Game Thread: Lady Vols Vs Oklahoma; Sun Jan 5th ; Home game; 3 PM Eastern; ESPN

[charleyhorse]

Coop had 9 steals, which is crazy.

Assists? Oh that’s right 0. Me me me

 

[DeerPark12]

My concern is that the HC didn’t draw it up… it was an assistant

If you’re concerned about it, then you don’t know much about college basketball, because that’s incredibly common.

 

[DeerPark12]

Always = except few?

I haven’t watched every second of every game, but I bet it is less than five times this year she hasn’t thrown the ball in when she was in the game. There were several times early in the season that she was on the floor with another player that also runs point, so it’s possible the other point threw the ball in in that situation. I’m not willing to go back and watch every second of every game to testify to “always,” but if I had to put money on it I would say it is less than five times this year, which is close enough to always to make my point.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

I haven’t watched every second of every game, but I bet it is less than five times this year she hasn’t thrown the ball in when she was in the game. There were several times early in the season that she was on the floor with another player that also runs point, so it’s possible the other point threw the ball in in that situation. I’m not willing to go back and watch every second of every game to testify to “always,” but if I had to put money on it I would say it is less than five times this year, which is close enough to always to make my point.

Understand but I was taught to never say never and never say always because you lose some credibility to your point when you say always and then contradict yourself.

I would have agreed with your original statement if you had said almost always….

 

[krichunaka]

So much to dissect from yesterday's learning experience; but, I'm neither smart enough, nor patient enough to go too far into it.
Coach Caldwell preached "boxing out," "too much dribbling," the usual things we've heard since The Great One walked the sidelines. She stated that they wouldn't "talk about" Free Throws. Didn't want get in their heads ...for now. As probably the worst "foul shot" shooter, EVER, I can appreciate that. The grand irony to folks like me is that they're actually called "free." Who came up with that one? At any rate, we surely could've used at least a couple more "makes," yesterday.
At the end of the day, no matter the approach/system - call it what you may, it's Fundamentals. For three quarters, eight minutes and four seconds, we got out-played enough to still be 10-points down. Let that soak in.
We have some outstanding players with some bad habits. I sincerely believe that many of those bad habits will be broken come tournament time. That coach from West Virginia is impressive. I think they're starting to get it.
We were in Section 110, and there was a slow stream of those who, by the end of quarter three, had had enough; but, as Brittannica stated, most everyone stayed. Recalling having been in attendance in the South Neyland Horseshoe for that miraculous, two scores, and an incredible 2-point conversion by the Great Tony Robinson against Alabama, in 1984, our little gang elected to stay right up to the bitter end. Besides, it was a bitter outside.
Again, so much to point to for this loss, but least of all, was Sara's shot. And, that was Sara, after all, who initiated the scrum that led to the "jump ball, no it's a shot clock violation" with ten-seconds to play. Of course, Talaysia could have taken it toward the goal, and possibly scored; and with the expected collapse, Ruby or Samara might have popped open. Yes, Jewell was in the corner, but, she was stationary with a defender six-feet away, and I didn't see her break for the ball. Anyhow, it would have been a tough, contested pass, and, Sara was indeed, wide open.
We were down by ten at the 2-minute mark. We lost by a single point.
My Goodness, what a courageous effort!
Cheers.

 

[Volfan2012]

We have to drive the ball more try to get to the foul line just 7 attempts for us 16 for them. To many first half threes 20 made 3. So many ways to win this game if we'd played a little smarter and better shot selection and pass on some of the rushed threes. In the end 37 field goals to their 34. Foul line 11 to 2.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

A loss can be a good thing if it really gets the players attention to the things the coaching staff have been trying to get across to them, better D, rebounding, etc. Lets hope its a wake up call and we see a much better team Thurs. Will need it to beat LSU.

 

[Coach Jumper]

A loss can be a good thing if it really gets the players attention to the things the coaching staff have been trying to get across to them, better D, rebounding, etc. Lets hope its a wake up call and we see a much better team Thurs. Will need it to beat LSU.

IF !

Coach Kim has said in multiple pressers that she wants them to attack the hoop and not settle for the 3 so much

If

 

[SGMVols]

Thank goodness Kim is intelligent enough to not to have thrown Sara under the bus like some post-game “experts.” If the shot had not rimmed out, the hand-wringers would be screaming about the brilliance of it all. CKC prolly would have said the same exact thing she said in post game. Let’s win Thursday! It’s a long season.

If Puckett had passed on that shot and we either had to force something at the buzzer, or worse, had turned the ball over and never gotten a shot at all, she’d be getting grief for NOT shooting.

 

[madtownvol]

I made this post when we were down about 20 and everyone was saying OU just had a better roster and a better team. Quite clearly, they didn’t. We just played with no urgency or desire for 2.5 quarters. When you do that you’re going to lose to most teams with a pulse. Play like we did the last 5 minutes for 2 whole quarters and the game isn’t even close.

It’s exactly what Kim has been saying for weeks and it finally bit them in the butt. No reason to defend apathetic play.

i think most will agree that it is better to not fall behind by 20 pts. On the flip side, b-ball is a game of runs. Many teams can say if we played a whole game like our best quarter, we would have won in a blowout. That would include Texas A&M.

The LVs fell behind for 2 reasons, neither of which had to do with effort. For the first three quarters, The LVs couldn’t buy a bucket. And they were getting ORs but often not converting those.

The bigger issue was being too aggressive in the press. We have seen this exact problem since the Liberty game. One good guard, one pass over the top, or one well placed bounce pass and the other team is in for a layup.

Did you notice in the LVs “effortful” 4th quarter run that Jewel and others were picking off those long passes or were in the passing lane? That is not effort but positioning. Those preceding defensive breakdowns go on CKC. She should have adapted sooner before the game got out of hand.

It is a bummer loss because this game at home should have been W. Hopefully, the LVs can get an upset win on the road against a "big fish" team to even things out.

 

[LV renaissance]

IF !

Coach Kim has said in multiple pressers that she wants them to attack the hoop and not settle for the 3 so much

If

Right! We did this in the first half of the A&M game with beautiful results.

 

[madtownvol]

If Puckett had passed on that shot and we either had to force something at the buzzer, or worse, had turned the ball over and never gotten a shot at all, she’d be getting grief for NOT shooting.

I will take Puckett for a wide open three any day. Like you said, the team could have messed around for 7 seconds and not gotten as good of a shot.

 

[Orange007]

i know we lost this game. however, i am relieved to know that if we had played like CKC's system demands for 40 mins then we would have won this game and BIG. the system would have worked very well against a great team. our ladies will get there. this was the first game where they had to run the system against a really skilled top tier team. a diff beast.

 

[GameTime]

When a defining moment in time comes to be either great, or not so great, she let the defining moment define her.

 

[Lucy]

I made this post when we were down about 20 and everyone was saying OU just had a better roster and a better team. Quite clearly, they didn’t. We just played with no urgency or desire for 2.5 quarters. When you do that you’re going to lose to most teams with a pulse. Play like we did the last 5 minutes for 2 whole quarters and the game isn’t even close.

It’s exactly what Kim has been saying for weeks and it finally bit them in the butt. No reason to defend apathetic play.

I don’t give a (fill in your own word here) about how far behind they were or your amateur analysis of their effort level. All your rationalizations aside, saying they were not trying or playing with heart is beyond ridiculous and says so much more about the poster than the team.

 

[docholiday]

i know we lost this game. however, i am relieved to know that if we had played like CKC's system demands for 40 mins then we would have won this game and BIG. the system would have worked very well against a great team. our ladies will get there. this was the first game where they had to run the system against a really skilled top tier team. a diff beast.

Patience. Wait till you see March 40 minutes of hell.

 

[madtownvol]

Patience. Wait till you see March 40 minutes of hell.

"40 minutes of hell" is a fan fantasy. There is a reason elite teams don't try to play this way. We have players like Cooper who are absolute demons on the perimeter and press situations. You can use her, Spencer, and Boyd for ball pressure and if you can get a trap in the corner, go like sharks smelling blood in the water. But, you need to keep some players back to avoid the recurrent case of teams breaking our case and getting wide open lay-ups.

That was the adjustment made late in the game. It was some pressure mixed with other players back to read the passing lanes, etc.

We have also had a several games where the LVs have now played "the best post player in the country and we won't see another one like that all season." We have height but Spearman and Latham are really wing players not posts. Jillian remains an enigma in the post. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good.

All have trouble matching up with stronger, heavier players like Beers. They did a decent job in fronting her when the team had a half court defensive set but really got exposed when Ok beart our press.

We are also seeing that CKC's rotation is getting tighter. She only went with 10 players and 5 of those captured the most minutes. My prediction is that as the season goes on, we won't see "the system" getting more and more ferocious, with constant rotations and full court pressing for 40 minutes. I think it will evolve into an up temp offense that puts a lot of pressure on the perimeter, with some full court pressing used situationally. I think you also see minutes distributed more like this game as well, with Cooper, Spencer and Jewell, Ruby, and Zee being the core five.

 

[Chickenfarmer]

I think everyone’s disgust lies in the fact OK was not a very good team, yesterday. And we still struggled. If threes had made their way through the net, we would all be looking forward to our next Title. With bad shooting, against a team playing poorly, we still battled our way back. It simply hurts losing a home, conference game we should have easily won. Coach has to work on the press when it’s not creating turnovers. Players need watch how our men crash the boards and get rebounds. Oh yeah, free throws. Practice practice practice. Go Vols. Next!

 

[Chickenfarmer]

I don’t give a (fill in your own word here) about how far behind they were or your amateur analysis of their effort level. All your rationalizations aside, saying they were not trying or playing with heart is beyond ridiculous and says so much more about the poster than the team.

No, they played pretty lackluster for most of the game. We got outplayed for best part of 34 minutes. The light came on late and they rose to the occasion. Proud of the finish and the fire at the end.

 

[GVF]

I don't watch much round ball, men's or women's, but do keep up with who's doing what becuase the MM toruney will be my viewing for the year. Having said that, I find it odd the polls swapped OK and tOSU in the 9/10 spot. OK lost a spot for beating an unbeaten Tenn. ?/ Go figure.

 

[Rooster1]

I don't watch much round ball, men's or women's, but do keep up with who's doing what becuase the MM toruney will be my viewing for the year. Having said that, I find it odd the polls swapped OK and tOSU in the 9/10 spot. OK lost a spot for beating an unbeaten Tenn. ?/ Go figure.

Pollsters are taking notice that OK has a serious turnover problem. Look at their season stats. They don’t have decent ball handling guards.

 

[Golfteacher]

So the meltdown begins .

No meltdown here, it was a great game and we came up short. I am also not going to make Puckett the goat on this one. She has made that same shot before but this was not her night to be the hero. Puckett was wide open and had time but we can't pour all the blame on her or try to find some way to blame CKC's decision making. We have to move on and hope lessons were learned that will serve us well for the rest of the SEC schedule. By the way LSU will not be a cakewalk, it is a possibility we could play well but lose to the number 6th-ranked team in the nation. I also feel that we have a better than average chance of pulling an upset. This team may have bad quarters but they never back down and never give up. They will fight you to the very end.

 

[VolBall09]

I don’t give a (fill in your own word here) about how far behind they were or your amateur analysis of their effort level. All your rationalizations aside, saying they were not trying or playing with heart is beyond ridiculous and says so much more about the poster than the team.

Tell that to the head coach who said the same thing lmao

 

[madtownvol]

Tell that to the head coach who said the same thing lmao

Well, CKC also said "that she did not know" how to fix the problem of the team's slow starting 3rd quarters. Back in the day, when Holly said she did not know how to fix a problem, this board took that statement as conclusive proof that she needed to be fired.

So, let's take all these comments with a proverbial grain of salt.

Postgame pressers are domains of coach speak. They don't want to give too much away or create lingering negativity in the locker room. So saying that we could have won with more "effort" is always the safe option and it is just about what every coach says ever a loss-- oh we got outhustled, out worked blah, blah.

It makes the loss seem like something that is 100% is our sphere of control. Saying, yeah, "I put the players in a position to fail by being over aggressive in the press and making it easy for OK to get transition buckets" would raise doubts right?

Spencer had a more informative read when she said (in paraphrase), since we don't know what each other is going to do, we wind up standing around a lot and waiting for someone to do something and we need to realize that the movement creates the action.

Also, the LVs were 5 for 26 in the first 3 quarters (just under 20%) and then went 5 for 10 in the 4th. And most of the first 26 threes were open shots. It was brick city. So, there was a bit of live by the 3; die by the 3 in those first 3 quarters. The LVs actually won the Offensive rebounding battle 12 to 8 but did not convert on most.

These numbers actually tell the story of the game. Points from TOs kept us in the game. We matched their post advantages by driving to the rim. Second chance points lean to OK with fewer OR. Fast break points (mostly in the first 3 quarters) cost the game. And our bench did not provide enough offensive punch.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Well, CKC also said "that she did not know" how to fix the problem of the team's slow starting 3rd quarters. Back in the day, when Holly said she did not know how to fix a problem, this board took that statement as conclusive proof that she needed to be fired.

So, let's take all these comments with a proverbial grain of salt.

Postgame pressers are domains of coach speak. They don't want to give too much away or create lingering negativity in the locker room. So saying that we could have won with more "effort" is always the safe option and it is just about what every coach says ever a loss-- oh we got outhustled, out worked blah, blah.

It makes the loss seem like something that is 100% is our sphere of control. Saying, yeah, "I put the players in a position to fail by being over aggressive in the press and making it easy for OK to get transition buckets" would raise doubts right?

Spencer had a more informative read when she said (in paraphrase), since we don't know what each other is going to do, we wind up standing around a lot and waiting for someone to do something and we need to realize that the movement creates the action.

Also, the LVs were 5 for 26 in the first 3 quarters (just under 20%) and then went 5 for 10 in the 4th. And most of the first 26 threes were open shots. It was brick city. So, there was a bit of live by the 3; die by the 3 in those first 3 quarters. The LVs actually won the Offensive rebounding battle 12 to 8 but did not convert on most.

These numbers actually tell the story of the game. Points from TOs kept us in the game. We matched their post advantages by driving to the rim. Second chance points lean to OK with fewer OR. Fast break points (mostly in the first 3 quarters) cost the game. And our bench did not provide enough offensive punch.

View attachment 712473

Wait, we had 30 turnovers and they had 20?!