Game Thread Lady Vols vs. Furman

#30
#30
Volfan2012 said:
If she is over her injury hopefully we'll see Darby tonight. Almost certain we'll see Saunders or something went terribly wrong.
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I'm hopeful of seeing Darby also, if only to begin her verification process of Next Great Outside Gunner. We have a painfully familiar process where every single perimeter recruit is THE 3 pt specialist we've dreamed of for so long. Just wait till (fill in the blank) gets here! Then either they're not the shooter we thought they were, they are but can't get a shot off against this level of competition, or they can really shoot but are such a liability at other aspects they get the permanent Dunbar seat on the bench. Maybe after all this time, the odds will catch up and Darby will actually be the One. If not, just wait til Striplin gets here!

As for Emily, she's actually moved up the depth chart to getting mop up mins against cupcakes this year so we'll probably see her also.
 
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#31
#31
Furman looks to have been a good add to the schedule on short notice. Obviously out matched which will drive some posters here to the brink. But they appear to have some pretty good guard play which is always a great defensive test for us. We failed on Kysre Gondrezick starting in the first quarter the other night. Giving up 11 to her in the first hurt us. If we make a team’s best player have a tough first quarter it goes a long way. Lately we’ve allowed them to get comfortable and that’s a disaster for us defensively. Used to be a hallmark of LV teams that the opposing team’s best player tended to have their worst night of the season against us. Not anymore.

Its been a theme the last 4-5 years. We start the game like our feet are stuck in mud and play crappy defense the first quarter. End up digging a hole against better teams and give them a spark. And we allow lesser teams to play with us too long and they become confident.

Really hope to see lockdown defense in the first AND second half.

I know it won’t happen, but I wish Kellie would primarily play the main group she played against WVU in this game. I really feel like the better players need a full, live, game to gel on the court better. If she subs like crazy like she did in the first two games I don’t see how that will help this team get better. Would be a waste of time IMO. After WVU one can inference that McCoy, Saunders and Rennie are going to see limited minutes against better competition. Don’t see any reason for McCoy of Saunders to play more than the last 2 minutes or so tonight. Rennie maybe 10 minutes so we can see if she can get her shot going.
 
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#32
#32
VolBall09 said:
Furman looks to have been a good add to the schedule on short notice. Obviously out matched which will drive some posters here to the brink. But they appear to have some pretty good guard play which is always a great defensive test for us. We failed on Kysre Gondrezick starting in the first quarter the other night. Giving up 11 to her in the first hurt us. If we make a team’s best player have a tough first quarter it goes a long way. Lately we’ve allowed them to get comfortable and that’s a disaster for us defensively. Used to be a hallmark of LV teams that the opposing team’s best player tended to have their worst night of the season against us. Not anymore.

Its been a theme the last 4-5 years. We start the game like our feet are stuck in mud and play crappy defense the first quarter. End up digging a hole against better teams and give them a spark. And we allow lesser teams to play with us too long and they become confident.

Really hope to see lockdown defense in the first AND second half.

I know it won’t happen, but I wish Kellie would primarily play the main group she played against WVU in this game. I really feel like the better players need a full, live, game to gel on the court better. If she subs like crazy like she did in the first two games I don’t see how that will help this team get better. Would be a waste of time IMO. After WVU one can inference that McCoy, Saunders and Rennie are going to see limited minutes against better competition. Don’t see any reason for McCoy of Saunders to play more than the last 2 minutes or so tonight. Rennie maybe 10 minutes so we can see if she can get her shot going.
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I have mixed feelings about the use of the bench. On one hand, you're right in saying that they will not see much court time once Tennessee starts conference play. On the other hand, it depends if these players (McCoy excluded) are expected to be contributors down the road. I'm guessing Saunders will need to play a bigger role next year with all of the posts graduating, so it makes sense to get her reps in cupcake games. Truthfully, I'd rather see her in the game than McCoy. I'm sure Jaiden's a nice girl, but there's no compelling reason why minutes should be given to her. She's a senior who isn't going to play much this year anyway vs. an undergrad who still has an opportunity to crack the rotation.
 
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#35
#35
Amb3096 said:
I have mixed feelings about the use of the bench. On one hand, you're right in saying that they will not see much court time once Tennessee starts conference play. On the other hand, it depends if these players (McCoy excluded) are expected to be contributors down the road. I'm guessing Saunders will need to play a bigger role next year with all of the posts graduating, so it makes sense to get her reps in cupcake games. Truthfully, I'd rather see her in the game than McCoy. I'm sure Jaiden's a nice girl, but there's no compelling reason why minutes should be given to her. She's a senior who isn't going to play much this year anyway vs. an undergrad who still has an opportunity to crack the rotation.
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I agree, under most circumstances I’m all about building for the future. Currently it seems we need to build for right now though. With the addition of Walker and Green likely playing a lot of minutes going forward they need an opportunity to gel with Horston, Davis, Key and KK. If Coach can get that core group on the same page I really believe this team can make some noise in the SEC.

Saunders is going to have to earn her minutes in practice. Until she can get up and down better and move her feet on defense without fouling she’s going to see limited floor time. I really think she could be a huge asset if she can truly get in shape and speed up. She actually finishes better than any post player we’ve had for some time and being a natural lefty (I think?) she catches the defense off balance when she turns the opposite way they expect.
 
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#37
#37
VolBall09 said:
Furman looks to have been a good add to the schedule on short notice. Obviously out matched which will drive some posters here to the brink. But they appear to have some pretty good guard play which is always a great defensive test for us. We failed on Kysre Gondrezick starting in the first quarter the other night. Giving up 11 to her in the first hurt us. If we make a team’s best player have a tough first quarter it goes a long way. Lately we’ve allowed them to get comfortable and that’s a disaster for us defensively. Used to be a hallmark of LV teams that the opposing team’s best player tended to have their worst night of the season against us. Not anymore.

Its been a theme the last 4-5 years. We start the game like our feet are stuck in mud and play crappy defense the first quarter. End up digging a hole against better teams and give them a spark. And we allow lesser teams to play with us too long and they become confident.

Really hope to see lockdown defense in the first AND second half.

I know it won’t happen, but I wish Kellie would primarily play the main group she played against WVU in this game. I really feel like the better players need a full, live, game to gel on the court better. If she subs like crazy like she did in the first two games I don’t see how that will help this team get better. Would be a waste of time IMO. After WVU one can inference that McCoy, Saunders and Rennie are going to see limited minutes against better competition. Don’t see any reason for McCoy of Saunders to play more than the last 2 minutes or so tonight. Rennie maybe 10 minutes so we can see if she can get her shot going.
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We have one tuneup game before Texas and two after that, then the SEC season begins...If we are going to give TX a run, we had better use this game for what it is...an opportunity to see if changing the starting lineup changes our starts.

I absolutely agree about shutting down their top scorer...There is a whole book on how to beat the unbeatable Chicago Bulls of the MJ era...and the entire focus of the defense was to stop him, by any means possible. Stop the heart/head of a team and the body stops too
 
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#38
#38
Volfan2012 said:
I saw her on the bench couldn't tell is she was dressed to play she had on warmups however.
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Tess Darby appeared to be dressed out and ready to play against West Virginia. Kept hoping she would get in the game. Could have made a difference as we were desperate for 3-pt shooters. Surely she will get her feet wet against Furman. We need her for sure against Texas.
 
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#42
#42
jeebie said:
Tess Darby appeared to be dressed out and ready to play against West Virginia. Kept hoping she would get in the game. Could have made a difference as we were desperate for 3-pt shooters. Surely she will get her feet wet against Furman. We need her for sure against Texas.
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My hope is that she can create her own shot if she can`t ? I notice in HS she played the wing at 6-1 i think keeping her on the wing is the best move. If you play her at guard i think she will be over matched in the SEC.
 
#49
#49
Went back to the past games and watched concentrating more on Jordan Walker at the point. She is a very quick guard that plays a lot unsure and tentative of just what to do next. I don't think she is even near grasping the role of the point guard yet. I think she has the talent to get there mainly because she has an excellent handle and quickness on the move. Hopefully the coaching staff can bring her along because she has the ability to break down the defense and get a lot of people open shots on the perimeter. Right now a lot of the time she has that deer in headlights look on her face. We'll see how she progresses in the next several games. She has to realize she doesn't have to be a scorer just has to facilitate for others to score. I saw a lot of times where she was in the position to draw and dish made a great pass to KK twice for wide open layups which of course KK missed.
 
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#50
#50
VolFuture2k22 said:
I REALLY hope we get Darby’s debut today!!
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Yes she needs to get those first minutes under her belt. I know her heart will be in her throat, but it needs to happen and what better time than a game like the one tonight. If she don't play tonight I know she want play Sunday so we'll be waiting a while longer if she isn't a go today.
 
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