Game Thread: MTSU v Lady Vols, Tues. Nov 12th; Home-FCC; 6:30PM; SEC+ network: win 89-75

[Coach Jumper]

There is plenty of reason. It’s still basketball, those playing the best and giving the most effort will get the most minutes.

Players like Hollingshed, Ayodele, Strickland, and a couple others are going to have to step up and get with the program if they want to continue getting minutes.

Jill has a skillset that could be so useful but it’s clear this style of play is still way too fast for her. She’s a little frozen when she catches. She needs to let it fly, attack or make a pass. She has a beautiful shot, I’d like to see her start taking those open long jumpers and see if she can hit some and get her confidence up.

Puckett is one who could lose minutes as well. If she doesn’t get out of her head and out of her own way they are going to decrease. She’s too hard on herself and has an emotional response to every mistake. She missed a free throw last night and you’d have thought she lost a championship game. Really needs to work on personally checking herself and staying in the game mentally. Can’t always be her teammates and coaches pulling her up, gotta be her sometimes.

Her mental lapses lead to fouls and open layups for MTSU which resulted in only 16 minutes of game time. It’s pretty clear Kim loves her and her game but I have no doubt if it doesn’t start transferring better Kim is going to play someone else.

I hope she’s working with a sports psychologist. It’s patently clear her issue during games is primarily mental. Too much visible frustration over small things that leads to compounding errors that hurt the team, which in turn knocks her confidence even more. She seems to be a people pleaser, she needs to work on pleasing herself first for a bit.

Every player on Lady Vols roster has more talent than any player Caldwell has ever coached. There is no reason for any of them to ride the pine.

And every opponent Kim is facing is better than the opponents she has ever faced at her prior orgs,,,so there will be pine-riders until they prove themselves just like in every level of BB

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Watch Insell’s post game presser. Count him as one who doesn’t believe the mass substitutions, 40 minute full court is going to work in the SEC. He’s a little salty, probably because he never got a call for the vacancies after Pat. I’m not concerned, the staff will adjust and I think you’ll see a blend of styles over time.

 

[Mafiaboss]

I'm so glad we won. Gotta admit, I never felt completely confident we were going to win until about 6 minutes left in the 4th. Over the years the MTSU program has consistently been never-give-up gamers, and I was feeling a little shaky about it.

Thank goodness we outlasted them and had some well-timed big buckets to seal the deal.

FYI: I may be posting less often in the next day or two because I need some time to build my shrine to Lady Vol basketball goddesses Samara Spencer and Talaysia Cooper.

Yeah. Same. I think I had a last season MTSU loss ghost haunting me.

 

[Mafiaboss]

And every opponent Kim is facing is better than the opponents she has ever faced at her prior orgs,,,so there will be pine-riders until they prove themselves just like in every level of BB

Well, can’t compare because the level of player talent far exceeds what she had at Marshall.

 

[Mafiaboss]

It's possible that some things are getting in translation, so I just want to ask directly: Knox, do you realize that I want CKC to be our coach for the next 30+ years? That my fears about the energy that I'm seeing on the court is that my concerns about her S&C might just be accurate? Because it is going to be difficult to win the SEC with D2 S&C, even with D1 athleticism higher than anything she's coached up to this point.

I don't merely want Lady Vols basketball to succeed generally, as I hope most fans do (even those skeptical of her system), I want her to succeed because I think playing her style of basketball is the way we back to relatively consistently making the Final Four again. I believe that our ceiling is higher with her (with good S&C, crucially) than with whatever coach we end up with next, if the mistakes that she makes as newbie to D1 (and only in her 9th season of being a WBB head coach!) end up meaning that she's gone within the same period of time as CKH, I will be incredibly disappointed, not just as a LV fan, but as a fan of her system.

That doesn't mean that everything that I've speculated about isn't wrong, obviously. And I'm sure I'm still wrong about some of it (I hope that I'm wrong about all of it, heh) I just hate that the response I'm getting from some people here is coming from the angle of me being a hater of how she coaches, her gameplan, when that isn't true. Faaaar from it, I'm one of the biggest fans of this system in the Tennessee fanbase!

But what I had heard on the S&C end, and now what I'm seeing on the court conditioning-wise... I'm concerned about it! Being behind in S&C in 2024 is much worse than doing these same things back in 1994, when way fewer teams in the country knew better. Nowadays, way more of them do know better. Especially in top conferences. Even if what she was doing in the Mountain East and Sun Belt didn't keep her from winning, doesn't mean that the SEC won't be an entirely different story. Which would be a depressing way for this experiment to fail, through unforced errors and being behind the times in S&C. (in a system where S&C is so crucial, getting it right or wrong may end up being the difference between coaching only 3 years in a major conference then fired, versus coaching the rest of her career here)

It’s nothing, though, that Kim didn’t tell us about from the beginning. Temper expectations.

 

[37620VOL]

Well, can’t compare because the level of player talent far exceeds what she had at Marshall.

Jumper was simply countering the original argument that for some unknown reason coach should be playing everyone on our bench because our bench is better than what she had at Marshall. I don't think he was saying anything more than coach is going to play the players that give us the best chance to win.

 

[Mafiaboss]

Jumper was simply countering the original argument that for some unknown reason coach should be playing everyone on our bench because our bench is better than what she had at Marshall. I don't think he was saying anything more than coach is going to play the players that give us the best chance to win.

Thanks for the translation. Needed.

 

[lvocd]

A little of what I have learned after only three games is that, so far, Talaysia Cooper is, by far, our most dynamic player. She doesn't think she fouls, but she'll clean that up. I am nutty for this kid's energy and overall contribution. And she's SO YOUNG! Kim is probably thanking her lucky stars to have that one. Cooper is already blowing my mind, and she's still probably got another gear. Just ... WOW!

Secondly, from my eye testing, Samara Spencer is ALREADY shaping up to be the overall best point guard we've had since Shannon Bobbitt. She is a steady leader on the court, doesn't constantly turn it over, and can make threes consistently. It speaks volumes about her mental toughness that, even if most everyone else is struggling to hit shots and appear to be discombobulated, Spencer cooly plays well. Having Samara on the floor makes us at least twice as good as those times she's resting on the bench. What a great addition to Tennessee!

Ruby Whitehorn kinda got in her own way last night for some reason, and you could see she looked like she felt somehow smaller and less confident. Not sure what's going on there, and I hope she snaps out of it quickly because a regular trio of Cooper-Spencer-Whitehorn, if they're all "on," will be a problem for ANY opponent we face all season. With Spearman/Latham plus Boyd, that group, as they continue to gel, is going to be a serious problem for everyone else.

I'm hoping Jewel Spear gets back on track. Right now she is, to my eye, on the high end of the second tier as far as how I see it when I extrapolate all the way to the NCAA Tournament and whose quickness, ballhandling, defensive trapping proficiency AND scoring ability will be tops at the end.

From what my eye sees, Spencer, Puckett and Darby are all three quite a bit slower than any of the players I mentioned above, and as the season progresses and, hopefully, those above continue to perfect their defense and build stamina, I'm not sure Spear, Puckett or Darby will have been genetically capable of matching the improvements I hope to see players make in areas that require a higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Favor Ayodele hustles and is very physically strong, so I have hope she'll continue to improve and, eventually, earn a few more minutes.

The jury is still out on the team enigma, AKA Jillian Hollingshead. She's just a teeny bit slower than is ideal, and I have to think that is her primary issue. She's NOT a glacier, but is just enough slower that she's not getting the calls, and that is messing with her confidence.

Avery Strickland has tons of energy and, I think, can definitely carve out a role for herself if she keeps working super hard and doesn't get down. When she's on the floor I can see how much she loves and appreciates being on the floor wearing a Tennessee Lady Vols uniform. Don't count this kid out as she continues to grow in this program. She could make some timely good plays for us as a player not likely to be on anyone's radar. Sometimes even ONE play at the right time can make the difference between a win and a loss.

Destinee Wells is simply way behind and not physically ready to compete for serious minutes. I feel bad for her because she has the potential, as we all saw pre-injury, to be a player who could help us. She just hasn't gotten all her health back yet, and won't be physically able to meet the demands of this new system, until she has. If she buckles down, makes up her mind that she WILL contribute this season, who knows? Maybe by the end of the year she can be a secret weapon for Kim!

To sum up, I realize some of what I've said may go over like a lead balloon because, in my opinion, consistent quickness is extremely important and some of our fans' personal favorite players are simply not among our quickest players.

I'm certainly not stupid enough to give up on ANYone, for ANY reason, after only three dang games. lol Just giving my very FIRST, earlyearlyEARLY impressions.

I'm loving this team so far, and can see them getting much better as things start truly clicking for them. They have only scratched the surface of their potential!

 

[VolBall09]

A little of what I have learned after only three games is that, so far, Talaysia Cooper is, by far, our most dynamic player. She doesn't think she fouls, but she'll clean that up. I am nutty for this kid's energy and overall contribution. And she's SO YOUNG! Kim is probably thanking her lucky stars to have that one. Cooper is already blowing my mind, and she's still probably got another gear. Just ... WOW!

Secondly, from my eye testing, Samara Spencer is ALREADY shaping up to be the overall best point guard we've had since Shannon Bobbitt. She is a steady leader on the court, doesn't constantly turn it over, and can make threes consistently. It speaks volumes about her mental toughness that, even if most everyone else is struggling to hit shots and appear to be discombobulated, Spencer cooly plays well. Having Samara on the floor makes us at least twice as good as those times she's resting on the bench. What a great addition to Tennessee!

Ruby Whitehorn kinda got in her own way last night for some reason, and you could see she looked like she felt somehow smaller and less confident. Not sure what's going on there, and I hope she snaps out of it quickly because a regular trio of Cooper-Spencer-Whitehorn, if they're all "on," will be a problem for ANY opponent we face all season. With Spearman/Latham plus Boyd, that group, as they continue to gel, is going to be a serious problem for everyone else.

I'm hoping Jewel Spear gets back on track. Right now she is, to my eye, on the high end of the second tier as far as how I see it when I extrapolate all the way to the NCAA Tournament and whose quickness, ballhandling, defensive trapping proficiency AND scoring ability will be tops at the end.

From what my eye sees, Spencer, Puckett and Darby are all three quite a bit slower than any of the players I mentioned above, and as the season progresses and, hopefully, those above continue to perfect their defense and build stamina, I'm not sure Spear, Puckett or Darby will have been genetically capable of matching the improvements I hope to see players make in areas that require a higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Favor Ayodele hustles and is very physically strong, so I have hope she'll continue to improve and, eventually, earn a few more minutes.

The jury is still out on the team enigma, AKA Jillian Hollingshead. She's just a teeny bit slower than is ideal, and I have to think that is her primary issue. She's NOT a glacier, but is just enough slower that she's not getting the calls, and that is messing with her confidence.

Avery Strickland has tons of energy and, I think, can definitely carve out a role for herself if she keeps working super hard and doesn't get down. When she's on the floor I can see how much she loves and appreciates being on the floor wearing a Tennessee Lady Vols uniform. Don't count this kid out as she continues to grow in this program. She could make some timely good plays for us as a player not likely to be on anyone's radar. Sometimes even ONE play at the right time can make the difference between a win and a loss.

Destinee Wells is simply way behind and not physically ready to compete for serious minutes. I feel bad for her because she has the potential, as we all saw pre-injury, to be a player who could help us. She just hasn't gotten all her health back yet, and won't be physically able to meet the demands of this new system, until she has. If she buckles down, makes up her mind that she WILL contribute this season, who knows? Maybe by the end of the year she can be a secret weapon for Kim!

To sum up, I realize some of what I've said may go over like a lead balloon because, in my opinion, consistent quickness is extremely important and some of our fans' personal favorite players are simply not among our quickest players.

I'm certainly not stupid enough to give up on ANYone, for ANY reason, after only three dang games. lol Just giving my very FIRST, earlyearlyEARLY impressions.

I'm loving this team so far, and can see them getting much better as things start truly clicking for them. They have only scratched the surface of their potential!

I almost wonder if there is discussion of shelving Wells for another year and letting her rehab. Could she redshirt again? I’m not sure she would want to of course, but I do wonder.

Just seems like she has recovered slowly from her injury and clearly isn’t conditioned to play at this pace at all.

 

[newladyvolfan]

We had to pull back on the press a lot due to the way the game was being officiated. We were in foul trouble in the second half so we had to soften it up. Any contact the MTSU players were acting like they got hit by a truck and the officials were obliging with a whistle every single time.

There needs to be a fake trap call in the press.. and they need to work on different presses.. They still cant guard in the half court.. and they still need to play longer than 45 secs. ... The Suns never won a championship playing this kind of ball.... by the way do some research.. Where was the old Suns head coaches brother at...

 

[lvocd]

I almost wonder if there is discussion of shelving Wells for another year and letting her rehab. Could she redshirt again? I’m not sure she would want to of course, but I do wonder.

Just seems like she has recovered slowly from her injury and clearly isn’t conditioned to play at this pace at all.

I've wondered the same thing. But like I said, IF she doesn't give up and busts her butt to get back, if she could even come in for a few minutes in a pinch at the end of the season and at least not make a shaky situation worse, then that would be okay.

I does hurt us that Kaiya Wynn is out, and we never know when injuries are going to take out another Lady Vol or two, so it would be super if Kim had another player to go to if needed.

 

[newladyvolfan]

So you are doubling down on your statement that the two MTSU guards could play for ANY SEC team, right? Those were your words, not mine. Btw, how is SEC Maddie doing in her “league” ? You are so predictable.

Blakely could play for an SEC team.. Her mom was a legend as well.

 

[newladyvolfan]

Because it was invented at one place, and its spread has been very slow.

It won the D2 National Championship with Caldwell's Glenville State, it has won a D2 Men's National Championship at Nova Southeastern (and they went to back-to-back natty games, didn't get the second one though) in just the past few years, and I think that's good enough reason on its own to think that the future is very, very bright for the System.

Did Nova kind of run the same system?? Just looked up his stuff.. He was just up the street from Kim in West Virginia... He is a winner and they score a lot of points.

 

[VolBall09]

Blakely could play for an SEC team.. Her mom was a legend as well.

I’m not convinced. She’s a talented kid but I think she’s just too small and too slight. We haven’t seen that translate well from mid-major to P4 with the portal. Have seen several guards who were very successful at that level try to transfer up and just could not compete.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Middle got much needed rest with all the fouls and foul shots.

Underrated observation.

 

[RAVOL]

Underrated observation.

Thanks

 

[Volfan2012]

Watch Insell’s post game presser. Count him as one who doesn’t believe the mass substitutions, 40 minute full court is going to work in the SEC. He’s a little salty, probably because he never got a call for the vacancies after Pat. I’m not concerned, the staff will adjust and I think you’ll see a blend of styles over time.

As long as we got five on the floor like the other team don't see where the subbing hurts at all. It was obvious we had his team sucking wind as early as the middle of the second quarter. The only worry in subbing is drop off in the quality of the subs. Were fairly firm with ten players so I don't see a drop off being a problem.

 

[Volfan2012]

Underrated observation.

The main reason not to foul keep the other team working no rest for them.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Temper expectations.

 

[Volfan2012]

MTSU qualifies as a Quad two win right now could possibly move to a one don't see it leaving two. Next game vs Liberty will be a Quad three. The first two wins were Quad four.

 

[Volfan2012]

I’m not convinced. She’s a talented kid but I think she’s just too small and too slight. We haven’t seen that translate well from mid-major to P4 with the portal. Have seen several guards who were very successful at that level try to transfer up and just could not compete.

She came back to MTSU cause she wasn't playing to where she transferred. She got in a rhythm last night for sure probably not going to happen in a lot of the games.

 

[newladyvolfan]

She’s going to click soon and give this team another dimension. Her and Kaniya Boyd are going to be really good.



The Coach Caldwell’s system is absolutely going to thrive. We are seeing flashes of outstanding basketball in the early phase.
People on the outside or those opposed to it for their own personal reasons are going to nitpick no matter what so I’ll never give their opinions any thought.
Just when you listen to the commentators, coaches, players, recruits, parents, opposing fans, and LV fans speak you hear people talking about how fun and exciting this brand is. And it’s winning basketball. People throw all those schemes and systems out there to make comparisons. There’s only one comparison to the excitement and high octane style… that’s the Steve Nash led Phoenix Suns under Coach Mike D’Antoni! Once it clicks the LVs will be one of the most watched teams in WBB and Coach Caldwell will continue to be one of the most winningest coaches in college!

Suns couldnt win.. and D'Antoni did not have success after the Suns.

 

[newladyvolfan]

She came back to MTSU cause she wasn't playing to where she transferred. She got in a rhythm last night for sure probably not going to happen in a lot of the games.

She left because no one likes the Arizona coach... look at how many players transfer out of that program. she is on the hot seat as well

 

[Volfan2012]

She left because no one likes the Arizona coach... look at how many players transfer out of that program. she is on the hot seat as well

That and she wasn't getting a chance to play much. I think she is a good little player played great last night.

 

[newladyvolfan]

I suspect Zee is a normal starter and she deserves to be, prob depends on team matchups, letting the chief decide that, she knows best.

Zee and Cooper need to learn how to not force shots and move the ball.. Several times in the last 3 games they over dribble and force shots when players are wide open... and Zee body language is horrible.. shes a energy taker.