Lady Vols vs Boise State in the NCAA First Round Tournament

[governmentmule]

Normally I would agree with you, and there is something to be said for the "survive and advance" mantra, however, this game epitomizes a glaring problem(s) with Holly's coaching.

Before I start, let me say that I don't believe that I fall firmly in either camp when it comes to Holly as a head coach. There are a number of things that Holly does well and there are a number of things she could definitely improve on. Her game management is one of those things that needs vast improvement! If memory serves me correctly, the first half "use it, or lose it" timeout went away without being used. When the Lady Vols started playing sloppily in the latter stages of the second half, Holly used exactly one time out! And during the time outs, instead of getting in several of the players' jerseys (Burdick, in particular, comes to mind here) and demanding that they play to their capabilities (a la Pat's response to Abby Conklin during a poor tournament game), it appeared that she was consoling them!

Holly needs to realize two things. One, she is responsible during the game for the strategic use of time outs to settle her own team and to disrupt the flow of the other team, and, two, she is not the shoulder for the players to cry on anymore, she is the disciplinarian who is tasked with motivating and demanding the best of each player and for sitting their butts on the bench if they can't give it or aren't giving it in a particular game!

Just my opinion, but, frankly, I'm getting tired of saying, "I hope the team has gotten their bad game out of their system and will bring the Lady Vol effort in the rest of the tournament games", because, for the past seven or eight years, it seems like we say it every year and every year it has been nothing more than wishful thinking.

Jim

CHW does need to step this part up

" she is not the shoulder for the players to cry on anymore, she is the disciplinarian "

she was the shoulder for players to come after CPS had chewed em out,I think she is having problems with that as the head coach

of course i may be wrong and she is doing that and the players aren't listening

which means she needs to step it up

but who knows ?

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

This game is typical of the first of the year...no one including the coaching staff had their motor running in this game. So typical, I hope they have finally woke up and realize, "Yes, It is time to start playing!"

 

[stubbs9]

I agree. She needs to stop being so nice.

 

[Benionsopinion]

Normally I would agree with you, and there is something to be said for the "survive and advance" mantra, however, this game epitomizes a glaring problem(s) with Holly's coaching.

Before I start, let me say that I don't believe that I fall firmly in either camp when it comes to Holly as a head coach. There are a number of things that Holly does well and there are a number of things she could definitely improve on. Her game management is one of those things that needs vast improvement! If memory serves me correctly, the first half "use it, or lose it" timeout went away without being used. When the Lady Vols started playing sloppily in the latter stages of the second half, Holly used exactly one time out! And during the time outs, instead of getting in several of the players' jerseys (Burdick, in particular, comes to mind here) and demanding that they play to their capabilities (a la Pat's response to Abby Conklin during a poor tournament game), it appeared that she was consoling them!

Holly needs to realize two things. One, she is responsible during the game for the strategic use of time outs to settle her own team and to disrupt the flow of the other team, and, two, she is not the shoulder for the players to cry on anymore, she is the disciplinarian who is tasked with motivating and demanding the best of each player and for sitting their butts on the bench if they can't give it or aren't giving it in a particular game!

Just my opinion, but, frankly, I'm getting tired of saying, "I hope the team has gotten their bad game out of their system and will bring the Lady Vol effort in the rest of the tournament games", because, for the past seven or eight years, it seems like we say it every year and every year it has been nothing more than wishful thinking.

Jim

CannonVol,your assessment is spot on. Our Ladies have struggled with this since the days of Parker and Anosike. We understand that during Pat's latter years,there were mitigating factors due to her illness. Holly should know better than to think the players need her to be that "shoulder to cry on". Obviously,she fails to understand. To me,the glaring absence on the last several years Lady Vols has been the lack of a player(floor leader) who will let other players know when they are below par in effort or execution. I cannot recall since Candace and Nikki any player who will take teammates to task over sloppy or uninspired play. Just as another thought crosses my mind when Holly states in a post game interview that the team needs to get better on defense. Holly,it's the 33rd game!! That should have been addressed a long time ago.

 

[governmentmule]

i do miss Big Nikki Benionsopion ,she is what you call a post presence for sure

 

[Sandvol]

Assuming we get by Pitt which we should even with an average game, the Oregon State game is looming. We beat them at home this year but we had Harrison. Graves is playing well at the 5 though. Oregon State is pretty tall. We did not move the ball well against the zone against Boise. Too much dribbling. That was Burdick's problem today. Against the zone you need quick passes and ball movement because the zone can't keep up with it. If you pass the ball and then sit there and hold it the zone can catch up. We didn't defend the three well either today.

 

[Ladyvol777]

I was at the game and enjoy it so much, yes we have some problems but who don't. Love the Lady Vols. Sorry UTC lost.

 

[Chris89128]

The bottom line is we survived and advanced. UTC can't say that and neither can A&M. Nared will be very good, and even though she missed a ton of layups, she stayed after the ball and had 10 rebounds.

 

[Dave1967]

Take it to the Lady Panthers LadyVols!

 

[governmentmule]

it is time to put this game behind us , look at our game play in this one and learn from our mistakes and move onto the next game in the Tournament and focus on getting healthy and look forward to Pittsburgh


pretty good coach speak don't ya think ?

 

[Dave1967]

it is time to put this game behind us , look at our game play in this one and learn from our mistakes and move onto the next game in the Tournament and focus on getting healthy and look forward to Pittsburgh


pretty good coach speak don't ya think ?

UT was just flat from not having played for a week. This has hopefully woken the LadyVols up.

 

[Amb3096]

They had the most disappointing performances of this game. I feel like Nared can be a truly great offensive player, but she looks timid sometimes and just cannot finish a lot of the times. Good defense from her though.
Burdick-- I don't know what the hell was wrong with her this game. She had some good assists and played alright on defense, but her shots didn't fall and she had some stupid charges. She didn't look to score at all, and with her offensive abilities, that's just the wrong decision.
Graves had a great game. But realistically she won't be able to dominate like that down low against better teams. Burdick HAS to look to score with her midrange and three point shot.
Ariel Massengale--appears to be emerging from her slump. Not a wonderful shooting percentage, but she actually attacked the basket and shot the three ball fearlessly. She has a beautiful shot; I'll miss seeing her shoot in TBA.
Middleton: Playing some better defense and looks a little quicker. Had some typical turnovers. Looks timid sometimes in general. Hopefully will improve a lot during the offseason.
Graves: Great game. Continue to work hard!
Reynolds--PLEASE MAKE A LAY UP. As a point guard, you have to finish around the basket! I don't understand why her shot looks so sloppy sometimes. If she cannot become a better offensive player, she'll sit on the bench when Tea Cooper comes to Rocky Top.
I didn't really like the high low offense we ran for the WHOLE game. We look like an elite offensive team when we spread the floor and drive the ball. Wanted to see more of that.
Defense wasn't impressive. Typically let a single guard dominate us with an unreal performance. Have to buckle down with more focus or we have no shot of reaching Tampa.

Only positive I see from this is that hopefully CHW will use this as motivation.

Nared did the hard work, but like others said, she was soft going up for the shot like she was afraid of contact. Reynolds has the same problem. They need to take a page from Ariel's book and learn how to aggressively drive to the basket, look for the contact, and get to the FT line...not try to avoid it.

Burdick reverted to some bad habits with some bad decision making, but she still provided good leadership and didn't let silly mistakes affect the rest of her game. If it was past years, she would have either pouted or gotten unravelled emotionally...so even though she played probably her worst game since November, I thought she still made positive contributions to the effort.

I liked the high low. BS had no answer for it, and it opened up their options. I liked the one where Bashaara was at the high post and Cierra cut to underneath the basket, but Bashaara instead swung it to Ariel in the corner for a wide open three. As long as Tennessee doesn't force the ball inside and sees the floor to find open shooters, I don't mind seeing them try to set up the high-low game all night long.

All in all, not their best effort, but far from their worst. They will need to play better if they want to make it to the E8.

 

[governmentmule]

I would like to see them run that with Nia and Graves a little and see what happens,we know that Graves can pass the ball very good

 

[Darth_Vol]

Just FYI, all the other 2 seeds won their games by over 40 points.

Good thing we have an elite coach or I might be a little concerned.....

 

[gule]

but but but, we had to play the toughest 15 seed..... lol

 

[W.TN.Orange Blood]

Just FYI, all the other 2 seeds won their games by over 40 points.

Good thing we have an elite coach or I might be a little concerned.....

Besides Genoooo, there are no elite coaches. Holly has a .814 winning % which is not bad in the nation. It's up to the players to play & win the games not Holly.

 

[orange plasma]

Today's game was puzzling. What was with the completely lethargic performance from Burdick and Nared today? The women's game is so inconsistent and frustrating. If not for Graves and Massengale it's a first round loss.

 

[volbabyvol]

Besides Genoooo, there are no elite coaches. Holly has a .814 winning % which is not bad in the nation. It's up to the players to play & win the games not Holly.

So its not up to the coach to put the players in the best position or schematically draw up a game plan that gives the team options to work with to be successful. Just a question??

 

[djtee]

Nared did the hard work, but like others said, she was soft going up for the shot like she was afraid of contact. Reynolds has the same problem. They need to take a page from Ariel's book and learn how to aggressively drive to the basket, look for the contact, and get to the FT line...not try to avoid it.

Burdick reverted to some bad habits with some bad decision making, but she still provided good leadership and didn't let silly mistakes affect the rest of her game. If it was past years, she would have either pouted or gotten unravelled emotionally...so even though she played probably her worst game since November, I thought she still made positive contributions to the effort.

I liked the high low. BS had no answer for it, and it opened up their options. I liked the one where Bashaara was at the high post and Cierra cut to underneath the basket, but Bashaara instead swung it to Ariel in the corner for a wide open three. As long as Tennessee doesn't force the ball inside and sees the floor to find open shooters, I don't mind seeing them try to set up the high-low game all night long.

All in all, not their best effort, but far from their worst. They will need to play better if they want to make it to the E8.

I agree with on Nared she needs to go hard if she go`s hard on all the miss shots she makes them. Other then the miss layups she played well. As for Burdick she has been a hit or miss all season.

 

[Volfan2012]

Game is over we won no reason to think either Nared or Burdick will have the same offensive games the next game out. I expect to win against Pittsburgh and then have a week to prepare for the next team on our way to the title game.

 

[ivyleague]

So its not up to the coach to put the players in the best position

Define what you mean by this. I'm not looking for mumbo-jumbo generalizations. If you are going to make a claim like this, let's hear some specifics. Holly and her staff cannot get inside a player's head. As far as I know, none of them are trained psychologists or psychiatrists. The coaches can encourage. They can motivate. They can demand. They can set expectations. They can teach and drill. And I have every confidence that the coaches do all of those things and then some. What a coach cannot do is reset a player's mindset when something -- be it something intrinsic or extrinsic -- has her in a funk. The coaches do all they can to see to it that these women compete at the highest level. But at some point, it is the player's responsibility to PUT HERSELF in the best position -- mentally, emotionally, and physically. Comments like yours remind me of the misguided summations of those who rail against educators because of low test scores, as if teachers are the only (or at least primary) reason why students do not meet a set of standards or succeed as others believe they should. In reality, success (or lack thereof) is precipitated by many different factors, many of which are far beyond a teacher's (or coach's) control. Teachers (coaches) are merely easy, simple targets for an issue that is far more complex than many are willing to admit.

or schematically draw up a game plan that gives the team options to work with to be successful. Just a question??

Do you seriously think Holly and her staff do not draw up game plans? That the team doesn't spend time practicing those plans or running through various possible scenarios? If that's what you think, well, you are ridiculous. At some point, the players must execute those game plans. What I saw yesterday was not a lack of planning or coaching; it was a lack of execution. Period. And no, that is not solely, or even mostly, on the coach's shoulders.

 

[W.TN.Orange Blood]

So its not up to the coach to put the players in the best position or schematically draw up a game plan that gives the team options to work with to be successful. Just a question??

:shhh: shhh....don't tell anyone but to be honest when there's a time out called on the floor & the team goes to the sidelines to see the coach.....they talk about shoes & clothes & how to put up their hair right plus where they'll be going out for supper that night. They don't talk about game plans & how to execute those plans during a game.....are you kidding. ost-4-1090547912:

 

[armchair]

Uncover is right: Graves can drive to the basket against lesser teams--but she won't be able to score quite like that against good teams--who will be bigger and better defenders. That's why I'd like to see her improve her back-to-the basket moves to complement her face-the-basket offense.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Nared missed FIVE layups. She has a lot of work to do this summer.

 

[djtee]

Uncover is right: Graves can drive to the basket against lesser teams--but she won't be able to score quite like that against good teams--who will be bigger and better defenders. That's why I'd like to see her improve her back-to-the basket moves to complement her face-the-basket offense.

I have said that from day one if you had a faceup and mid range game she would be a better player then she is now. And you are correct her low post game will not work against the bigger and better teams. Here is the problem i see with Graves she has a low release or her shot. But hey if it works then it is what it is.