Game Thread: SEC: Lady Vols v Wildcats

[Darth_Vol]

I still think she could handle it . The absolute best person imo ( and she has excellent coaching experience ) is Kara Lawson ! Back that dump truck full of money to her house now !!

Well she did play for Pat, which apparently is the only real requirement to coach here...

 

[Dube]

Bruce Pearl took Buzz Peterson's .500 team - same players- and in year one had them ranked in the top 15 while earning a two-seed in the NCAAT.

And Kevin Ollie won a NC after he finished with 20 win in same year. You would like that to happen but more often than not it doesn't. Where are both teams now.

 

[arkyvol]

Until the powers that be get it through their thick heads that hiring one of Pat's girls is not the same as resurrecting Pat, this program will remain mired in mediocrity. Inbreeding is not a way to run a program.

 

[LasVegasBill23]

Until the powers that be get it through their thick heads that hiring one of Pat's girls is not the same as resurrecting Pat, this program will remain mired in mediocrity. Inbreeding is not a way to run a program.

Agreed here.... Pat's coaching tree is extensive, but that should not preclude AD from going at a full scale search..... of course Pat can never be replicated.... the notion is nice... but ya really think there are those out there who can accomplish what Pat did.... Also different times..... Great coaches do not necessarily have to be grads of UT and don't have to be female do not have to have been tutored by Pat herself....

Hope for best in NCAAs

 

[brubaker]

Pons has been a no show. He looks intimidated...go vols

 

[krichunaka]

IMO Kara Lawson would be a great hire! She is tough, won't let the players slack off and is an assistant in the best league in the world!!! --QUOTE - Dube Post 341
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You really need 4 or 5 years for your players and system to take hold because of recruiting and the coaching change. I agree with you about give it time to develop and work. QUOTE - Dube Post 342
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"I still think she could handle it . The absolute best person imo ( and she has excellent coaching experience ) is Kara Lawson ! Back that dump truck full of money to her house now !!" QUOTE orangealways - post 332

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Dube Post 343
________________________________

So, do you want Kara Lawson to be our coach?
If so, when?
Now?
Or, after "4 or 5 years?"
Would either of you state the denominations? And, the size of this dump truck? Because they - the notes, and dump truck sizes - can vary greatly - for example, ten tons; eighteen tons; tens, twenties, hundreds, and so forth. At some point, we're talking about a lot of money.
**Just having fun with both of you. It was a tough loss, certainly. But, let's step back from the ledge.**

 

[PRG]

This is the end
My only friend, the end....

I don’t understand all of the negativity! We were supposed to lose to a higher ranked team . JMO

Look at our guards :
Sophomore, Jaz #25 ranked
Freshman, Jordon #2 ranked
Freshman, Rennie

Compared to South Carolina:
Senior , Harris #27
( 2-3 years experience over us)
R-Sophomore Destiny Littleton #34
Sophomore Destanni Henderson #9 & #1 pg.
Freshman Zia Cook , #4 and #1 pg

* More experienced, more players , the last two years signed the #1 pg!

Look at our bigs :

Senior , Brown ( not ranked and 1 leg )
Junior, Davis #12
Junior, KK #55
Sophomore, Rae #44
Freshman, Key #49
Freshman, Saunders #100

Senior Harrigan #12
Junior, Grissett #23
Sophomore, Saxton #47
Freshman, Boston #1 player/post
Freshman, Amihere #10
Freshman, Beal #11

Again experience and rankings ! We have one player in the top 12 and they have four ! Just saying.... We need a few more years of recruiting top ranked players if we want to compete! JMO

And next year ain’t a good start?

 

[arkyvol]

Agreed here.... Pat's coaching tree is extensive, but that should not preclude AD from going at a full scale search..... of course Pat can never be replicated.... the notion is nice... but ya really think there are those out there who can accomplish what Pat did.... Also different times..... Great coaches do not necessarily have to be grads of UT and don't have to be female do not have to have been tutored by Pat herself....

Hope for best in NCAAs

I wish Pat had not been struck down in the prime of her life, but that's life. She's irreplaceable, but as Charles DeGaulle once observed, "The graveyards are full of irreplaceable men".

 

[Voltopia]

I don't think anyone thought hiring Kellie Harper would be the same as resurrecting Pat. I also don't think anyone thought hiring Holly Warlick would be the same as resurrecting Pat, either. In fact, I recall there being some interesting speculation as to why Holly was hired in the manner that she was. Either way, I don't think anyone involved thought that hiring from Summit's tree would be the same as replacing her.

I think for the most part it takes special circumstances for athletic departments to invest heavily in women's basketball as it is. There's a lot of "oh this coach is good, let's put a bit more in the pot while they're running the show," but I don't think we've seen many examples of the opposite, where no expense is spared for hiring and the goal is set as "let's buy the best coach out there." Well. Maybe when Texas went after Goestenkors, that was back when she was a hot commodity and Texas needed to replace Jody Conradt. But the reality seems to be that if you hire a good women's coach then that is your good fortune, but otherwise you live with your hire until the contract is up. In fact, I'd say Tennessee firing Holly Warlick, as crazy as this may sound, was entirely atypical. How many programs out there would fire a coach who never missed the NCAA tournament and signed top classes as the head coach? That showed that women's basketball is different at Tennessee. We can only hope it stays that way, inasmuch as the Tennessee athletic department has the appetite to keep it so.

The only real analogue for Tennessee is Connecticut, in terms of abnormal expectations, and I will be watching that circus very closely when the tent opens up for business. They're the only other program I can think of out there who would look at a coach who could make every post-season but fail to reach a Final Four and say "not good enough."

 

[Coffy73]

I don't think anyone thought hiring Kellie Harper would be the same as resurrecting Pat. I also don't think anyone thought hiring Holly Warlick would be the same as resurrecting Pat, either. In fact, I recall there being some interesting speculation as to why Holly was hired in the manner that she was. Either way, I don't think anyone involved thought that hiring from Summit's tree would be the same as replacing her."

The people involved in the hiring process absolutely do not think of getting a resurrected Pat, but the fans do. The fans want immediate Final Fours and championships; they want a program that always gets into the late stages of tournaments and wins! Some on here are already talking about getting rid of Kellie and replacing her with Kara Lawson, all because Tenn. is back to losing badly! Never say never, but I don't think Tenn. will ever reach the heights it did with Summitt, she was one of a kind. Warlick was given tremendous time, now give it to Harper, she just started.

 

[Volfan2012]

Unless you can recruit some elite players and know how to play different game styles to fit the team you are playing then of course we want ever get back to the top. Sc has established their program and Miss State has done a decent job of that as well. Kentucky is trying hard still has a ways to go they are mostly poaching Tennessee and grabbing transfers. 2021 is a big class for us and we need a couple Grad Transfers that can play not just bodies to come in next season. I think the two freshmen will be contributors coming off the bench. I believe both are better than anyone after our top six or seven. 2021 needs to be a top ten class and even more it needs to be a class with some skills meaning able to shoot the ball and make free throws. The present team has some highly ranked players. The only one that can actualy shoot and make free throws is Davis. Burrell and Horston have occasional good games on the floor, but both are less than 70 percent free throw shooters. KK arrives and plays some decent ball occasionally her skills are limited both offensively and defensively. Several players coming off the bench seem to be a long way from being D1 type players that can help you a lot in the SEC.
So the goal has to be for players like Horston, Burrell, and Key to become far better offensively both on the court shooting and at the line. We lost at least two games this season because of poor free throw shooting. We need a point guard that is skilled offensively and quick enough defensively to cause problems on the perimeter. We could use a post to fill in while Key and Saunders try to progress.

 

[Prophet1]

Unless you can recruit some elite players and know how to play different game styles to fit the team you are playing then of course we want ever get back to the top. Sc has established their program and Miss State has done a decent job of that as well. Kentucky is trying hard still has a ways to go they are mostly poaching Tennessee and grabbing transfers. 2021 is a big class for us and we need a couple Grad Transfers that can play not just bodies to come in next season. I think the two freshmen will be contributors coming off the bench. I believe both are better than anyone after our top six or seven. 2021 needs to be a top ten class and even more it needs to be a class with some skills meaning able to shoot the ball and make free throws. The present team has some highly ranked players. The only one that can actualy shoot and make free throws is Davis. Burrell and Horston have occasional good games on the floor, but both are less than 70 percent free throw shooters. KK arrives and plays some decent ball occasionally her skills are limited both offensively and defensively. Several players coming off the bench seem to be a long way from being D1 type players that can help you a lot in the SEC.
So the goal has to be for players like Horston, Burrell, and Key to become far better offensively both on the court shooting and at the line. We lost at least two games this season because of poor free throw shooting. We need a point guard that is skilled offensively and quick enough defensively to cause problems on the perimeter. We could use a post to fill in while Key and Saunders try to progress.

You missed Jas.

 

[glv98]

You missed Jas.

I noticed that, and I've noticed it in other posts. Jas is kind of the invisible player. I see many posts saying our big problem is we need a pg, we need quick guards, today someone said our problem is we have no guards who can slash and dish, or slash and score.

So I wonder, have we given up on our current guards and is that justified? No hope they get better? Because it seems to me we need quality subs at guard but I swear Jas, Jordan and Rae (I'm counting her as a guard) are just a click away being really good.

Jordan and Rae are definitely slashers, its just their results are mixed. They may score (hooray), they may get to the rim and brick a layup, they may fall halfway down the lane and turn the ball over. Both seem to have plenty of talent to overcome this and be very real threats to slash and dish or slash and score. Both have shown the ability to score other ways, though inconsistently, and both definitely have a scorer's mentality. Both also are decent defensive players most of the time. I see no reason with the improvement you would expect from all their playing time this year they wouldn't be really good next year.

Jas just seems to fly under the radar. Arguably the team's most improved player from last year, she doesn't do enough spectacular to get positive attention and nothing awful to get scorn. She does have a great handle amidst the turnover madness, among the best assist/t.o ratios in the league and the country. She seems almost reluctant to shoot but has shown a nice pull up jumper in the lane. She doesn't seem slow to me, but not a quickie either. Like the rest, mostly adequate on D. If she works on 3 pt shooting and with experience, becomes less hesitant and tentative on offense, she can be really good.

All 3 need to work on 3 pt shooting, having no real outside shooting threat really cripples our offense. I don't see why they couldn't or shouldn't do all this during the offseason and become a quality back court.

 

[volnationnj]

Horston is the player this team will be built around in the coming years. She will make everyone forget this year's turnover problems. When Davis leaves, Jordan will be light years ahead of any other LV. But she won't be able to win a championship by herself.
CKH will need to recruit a lot better than she has so far
(And I'm not saying she can't recruit better. It's just that so far, she hasn't)