M. Cornelius reporting - Aussie guard commits to Lady Vols

[VolBall09]

Jessie won't be that player either, if that video is anything to go by. She looks like she will be best served as a spot up shooter in a zone defense where her lack of foot speed will hopefully be masked.

She didn't look that slow to me from the tapes, guess we will see. Usually the Aussie players are tough and will do what they're asked.

She 3x faster than Dunbar ever was and I don't even need to see her play to know that.

If she can sprint to the corner and hit an open 3 she can play as much as she wants as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Takes over for Sweet Lou Brown.


FIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Rolly Polly Holly!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

Takes over for Sweet Lou Brown.


FIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Rolly Polly Holly!!!!!!!!!!

 

[VolfromBirth65]

Probably give a solid few mins per game. I don’t see her cracking the starting 5.

Only the last 2-3 minutes of the 2nd - 4th quarters to jack 3's to try to catch up.

 

[Coffy73]

She's a guard. I don't think that's a huge deal. MSST's starting guards are both 5'8, and they have no problems getting it done.

Yeah, those guards have actually developed under a competent coach. No sense in talking about what all a possible recruit can/will do when we all know under Warlick, no players grow to their potential.

 

[Volfan2012]

We'll see how she can play in WBBC does have a nice stroke.

 

[Fullfillmer]

I think by average we might actually be one of the tallest teams in the country lol. I was confused by that post as well.

I think we could use a speedy little guard, if Annie Hayes had not been released from the team I think she could have been a game changer this season. She was that player that could beat anybody off the bounce that we were missing all season.

I watched one game - they were desperately needing a point guard - desperately. The one trying to play it - was not a good ball handler, terrible distributor, didn't know how to get into a proper defensive stance, and got beat constantly which threw off the rest of the team. It was a huge, huge problem in the game that I watched.

 

[stllvf]

I can only wish I was as capable of assessing basketball talent, based on ?? as some of the other boarders on this site. I can remember several guards in the top five all-time LVs 3-pt who were lacking size and footspeed but when provided a good screen they were nice additions.

 

[Benionsopinion]

We'll see how she can play in WBBC does have a nice stroke.

Seems to get shot off quickly,may not be fast,but is quick,seems to be in right spot often,is a scrapper. Shoots from waist,so refinement might be needed. Now with the terrific knee injury(ACL and MCL) she is almost certain to be a redshirt in 2019/2020 season. Time will tell if she is a good addition to the 2019 class.

 

[Amb3096]

Yeah, those guards have actually developed under a competent coach. No sense in talking about what all a possible recruit can/will do when we all know under Warlick, no players grow to their potential.

I'm fully aware that Holly has no coaching ability. Just pointing out that a 5'8 player isn't a bad size for a guard. God knows Tennessee has been burned by many of those all season long...

 

[Amb3096]

I can only wish I was as capable of assessing basketball talent, based on ?? as some of the other boarders on this site. I can remember several guards in the top five all-time LVs 3-pt who were lacking size and footspeed but when provided a good screen they were nice additions.

A good screen to get open for three? At Tennessee?

You haven't watched many games, have you...?

 

[Orange_Mamba]

Kortney wasn’t that slow. Holly had her playing out of position her whole career at UT. Heck we had Kort trying to bang on the block, because we failed to recruit post players for like three 3 yrs straight. Our game was tailored toward getting opportunities for Mercedes to score. Which didn’t include the 3 pt shot. Kort wasn’t so slow when Holly put her in with the game on the line and we needed a 3 for the tie or the lead. Also, If you haven’t noticed our defense hasn’t been good since Izzy’s class.

 

[lvocd]

Jessie won't be that player either, if that video is anything to go by. She looks like she will be best served as a spot up shooter in a zone defense where her lack of foot speed will hopefully be masked.

Unfortunately, players who come in fitting that description haven’t been properly utilized during The Holly Years. For the life of me I can’t understand how she keeps signing supposed sharpshooters only to never figure out how to use them.

 

[GameTime]

Her next video will be of her feeding the post and passing up the 3 ball shot.....Holly discourages the 3 ball, and our shooters are reluctant to shoot it...Been this way for years.

 

[Amb3096]

Her next video will be of her feeding the post and passing up the 3 ball shot.....Holly discourages the 3 ball, and our shooters are reluctant to shoot it...Been this way for years.

In fairness to Holly, that's a Lady Vols thing and was true even when Pat had Shanna Zolman and Angie Bjorklund. Inside first, second and third.

 

[Putbacks]

Amen to that. No evidence supports that the other players who got the PT improved significantly defensively either. All are underdeveloped and underachieving.

 

[Putbacks]

In fairness to Holly, that's a Lady Vols thing and was true even when Pat had Shanna Zolman and Angie Bjorklund. Inside first, second and third.

It's most any coach's "thing"--to start inside first. There lies the highest percentage shots.

Conversely, Pat exhorted and insisted that Zolman and Bjorklund develop a game off the dribble to add to their repertoire. They did. They made strides, and it improved their overall games. Sidney Smallbone didn't accomplish that. Zolman finished with 1,706 points and 266 3-pt. FGs. Bjorklund finished her career with 1,469 points and broke Zolman's 3-pt record with 300 makes.

It might have deviated from her preference, but Summitt did incorporate the 3. She recruited to augment that dimension (the 3 above, Misty Greene, Conklin, Spencer, Spani, B. Jackson, etc.)

 

[Creekdog]

It's most any coach's "thing"--to start inside first. There lies the highest percentage shots.

Conversely, Pat exhorted and insisted that Zolman and Bjorklund develop a game off the dribble to add to their repertoire. They did. They made strides, and it improved their overall games. Sidney Smallbone didn't accomplish that. Zolman finished with 1,706 points and 266 3-pt. FGs. Bjorklund finished her career with 1,469 points and broke Zolman's 3-pt record with 300 makes.

It might have deviated from her preference, but Summitt did incorporate the 3. She recruited to augment that dimension (the 3 above, Misty Greene, Conklin, Spencer, Spani, etc.)

Coach Summitt did come around to it to an extent but in the early days of the 3 pointer one see her grimace and scowl every time a lady fired one up.

 

[madtownvol]

It's most any coach's "thing"--to start inside first. There lies the highest percentage shots.

Conversely, Pat exhorted and insisted that Zolman and Bjorklund develop a game off the dribble to add to their repertoire. They did. They made strides, and it improved their overall games. Sidney Smallbone didn't accomplish that. Zolman finished with 1,706 points and 266 3-pt. FGs. Bjorklund finished her career with 1,469 points and broke Zolman's 3-pt record with 300 makes.

It might have deviated from her preference, but Summitt did incorporate the 3. She recruited to augment that dimension (the 3 above, Misty Greene, Conklin, Spencer, Spani, etc.)

Exactly. Zolman had one of the most monumental improvements in her game I can recall in any LV. She went from being a very one-dimensional player to being able to function as a competent emergency PG in her senior year. Bjorklund followed a similar path though if I recall correctly, she went into a major shooting slump at the end of her senior year that proved to be deathknell for the team.

From what I heard, CPS recruited Smallbone on the assumption that she would be another Zolman. Whereas Zolman had a lot of untapped athleticism that she revealed through hardwork, it appeared that Smallbone was not a diamond in the rough. She was an outstanding student and I am sure a great teammate but she athletically in over her head at this level of competition.

I hope that Jessie is more Zolman than Smallbone.

 

[VolBall09]

Kortney wasn’t that slow. Holly had her playing out of position her whole career at UT. Heck we had Kort trying to bang on the block, because we failed to recruit post players for like three 3 yrs straight. Our game was tailored toward getting opportunities for Mercedes to score. Which didn’t include the 3 pt shot. Kort wasn’t so slow when Holly put her in with the game on the line and we needed a 3 for the tie or the lead. Also, If you haven’t noticed our defense hasn’t been good since Izzy’s class.

Agree to disagree, to me, she was slow. She could absolutely not guard on the perimeter and she CHOSE not to be tough enough to guard in the post. She could have beefed up a little and helped us on the inside defensively at her height. She was 6'2" and never averaged better than 2 boards a game. I'm sorry, but that doesn't get you PT. You can be the 3 point specialist on offense, but you better figure out how to play some D and rebound or you're not going to see the floor much. At any level. If she had put more effort into trying to grab 5 boards every time she was in the game, and less effort into jacking up a 30 footer, she would have played more.

Syd Spencer did an EXCELLENT job of this. She was 6'3" and a perimeter player on offense. But she would get down and dirty and play some tough interior defense for us. She averaged 4 or 5 boards a game which was helpful as well.

 

[Putbacks]

Agree to disagree, to me, she was slow. She could absolutely not guard on the perimeter and she CHOSE not to be tough enough to guard in the post. She could have beefed up a little and helped us on the inside defensively at her height. She was 6'2" and never averaged better than 2 boards a game. I'm sorry, but that doesn't get you PT. You can be the 3 point specialist on offense, but you better figure out how to play some D and rebound or you're not going to see the floor much. At any level. If she had put more effort into trying to grab 5 boards every time she was in the game, and less effort into jacking up a 30 footer, she would have played more.

Syd Spencer did an EXCELLENT job of this. She was 6'3" and a perimeter player on offense. But she would get down and dirty and play some tough interior defense for us. She averaged 4 or 5 boards a game which was helpful as well.

It probably would have helped her if she were 6'6" slow and not tough enough, too.

And Syd Spencer played for a different head coach than Dunbar. Spencer had some growing pains, too, that she and the coach worked through.....daily....

 

[VolBall09]

It probably would have helped her if she were 6'6" slow and not tough enough, too.

And Syd Spencer played for a different head coach than Dunbar. Spencer had some growing pains, too, that she and the coach worked through.....daily....

You're right, it would have. You can't teach 6'6." Mercedes was always too soft for my liking too, but you can't deny that she averaged 15 and 10 basically. That's nothing to sneeze at, even if she was soft and slow.

 

[madtownvol]

Agree to disagree, to me, she was slow. She could absolutely not guard on the perimeter and she CHOSE not to be tough enough to guard in the post. She could have beefed up a little and helped us on the inside defensively at her height. She was 6'2" and never averaged better than 2 boards a game. I'm sorry, but that doesn't get you PT. You can be the 3 point specialist on offense, but you better figure out how to play some D and rebound or you're not going to see the floor much. At any level. If she had put more effort into trying to grab 5 boards every time she was in the game, and less effort into jacking up a 30 footer, she would have played more.

Syd Spencer did an EXCELLENT job of this. She was 6'3" and a perimeter player on offense. But she would get down and dirty and play some tough interior defense for us. She averaged 4 or 5 boards a game which was helpful as well.

Syd helped the LVs when a national championship when she was moved down in the block for the final four (an innovation suggested by then assistant coach Niki Caldwell). Syd developed quite a bit over her 4 years but, even as a freshman she way ahead of Dunbar (as a senior).

I understand that KD has many strong advocates on this board but she was a zone busting shooter who was not that accurate (a real catch-22 because she had to hit shots to stay on the court but when she missed her initial open looks she would tend to get pulled).

But, she got pulled or did not get on the court because she was a horrific defensive liability who as you point out did not rebound.

Comparing her to Mercedes Russell (per another poster) has left the realm of reality. Russell may not have been the inside force we all hoped should would become as a LV but she finished as one of six players in program history to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career. And she helped the Seattle storm win an WNBA title in her rookie year. Dunbar not so much....

 

[Amb3096]

Comparing her to Mercedes Russell (per another poster) has left the realm of reality. Russell may not have been the inside force we all hoped should would become as a LV but she finished as one of six players in program history to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career. And she helped the Seattle storm win an WNBA title in her rookie year. Dunbar not so much....

I've been another one who has defended MR on this board, but that last sentence...come on. She was last off the bench for Seattle, and averaged 1.7 pts in 5.6 mpg. She didn't score a single point in the WNBA playoffs, and went scoreless in the 1 game she played in for 4 minutes.

 

[madtownvol]

I've been another one who has defended MR on this board, but that last sentence...come on. She was last off the bench for Seattle, and averaged 1.7 pts in 5.6 mpg. She didn't score a single point in the WNBA playoffs, and went scoreless in the 1 game she played in for 4 minutes.

Okay, she was not a big contributor but does that change anything about the comparison to Dunbar (who is not even in the WNBA)?