Game Thread: Lady Vols v UCONN; Thurs. 8PM; on ESPN

[Rooster1]

Hollingshead looks like the starting Center going forward, quite a performance all around against Uconn in a big game….she makes a diff at that spot, she has upside also. Lotta game in that lady.

 

[Vfl2407]

Write Dawn Staley a blank check and let her fill in the amount.
We tried two former LV’s.
Did not work.
Go get the proven winner who can beat Geno.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Write Dawn Staley a blank check and let her fill in the amount.
We tried two former LV’s.
Did not work.
Go get the proven winner who can beat Geno.

It’s about getting a coach that can get us the top players, players can make a coach look good.

 

[GameTime]

Hard to be happy after watching this highly anticipated contest....

 

[Rooster1]

Thanks, Rooster!

You bet Creek

 

[OldNSlow]

Should have hired Jeff Walz. Idiots.

 

[cwbytruckers]

I disagree. Great athletes. Each of them.

You forgot your blue font

 

[cwbytruckers]

Should have hired Jeff Walz. Idiots.

Thought he turned us down

 

[Rooster1]

If UT starts this lineup against LSU:
5-Hollingshead
4-Jackson
3-Horston
2-Darby (I suppose)
1-Walker
Its a good start imo

The Walker vs Powell thing….I have no answer. But Holl should start at the 5, and RJ should start also at the 4. It’s that time of the year, put the best in now..

 

[Rooster1]

Only 2 points of the night. 6 min of play when she should have played 15-18 min.

Love her potential, she is not ready to guard a good 5 yet though, it was blood in the water when she was in there guarding their 5, and I like her a lot….but she needs some growth or new athleticism to play D on a P5 center with moves.

 

[Rooster1]

Hollingshead looks like the starting Center going forward, quite a performance all around against Uconn in a big game….she makes a diff at that spot, she has upside also. Lotta game in that lady.

Wonder why this took so long to develop? She is clearly the best 5 on the team..

 

[OldNSlow]

Thought he turned us down

No we had to hire a tree hire and a woman. Not the best candidate.

 

[VolNash17]

Should have hired Jeff Walz. Idiots.

Well his Louisville team is going through a transition period and is 15-7 so far this year… I think he would be more inclined to take the job for a change of scenery. 78% win percentage and four final 4 appearances is as good as you can hire in terms of name brand availability. I’d be excited for it

 

[Rooster1]

Uconn shot 55% overall, and 57% from 3….you need better defense than that to beat them or any good team….y’all know this already of course. Will learn from this for the LSU game..they have some shooters also…starting to think UT does not have the athletes to play elite defense outside 2 or so players which is weird, they were so good defensively last year, prob a factor of Key never being 100% and now gone for year.

Holl is starting to look pretty good though at the 5…come tourney time, if Holl keeps progressing and is paired with Jax and Horston then maybe the worm turns finally this year.. LV’s can make a run with Holl getting PT and progressing so who would want to play against that? There is time..Keep the heads up LV fans.

It always looks worse just before the storm ends, but Holl is a reason to have faith still, she is a baller, just needs more PT. Strip is a liability defensively against a good center, just play Holl. I would not fathom to guess who your best PG is on your team, that is the riddle that needs to be solved soon, it is probably your team’s most important issue, Powell should be the one based upon pedigree, cant wrap my head around that spot for your team, it needs to find an answer though, your coach should know how to train up a PG…she has the background.

 

[Voluble2]

Our coach decision to not start Horston was pivotal it could have been us getting off to a fast start and possibly overwhelming UCONN where the second quarter to halftime we could’ve been up by double digits.maybe UCONN claws back with a handful of players which could have gassed them in the second half and even if they came back we could have had a lead where if they made a run it could’ve been neck and neck going down to the final minutes and anyone’s game I know we cut the lead to 4 at halftime but the first half still set the tone which our coach blew

Not so much Jordan not starting, but rather who else did start. We had a slow footed team out there at several positions which was getting beaten down the court on every possession. By the time we subbed them out and stopped UConn's momentum the game was over.

That is on Kellie. And yeah, it is just idiotic that you don't start both Rickea and Horston. Horston had to wear herself out to will us back into the game by going all out in the second quarter and that made her less effective later coming off illness like she was.

Butch Jones had the same trait as a coach. He was stubborn about certain things and always ended up putting his players in positions which made it very difficult for them to succeed. Kellie does the same with her lineups and momentum killing rotations. No other coach does what she does in that regard, and for good reason.

 

[Voluble2]

when we pressed the connies they freaked,,,why did we not press the whole game. We would have worn them out

As soon as they went to the bench in Q2 we ran em off the court
I just don't get it

Our S&C is absolute crap.

I have been saying it since Kellie got here. We were more tired than they were at the end.

 

[Rooster1]

Our S&C is absolute crap.

I have been saying it since Kellie got here. We were more tired than they were at the end.

Not sure that is true. cannot say either way. But Holl is a legit power 5 center, who is coaching that position on your team? She should have been getting major minutes way earlier in season to develop her talent. I think I know, but won’t say, it would be way unpopular here.

 

[cwbytruckers]

RJ is the best player on our team. Close second is JH but she tends to zone out at times and forces some bad shots. After that we have a lot of WTH type girls that make you wonder how they got D1 offers. Point guard is a no show this year. Walker and Powell couldn't shoot over a garden Nome if they were standing on a ladder yet they continue to dribble in the paint and force wild shots. Their outside shooting makes you hold your breathe until you see it go through the net or clang off the rim. After that you have some slow footed solid shooters who cant get open or create their own shots. Puckett runs like she is stuck in sand. Striplin has so much heart but a two inch vertical. I mean come on lets be honest. I love these girls as much as the next fan. But with KH at coach your only squeezing so much juice out this turnip. Its time to go outside the family tree and get a coaching staff with a power five winning track record and pay them to reinvent the Lady Vols to a team that resembles a college team.

 

[hugo92]

fellas if I was you I'd cancel this series, if Geno thinks he's doing Tenn a favor he can go kick rocks. Let him play Depaul and win by 70 and see if that gets you ready for the tournament. Was great tho to see him get brutally destroyed on Twitter as a bully, the way he treated Holly Rowe just shows his character. Will always be mind boggling to me why recruits will go play for him. When the team loses it's the players fault, when they win it's all him.

 

[djtee]

UConn plays just 7 in rout of Vols in Knoxville I say only 5 if you at it the box score

 

[dtnvol]

Guard play or "lack there of" exposed again...5'6" & 5'7" guards that don't assist well and are poor shooters and have trouble guarding other 5'10" - 6'0" guards, will hurt you every time...

 

[UTK]

Best UConn or get fired. Period at this point. No reason to keep losing to those bums

 

[feathersax]

We lost by 17 at home to their B team and we’ve got people claiming a moral victory. Jeez this program has cratered.

That's for sure.

 

[MsSportsGuy]

Watched the game and have some thoughts that may or may not be new or welcomed but:

UT built their legacy and reputation on being tough, playing excellent defense, outrebouding the opposition, and also the intimidation factor of the coach and the history of the program. The current roster has two exceptional players in Horston and Jackson. The rest of the team isn't bad but lacks the speed and atheticism to really hang with the top programs. For whatever reason the program seems to have placed a premium on length rather than speed. It is possible to have both but the the others on the roster just aren't quick. Last night the LVs won the rebounding battle but lost the war because their opponent, who is one of the best in the country, had superior offensive talent and execution. It's amazing to me this much time at UT and so many times they appear to be offensively challenged. There is no one who can be relied on to make shots outside of the two main players, of which Horston is extremely streaky. I will say they are all decent players but no difference makers for a team that had FF aspirations at the start of the year.

Last night wasn't all bad. I actually think they played well in stretches and showed they are a top 15-20 team. That's probably the ceiling for this year unless some things change.

 

[creekdipper]

UConn plays just 7 in rout of Vols in Knoxville I say only 5 if you at it the box score

Gee, not a word about Auriemma's childish halftime meltdown. Sportscenter featured that little tantrum.

I don't get the "only eight" angle. It's one thing to say that a team is missing some of its best players, but it's nothing unusual for teams to only go 8 or 9 deep. Doesn't conn usually only go with a 10-player rotation at best?

I seem to remember a Summitt-coached team losing to an LSU team that only had seven players dressed out. Could be faulty memory. Anyway, conn's conditioning was impressive, so don't quite understand the big deal about using eight players. If Bueckers or Fudd were healthy, they'd likely rarely leave the floor unless forced to by fouls.

What was more impressive is their ability to stay on the floor after three first half fouls. Our inability to exploit their foul trouble was a key factor. The opportunity was there.