where the outcomes are generally not good but overall, on a great run of form.

Re JP: the vicious head cycle you describe should be familar to the coaches bc you just described the great struggle of Jordan Horston. Just when you think JH has overcome, she slides back a step. Hopefully both she and JP can bounce back and JP can be rescued from her head so it doesn't become a career long problem.

RE Walker, she is playing solid except the drive to the trees thing and also dribbling into double teams on the press. You have to love Walker's toughness, though I thought she was out of line on that one play and deserved the tech. Watching replay, I think her lashes got hit by the GA player and she went ballistic LOL.

During the game, I was thinking RJ is the closest player I have seen to Holdsclaw. Awesome to watch. Honestly, I would keep her on the floor till she collapses from sheer exhaustion and has to have an IV and then I would still ask her if she could push through the fatigue.

Lord, I break into a cold sweat just at the thought of RJ collapsing over anything! Went to the bathroom yesterday (trying to beat the halftime crowd) and came back to see RJ laying face down on the court. Almost went face down myself. The crowd has started breaking into audible gasps everytime she takes a fall. And yes, she's so similar to CH, but with an even better body.

Seriously, again, just for the love of God, use this treasure wisely in the brief time we have. Starting or not, please manage her minutes and her rest breaks well. She'll do the rest.

 

[glv98]

My thought was she can play x minutes at a time and so Kellie delays her entry to have either JH or RJ on the court as much as possible. Just conjecture.

Honestly, if that's the intent, you start RJ and bring JH off the bench. Which KJH would never do, and thus the problem.

I will also say with every passing game, at least where I sit, the crowd grows more and more impatient with RJ on the bench. It seems pointless and frankly, embarrassing. Even with all the 'splaining, no one understands.

 

[LV renaissance]

Kellie on Jackson's play:

If I had one critique of her tonight, I would've liked her to have taken a couple of more shots. I thought looking for a couple more opportunities maybe.

If only there was some way coach could facilitate that...

Your off track here on this one. She was referring to her being too unselfish at times with the ball. Specifically, she had a couple of easy for her shots and she dished it off to Jillian instead. Normally, that would have been okay as Jillian was also in scoring position but Jillian was so discombobulated yesterday that it would have been much more effective for Rickea to go ahead and take the shot.

 

[VolBall09]

Georgia is an excellent defensive team. Putting up 70 against them is tough to do don't know how Florida put up 77 earlier this year. They still lost but that is an impressive total. Jordan Horston is in a slump last three games 11 made field goals on 39 shot attempts. She has committed 16 turnovers in those three games. If she was on her game all would've been 20 point wins. We have to hope she bounces out of it or goes more to setting up other players and taking a few less shots. She also has to be a little more careful with the ball telegraphing a lot of passes that have been easy steals. She gets going again we become lethal scoring back towards 80 a game.

Yeah film catching up to her the last couple games. She needs to be a little less predictable. Teams know she wants to get to that SEC logo in the paint and then operate.

She’s getting the ball taken once she’s in there. Needs to make her move knowing whether she is going to pass or shoot already and it will be a foul when she’s grabbed instead of a turnover. Just need her to be under control but aggressive.

Which she was going a wonderful job of, so it’s definitely in her.

 

[Volfan2012]

Yeah film catching up to her the last couple games. She needs to be a little less predictable. Teams know she wants to get to that SEC logo in the paint and then operate.

She’s getting the ball taken once she’s in there. Needs to make her move knowing whether she is going to pass or shoot already and it will be a foul when she’s grabbed instead of a turnover. Just need her to be under control but aggressive.

Which she was going a wonderful job of, so it’s definitely in her.

First two games of SEC totally different from the last three. I know she will get back on track hopefully by UConn.

 

[glv98]

Your off track here on this one. She was referring to her being too unselfish at times with the ball

IMO RJ does not want to seem ballhoggish at all (Miss St and Annie was only a yr ago) and finds a good balance btw passing off and going for it one on one. Where I think they could find her more is in transition. RJ runs the court incredibly well and is often open until the normies catch up. Of course our passing in that situation is suspect, yesterday it looked like Joe Milton was firing some of those passes.

 

[Lucy]

Honestly, if that's the intent, you start RJ and bring JH off the bench. Which KJH would never do, and thus the problem.

I will also say with every passing game, at least where I sit, the crowd grows more and more impatient with RJ on the bench. It seems pointless and frankly, embarrassing. Even with all the 'splaining, no one understands.

You are easily embarrassed.

 

[Lucy]

seems weirdly familiar that one PG is on par and playing freely,,,while the other two who handle most of the other bringdowns-J Powell, JH,,,are slumping.

This tells me that undue pressure and non-in-game negatives are influencing their games and clouding their minds,,,BC both have shown a much more precise and controlled game in the past.

"Thinking clouds actions on the court".
There's no thinking in basketball.
At the PG spot, by the time you "see" an opening, it is already closing...There's no time for thinking.
What are they thinking about that is preventing them from pro-acting?

Figure this out and both will get back on track!
Coach K,,,you listening?

Mike doesn’t care what you think. He’s retired.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Mike doesn’t care what you think. He’s retired.

The one that used to be called coach K ran that idea by me and I told him yes Mike go ahead retire

 

[Volfan2012]

9800 yesterday best crowd of the year thus far. Expecting UConn to be bigger and SC probably even more.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

It is really impressive to see aggressive play inside on both offense and defense. We haven't seen that in a few years.

 

[37620VOL]

My thought was she can play x minutes at a time and so Kellie delays her entry to have either JH or RJ on the court as much as possible. Just conjecture.

It's possible to rest each of them mid-quarter and still have one or the other on the court at all times. Just have them split the middle 5 minutes of each quarter and at the end of the game they each will have played 30 minutes total.

 

[37620VOL]

As someone who has been hard on Walker in the past, even taking the position that she should not play or only minimally so... yeah, I was wrong about that, and @madtownvol was right (this time ). Walker has elevated her game, really from the start of SEC play. She is shooting less and passing more, and her passing has been very high quality. She is defending well, rebounding well, and good running the fast break.

Props to JW

 

[Volfan2012]

I was really disappointed with the play of Jasmine Powell today...when we were rolling late in the 1st qtr, she came into the game and committed 2 quick turnovers...I thought it broke the Lady Vol momentum for the rest of the 1st half...

To say she is having a tough go of it at Tennessee is an understatement. She hasn't been close to her play the last two seasons. If we could get her and Jordan Horston going again somebody is going to get steamrolled.

 

[madtownvol]

First two games of SEC totally different from the last three. I know she will get back on track hopefully by UConn.

I don't think Jordan played that badly against GA. In the last few games where her shot has been sketchy, she remains a stalwart on the defensive end and her plus/minus was 12 second only to RJ. Cliche as it is, Jordan does a lot of intangibles that don;'t always show up on the scoreboard.

In many ways, her game resembles Alexis Hornbuckle, whose shot was also inconsistent from game to game but always gave the effort and made the team better when she was on the court.

 

[Darth_Vol]

Your off track here on this one. She was referring to her being too unselfish at times with the ball. Specifically, she had a couple of easy for her shots and she dished it off to Jillian instead. Normally, that would have been okay as Jillian was also in scoring position but Jillian was so discombobulated yesterday that it would have been much more effective for Rickea to go ahead and take the shot.

I understand the context, I was more commenting on the irony of her statement...

 

[Darth_Vol]

To say she is having a tough go of it at Tennessee is an understatement. She hasn't been close to her play the last two seasons. If we could get her and Jordan Horston going again somebody is going to get steamrolled.

Powell has been a total disaster. In year 4, Kellie still has yet to find a point guard and once again Walker has to once again be pigeonholed into the responsibility...

 

[madtownvol]

As someone who has been hard on Walker in the past, even taking the position that she should not play or only minimally so... yeah, I was wrong about that, and @madtownvol was right (this time ).
Props to JW

I am almost as good as a broken clock!!

 

[Volfan2012]

Powell has been a total disaster. In year 4, Kellie still has yet to find a point guard and once again Walker has to once again be pigeonholed into the responsibility...

No way to tell what will happen with any player. I am sure they were going on what she did at Minnesota when they offered her. We'll have to go back in the portal again this year for a point guard.

 

[Volfan2012]

I don't think Jordan played that badly against GA. In the last few games where her shot has been sketchy, she remains a stalwart on the defensive end and her plus/minus was 12 second only to RJ. Cliche as it is, Jordan does a lot of intangibles that don;'t always show up on the scoreboard.

In many ways, her game resembles Alexis Hornbuckle, whose shot was also inconsistent from game to game but always gave the effort and made the team better when she was on the court.

Just going by the facts she committed 7 turnovers and was 3 of 13 from the field. Gave her a efficiency rating of 3 which is at least positive. As always she made some plays, but JMO we'll have to get a lot better play from her against better opponents.

 

[madtownvol]

No way to tell what will happen with any player. I am sure they were going on what she did at Minnesota when they offered her. We'll have to go back in the portal again this year for a point guard.

That is a fact just for the reason that Powell and Miles would be our only PG option next season. I am not writing Powell off, though,. She is obviously talented but is struggling to learn this new system. People often compare PGs to QBs and getting comfortable running a new offensive scheme is one of the biggest challenges that face QBs at any level. The flipside of that adjustment phase is that there is no guarantee next year's via the portal guard, will fare any better, I bet that Powell looks like an entirely different player next season.