Game Thread: Lady Vols v TAMU; Thurs Jan 12 @ 9PM on SECN tv LV's 62-50

[Coach Jumper]

I have never been more anxious for a game to end than this one. When it got down to six all I could think about is losing this game would almost totally destroy the season and all the ground we had made up in the last three weeks. We still have a long way to go to where I want us to be in the tourney and this game was really irritating me that we wouldn't have that chance. We still do since we won, but when are we going to play the way Coach Harper is wanting it is time.

Simply, quit asking and start telling!

 

[Volfan2012]

Coach Kellie did not sound too pleased with the result and lack of urgency by our team against A&M in her press conference. I don’t blame her. She should be infuriated with them.

Well she is feeling the same disappointment I am feeling as a fan. She knows where they need to get a lot better and that they have put in a lot of work and it is just not paying off as of yet. You could figure it out if it was just one person or two, but it is everybody sometime in the game. We can't always be perfect, but the number of breakdowns on the defensive end are just way to many. The offense not worried you can have a game like this when shots rolled all over the rim and bounce around and don't go in. Defense is something you can perfect way more than we have been able to at this point. I still have hope we'll get better.

 

[Volfan2012]

Simply, quit asking and start telling!

We don't know that hasn't happened. She can't really pinpoint a player or two cause I see breakdowns by almost every player on some possession or another. I don't know if the man to man will ever be our best defense cause were always getting hurt by some particular matchup. We tried a zone last night and it looked really ugly they were reversing for the open look with ease. So we just keep working probably more on effort than knowledge. I probably would point out on film player breakdowns and keep a count on them. When someone is counting you tend to play harder you don't want to be the one with the most.

 

[chuckiepoo]

We don't know that hasn't happened. She can't really pinpoint a player or two cause I see breakdowns by almost every player on some possession or another. I don't know if the man to man will ever be our best defense cause were always getting hurt by some particular matchup. We tried a zone last night and it looked really ugly they were reversing for the open look with ease. So we just keep working probably more on effort than knowledge. I probably would point out on film player breakdowns and keep a count on them. When someone is counting you tend to play harder you don't want to be the one with the most.

What gets measured gets done.

 

[River67]

Someone can confirm this but didn’t Tess go out of state to work on conditioning etc. with a LVFL? Was it with Conklin? Did another teammate go with her?
Anyway, we need to send JP and SP this next summer! Great players, they just need to be stronger. So impressed with Tess’ improvement!!

Tess, Sara and Karoline worked with Abby for a week during the summer and Walker worked with Hornbuckle

 

[mudcat1973]

Positive note darby looking more like tca vs greenfeild on youtube before she got over 6 foot.. which a defence pest in a good way. @Volfan2012

 

[alexvol]

Put down the pipe!

Should have said post .

 

[glv98]

Someone can confirm this but didn’t Tess go out of state to work on conditioning etc. with a LVFL? Was it with Conklin? Did another teammate go with her?
Anyway, we need to send JP and SP this next summer! Great players, they just need to be stronger. So impressed with Tess’ improvement!!

I believe I heard Sara did go w Tess and they worked w Abby Conklin. Love Abby LVFL (now that's a player that clashed w Pat) but I wonder what her qualifications are. I'd like to see Justine, Sara, Tess, and Karo do another summer of intensive physical training this summer with a really good, nutritionist and trainer.

We don't know that hasn't happened

One of our standard arguments around here. Certain posters want coaches to do sideline performance art like the old schoolers whenever the team is not focused. Like small children, if they didn't see it, it didn't happen. BC no coach ever yells in the locker room.

 

[LV renaissance]

I waited until today to post with hopes of feeling more positive about the win. However, the game represented two negative trends that have to be addressed if we are going to have any wins against ranked teams and have any success in the NCAAs. The first is our horrible 4th quarter defense. In three of our five SEC games, we gave up the most points n the 4th than any other quarter . These three games (Fla, Aggies, and Vandy)were against horrible teams with little depth and yet they averaged over 20 points in the 4th quarter. In the Bama game, got outscored by 6 in 4th quarter. All this should be in the opposite direction given our superor depth and talent.
The other destructive trend is one that started last year: a slew of turnovers when on the road against the cellar dwelling teams. We had 23 turnovers at Florida and 20 against the Aggies. Let's not even get into what happened on the road against a good team like Ohio State.
This is such a critical year for our program that it is disturbing that these two chronic issues keep popping up, especially given that they can play quarters of great defense and have games with minimal turnovers. It is not to late, so hopefully the Georgia game will start more hopeful trends.

 

[alexvol]

winning on the road in SEC is always tough. Goal is to get the win and get out of town. She should have some good coaching moments to work on them next practice.

Saw some of the LSU game, they could be the team to beat in SEC this yr. They seemed pretty solid.

I watched LSU game also and they will give SC a run for their money.....I do not think we can beat either SC or LSU .If we play against either LSU or SC like we did last nite we will get run out of the gym/arena

 

[glv98]

Ironically, though we are scoring amost 79 points a game, we are not a good three-point shooting team. We have one dependable
three-point shooter--Darby. Puckett is our second most dependable but is only playing limited minutes. The rest of the team is bad at shooting
threes--and I think this could be a problem for us when we play good teams. One dependable 3-point shooter is simply not enough, but I see nobody
that I think can step up and start hitting them.

Agree, 3 pt shooting is only a bit better this year and only bc of Tess. I still trust Sara too, but right now I wouldn't call her dependable and her mins are limited. Ditto Justine. Anything they contribute will be a bonus.

IMO the biggest weakness in the games of both JH and RJ is poor outside shooting. RJ is money from 15 ft in, her stroke looks good, and she's insanely talented. So I think she's the most likely to improve in that area. JH might get better at the next level, but for now poor shooting is just too much in her head to change much. She'll have her nights when she hits them, but probably not consistently.

Other than that, we're screwed.

Overall, there's a ten day stretch from Jan 26 - Feb 6 that will tell the tale on this team. UConn, LSU, at Miss State, and Ole Miss. Scary but best case of 3-1 is not impossible. We must beat a depleted UConn at home!

 

[87&91ALUM]

We won, we are winning. Sometimes baking a cake or building a house gets messy. Ditto building a basketball team. I’m thankful for our coaching staffs and out players. Tennessee in excellent position to be top of the SEC for awhile.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I believe I heard Sara did go w Tess and they worked w Abby Conklin. Love Abby LVFL (now that's a player that clashed w Pat) but I wonder what her qualifications are. I'd like to see Justine, Sara, Tess, and Karo do another summer of intensive physical training this summer with a really good, nutritionist and trainer.

One of our standard arguments around here. Certain posters want coaches to do sideline performance art like the old schoolers whenever the team is not focused. Like small children, if they didn't see it, it didn't happen. BC no coach ever yells in the locker room.

Pat did it,,,Geno does it,,,Mulkey did it last game when Reese picked up two dumb fouls early.
""If you want what I have you have to do what I did to get it""

small children?
ok lets go there

....I pull sister's hair,,,light the cat's tail on fire,,,put vinegar in my brother's water bottle and backtalk Mom!

3 hours later Dad comes home and Mom tells him I need disciplined
He whips my butt with a belt

I then wonder,, which of my acts was the ONE that finally made Mom mad enough?

Oh, and Reese, came back and got serious and finished with 20 pts and 12 boards

 

[alexvol]

The LV's are undefeated in SEC play because of the schedule,ie ,other than Bama ( who we played on home court ) they have played the bottom half of SEC teams ( have not played Kentucky yet ) .I was beginning to get excited about the offense in the Vandy game but this outing against A&M brought me back to reality.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I watched LSU game also and they will give SC a run for their money.....I do not think we can beat either SC or LSU .If we play against either LSU or SC like we did last nite we will get run out of the gym/arena

At full focus we can contend with ANY team,,,just ask Stanford

 

[alexvol]

At full focus we can contend with ANY team,,,just ask Stanford

Well there is that but how many times do you expect that this team will play " at full focus " ? It has happened once this year as you pointed out ...maybe one more time this year ?

 

[madtownvol]

Agree, 3 pt shooting is only a bit better this year and only bc of Tess. I still trust Sara too, but right now I wouldn't call her dependable and her mins are limited. Ditto Justine. Anything they contribute will be a bonus.

IMO the biggest weakness in the games of both JH and RJ is poor outside shooting. RJ is money from 15 ft in, her stroke looks good, and she's insanely talented. So I think she's the most likely to improve in that area. JH might get better at the next level, but for now poor shooting is just too much in her head to change much. She'll have her nights when she hits them, but probably not consistently.

Other than that, we're screwed.

Overall, there's a ten day stretch from Jan 26 - Feb 6 that will tell the tale on this team. UConn, LSU, at Miss State, and Ole Miss. Scary but best case of 3-1 is not impossible. We must beat a depleted UConn at home!

If RJ was a knock down 3 pt shooter, she would make Caitlin Clark look like a scrub. But she is not and odds are that tendency is not going to radically change this season. She might have a game here and here where she gets hot but she lives and dies with her midrange and slashing. That shooting limitation makes it easy for really good teams to defend here. Ditto Jordan Horston. Now when and if they are both on the floor with Tess, that scenario might cause other team's coaches to loose sleep.

 

[SATXVolFan82]

Random thought: I love how Rickea comes out with hair flowing then later she ties it up when she’s in a zone. I noticed that pretty much every game. I love. Go .

 

[mudcat1973]

there picture of rae and her parents on facebook in the land down under. says she doing good

 

[Volfan2012]

We've improved because we've cut down on our turnovers, we've improved defensively and are playing more cohesively as a team. Individually,
Jackson is motivated and playing well (55 percent shooting); Horston is stout and contributing in many different ways, as she always
does, though she still misses too many shots close to the basket; Darby's overall play has been good--and she's making threes; Puckett is contributing and Hollingshead is showing the considerable potential that she has. She's athletic for a big and has been playing well--and IMO she's got more offensive upside; she and the coaches need to keep working on her moves in the paint.

IMO our two biggest weaknesses are defensive intensity--it's too inconsistent---and team three-point shooting. As in most areas, we've improved
defensively, for sure, but we have lapses in effort, focus and ball awareness/helping. We need a total team commitment to defense, and if we can get that we can be formidable. We've got some big games coming up and playing strong defense in those games will be crucial.

Ironically, though we are scoring amost 79 points a game, we are not a good three-point shooting team. We have one dependable
three-point shooter--Darby. Puckett is our second most dependable but is only playing limited minutes. The rest of the team is bad at shooting
threes--and I think this could be a problem for us when we play good teams. One dependable 3-point shooter is simply not enough, but I see nobody
that I think can step up and start hitting them.

All this said, there is a lot to be encouraged about. The upcoming games at South Carolina, UConn, etc. will give us a good idea of just how optimistic we might be.

We'll be playing the full strength UConn team not counting the players we knew were going to be out for the season. Both teams are now more talented than we are so we have to hope the energy of the home court will push us to victory. Our wings Jackson and Horston are the number one duo in the country JMO then you have the other three positions which we lose big to both UConn and SC. The glaring weakness against UConn will be they have superior three point shooting and without Key actually quite an advantage on the inside where we'll be undersized. Same with Sc their bigs in the post make it tough. Both these games is where you need a Tamari Key more than any others. Just like Stanford the size in the post was our downfall in that game and will be a huge problem for us in those two games.
The LSU game presents the same problem they are better in the post and point guard and were better on the wings.

 

[madtownvol]

We don't know that hasn't happened. She can't really pinpoint a player or two cause I see breakdowns by almost every player on some possession or another. I don't know if the man to man will ever be our best defense cause were always getting hurt by some particular matchup. We tried a zone last night and it looked really ugly they were reversing for the open look with ease. So we just keep working probably more on effort than knowledge. I probably would point out on film player breakdowns and keep a count on them. When someone is counting you tend to play harder you don't want to be the one with the most.

I come back to my recurrent mantra, they still have not adjusted to TK's absence. Habits got formed with the idea of fine you can get to the paint, we have Tamari.

 

[Volfan2012]

I come back to my recurrent mantra, they still have not adjusted to TK's absence. Habits got formed with the idea of fine you can get to the paint, we have Tamari.

That is why no one needs to pounce if we lose to UConn, Sc, or LSU. Were not the talented team that was expected at the beginning of the season. TK was never a factor she was not herself from day one. The other big factor is the huge disappointment that we've seen at point guard. They are just not doing what we need. We really thought Powell would be the huge answer she was a lot better playing for Minnesota. I'm not saying we won't win any of those three games just saying were the underdog in all three just because of the two factors I mention here. If we could win two of the three I would take it right now.

 

[BruisedOrange]

Just a note to acknowledge A&M's contribution to how bad we looked:
If you've ever played on an undermanned team, you know how unbelievably tightknit that team gets, and how well you work together, almost reading each others' minds on court, and become more able to function as a unit than just a team.

Playing with seven has allowed A&M--whatever their individual skill sets--to engage the subtleties of the game. I think that was what the post game acknowledged as "forcing us to play at a pace we didn't want."

 

[madtownvol]

That is why no one needs to pounce if we lose to UConn, Sc, or LSU. Were not the talented team that was expected at the beginning of the season. TK was never a factor she was not herself from day one. The other big factor is the huge disappointment that we've seen at point guard. They are just not doing what we need. We really thought Powell would be the huge answer she was a lot better playing for Minnesota. I'm not saying we won't win any of those three games just saying were the underdog in all three just because of the two factors I mention here. If we could win two of the three I would take it right now.

Powell is looking more like next season's answer (though I would not mind if another PG came in through the portal). I really did not expect Jordan Walker to be so integral to the team with Powell on board but her adjustment has been rocky. Against Texas A&M, I also felt that Jordan fell into her bad habit of trying to be the scorer versus the facilitator. She got stuffed a bunch in the lane. Powell has the same tendency. Not sure why this problem does not get resolved.

Post remains another problem area. Striplin, Hollingshead, and Franklin all have good moments but they are not a consistent presence who can provide points when needed. Unless Hollingshead pulls out a miracle game, the South Carolina match could be kinda ugly.

The team is very solid to excellent at all other positions but shaky PG play and a soft center are big liabilities to overcome night in and night out.

 

[madtownvol]

I believe I heard Sara did go w Tess and they worked w Abby Conklin. Love Abby LVFL (now that's a player that clashed w Pat) but I wonder what her qualifications are. I'd like to see Justine, Sara, Tess, and Karo do another summer of intensive physical training this summer with a really good, nutritionist and trainer.

One of our standard arguments around here. Certain posters want coaches to do sideline performance art like the old schoolers whenever the team is not focused. Like small children, if they didn't see it, it didn't happen. BC no coach ever yells in the locker room.

I am sure all the players listed will do so. I think Justine in particular will recognize what she needs to do in order to be an elite player. Sara, Tess and Karoline have proven to be workers, Of that set, I think Tess has the most room to improve. I am not trying to body shame but she could get more "cut" and that would improve her quickness a lot. I think her upside is a lot higher than people have given her credit for.

And let's give some props to Jordan Horston. From her freshman year on, I don't think anyone ever said, oh, JH needs to work on her athleticism but she did and she is now approaching a Marvel universe, CGI level of athletic ability. I used to think Glory Johnson was the most athletic player to wear the uniform but Jordan is rivaling her.