Lady vols got the win over Texas!

[mlindsay]

You mean fact alert. Nobody who knows bball thinks this was anything, but a poor quality game. Two coaches not capable of coaching well and let their players do whatever they want and thus are not capable of running a set or many other fundamentals

Geno is that you?

 

[ChattyVolfan]

The bad thing about it.....it was a UCONN troll! They must be getting bored over at the Boneyard! I heard they had quite an extensive thread regarding our game against Texas! Not the outcome many were expecting!!!

They seen the parade we were having and tried to come and rain on it....not today!!!

Oh they had MULTIPLE threads discussing the UT/TX game...even one with a poll before the Game asking who would win and what the MOV would be. Of course 80+% before the game said TX would win and most said by double digits, some even by 20+! But when the game was played, even tho allllll those predictions were proven to be incorrect, they just backed their inadequacies by saying neither team even deserved to be top 25 after that “awful display and what barely could be called basketball.” I mean...🤦*♂️ we won...we’re getting better. It’s Dec with 2-3 freshman playing a majority of minutes. Where would their team be if they were having to rely on 2-3 of THEIR freshman at this point of the season? I’m fine with fan bases taking up for their team and hating rivals. But c’mon...don’t hate just to hate.

 

[Rickster]

Spot on post which nicely reflects my feelings on the program since the end of last season. I've withheld judgment on this team until they actually played someone (none of their first nine opponents are currently ranked), but there's no denying the win over Texas was impressive and Holly has done a pretty good job with this young team early....

Ok, I'm officially shocked all to $h!t. A positive post from DV.....

 

[T_Vol376]

Ok, I'm officially shocked all to $h!t. A positive post from DV.....

I’m dead.

 

[T_Vol376]

Now I wouldn’t say all of that 😂😂😂 but I think the last thing the UCONN fan base wants is a title contending Tennessee team.

We’re probably the only program that can come close to surpassing their total number of Championships in the long run.

Exactly!!! 😁

 

[VolEire]

Some folks are acting like they haven't seen an ugly basketball game before, and somehow "pretty" basketball equals good basketball. We have some players now that play tough and a little bit nasty, and I love it.

That was good, tough basketball, and I loved it. Not pretty, but the kind of gutsy basketball that wins championships. We made them work for everything they got. Out worked them for rebounds and loose balls, and actually played above our current skill level. Texas missed a few chippies because we had physically imposed ourselves on them to the extent allowed by the rules of the game. Not cheap, but tough and physical at every opportunity.

I wonder how much of this is Bridget Gordon's handywork?

There's still a lot of progress that we can make with refining skills, offensive crispness, and defensive helpline/rotations, but daggummit I believe we're on the right track.

I'm about to say something I haven't said in 4 years, "well done, Holly!"

I agree completely with you. Bringing Bridget back I believe was a very good move.

 

[Darth_Vol]

Ok, I'm officially shocked all to $h!t. A positive post from DV.....

I just call it like I see it, and there hasn't been much "positive" about the program to post about the last couple of years....

 

[Smallvol#1]

I just call it like I see it, and there hasn't been much "positive" about the program to post about the last couple of years....

Hi, Darth. You been gone a long time, glad you’re OK. Now I’m hoping LVJeff shows back up.

 

[Chitownvol1129]

I haven't commented much since the end of last season because my enthusiasm was pretty tattered and I was having trouble seeing the silver lining. Even with us supposed to be having a great incoming Freshman class, I feel like we've had great classes before, so why would this season be any different? I haven't kept as close of an eye on the team this year as I usually do although I have seen a few games and I went to the Texas game and had great seats - 105, row 11.

Even though the team is 10-0 and we got a great win against #2 ranked Texas, I hesitate to say the "team is back" as I am hearing many people say because of a few problems, but first, here's the positives I noticed from the game and season in general:

Good
- Senior leadership. Although Mercedes didn't turn out to be the player many of us had hoped, she is still having her best season and being more assertive by her standards. Jamie is also being more assertive. It's very rare to win with Freshman being your best players or having to even count on them, so having two Seniors producing is HUGE IMO.

- Team ball. Watching Texas, it felt like for the first time in a long time that there was a team concept on the floor. There was communication on defense. There was ball movement (something I haven't seen in years). And, there was just the sense that it didn't matter who scored OR that if something bad started to happen that we didn't need to have one player try to bail us out.

- Freshman and new players looked promising. I'm still a bit worried that we have two Freshman starting. That's usually more of a red flag than a feather in our cap, BUT I thought Westbrook looked very poised and has a very sweet shot. I really liked Davis's athleticism. She gets off the floor really well. I wasn't as impressed with her shot. I'd like to see her slashing to the basket more and getting inside against inferior defenders. I liked Green's speed getting up and down the floor and the way she fights for the ball. But, like Davis, I also didn't like her outside shot much and hopes she sticks to the inside moving forward. Hayes made me a bit nervous. Maybe I need to watch her play more, but she drives so fearlessly and she's only 5'7''. She got the shot off but I'm not sure if they were all high confidence releases or just making sure she doesn't get blocked.

- We are beating inferior opponents instead of playing down to them. Last year and every year Holly has coached we would have never or very rarely scored 131 points or beat anyone by 50. We would usually be undisciplined and not stick it to them or in some cases even lose to unranked, inferior opponents. This year we are sticking it to people, which is what a good team is supposed to do.


Still a concern
- Turnovers. There were several spots in the game last night where it was like "here we go again": turnovers that just should not have been turnovers. Davis alone had 7 turnovers. 18 for the game is too many. Hopefully it's just Freshman growing pains. We did have an earlier game with only 4 turnovers matching a school record, in a good way, I believe, so perhaps there is still hope on that front. Valuing possessions is very important. We are definitely better than years past so far, but this is something we all want to watch closely as I'm not convinced we've turned the corner yet.

- The schedule TO THIS POINT looks so much more watered down compared to years past. Usually our unranked games were still ACC/B10 opponents that were top 50 or 75 caliber teams. Only two teams, Marquette and Texas, were ranked and it's debatable where the unranked opponents fall but I suspect they won't pad our resume any. Even Texas yesterday was suspect for a #2 team based on my eye test. They missed at least 2 or 3 layups or point blank shots. Had they been a bit more competent, we may have lost. They looked more like a top 10 or 15 team based on that game, not top 5. Long story short, I'm not sure where we are as a team because of the schedule. Fortunately the SEC, with South Carolina, Mississippi State, and all the outlier teams like Missouri, Kentucky, etc. will provide PLENTY of opportunity to see where we are and need to go. We also have a road game against ranked Stanford and Notre Dame which has never been an easy game. I guess it isn't the end of the world to have some easier games when the schedule is about to get pretty tough. The 4 games from 1/11 - 1/21 include #21 Texas A&M, #5 South Carolina, #3 Notre Dame, and #6 Mississippi State. Only one of those games is at home. I just hope we don't have sticker shock when those tougher games get going.

- Coaching staff. It appears they have made some changes around Holly. It took 5 plus years for me to form an opinion about Holly, so I won't be easily changed in that opinion by just a few games into one season. As far as I'm concerned, she is who I thought she is until proven otherwise. On the other hand, if you surround yourself with good people, you can often times be successful in spite of yourself.

It's great they are winning. The last season we started better than 10-0 I believe was the 2005-2006 when they went 18-0 to start. So, it's the best start in 11 seasons. Bottom line for me though, for us to "be back", we will have needed to fix the glaring problems of the past. Hopefully we have fixed some. Time will tell ... Here's to hoping!

I agree, however, Oklahoma st if they are not ranked will be next week, and lots of our turnovers are aggressive playing. I like that! Davis is an excellent shot and slashes to the basket a lot for a 6ft2 freshman. She is an excellent rebounder.She is a pretty good outside shooter too. She was off offensively against Texas but she was getting mugged. We had 18 turnovers but remember how many possessions we had too.Davis is a 50/50 double double any night, got to like that.
As far as Holly. You don't have to be the do everything perfect, her way, that was Pat. Holly has enough sense to use her assistants talent and as a group they are getting it done. A good leader utilizes their teams and assistants strengths. I have a feeling Holly will be on some coach of the year list. We are just going to continue to get better, game by game. The last 2 yrs were not good, i believe a big part of that is gone. Holly should chalk it up to a learning experience. Pat took very few transfers, turning down some of the best ever. I think Holly will weigh team unity quite heavily before bringing in another undergraduate transfer...certainly not an alpha one. Imagine in we never had diamond how much Meme might have grown with playing time the last 2 seasons. I love Nunn...graduate transfer, and we needed Green and she seems to define team player, she is certainly not an attention seeker. Holly is learning from mistakes, and us recruiting players that will fit in with her ciaching style. Ever coach doesn't have to motivate with a killer stare, or be a media darling in interviews. Holly is very intelligent, she seems focused and has a clean direction for developing TN going forward. I hope she succeeds. Everyone forgets she probably never even thought about seriously being a head coach until she had to be one for Pat. Her first yr she was SEC coach of the year and there was lots of talk of national coach of the year too. She has 3 SEC titles in 5 completed seasons. She has one of the best resumes over those 5 years as far as final results...which is all that matters.

 

[Chitownvol1129]

I haven't commented much since the end of last season because my enthusiasm was pretty tattered and I was having trouble seeing the silver lining. Even with us supposed to be having a great incoming Freshman class, I feel like we've had great classes before, so why would this season be any different? I haven't kept as close of an eye on the team this year as I usually do although I have seen a few games and I went to the Texas game and had great seats - 105, row 11.

Even though the team is 10-0 and we got a great win against #2 ranked Texas, I hesitate to say the "team is back" as I am hearing many people say because of a few problems, but first, here's the positives I noticed from the game and season in general:

Good
- Senior leadership. Although Mercedes didn't turn out to be the player many of us had hoped, she is still having her best season and being more assertive by her standards. Jamie is also being more assertive. It's very rare to win with Freshman being your best players or having to even count on them, so having two Seniors producing is HUGE IMO.

- Team ball. Watching Texas, it felt like for the first time in a long time that there was a team concept on the floor. There was communication on defense. There was ball movement (something I haven't seen in years). And, there was just the sense that it didn't matter who scored OR that if something bad started to happen that we didn't need to have one player try to bail us out.

- Freshman and new players looked promising. I'm still a bit worried that we have two Freshman starting. That's usually more of a red flag than a feather in our cap, BUT I thought Westbrook looked very poised and has a very sweet shot. I really liked Davis's athleticism. She gets off the floor really well. I wasn't as impressed with her shot. I'd like to see her slashing to the basket more and getting inside against inferior defenders. I liked Green's speed getting up and down the floor and the way she fights for the ball. But, like Davis, I also didn't like her outside shot much and hopes she sticks to the inside moving forward. Hayes made me a bit nervous. Maybe I need to watch her play more, but she drives so fearlessly and she's only 5'7''. She got the shot off but I'm not sure if they were all high confidence releases or just making sure she doesn't get blocked.

- We are beating inferior opponents instead of playing down to them. Last year and every year Holly has coached we would have never or very rarely scored 131 points or beat anyone by 50. We would usually be undisciplined and not stick it to them or in some cases even lose to unranked, inferior opponents. This year we are sticking it to people, which is what a good team is supposed to do.


Still a concern
- Turnovers. There were several spots in the game last night where it was like "here we go again": turnovers that just should not have been turnovers. Davis alone had 7 turnovers. 18 for the game is too many. Hopefully it's just Freshman growing pains. We did have an earlier game with only 4 turnovers matching a school record, in a good way, I believe, so perhaps there is still hope on that front. Valuing possessions is very important. We are definitely better than years past so far, but this is something we all want to watch closely as I'm not convinced we've turned the corner yet.

- The schedule TO THIS POINT looks so much more watered down compared to years past. Usually our unranked games were still ACC/B10 opponents that were top 50 or 75 caliber teams. Only two teams, Marquette and Texas, were ranked and it's debatable where the unranked opponents fall but I suspect they won't pad our resume any. Even Texas yesterday was suspect for a #2 team based on my eye test. They missed at least 2 or 3 layups or point blank shots. Had they been a bit more competent, we may have lost. They looked more like a top 10 or 15 team based on that game, not top 5. Long story short, I'm not sure where we are as a team because of the schedule. Fortunately the SEC, with South Carolina, Mississippi State, and all the outlier teams like Missouri, Kentucky, etc. will provide PLENTY of opportunity to see where we are and need to go. We also have a road game against ranked Stanford and Notre Dame which has never been an easy game. I guess it isn't the end of the world to have some easier games when the schedule is about to get pretty tough. The 4 games from 1/11 - 1/21 include #21 Texas A&M, #5 South Carolina, #3 Notre Dame, and #6 Mississippi State. Only one of those games is at home. I just hope we don't have sticker shock when those tougher games get going.

- Coaching staff. It appears they have made some changes around Holly. It took 5 plus years for me to form an opinion about Holly, so I won't be easily changed in that opinion by just a few games into one season. As far as I'm concerned, she is who I thought she is until proven otherwise. On the other hand, if you surround yourself with good people, you can often times be successful in spite of yourself.

It's great they are winning. The last season we started better than 10-0 I believe was the 2005-2006 when they went 18-0 to start. So, it's the best start in 11 seasons. Bottom line for me though, for us to "be back", we will have needed to fix the glaring problems of the past. Hopefully we have fixed some. Time will tell ... Here's to hoping!

I agree, mostly...however, lots of our turnovers are aggressive playing. I like that! Davis is an excellent shot and slashes to the basket a lot for a 6ft2 freshman. She is a pretty good outside shooter too. She was off offensively against Texas but she was getting mugged. We had 18 turnovers but remember how many possessions we had too.Davis is a 50/50 double double any night, got to like that. Hayes is fearless and is our best player at getting to the freethrow line...pretty great for a freshman. She is a very productive scorer for her minutes.
Schedule, big win for Holly, i think she learned from Mississippi St last 2 years weak schedule, they were about to develop and catch the winning bug due to it. SEC is hard enough.
As far as Holly. You don't have to be the do everything perfect her way that was Pat. Holly has enough sense to use her assistants talent and as a group they are getting it done. A good leader utilizes their team's and assistant's strengths. I have a feeling Holly will be on some coach of the year list. We are just going to continue to get better, game by game. The last 2 yrs were not good, i believe a big part of that is gone, and certainly Holly is ultimately to blame. Holly should chalk it up to a learning experience. Pat took very few transfers, turning down some of the best ever. I think Holly will weigh team unity quite heavily before bringing in another undergraduate transfer...certainly not an alpha one. Imagine if we never had diamond how much Meme might have grown with playing time the last 2 seasons. I love Nunn...graduate transfer, and we needed Green, and she seems to define team player, she is certainly not an attention seeker. We won ugly Sunday, but we learned a lot about our team. They are fighters and a winning attitude is very contagious. I think this will be a special year, pivotal.
Mercedes...she will be a first or second team AA if she stays healthy, she may not be what some fans thought she would be. She is a different type of post.She is extremely basketball smart, has a really nice soft touch, gets rebounds and looks for outlet passes. She actually beats her man down court 90 plus percent of the time. I am very happy with her performance as a lady vol all thinks considered. She has never truly had a back up.Her finest season is going better than could ve expected...let her finish before saying she didn't meet expectations.

 

[sisaq]

Here we go again! They beat TX and Russell brags. This happens every year and then some nobody team beats them. Why can't they just be humble when talking to the press. She seemed to forget all of TX starters were out by mid 4th quarter except for one who came back the last 3 minutes. Count your blessings, take the win and be humble. After this being said, this is the best team in a long time...no one over rated super star...every player on this team is a star and they work together. Go Lady Vols!

She need to brag especially when ur playing with 3 freshman & u lost 3 key players.

 

[Chitownvol1129]

She need to brag especially when ur playing with 3 freshman & u lost 3 key players.

I like the attitude, people are talking about TN and her and Nared. She is just empathizing the point...this is not last yrs team. This is her and Nared's team. No harm in boasting that we deserve some respect after that win...indeed

 

[sisaq]

Admins can we make a special request please???? Can you somehow delete this account!

Wow,, are u a fan at all? When have u seen a team lead by freshmans? u could sound more intelligent if u keep quite.

 

[Chitownvol1129]

She need to brag especially when ur playing with 3 freshman & u lost 3 key players.

They were out because they couldnt guard us (her and Nared)...and Davis and Green were all over the glass. If they could of made a difference they certainly didn't prove it on the court. Heck they couldnt guard or keep up with our guards.

Mistakenly quoted the wrong post. I agree whole heartedly with quoted post. It was a comment quoting the post I thought I was tagging stating texas had 3 starters out in 4th quarter as if they magically walked away from the game and didn't foul out from constant hacking and holding faster more atheletic players...sorry for any confusion

 

[LadyVol1908]

Wow,, are u a fan at all? When have u seen a team lead by freshmans? u could sound more intelligent if u keep quite.

Sisaq what the h*ll are you talking about ?

 

[FrozenLVFan]

...The schedule TO THIS POINT looks so much more watered down compared to years past. Usually our unranked games were still ACC/B10 opponents that were top 50 or 75 caliber teams. Only two teams, Marquette and Texas, were ranked and it's debatable where the unranked opponents fall but I suspect they won't pad our resume any. Even Texas yesterday was suspect for a #2 team based on my eye test. They missed at least 2 or 3 layups or point blank shots. Had they been a bit more competent, we may have lost. They looked more like a top 10 or 15 team based on that game, not top 5. Long story short, I'm not sure where we are as a team because of the schedule. Fortunately the SEC, with South Carolina, Mississippi State, and all the outlier teams like Missouri, Kentucky, etc. will provide PLENTY of opportunity to see where we are and need to go. We also have a road game against ranked Stanford and Notre Dame which has never been an easy game. I guess it isn't the end of the world to have some easier games when the schedule is about to get pretty tough. The 4 games from 1/11 - 1/21 include #21 Texas A&M, #5 South Carolina, #3 Notre Dame, and #6 Mississippi State. Only one of those games is at home. I just hope we don't have sticker shock when those tougher games get going.

Generally I don't like to see a lot of cupcakes on the OOC schedule either, but this year I think it was a very good strategy. It's given all the freshmen plus newcomer Green time to get acclimated to playing together, and also given some minutes to bench players who will be needed throughout the season.

...The last 2 yrs were not good, i believe a big part of that is gone. Holly should chalk it up to a learning experience. Pat took very few transfers, turning down some of the best ever. I think Holly will weigh team unity quite heavily before bringing in another undergraduate transfer...certainly not an alpha one. Imagine in we never had diamond how much Meme might have grown with playing time the last 2 seasons. I love Nunn...graduate transfer, and we needed Green and she seems to define team player, she is certainly not an attention seeker. Holly is learning from mistakes, and us recruiting players that will fit in with her ciaching style.

Seriously? If Holly had declined to take a NPOY transfer the Tenn fan base would have rioted. Look how much criticism she's taken over far smaller things. She can't win. I felt that transfer was a mistake the instant I heard about it, but everyone on this board was having a party.

 

[madtownvol]

Generally I don't like to see a lot of cupcakes on the OOC schedule either, but this year I think it was a very good strategy. It's given all the freshmen plus newcomer Green time to get acclimated to playing together, and also given some minutes to bench players who will be needed throughout the season.


Seriously? If Holly had declined to take a NPOY transfer the Tenn fan base would have rioted. Look how much criticism she's taken over far smaller things. She can't win. I felt that transfer was a mistake the instant I heard about it, but everyone on this board was having a party.

Oh, I am sure if Holly had said "no" to Diamond, vol nation posters would have unanimously said "we completely trust Holly's judgment about which players fit the team. Who needs another All-American candidate anyway?"

 

[ladyvosl23]

The schedule is not cupcake Texas is a good team same team that blew out Georgia by 29 and ok state be UCLA and the sec don’t look all good

 

[FrozenLVFan]

Sorry, but...
East Tenn State + JMU '17 + Central Arkansas + Alabama St + Troy + Long Beach = Cupcakes.

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

Sorry, but...
East Tenn State + JMU '17 + Central Arkansas + Alabama St + Troy + Long Beach = Cupcakes.

$#!+ .... you have schools where their LEAGUE which you play 16-18 conference games are all cupcakes 😂 so they better schedule tough out of conference games.

 

[sisaq]

Sorry facts hurt. The game was a horrible display of bball. Not one of you can disute it so you're just bad it's been pointed out. The worst display of bball of any top 25 game this year by far, not even close.

U must be on Ganja.