Game Thread: Lady Vols v MTSU; Away game; Wed Dec 6th at 7:30PM; ESPN+

[Coach Jumper]

I acknowledge Rickea is a special talent and could help with the LV, but the other surrounding players really are not showing much to help her. (Strip maybe the exception) and brings the squad a one dimensional look.
Even the great Pete Maravich in the late 60’s averaged 44 points a game and LSU was 12-14 in 67-68.
My point is the recruiting has got to improve and bring a team concept in play for the LV to return to glory.
Just my humble opinion…..

but a good one.

RJ has a sizeable task,,,but that type of challenge accepted and won is what differentiates the greats from the wannabe's

 

[knoxvol52]

Good luck.

Same to you.....

 

[knoxvol52]

He spells pretty good but completely neglects punctuation.

Lol..yea ask me if I give a damn ?

 

[chuckiepoo]

Lol..yea ask me if I give a damn ?

I know better!

 

[knoxvol52]

That and confuses verbs and adjectives but hey.

Aaah, that's sweet...
What does it matter to you???
Does my grammar effect your everyday life? If it does oh well!!!!

 

[pasadenavol]

Can u link the interview where she said that? Because I’ve seen different videos of her talking about these topics.

Sorry Phoenix, it's been a while, but I recall her talking about her friendship with Jordy and how she was happy to get the chance to play together. I think I recall something about knowing each other through AAU play. I can't honestly recall where I saw the interview. She didn't specifically say "I'm coming to UT because I want the chance to play with Jordan"; It came across as a potential factor in her decision.

 

[glv98]

Sorry Phoenix, it's been a while, but I recall her talking about her friendship with Jordy and how she was happy to get the chance to play together. I think I recall something about knowing each other through AAU play. I can't honestly recall where I saw the interview. She didn't specifically say "I'm coming to UT because I want the chance to play with Jordan"; It came across as a potential factor in her decision.

I think the connection btw their Moms was the more important factor. Both Moms are very strong forces in their daughter's decision making and are a part of a Mom group of players from the Upper Midwest who played with and against each other in AAU. Boston, Cooke, Horston, Jackson and to some degree Reese Moms were/are good friend. Their daughters took some college visits together; I think RJ and JH visited the LVs together during hs recruiting.

LOL to no one's surprise, RJ eliminated LSU when coming out of the transfer portal bc she hated Baton Rouge, hated the nightlife spot they took her to and most of all, they had no shopping mall.

 

[Ratvol]

Kelly’s husband didn’t tell her to call one.

He was too busy doing crosswords.
1 Across : 5 letter word meaning Lost Job Abruptly due to inability
F _ R _ D

 

[Memvol44]

You fans beat up Kellie and you should, But how about beat up this portal bust and yes i said bust as it stands right now Jewel Spears. last 3 games 75 mins played 14 pts unacceptable for one of the top portal pickups.

For some reason Spear is untouchable. But Darby is a punching bag..

 

[Majors]

For some reason Spear is untouchable. But Darby is a punching bag..

Spear has been getting questioned lately especially by not making the most of the opportunity to be the one with RJ out. Darby unfortunately has years of the same result and seems to have regressed this year. Spear missing shots is glazed over when Tess gives up two costly turnovers against MTSU.

 

[glv98]

For some reason Spear is untouchable. But Darby is a punching bag..

Spears struggles are more recent, plus she gets the grace of still working her way into a new team. Also, Jewel's problems are obviously largely a result of not having RJ there. The defensive attention is all hers right now.

She's got to do better though, and reclaiming her has to be job 1 for the coaches during this long period at home with only a couple of cupcake games.

 

[VolBall09]

For some reason Spear is untouchable. But Darby is a punching bag..

Comes down to coaching for me. We RAN play after play for Darby the other night. She’s like 27% on the year. I didn’t see us run a single set for Jewel. She got one good look off a nice pass from Karo and drained it. Otherwise she’s having to create and that was never her game really. Though she is better off the bounce than Darby.

The Darby issue is really the coaches fault. She’s constantly put in positions she isn’t equipped for. She was guarding MTSUs little guard most of the game and absolutely could NOT keep her in front and never adjusted. She was chasing her all over the floor all night. Any coach worth their salt would have seen that quickly and switched her off permanently.

 

[glv98]

Comes down to coaching for me. We RAN play after play for Darby the other night. She’s like 27% on the year. I didn’t see us run a single set for Jewel. She got one good look off a nice pass from Karo and drained it. Otherwise she’s having to create and that was never her game really. Though she is better off the bounce than Darby.

The Darby issue is really the coaches fault. She’s constantly put in positions she isn’t equipped for. She was guarding MTSUs little guard most of the game and absolutely could NOT keep her in front and never adjusted. She was chasing her all over the floor all night. Any coach worth their salt would have seen that quickly and switched her off permanently.

Agree that Tess is overloved and overtrusted by the staff. It's not fair to her nor the team.

Disagree that Jewel's game was never creating. In video I saw fm WF, it was one of her best things. Completely able to get to rim if denied fm 3. Surprised she's done so little of that here, and she needs to get back to that.

Jewel's probs seem to be largely mental to me. Like all the team, she still seems shell shocked by RJ's absence. Also very tenative, not sure of herself or her decision making. Also, like most players new to this program, she needs another yr in strength and conditioning. She seems a step slow. Same with Wells. Both will benefit greatly from being in max physical condition.

 

[MiramarVol]

Five stars. ️️️️️

The number of player injuries Kellie has had to work around since she has Coached here are just astounding, and always included our top player. It’s a wonder she and the teams have done as well as they have.

To mention some players, probably not all, who were out for the season, or for a significant number of games are: Zaay Green, Marta Suarez, Rae Burrell, Keyen Green, Jordan Horston, Tamari Key last year and this year, and Rickea Jackson. Tamari and Rickea are our most impactful players, and Tamari is easing into competition, and Rickea has been out for weeks. Losing players like they are make a huge difference, and it’s not just their play, but who has to play more because they’re not there. They are both irreplaceable.

UConn has dealt with injuries, but some teams have had more than others. Players also need to be developed. You should see noticeable improvement from each player as a sign of said coaching development as well as overall team improvement. The coaches system ideally should be plug and play, when the right mix of talent has been recruited. I'm not seeing on court development in our ladies.

 

[Majors]

Agree that Tess is overloved and overtrusted by the staff. It's not fair to her nor the team.

Disagree that Jewel's game was never creating. In video I saw fm WF, it was one of her best things. Completely able to get to rim if denied fm 3. Surprised she's done so little of that here, and she needs to get back to that.

Jewel's probs seem to be largely mental to me. Like all the team, she still seems shell shocked by RJ's absence. Also very tenative, not sure of herself or her decision making. Also, like most players new to this program, she needs another yr in strength and conditioning. She seems a step slow. Same with Wells. Both will benefit greatly from being in max physical condition.

The turnover before halftime was unacceptable. Mistakes happen, but this is where Kellie loses equity by letting it slide. Sit her the rest of the game and watch the outcome win or lose. Accountability is lacking by the staff and players if the message isn’t sent.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

UConn has dealt with injuries, but some teams have had more than others. Players also need to be developed. You should see noticeable improvement from each player as a sign of said coaching development as well as overall team improvement. The coaches system ideally should be plug and play, when the right mix of talent has been recruited. I'm not seeing on court development in our ladies.

Uconn didn’t lose their big time Coach. They have had 5 star players for their whole team and bench for many years. Takes time to get to that point. We’ve had players enter the WNBA as 1st round draft picks for the last 3 years, but our roster is not filled with those type of players. Most of our players have definitely improved from year to year, including those that went on to the pros.

 

[Rooster1]

Spears struggles are more recent, plus she gets the grace of still working her way into a new team. Also, Jewel's problems are obviously largely a result of not having RJ there. The defensive attention is all hers right now.

She's got to do better though, and reclaiming her has to be job 1 for the coaches during this long period at home with only a couple of cupcake games.

I don't know glv, when I watch the games and replays, I do not see any extra attention being applied to Spears defensively.

 

[glv98]

I don't know glv, when I watch the games and replays, I do not see any extra attention being applied to Spears defensively.

Seems like they're trying to run her off the 3 pt line and deny her the pass. By simple math she and Puckett are getting far more defensive attention than they'd get if RJ was out there.

Why do you think JS has dropped off so much?

 

[Chippo]

He was too busy doing crosswords.
1 Across : 5 letter word meaning Lost Job Abruptly due to inability
F _ R _ D

Got my laugh for the day.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Seems like they're trying to run her off the 3 pt line and deny her the pass. By simple math she and Puckett are getting far more defensive attention than they'd get if RJ was out there.

Why do you think JS has dropped off so much?

With JP is just one game. She's been playing lighs out and she still had 9 points.

 

[JustaChicken]

Another knowledgeable post. Thank you for your input.

I laughed hysterically!

 

[alexvol]

Comes down to coaching for me. We RAN play after play for Darby the other night. She’s like 27% on the year. I didn’t see us run a single set for Jewel. She got one good look off a nice pass from Karo and drained it. Otherwise she’s having to create and that was never her game really. Though she is better off the bounce than Darby.

The Darby issue is really the coaches fault. She’s constantly put in positions she isn’t equipped for. She was guarding MTSUs little guard most of the game and absolutely could NOT keep her in front and never adjusted. She was chasing her all over the floor all night. Any coach worth their salt would have seen that quickly and switched her off permanently.

Darby can not guard a fence post much less a real live player of any dimension and ability.

 

[alexvol]

The play of this team as of late has all the earmarks of a team that has given up on Coach Harper and vice versa.

Several weeks ago I made what I thought was a harmless but accurate post that the LV's was playing like a Church League team in the 1st quarter and much of 2nd quarter of that game .I was raked over the coals by many on this board for that comment.Fact is this team without Jackson would be in jeopardy of losing to a good Church league team. The team just not has assimilated the transfers to make a " TEAM "....Whether they can pull together as a team after Jackson returns is a huge question mark ????

 

[Lucy]

The play of this team as of late has all the earmarks of a team that has given up on Coach Harper and vice versa.

Several weeks ago I made what I thought was a harmless but accurate post that the LV's was playing like a Church League team in the 1st quarter and much of 2nd quarter of that game .I was raked over the coals by many on this board for that comment.Fact is this team without Jackson would be in jeopardy of losing to a good Church league team. The team just not has assimilated the transfers to make a " TEAM "....Whether they can pull together as a team after Jackson returns is a huge question mark ????

Wow, just can’t let the church league go can you. Still silly.

 

[creekdipper]

Wow, just can’t let the church league go can you. Still silly.

Church league team consisting of Uncle Drew and friends.