Lady Vols Go Cold The Second Half

[Darth_Vol]

Ariel? take the tournament off?

Should put an end to all the crying over her All-SEC exclusion. Still a one-dimensional player....

 

[armchair]

Should put an end to all the crying over her All-SEC exclusion. Still a one-dimensional player....

Massengale not being all SEC. That is crazy. Perhaps you are thinking of complaints about Carter getting stiffed when she wasn't put on the SEC All Defense team--despite leading the league in steals, as I recall!

To beat a good team, our vets--Burdick, Mass and Graves--need to score //at least// 30 points, and today that trio had 13. Woeful. Problem is, none of them can be described as a natural scorer. All three have somewhat limited offensive games.

Massengale--who I thought had a ton of promise when she got to UT as a freshman--has played regularly for 3.5 years (missed the last half of last year with her head injury) but her point guard game seemed to regress with each passing year, and by this year her main asset was three-point shooting, but she's been very spotty (at best) as a shooter, and if she's not making threes she doesn't do much of anything to scare a good opponent. You can't be a senior guard like her and score no baskets in a title game. That's just BAD.

Burdick has been our best player this year. I love her attitude, her personality and her game. We need more like her. We had been on a roll in large part because of her strong mid-range shooting. She has the most polished offensive game of anyone on the team, but strength is spot-up shooting--and the opportunities and the shots just weren't there today. Not sure why as I missed the second half. She had 9 shots for the game, made 3. We'll never beat anybody good with Burdick scoring only 6--we need her and Massengale to score.

Graves had virtually no offensive game outside of offensive putbacks until this year. To her credit, she has developed some offensively, but she will never be a natural scorer. Today she got screwed by two absurd foul calls in the first half sat out most of the first 20 minutes. Perhaps for that reason--and because SC has a lot of size, she could not get untracked.

When Middleton hit her three in the first half, I really thought we were going to win the game. Turns out, that was our high point for the day. The offense soon went in the toilet, Middleton didn't score again, and that was all she wrote. We don't have great players on this team but we have a bunch of good players and they have to play better in the NCAA tournament, needless to say.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

I said before the season began, when so many on here were talking about going to the Final Four this season, that it would not happen this year. I also said we would be lucky to make the Elite 8. I stick by that.

Next season, though, we will make it to the Final Four, provided Russell works very hard to improve her game, and her conditioning. Russell is a huge cog in the Lady Vol machine next season.

 

[oldbasshead2]

With the talent and size gap between SC and the rest of the conference, the Vols just were not able to compete inside today without Harrison, Russell & Graves. Making it to the Final Four takes good luck injury wise as well as talent, size, coaching and effort.

 

[LurkerExposed]

I think y'all aren't giving enough credit to where it may be due: USC and their elite defense. USC held UT to 33.3% FG shooting and 46 points: the 2nd-lowest percentage this season (after the 27.5% they shot vs Rutgers), and the lowest point total the Lady Vols has had this season (besting the 54 pts they scored twice in wins versus Wichita St. and Auburn).

UT went up 26-21 in the first half, when Coach Staley called a "get back to religion" timeout at the 4-minute mark. The Gamecocks outscored the Lady Vols 41-20 the rest of the way. They shot 7-22 (31.8%) during the first 16 minutes of the game, then shot 18-35 (51.4%) the rest of the way. I really don't think the officiating of the game played much of a role here....

 

[LA Vol]

SCAR is well-coached with some elite talent, and they outplayed UT today. But UK beat SCAR, and we could have beaten them, too. Our key players needed to bring their A game, though, and they weren't able to do that. An average C effort doesn't win championships.

 

[Darth_Vol]

Massengale not being all SEC. That is crazy. Perhaps you are thinking of complaints about Carter getting stiffed when she wasn't put on the SEC All Defense team--despite leading the league in steals, as I recall!

Carter was the big one, but some fans were outraged that Massengale wasn't at least second team All-SEC. This was fresh off her career day against Vandy...

 

[cricks12]

go vols!

 

[oldbasshead2]

I'm not a coach or player, only a fan and an observer. I watched the Lady Vols play every SEC Tournament game this week except the championship game vs SC. Why? I had no confidence they would play well in the championship. Recent history supports that. The Lady Vols have not been the same since Candice Parker left, even in Pat Summit's last years. They have been good, just not exceptional. Something is missing - the best players are going to other schools and the Lady Vols tend to wilt when the heat is on. Now with that said, I realize that things might have been better today if: M. Russell had been able to play this season, I. Harrison had been healthy & J. Jones had been able to play this season. I feel comfortable that the Lady Vols could win a couple of games in the NCAA tournament, but after that my confidence falls way off based on recent history.

 

[LurkerExposed]

SCAR is well-coached with some elite talent, and they outplayed UT today. But UK beat SCAR, and we could have beaten them, too. Our key players needed to bring their A game, though, and they weren't able to do that. An average C effort doesn't win championships.

USC has had some C-Game moments of their own this season. The UK game was particularly disappointing - I don't know if they were still in a hangover period over beating UT, but they did not look nor play very well at all that game. They had a very cold-shooting night, and it cannot be credited to any defense UK implemented, because UK has the worst scoring defense in the league.

USC started the SECT a bit shaky as well: versus Arkansas they dominated in the post with 44 boards and 15 blocks, but offensively even though they shot 44% they seemed to lack the intensity. Against LSU in the 1st half they were as bad as they were versus UK, and I thought they were about to be knocked out of the tournament, but similar to how they stepped up against UT at the 4-minute mark of the 1st half, the Gamecocks shot 78% in the 2nd half and score 47 pts to pull away against a LSU team that was playing some of it's best basketball of the season.

And USC has had some other games that were 18-20 pt wins that could've easily been 25-30 pt wins, but weren't because they've had spells and lapses where their offense disappears for periods at times. They can be sloppy with the ball and their fundamentals in making the chippies under the basket, and get lazy often at the free throw line. If they can put together 40 minutes of what they are truly capable of doing as a team, IMO they could be a serious contender versus UConn. But I had been watching them all season to see if they'd rise to that level, and they haven't yet....

 

[armchair]

Staley gets in the faces of her players when they are playing badly. Does Warlick ever do that? She gets mad--but does she ever call out players?

 

[madtownvol]

I think y'all aren't giving enough credit to where it may be due: USC and their elite defense. ....

SPOT ON! Sometimes people forget that the LVs are not the Harlem globe trotters playing the hapless Washington Generals. There are other good teams on the court who also have goals.

Staley and SC had the players to matchup with the LVs small ball and still control the interior. A Mass did not have much of a game because USC gave her no room at the arc. And when she tried to drive the lane, no space. It was impressive how SC was able to cover both inside and outside players. Of course, the key is that the USC did not have to double cover any LV in the post. It was excellent one-on-one defending on Graves and Burdick.

Having said that, the LVs missed a lot of open shots in some key stretches.

All in all, the LVs can learn from this and be a better team in the NCAA tournament.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Staley gets in the faces of her players when they are playing badly. Does Warlick ever do that? She gets mad--but does she ever call out players?

I was able to actually see them LIVE at the Championship and during a couple of "media timeouts" Holly was in Massengale and Burdick's face VERY agitated! Its hilarious how everyone thinks Holly is soooo soft when they don't know 1.What she ACTUALLY says to the players
2. How she runs any of her practices.... You all just speculate from your "armchair" couches!

 

[Volicity]

The Lady Vols don't have the talent of USC. We don't have the rebounding, the depth or the size. We have only 6, maybe 7 players. You can't win with that. Next year's recruiting class will help save of us from this year's class and hopefully will give us the exposure to get more athletic players in the future.

 

[madtownvol]

I was able to actually see them LIVE at the Championship and during a couple of "media timeouts" Holly was in Massengale and Burdick's face VERY agitated! Its hilarious how everyone thinks Holly is soooo soft when they don't know 1.What she ACTUALLY says to the players
2. How she runs any of her practices.... You all just speculate from your "armchair" couches!

But, it is a proven scientific fact that the team with the coach who yells at his/her players the loudest wins. That is why Georgia and the always barking Andy Landers so soundly defeated the LVs in their three meetings this season. Oh wait......

 

[Amb3096]

The Lady Vols don't have the talent of USC. We don't have the rebounding, the depth or the size. We have only 6, maybe 7 players. You can't win with that. Next year's recruiting class will help save of us from this year's class and hopefully will give us the exposure to get more athletic players in the future.

Jaime Nared looks pretty good to me.

Middleton has her challenges, but no doubt she will be a solid part of the rotation for the next 3 years.

No one expected that Dunbar would light the SEC on fire. Every team needs practice players, after all.

Tennessee doesn't need athletic players; they need skilled players. What good is all the athleticism in the world if you lack fundamentals? Jasmine Jones is the most athletically gifted player on the squad, and the jury is still out if her basketball IQ will ever catch up with her athletic prowess.

 

[madtownvol]

Jaime Nared looks pretty good to me.

Middleton has her challenges, but no doubt she will be a solid part of the rotation for the next 3 years.

No one expected that Dunbar would light the SEC on fire. Every team needs practice players, after all.

Tennessee doesn't need athletic players; they need skilled players. What good is all the athleticism in the world if you lack fundamentals? Jasmine Jones is the most athletically gifted player on the squad, and the jury is still out if her basketball IQ will ever catch up with her athletic prowess.

I am pretty much on the same page. Nared looks very promising and Middleton is showing signs that she can be a good to potentially very good player. A lot will depend on her work ethic.

I think Dunbar is in the same situation. From what I have seen she has more size (obviously) and probably a better shot that Middleton but she lagging on the athletic dimensions. I don't think Dunbar will ever become Tamika Catchings but she can get a lot better athletically with a lot of physical conditioning work.

On the athleticism versus skill, a player like Jones could play the role that Welch plays for USC-- crashing the boards and she has the additional quickness to be a real defensive stopper (much Like Kyra Elzy). Barring injuries, the LVs should be loaded with offensive talent and Jones could fill these other roles.

 

[teacherdean]

I'm not a coach or player, only a fan and an observer. I watched the Lady Vols play every SEC Tournament game this week except the championship game vs SC. Why? I had no confidence they would play well in the championship. Recent history supports that. The Lady Vols have not been the same since Candice Parker left, even in Pat Summit's last years. They have been good, just not exceptional. Something is missing - the best players are going to other schools and the Lady Vols tend to wilt when the heat is on. Now with that said, I realize that things might have been better today if: M. Russell had been able to play this season, I. Harrison had been healthy & J. Jones had been able to play this season. I feel comfortable that the Lady Vols could win a couple of games in the NCAA tournament, but after that my confidence falls way off based on recent history.

You got to support and have faith no matter what happens. Win, lose or draw I am going to watch and support the Lady Vols. As a fan it is hard to miss games even the ones they have a good chance of losing, however, to each his/her own.

 

[oldbasshead2]

You got to support and have faith no matter what happens. Win, lose or draw I am going to watch and support the Lady Vols. As a fan it is hard to miss games even the ones they have a good chance of losing, however, to each his/her own.

I just can't take the disappointment anymore during the biggest games. The last few years have gotten the best of me. I certainly hope they win, but don't enjoy watching them lose big gmes so I just don't watch.

 

[teacherdean]

I just can't take the disappointment anymore during the biggest games. The last few years have gotten the best of me. I certainly hope they win, but don't enjoy watching them lose big gmes so I just don't watch.

I fully understand because I have been a big fan for a long time. I really feel down when they lose.