Lady Vols Conflict

#1
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Orange_Mamba

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#1
Before the season started I knew one of the biggest issues was going to be player's egos. You get players out to get theirs, but don't have the simple concept of being a team player. Here's a quote from the Linnae Harper Swish Appeal article:

Harper visited Tennessee two weeks ago, and while she liked the talent, the palpable chemistry issues within the team was something Harper noticed, sources told Swish Appeal."

This season might get worse than it is, I just hope it's not bad enough that we get transfers at the end of the season.
 
#4
#4
Orange_Mamba said:
Before the season started I knew one of the biggest issues was going to be player's egos. You get players out to get theirs, but don't have the simple concept of being a team player. Here's a quote from the Linnae Harper Swish Appeal article:

Harper visited Tennessee two weeks ago, and while she liked the talent, the palpable chemistry issues within the team was something Harper noticed, sources told Swish Appeal."

This season might get worse than it is, I just hope it's not bad enough that we get transfers at the end of the season.
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There had to be a reason, other than Holly's inability to coach an effective offense, that was affecting this team. My worst fears may have been realized.
Holly's pre season quotes about the team lacking trust in each other were telling. Why was she able to take the injury depleted LV's (a 1 seed in last season's NCAA tournament) to the elite 8 last season while this season's supposedly more talented team looks headed for a 4+ seed ?
Now it's up to Holly to get everyone on the same page.
By definition, that's the coach's job.
 
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#5
#5
Harper has committed to Ohio State.

Linnae Harper transfers to Ohio State - Swish Appeal

When Diamond committed to UNC, she got a ton of highly-talented recruits to join her there. When she left, they did too. Yet not a single one of them wanted to transfer to Tennessee and continue to play with her. They all went somewhere else. Now Harper would rather not be her teammate either. Diamond is an incredible talent and should be an AA candidate. Her athleticism is off the charts. I just don't know if she is a team-first player. Only her past, current, and (potentially) future teammates can answer that, and they are speaking very loudly with their feet.
 
#6
#6
Orange_Mamba said:
Before the season started I knew one of the biggest issues was going to be player's egos. You get players out to get theirs, but don't have the simple concept of being a team player. Here's a quote from the Linnae Harper Swish Appeal article:

Harper visited Tennessee two weeks ago, and while she liked the talent, the palpable chemistry issues within the team was something Harper noticed, sources told Swish Appeal."

This season might get worse than it is, I just hope it's not bad enough that we get transfers at the end of the season.
Click to expand...

This may have been a problem with all the potential transfers and probable recruits as we haven't been able to gain anyone.
I think we certainly have some loose cannons on the team and Holly is not tough enough to solve the problem and I expect she doesn't want to run the risk of running somebody off. However as is happening now it is better to get rid of bad apples no matter who they are before they rotten the entire bunch.
We'll see how it goes from here I see nothing but bad days ahead for this team hope I am totally wrong.
 
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#7
#7
Orange_Mamba said:
I just hope it's not bad enough that we get transfers at the end of the season.
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A bigger concern would be transfers between semesters. Reimer just left Notre Dame between terms. Last year Duke lost Calhoun and UConn lost Edwards at this time of year. Players are no longer honoring their commitments and finishing out the season. There seem to be a lot more transfers (in WCBB) now than ten years ago. It isn't just the end-of-the-bench players; it's starters too. It's getting to be as bad as the men's teams.
 
#8
#8
Precisely why I don't really look at transfers and jucos favorably. Baggage is baggage. Not that there aren't exceptions and success stories, but I take a position of believing when I see it.
 
#9
#9
Before we jump to conclusions about possible conflict on the LV team, look hard at Linnae Harper and why Kentucky was so willing to let her go anywhere regarding schools. Someone indicated that she was stubborn and hard headed and hard to coach while at Kentucky...so maybe the pot could be calling the kettle black...
 
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#10
#10
I love the lady Vols, and just want the best for thim. I beleave they are working very hard and want to wim more then we want them too.:punch_bag:
 
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#12
#12
Holly is trying to play too many players for the style we play. Play 12 players then you should be full court pressing the entire game.
 
#14
#14
Orange_Mamba said:
Harper visited Tennessee two weeks ago, and while she liked the talent, the palpable chemistry issues within the team was something Harper noticed, sources told Swish Appeal."
Click to expand...

This is not good news. I get it that Harper may have her own issues, but to give this info to a nationally read women's site? Just not good at all.

Assuming there are actual chemistry issues, if the issues are associated with DD (or Cooper), it's even more problematic. If with anyone else, it should be able to be dealt with quickly.
 
#16
#16
Trixietrouble said:
Assuming there are actual chemistry issues, if the issues are associated with DD (or Cooper), it's even more problematic. If with anyone else, it should be able to be dealt with quickly.
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A coach who is in full control of her team should be able to deal with it quickly regardless of the players involved. "Team" should always come first. If there are issues with players (and it is just supposition at this point), it isn't something that just starts when they get to college. It would be something that was evident when they played in high school, AAU, USA Basketball, or on another college team. If that were the case, why recruit a player with these tendencies to begin with?
 
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#17
#17
golf437 said:
Silly.
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At this point, we're trying to find a little levity wherever we can.

If you want to hear silly, wait until the wine coolers kick in across LV Nation during the rest of the Western road swing.

The Survivor finale is looking better all the time.
 
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#18
#18
During the Stanford game, I will make a point of watching the players' body language and facial expressions to see if any of them are actually finding joy in the sport anymore. For those who are fortunate enough to be at the game in person, perhaps you can keep an eye on the bench and report back what you see about those players and their interactions with one another. There may be some clues there.

I remember watching Angel M. play in college and one look at her face during a game and you knew exactly what she thought of the refs, her opponents, and unfortunately, even her own teammates.
 
#19
#19
Diamond appeared to be a team player to me. I believe she needs to be more selfish and shoot more. I think she may have been told to do so as well.
 
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#20
#20
creekdipper said:
At this point, we're trying to find a little levity wherever we can.

If you want to hear silly, wait until the wine coolers kick in across LV Nation during the rest of the Western road swing.

The Survivor finale is looking better all the time.
Click to expand...

lol
 
#21
#21
BigOrangeD said:
Diamond appeared to be a team player to me. I believe she needs to be more selfish and shoot more. I think she may have been told to do so as well.
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Tennessee shoots 41%; Diamond shoots 38%. Having her take more shots will brings the shooting percentage and total points down. Do you really think the team needs to score FEWER points?

If you are a Vol who isn't named Diamond, do you really want to just be an extra on the team? A member of Diamond's entourage? I cannot imagine how that would help team chemistry!

If you are the coach of Notre Dame or UConn, you would love for Diamond to take 100% of Tennessee's shots. Both teams shoot over 50% for the year. If Diamond takes every shot at 38%, which team do you think will win?
 
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#22
#22
Hoya Saxa said:
If you are a Vol who isn't named Diamond, do you really want to just be an extra on the team? A member of Diamond's entourage? I cannot imagine how that would help team chemistry!
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If you are a Vol who isn't named Diamond, then you need to step up your game if you don't want to "just be an extra on the team".

Diamond is willing to carry the team on her shoulders. To an extent, so does Bashaara (mostly good) and Cooper (mostly bad). But at least they put themselves out there.

The rest of the team needs to share that willingness to take the big shot on the big stage, otherwise they will remain "just an extra on the team"
 
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#23
#23
before I had read that crap supposedly said by Harper, I had re watched early this morning the UT/penn state game. And there was a segment of game time where Cooper was trying to do it all and mostly making either turnovers or missing shots that caught my old eyes. She ignored easy passes out to Middleton at least twice, and another time to someone else that I don't recall right now who it was. watching it, I was thinking "Damn, don't be a ball hog. Pass to the open shooter.

If an old fart like me can pick up on the obvious from afar, no doubt a first hand observer(Harper) could too.

It's all beginning to jell now... why the offense is so offensive!

Note, I have 3 daughters and we have NEVER had a full day of peace in the house when they all are here without some kind of drama. They are all competitive as heck.. I imagine the same thing is at work with the Lady Vols.
 
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#24
#24
:rock:The Lady Vols seem to have several problems in games. First we use a full court press with success part of the time...then quit. Why? Is this a coaching or players decision or simply lack of personnel to pursue physically?

Next we have a horrible offense with players that simply do not move. Three are spread across the end of the court while two move about on the perimeter without success of getting the ball inside. Look at the good teams of UConn, ND and others, all their players are on the move constantly...then an opposition player makes a mistake resulting in a score.

Why are the good players choosing other schools? We went for four post players and came up empty handed. The lost of the Kentucky transfer may not have been bad...Kentucky did not seemed concerned that she was leaving either.
 
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