LVs Lose to Louisville 5 Takeaways

[savannahfan]

You are right. They did repeat that several times and Holly preaches it.

I have posted about this fault a few times this season, VERY LITTLE TEAM WORK. To much one on one. Examples to compare this group (not team) to, U Conn, Washington and most that have made it to this point in the tourney. All have good, if not one or two great players, but they all have great team work.
I heard Geno (damnit I hate to refer to him) in an interview the other day talking about his preseason outlook for his team for this year. Not a very good outlook. But he has been surprised at the way they have "embraced" the team concept. To me LV have not done this. Who's fault?? The buck stops at the top. Poor couching.

 

[bobkitten]

...

I laugh at Doris and Kara for asking the question about why the team wasn't getting Mercedes the ball more. A few things...Mercedes is usually the last player down the court. When she arrives, she doesn't get good position to receive the ball. She doesn't really work for position. She just stands and points to the other players to get in position. Or she is at the top of the key setting screens. She gets pushed up to the top of the key by smaller players. She catches the ball in the high post and try to make a move to the basket which she is not quick enough to do. Usually guards strip her, or she turns it over. Or she throws up a hook shot and misses. Mercedes IMO hasn't been coached properly. At 6'6 she should run down the court and get position under the basket even if she has to battle for it, which she rarely does, and catch the ball and just turn and shoot it. She makes her job on the court hard because she is not in good position, and tries to make moves to the basket that she really isn't capable of doing.

I still think she is lazy because she doesn't fight for position like she should. She is too tall, and too big, to not dominate a game. Those double doubles she has averaged is "fools gold"! She got most of them because of her height. Rebounds that don't come right to her, she isn't going to get because she will not pursue a rebound. She will stand and watch someone else get it. I've seen her do that several times. She is the "Jeb Bush" of the lady vols. LOW ENERGY!

You put this well. I laughed, too, because I thought "they've shot the ball (and likely missed, and not gotten the rebound) before MR makes it to the top of the key." Or she heads the other way when the LVs have missed BEFORE the rebound has been secured by either team!

ALL LVs need to go up for rebounds. CRASH those boards. Don't wait for someone else to get it.

And for MR, I think her first year she fouled out a good bit and took a lot of grief for it so now she makes sure that does not happen again. You can't play the game as the center by holding up your hands in the "I didn't foul" position every time the whistle sounds! t wish CHW would tell her to, in the first few minutes, foul someone going for the basket HARD to put a little fear of God into them, or at least give them something to think about. Right now, other teams know they can brush her off (literally)and score. And watching that tiny girl push her around really riled me. If she starts making a a statement, early on, that that WON"T happen, I think she will get some space to work. I also wish they'd practice throwing it up so she could catch it near the rim and score, without bringing it down to be knocked away or tied up.

 

[Voluble2]

Exactly! A 3pt threat in Dunbar Geno would've found ways to get her open and hit the 3 (KML didn't play defense or rebound either) and Harris he would've used like he did Kiah Stokes put her out there to rebound and block everything, players who have "specialist" skill sets need to be developed more as all around players but what their specialty is, you have to coach them to that, against weak teams (who we seemed to lose to) Harris, Dunbar & (Nunn to a certain extent) should've played just to rest Russell and Nared occasionally and we wouldn't have to depend on them so much, she used only having 6 to 7 as an excuse from day one and it shouldn't have been, Other coaches are only playing 6 to 7 players and still are in the tournament

Dunbar shot 20% from the three pt line this year. That is just awful. The only person on Geno's team to shoot worse than that from three was his center who took about 6 shots.

And Harris was only recruited as a warm body because we struck out on everyone else. People are basing her reputation as a shot blocker on what she did in junior college, which means absolutely nothing.

Holly has a lot of faults, but not playing those two is not one of them. You can fault her for recruiting them, but they were exactly where they needed to be --- on the bench.

People are fixated on trying to think up different combinations of players that would give better results, but that is just an exercise in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship is going down because the captain ran it into an iceberg. Where the crew is stationed when it happens doesn't matter so much.

I will agree about using the small number of players as an excuse though. Holly thinned our roster so she doesn't get to use that as an excuse. That is the proverbial killing your parents and wanting leniency because you are an orphan situation.

 

[TN1111]

Wes Moore is 60 years old, and will be around 62 years old when Holly's contract runs out. Several years later as you put it he will be several years older than that. I think he is a fine coach, but I don't see him being pursued as the head coach at Tennessee.

I would go after him, even if you knew it might not be a long term deal. Geno is 62 and has only expanded his dominance and shows no signs of letting up. 5 to 8 years would be worth it in my opinion.

 

[mike099]

Dunbar shot 20% from the three pt line this year. That is just awful. The only person on Geno's team to shoot worse than that from three was his center who took about 6 shots.

And Harris was only recruited as a warm body because we struck out on everyone else. People are basing her reputation as a shot blocker on what she did in junior college, which means absolutely nothing.

Holly has a lot of faults, but not playing those two is not one of them. You can fault her for recruiting them, but they were exactly where they needed to be --- on the bench.

People are fixated on trying to think up different combinations of players that would give better results, but that is just an exercise in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship is going down because the captain ran it into an iceberg. Where the crew is stationed when it happens doesn't matter so much.

I will agree about using the small number of players as an excuse though. Holly thinned our roster so she doesn't get to use that as an excuse. That is the proverbial killing your parents and wanting leniency because you are an orphan situation.

Actually Harris is a true freshman out of high school. No excuse for this years play, but striking out last year(except for Harris) on recruiting hurt. If you go for all top players, you take a chance of getting zero recruits. They would have been better off to have gone after a couple of ladies ranked 30-40 in 2016 class.

 

[Amb3096]

Dunbar shot 20% from the three pt line this year. That is just awful. The only person on Geno's team to shoot worse than that from three was his center who took about 6 shots.

And Harris was only recruited as a warm body because we struck out on everyone else. People are basing her reputation as a shot blocker on what she did in junior college, which means absolutely nothing.

Holly has a lot of faults, but not playing those two is not one of them. You can fault her for recruiting them, but they were exactly where they needed to be --- on the bench.

People are fixated on trying to think up different combinations of players that would give better results, but that is just an exercise in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship is going down because the captain ran it into an iceberg. Where the crew is stationed when it happens doesn't matter so much.

I will agree about using the small number of players as an excuse though. Holly thinned our roster so she doesn't get to use that as an excuse. That is the proverbial killing your parents and wanting leniency because you are an orphan situation.

Holly failed to develop Dunbar or Harris, and that's her issue. She doesn't make players better. There were players that were more lightly recruited than either of them on plenty of teams Tennessee lost to, but their coaching staff was able to get production out of them. It's like Holly can't put players out there unless they are ready for college ball on Day One. Add in the fact that Holly consistently has her team playing down to the level of competition and every game is a dogfight, and that eliminates the chance for them to get meaningful game minutes.

In the hands of a competent coach, Harris and Dunbar could be solid contributors off the bench, but not with a coach like Holly.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Lets tackle this issue of developing players. I'm constantly on a phone posting on this board and have little time to post anything elaborate with statistics, but can anyone with the some time and wit, please let us know if any of the players Holly has coached has actually regressed since their time being at UT. That's NOT due to a debilitating injury. Also has any of them gotten any better.

 

[T.J.]

Holly failed to develop Dunbar or Harris, and that's her issue. She doesn't make players better. There were players that were more lightly recruited than either of them on plenty of teams Tennessee lost to, but their coaching staff was able to get production out of them. It's like Holly can't put players out there unless they are ready for college ball on Day One. Add in the fact that Holly consistently has her team playing down to the level of competition and every game is a dogfight, and that eliminates the chance for them to get meaningful game minutes.

In the hands of a competent coach, Harris and Dunbar could be solid contributors off the bench, but not with a coach like Holly.

Holly fans love to support her serious mental issues when it comes to throwing players under the bus and not taking responsibility for non-development i.e. coaching.

I'd like for those losers to explain how Jordan became a top notch point guard of the SEC. She had 4 years to develop under Holly.

What about Mercedes? A 6'6 player who spends more time out on the perimeter than the paint. Post moves? The hook shot is the only one. Defending in the paint? Hands down afraid to block shots. Rebounding? Grabs bball and brings it down. Holly is her coach. She lets those bad habits continue.

I could go on and on about all the bad habits of the team.

And when asked what's the problem, coach Holly Warlick says.

'I don't know."

Holly fans believe her. She doesn't know how to coach. Her words!

I'm getting angrier by the day just thinking about how she has brought the Tennessee program to it's lowest it has ever been. She no longer deserves to be their coach!

 

[T.J.]

Lets tackle this issue of developing players. I'm constantly on a phone posting on this board and have little time to post anything elaborate with statistics, but can anyone with the some time and wit, please let us know if any of the players Holly has coached has actually regressed since their time being at UT. That's NOT due to a debilitating injury. Also has any of them gotten any better.

If you've watched this team perform for the last two season you can answer that question yourself.

We just lost to Louisville in the 2nd round. That 4th quarter tells the story of this season and last season.

Inconsistency was the most consistent thing about the Lady Vols.

Also listen to the announcers of Doris Burke, Kara Lawson and a few others who called the LV games this past season. The are telling you what the problem is while they are calling the games. Holly ignores their advice or is just too incompetent to implement the changes for success.

 

[T.J.]

Holly failed to develop Dunbar or Harris, and that's her issue. She doesn't make players better. There were players that were more lightly recruited than either of them on plenty of teams Tennessee lost to, but their coaching staff was able to get production out of them. It's like Holly can't put players out there unless they are ready for college ball on Day One. Add in the fact that Holly consistently has her team playing down to the level of competition and every game is a dogfight, and that eliminates the chance for them to get meaningful game minutes.

In the hands of a competent coach, Harris and Dunbar could be solid contributors off the bench, but not with a coach like Holly.

Amb you are spot on with your assessment. As a fan I am extremely upset for the lack of playing time for both players. I'll include Nunn, too.

I'm not one who post oh Holly is a nice person.

No she's not! Not if she is bringing the program down with her incompetency!

 

[Amb3096]

Lets tackle this issue of developing players. I'm constantly on a phone posting on this board and have little time to post anything elaborate with statistics, but can anyone with the some time and wit, please let us know if any of the players Holly has coached has actually regressed since their time being at UT. That's NOT due to a debilitating injury. Also has any of them gotten any better.

IMPROVED:

The easy one is Mercedes. In her first healthy season, she put up solid numbers, and then improved them greatly by her second year...which is what one would expect for a #1 ranked HS player.

Jaime is much better now than as a freshman in scoring and FG%, but she's a junior. She should have had a breakthrough season last year, but she was about the same as her freshman year.

WORSE:

Jordan got worse from the time she was a freshman to senior. Her FG% went down every year, and her PPG was worse.

Dunbar's shooting has gotten worse every year. She was at 44% her freshman year and down to 29% this year.

Diamond put up better numbers as a freshman at UNC then she did her first year at Tennessee. Her last year was an almost carbon copy of her freshman year.

DRAW:

Alexa's shooting better this year compared to the last two years, but her numbers are still lower than what one would expect for a Junior. She's not even at 40%. MeMe went from a horrible shooter last year to a bad shooter this year. I don't consider that improvement because their numbers are still far below what is acceptable.

For graduated players:

IMPROVED:

Izzy improved each year up to her junior year, but her numbers dropped from her junior to senior year (58% to 48%). I recall she had a lot of injuries her senior year even when playing.

WORSE:

Andraya Carter was worse as a Jr/Sr than as a sophomore with a lower FG%.

Nia Moore went downhill from her junior year to senior year in PPG and FG% (56% to 39%)

Cierra Burdick became a worse shooter her last two seasons. Her best year as a shooter was her freshman year.

DRAW:

Bashaara Graves was almost exactly the same her senior year as her freshman year, with a marginally higher FG% but lower PPG.

Ariel Massengale was about exactly the same as a freshman and senior with her FG%, but became more of a scorer her last 2 years.

Meighan Simmons' FG% was almost identical her freshman and senior years (2 highest of her career), but took more shots and scored more her last 2 years.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Are we talking present or present and past?
doesn't matter.

In basketball, a short memory is essential.
For fans too.

I am excited at next season's potential, if we do get DD and MR back, with the influx of new talent...and then address some needed areas. (Learn a little about offensive flow,,,, maybe some intense work on layups,,you know, basics......:dunno:....Maybe get some kids excited enough to put some hard summer work into their games,,,

I see a very good year on the horizon.

 

[Amb3096]

Are we talking present or present and past?

I put all of the players that were not seniors for Holly's first year, so all of the players she's coached except for Taber Spani and Kamiko Williams.

 

[boxerpupsrcool]

Ill leave this up to the people who are good at research, but when is the last time a number one draft pick for wcbb NOT been selected as an all american during their college career? To me, and others im sure, it seems like deshields never progressed much as a player while at tennessee, which is damning indictment of the tennessee coaches failing to develop players, as others have already noted.

 

[Amb3096]

Ill leave this up to the people who are good at research, but when is the last time a number one draft pick for wcbb NOT been selected as an all american during their college career? To me, and others im sure, it seems like deshields never progressed much as a player while at tennessee, which is damning indictment of the tennessee coaches failing to develop players, as others have already noted.

Funny enough, the only 2 I can think of have been UConn players - Ann Strother (2002) and Tamika Williams (1998). But they also both got National Championships...

 

[Darth_Vol]

Ill leave this up to the people who are good at research, but when is the last time a number one draft pick for wcbb NOT been selected as an all american during their college career? To me, and others im sure, it seems like deshields never progressed much as a player while at tennessee, which is damning indictment of the tennessee coaches failing to develop players, as others have already noted.

That's why I'm shocked so many consider her a lock to be the top pick. But hey, she was second team All-SEC...

 

[T.J.]

That's why I'm shocked so many consider her a lock to be the top pick. But hey, she was second team All-SEC...

They consider her a lock because when she gets on a WNBA team she won't be coached by Holly Warlick.

 

[Vols2015]

You guys talk a lot about Deshields and Russell, but truth be told, it comes down to team ball. When everyone plays a team, it is easier for true talents to stand out, for things become easier for them to work. If the outside shooting opens up for us, which has bitten us in the behind for the last several years, then the inside game for Russell and the other bigs will become easier. I think that Russell should be able to shoot the the outside jumper and the 3 point shot. These days, all good posts have that ability, and there's no reason why she shouldn't work on that in the offseason. If we have bigs that are able to shoot the 3 ball, then we can see easier flow in our offensive abilities.

 

[jwhite9]

"DeShields acknowledged the help that will come from next season’s celebrated freshmen: Evina Westbrook, Anastasia Hayes, Rennia Davis and Kasi Kushkituah. So did UT coach Holly Warlick, who said: “They’re going to play and they’re going to play a lot.”

So sad and to bad for you Kamera Harris and Kortney Dunbar. That statement from Holly is a shot in the face to the LVs that are on the team now. Holly's inability to develop her players are the sole reason why they were of no help this season.

I'm begging the A.D. to bring in a new coach. Do not let Holly ruin what is left of my beloved Lady Vols.

Not to mention having Green and Cooper will help out even more. Hearing around campus that Green is going to be a monster in the paint. Very physical tough player!!!

 

[Prophet1]

Holly fans love to support her serious mental issues when it comes to throwing players under the bus and not taking responsibility for non-development i.e. coaching.

I'd like for those losers to explain how Jordan became a top notch point guard of the SEC. She had 4 years to develop under Holly.

What about Mercedes? A 6'6 player who spends more time out on the perimeter than the paint. Post moves? The hook shot is the only one. Defending in the paint? Hands down afraid to block shots. Rebounding? Grabs bball and brings it down. Holly is her coach. She lets those bad habits continue.

I could go on and on about all the bad habits of the team.

And when asked what's the problem, coach Holly Warlick says.

'I don't know."

Holly fans believe her. She doesn't know how to coach. Her words!

I'm getting angrier by the day just thinking about how she has brought the Tennessee program to it's lowest it has ever been. She no longer deserves to be their coach!

Holly fans are losers. Okay,but I don't feel like a losers.Really, how I feel about Holly or your posts don't define me. Don't need you to do that, I define myself.
Now about Jordan.
She has had your moments these four years which I enjoyed her performance in praises and sometimes wondering what happened to the gal that took over the SEC tourney game against SC.
But still she is a Lady Vol and I respect the decision that she chose to play for Tennessee.
Kudos for her fours years and what she brought here. The only negative I can think of concerning her is that I ..I believe she was better as the off guard and not at point.
Tennessee has an act of playing you out of position when of necessity...
Shricken,Nared and others. It is what it is.
Injuries,short bench, whatever.
As a fan I would NEVER murder on post a senior who spend four years here, whether they sat on the bench the entire four,missed a game winning shot to cost a championship,or average two pts a game.
This is a senior who may have a chance in the WNBA draft. Watch what you say,others are watching.

Any player that depend on ANYONE to develop their game can't expect any success. Define yourself by any means necessary.
I will not attempt to defend MR or Nared and you're not blind.

I have season tickets ,front row on my couch and haven't missed a game,and haven't spend a penny. I've gotten my money worth and don't feel like a loser. Every Lady Vol fan are lottery winners for life.
Enuff said. Prophet1.

 

[th2421]

IMPROVED:

The easy one is Mercedes. In her first healthy season, she put up solid numbers, and then improved them greatly by her second year...which is what one would expect for a #1 ranked HS player.

Jaime is much better now than as a freshman in scoring and FG%, but she's a junior. She should have had a breakthrough season last year, but she was about the same as her freshman year.

WORSE:

Jordan got worse from the time she was a freshman to senior. Her FG% went down every year, and her PPG was worse.

Dunbar's shooting has gotten worse every year. She was at 44% her freshman year and down to 29% this year.

Diamond put up better numbers as a freshman at UNC then she did her first year at Tennessee. Her last year was an almost carbon copy of her freshman year.

DRAW:

Alexa's shooting better this year compared to the last two years, but her numbers are still lower than what one would expect for a Junior. She's not even at 40%. MeMe went from a horrible shooter last year to a bad shooter this year. I don't consider that improvement because their numbers are still far below what is acceptable.

For graduated players:

IMPROVED:

Izzy improved each year up to her junior year, but her numbers dropped from her junior to senior year (58% to 48%). I recall she had a lot of injuries her senior year even when playing.

WORSE:

Andraya Carter was worse as a Jr/Sr than as a sophomore with a lower FG%.

Nia Moore went downhill from her junior year to senior year in PPG and FG% (56% to 39%)

Cierra Burdick became a worse shooter her last two seasons. Her best year as a shooter was her freshman year.

DRAW:

Bashaara Graves was almost exactly the same her senior year as her freshman year, with a marginally higher FG% but lower PPG.

Ariel Massengale was about exactly the same as a freshman and senior with her FG%, but became more of a scorer her last 2 years.

Meighan Simmons' FG% was almost identical her freshman and senior years (2 highest of her career), but took more shots and scored more her last 2 years.

Agree with pretty much all of this. I would maybe state more strongly Nared's improvement this year, as you could truly make a case for her as one of the country's most improved players. Reynolds's scoring and shooting percentages actually went up a little this year, but only from the horrible numbers they were last year. Also, even though she basically never passed the eye test, her A/TO went up from 2.6/1.6 to 4.5/1.7.

I think a large part of the problem is that the offense has never really been designed to maximize player potential or put players in positions to score effectively, so at least statistically, you don't see a lot of improvement from player to player, especially in terms of shooting percentages. In the case of Nared, I actually think the staff did a pretty good job this year, at least in the big games when Nared went off, of creating offensive space in the lane for Nared to either pull up for the open midrange jumper or drive to the basket to either score or get to the free throw line (where she was an elite shooter).

Oddly, with the exception of Dunbar, FG and 3FG percentages went up across the board this year (even if the comparison is program-historic lows during 2015-16). The team also had its best A/TO ratio in the Warlick era this season. Not sure if these are significant enough points to see signs for optimism...but since they're probably not going anywhere, I'm interested to see how this move to read/react and motion offense continues to develop.

 

[maxvolfan]

That's why I'm shocked so many consider her a lock to be the top pick. But hey, she was second team All-SEC...

She is the best All around player in the country. She plays good defense, she can score, rebound, probably the best court vision we have seen in a while so Wnba teams loves a good passer. The team could not get to some of her passes because they didn't see it coming most of the time. She will be able to make those passes in the Wnba. I think she will be an average score though.

 

[xhunt3r]

Funny enough, the only 2 I can think of have been UConn players - Ann Strother (2002) and Tamika Williams (1998). But they also both got National Championships...

Think he meant WNBA draft, not number out of high school.

 

[Amb3096]

Think he meant WNBA draft, not number out of high school.

In that case, I don't think it ever happened.

 

[Advol]

HERE is A takeaway............we LOST!

Poor Coaching, Head and assistants and even POORER attitude by players.

New AD needs to pull the plug!! :hi: