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

[UT Challenger]

we let them dictate the tempo bc we didn't press them and foce them to run our pace

I have wondered why we don't press more with the depth we have. Make them play 94ft every time they inbound the ball. From my playing days it wears you down and frustrates you mentally the entire game knowing you can't make a mistake bringing the ball up the court.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

Was by far the closest prediction other than Orange Maniac, I was happy our rankings stayed the same. I knew we'd lose a little in SOS went to five but that wasn't to bad. We'll make that up quickly with some tough games we got coming up.

Looking at NCAA.com, TN went from 15 to 17 in The Net.

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-basketball-net-rankings

 

[Voluble2]

there is a direct correlation between unforced turnovers and games like this:
View attachment 530921

This is why I was saying we made their defense look a lot better than it actually was.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I have wondered why we don't press more with the depth we have. Make them play 94ft every time they inbound the ball. From my playing days it wears you down and frustrates you mentally the entire game knowing you can't make a mistake bringing the ball up the court.

This is why I have been somewhat hard on the coaching this week. The players cannot make this decision has has to be made from the bench

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

This is why I have been somewhat hard on the coaching this week. The players cannot make this decision has has to be made from the bench

Since Kelly never uses it, it does not appear to be a part of her strategy. Maybe we will never know why. Can't imagine she does not think she has the players to do it so it has to be some other reason. Would like someone at her presser to ask this question.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Since Kelly never uses it, it does not appear to be a part of her strategy. Maybe we will never know why. Can't imagine she does not think she has the players to do it so it has to be some other reason. Would like someone at her presser to ask this question.

would someone at a presser, who asks questions like this, be at future pressers?

Here on this board, there is no potential of jeopardizing their status,,,we can openly criticize as well as laud. In the world of the press, there is no such freedom, without risk

 

[Lucy]

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

If it was only a week then Tess really worked hard on her own because the improvement is dramatic.

 

[Coach Jumper]

If it was only a week then Tess really worked hard on her own because the improvement is dramatic.

A self-motivated athlete only has to know their weaknesses and how to correct them. Once they understand they have such a flaw in their game, they will work tirelessly to correct that aspect.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Since Kelly never uses it, it does not appear to be a part of her strategy. Maybe we will never know why. Can't imagine she does not think she has the players to do it so it has to be some other reason. Would like someone at her presser to ask this question.

@briancrice
…note: there’s another good reply up there…

 

[Amb3096]

I guess I should have used blue font but Stetson Bennett did pretty good as a walk on.
I wonder who the greatest walk on wbb player is? Surely their must have been a few and if not, why not?

There was a walk on at Vandy probably 15 years ago...around the time that Parker played. Carolyn-something. Ended up becoming one of their starters, one of their most reliable scorers, and one of the best 3-pt shooters in the SEC.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Since Kelly never uses it, it does not appear to be a part of her strategy. Maybe we will never know why. Can't imagine she does not think she has the players to do it so it has to be some other reason. Would like someone at her presser to ask this question.

this is what perplexes me most...Her 1996, 97, 98 teams were teams that could press and throw traps full court at will

 

[madtownvol]

Since Kelly never uses it, it does not appear to be a part of her strategy. Maybe we will never know why. Can't imagine she does not think she has the players to do it so it has to be some other reason. Would like someone at her presser to ask this question.

On the men's side, Bruce Peal used to be a big advocate of high press defense but seldom uses it any more. He says the rules changes have made it harder to do effectively. When the LVs have pressed early in the season, teams broke it pretty easy. I would love see the analytics on press defenses and how effective they are. Fans love it because it looks like the team is giving great effort but it may in reality run counter to the worker smarter not harder principle.

I think the conventional wisdom is that pressing works best a surprise tactic. You suddenly high press a team when they are not expecting it and you may get a TO but a steady diet of it, teams can adjust.

 

[madtownvol]

this is what perplexes me most...Her 1996, 97, 98 teams were teams that could press and throw traps full court at will

You could hand check back in those days.

 

[Coach Jumper]

You could hand check back in those days.

You mean it's not allowed today? I wish someone would tells the zebras that

 

[VolBall09]

I would love to see us throw on a little 3/4 court zone press on made baskets. See if we can’t get a few quick ones a game to give us more breathing room.

With our length I think we could bother teams with that. Force them to make long, bad passes over us.

 

[th2421]

We really thought Powell would be the huge answer she was a lot better playing for Minnesota.

People keep saying this, but is it really true? Some stats per 40 minutes:

• Points: 10.5 (by far a career low)
• FG%: 35.3% (pretty much on par)
• 2pt. FG%: 41.4% (career high)
• 3pt. FG%: 27.3% (career low)
• FT%: 62.2% (by far a career low)
• Rebounds: 5.7 (just below career high)
• Assists: 6.0 (pretty much on par)
• Turnovers: 2.9 (by far a career low)
• A/TO ratio: 2.03 (career high)
• Steals: 1.4 (near career low)
• Blocks: 0.0 (career low)
• Fouls: 2.0 (career low)
• Usage rate: 16.4% (by far a career low)

I think that last statistic is maybe the most telling. She's not going to be ball dominant (or shouldn't be) with teammates like Horston and Jackson. That's led to somewhat more efficient shooting (at least on 2s) with a significant decrease in scoring and turnover rate (and better A/TO ratio).

 

[glv98]

So interesting how hard it is to appreciate poor JP. Maybe it's those repeated awful end of quarter possessions. She does have good numbers though, top 5 SEC total assists and a/to ratio. She has only 3 less total assists than JH in far fewer minutes, and 10 less t.o.s. We've always been hard on Walker as well so I guess its fair lol.

 

[Fatoldman]

On the men's side, Bruce Peal used to be a big advocate of high press defense but seldom uses it any more. He says the rules changes have made it harder to do effectively. When the LVs have pressed early in the season, teams broke it pretty easy. I would love see the analytics on press defenses and how effective they are. Fans love it because it looks like the team is giving great effort but it may in reality run counter to the worker smarter not harder principle.

I think the conventional wisdom is that pressing works best a surprise tactic. You suddenly high press a team when they are not expecting it and you may get a TO but a steady diet of it, teams can adjust.

Or if you are elite at pressing like Ohio State you force opponents to make turnovers even though it is expected

 

[Prophet1]

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.

And at herself also. You don't allow the opps to control the "Pace" of the game by which it frustrate your players.
Play at "your" pace and frustration the hell out of the seven players , only seven players they used.
Did you watch their previous games? They didn't do anything new or spectacular. I hope she slapped her self and the other coaching staff.

 

[LV renaissance]

People keep saying this, but is it really true? Some stats per 40 minutes:

• Points: 10.5 (by far a career low)
• FG%: 35.3% (pretty much on par)
• 2pt. FG%: 41.4% (career high)
• 3pt. FG%: 27.3% (career low)
• FT%: 62.2% (by far a career low)
• Rebounds: 5.7 (just below career high)
• Assists: 6.0 (pretty much on par)
• Turnovers: 2.9 (by far a career low)
• A/TO ratio: 2.03 (career high)
• Steals: 1.4 (near career low)
• Blocks: 0.0 (career low)
• Fouls: 2.0 (career low)
• Usage rate: 16.4% (by far a career low)

I think that last statistic is maybe the most telling. She's not going to be ball dominant (or shouldn't be) with teammates like Horston and Jackson. That's led to somewhat more efficient shooting (at least on 2s) with a significant decrease in scoring and turnover rate (and better A/TO ratio).

Thanks for the stats. They paint a different picture than the eyeball test. One factor in this mismatch between stats and eyeballs is that since she doesn't play nearly 40 a game, so her ppg seems especially low given her average of 10+ a game at Minnesota. Another thing is that so many of her misses on the 2-point shots are layups, which never is a good look. The other thing is that we need a point guard who can shoot threes, so that her career low in that area really hurts us. I really like her upside, and her speed is undeniable. I would love if she and Wynn could go to some specialized training expert over the Summer about how to make layup at warp speed!

 

[Prophet1]

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.

Don't forget coached by championship coaches. The best in WCBB .

 

[37620VOL]

So interesting how hard it is to appreciate poor JP. Maybe it's those repeated awful end of quarter possessions. She does have good numbers though, top 5 SEC total assists and a/to ratio. She has only 3 less total assists than JH in far fewer minutes, and 10 less t.o.s. We've always been hard on Walker as well so I guess its fair lol.

I remain very high on JP. She's an elite distributor and needs to stay in that lane.

Thing is Walker has been playing much better of late and she is CKJ's favorite.

 

[lvocd]

In my own personal experience from back in the day, a really, REALLY great press can leave the legs feeling like lead as the lactic acid builds and builds, and most players aren't real enthusiastic to leave themselves feeling that physically vulnerable for whatever happens immediately after the press either works -- or doesn't. The natural instinct is to conserve energy to make sure you don't empty your tank too soon, which is why Kellie should wisely choose the best time to ask players to risk that for her, and she needs to give them a shortish window to have to do it.

 

[chuckiepoo]

In my own personal experience from back in the day, a really, REALLY great press can leave the legs feeling like lead as the lactic acid builds and builds, and most players aren't real enthusiastic to leave themselves feeling that physically vulnerable for whatever happens immediately after the press either works -- or doesn't. The natural instinct is to conserve energy to make sure you don't empty your tank too soon, which is why Kellie should wisely choose the best time to ask players to risk that for her, and she needs to give them a shortish window to have to do it.

Sounds like an opinion based on experience.

 

[Lucy]

Don't forget coached by championship coaches. The best in WCBB .

Debatable