Missouri Postgame Report

[cncchris33]

1. Much improved defensive effort. We forced Mizzou to shoot 3s (aided by the absence of Tillman), and they weren’t awful shooting 9-25 (36%), but it kept them out of the paint where we are vulnerable. Mizzou got 11 more shots than we did, and we still won by 10. I’ve long maintained that one key to winning is holding your opponent under 40% shooting, and we held Mizzou to 35.2%.

2. One reason they got 11 more shots is because they got 11 ORebs and 10 2nd chance points to our 5 ORebs and 5 2nd chance points. We are vertically challenged, but we are pretty athletic across the board. If Josiah James can average 5.5 rpg, then a guy like Yves Pons should be getting more than 2
in a game like we saw last night.

3. The other reason for keeping this game close was the 21 TOs we committed. When you shoot 53.5% from the field and 45.8% from 3, and hold your opponent to 35.2% and 36%, you ought to win running away. Not when you turn the ball over 21 times, though.

4. Now for the good news, Jordan Bowden has a game to build on. The focus clearly seemed to shift towards stopping Vescovi on the perimeter, as I’m not certain he got more than one shot up in the first half (it may have been 0 shots). That allowed Bowden the freedom to hunt for his shot without being the focus. He clearly is more comfortable in a secondary role, but hopefully this is the game that sets him right. He still wasn’t ultra-efficient (5-12, 2-7 from 3), but it beats the heck out of what he had been.

5. That balanced scoring effort was great to see. No one took more than Bowden’s 12 shots, and everyone besides him who attempted a shot was over 50%.
JJJ: 4-7, 11 pts
Fulk: 3-6, 11 pts
Vescovi: 3-4, 12 pts
Pons: 5-9, 11 pts
Johnson: 3-5, 11 pts

6. Disappointed that Nkamhoua couldn’t muster more than 7 minutes, but in that 7 minutes, he recorded 0 pts, 0 rebs, 2 TOs, and 2 Fouls. He just isn’t ready for this stage against SEC competition, it doesn’t appear. Disappointing based on the preseason hype. We really need him to find a way to contribute.

Pember seems like a lost ball in high weeds. He came in and played 2 minutes, immediately picked up 2 fouls and demonstrated his dire need to develop some lateral quickness. Right now, he can’t guard the post because he is too thin and weak, and he can’t guard the perimeter because he’s too slow and heavy-footed. He was taken off the dribble from the top of the key by a guy who outweighs him by 35 lbs and fouled him on an and-1 and was immediately yanked never to be seen again.

Gaines seemed to be mostly a victim of Jalen Johnson’s hot hand, though he did manage 2 rebs in 4 minutes, which makes Nkamhoua’s absence in that stat column all the more concerning.

7. Any win on the road in the SEC is a good win, especially when you give chances away at home like last Saturday. I still believe that a 10-8 conference record is our most hopeful, likely outcome. Anything above that is overachieving, IMO, relative to our lack of depth, size, and factoring in Turner’s absence. Better days are coming, but savor this win and hope to follow up with a very winnable game at home vs USCe, this Saturday.

 

[VEKZY]

I hope one of Nkamhoua or Pember can step up. With the current lack of height and post players, you would think they'd have an easy time getting more minutes.

 

[lostsheep]

Thanks for the write-up. Can't disagree with any of it.

I believe you're spot on regarding Pember and I expect we'll see less of him going forward.
On the other hand, it was good to see Johnson get some minutes and be productive with them.

Last thing...free throw shooting in crucial situations has got to get better. IIRC, Fulky and Bowden both missed FT's late and Vescovi is the only one that looked confident at the line.

Go Vols!

 

[lostsheep]

I hope one of Nkamhoua or Pember can step up. With the current lack of height and post players, you would think they'd have an easy time getting more minutes.

Pember's height is deceiving, imo. He lived on the perimeter in high school and could make it work because he wasn't guarding SEC perimeter players. As has been stated, he needs to either bulk up so that he can hold his own in the post, or get quicker laterally so that he can guard on the perimeter.

 

[ndubvols]

Encouraging to see Bowden look in better form. He hit a huge shot there towards the end of the game, which essentially sealed it. Enjoyed seeing him willing to take the shot, and making it was even better. I think he was credited with the halcourt heave before halftime too so shooting %s look slightly better.
I think Pons should be our first option in the post on offense. He has a much easier time establishing and maintaining position on the block and has developed a go to move or two. He’s also a decent passer. Fulky gets pushed around down there which leads to a couple turnovers a game.
Josiah had probably his best half of basketball as a vol in the second half. He’s definitely growing into his role/getting accustomed to this level of play with a few good performances in a row.
I think Olivier is just unsure of himself at the moment, and is playing passive. I’d imagine the ticky tack fouls against him the last few games haven’t helped matters. Once he gets more decisive on the court i think he’ll be fine. A lot of potential in the freshman class, just need Pember and Gaines to bulk up.

 

[Plecoptera]

Overall, a much better performance last night. Shooting was a lot better and the scoring was very balanced. Hopefully, Bowden is beginning to find his shot. My main points of criticism were poor free throw shooting (especially late in the game) and too many turnovers.

 

[ColinS]

Pember's height is deceiving, imo. He lived on the perimeter in high school and could make it work because he wasn't guarding SEC perimeter players. As has been stated, he needs to either bulk up so that he can hold his own in the post, or get quicker laterally so that he can guard on the perimeter.

The plan with Pember should be to bulk him up and develop him into a serviceable post player. I don't think is athleticism is bad for his size but you can't have him out there chasing guards.

 

[cncchris33]

Thanks for the write-up. Can't disagree with any of it.

I believe you're spot on regarding Pember and I expect we'll see less of him going forward.
On the other hand, it was good to see Johnson get some minutes and be productive with them.

Last thing...free throw shooting in crucial situations has got to get better. IIRC, Fulky and Bowden both missed FT's late and Vescovi is the only one that looked confident at the line.

Go Vols!

Free throw shooting! That is what I forgot to mention. I had it in mind and forgot to include it. You are right. We nearly allowed Mizzou back in it by missing FTs and then fouling them and putting them on the line. Fortunately, they weren’t hitting either.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

With SC coming to town Satuday, a 2 game winning streak sounds nice.

 

[walkenvol]

Encouraging to see Bowden look in better form. He hit a huge shot there towards the end of the game, which essentially sealed it. Enjoyed seeing him willing to take the shot, and making it was even better. I think he was credited with the halcourt heave before halftime too so shooting %s look slightly better.
I think Pons should be our first option in the post on offense. He has a much easier time establishing and maintaining position on the block and has developed a go to move or two. He’s also a decent passer. Fulky gets pushed around down there which leads to a couple turnovers a game.
Josiah had probably his best half of basketball as a vol in the second half. He’s definitely growing into his role/getting accustomed to this level of play with a few good performances in a row.
I think Olivier is just unsure of himself at the moment, and is playing passive. I’d imagine the ticky tack fouls against him the last few games haven’t helped matters. Once he gets more decisive on the court i think he’ll be fine. A lot of potential in the freshman class, just need Pember and Gaines to bulk up.

Fulky is typically guarded by a 5 whereas Pons by a 4 which might give the appearance of him being pushed around some? But, we’ve played 1/2 a season and Fulky has the best shooting percentage on the team so I’d keep going to that well till it dries up.

Something that hasn’t been touched on was how much harder Pons was battling to get post position yet the perimeter guys weren’t feeding him the ball that much. If one of our bigs gets post position then we’ve got to feed them every time. That’s what’s made CRB’s offense so effective the last 2 years was feeding the post to either get a close shot or a pass back out for an open jumper.

SV is the new tech FT shooter IMO.

All conference road wins are great wins! Hopefully we’re turning the corner

 

[cncchris33]

One other thing I neglected to mention was @BruinVol ’s theory that Vescovi is better suited for SG. After watching two games, I still think it’s too early for me to make a definitive determination, but I am sliding towards his theory a little bit.

I watch SV and I see a little bit of Chris Lofton. A guy who can probably get away with playing PG but is maybe more valuable as a SG because, right now, his greatest attribute is his shooting ability. A guy who isn’t a great athlete but can get to the paint on occasion. Vescovi is a better passer, which is likely a result of him having actually played a lot of PG over his young career. He doesn’t create his own shot nearly at the level of Lofton, and I’m not sure he’ll ever be held in similar regard unless he can either demonstrate some ridiculous range, or develop a quicker release. But, right now, it’s hard to argue with his shooting numbers.

I still believe it is far too early in his career to make determinations on where he’ll end up primarily playing or to expect he’ll approach the level of someone like Chris Lofton, but it is fun to speculate, and I don’t think the notion of Vescovi being more suited for SG is as far-fetched as some others seem to feel.

 

[BruinVol]

One other thing I neglected to mention was @BruinVol ’s theory that Vescovi is better suited for SG. After watching two games, I still think it’s too early for me to make a definitive determination, but I am sliding towards his theory a little bit.

I watch SV and I see a little bit of Chris Lofton. A guy who can probably get away with playing PG but is maybe more valuable as a SG because, right now, his greatest attribute is his shooting ability. A guy who isn’t a great athlete but can get to the paint on occasion. Vescovi is a better passer, which is likely a result of him having actually played a lot of PG over his young career. He doesn’t create his own shot nearly at the level of Lofton, and I’m not sure he’ll ever be held in similar regard unless he can either demonstrate some ridiculous range, or develop a quicker release. But, right now, it’s hard to argue with his shooting numbers.

I still believe it is far too early in his career to make determinations on where he’ll end up primarily playing or to expect he’ll approach the level of someone like Chris Lofton, but it is fun to speculate, and I don’t think the notion of Vescovi being more suited for SG is as far-fetched as some others seem to feel.

Agreed

 

[calban]

With SC coming to town Satuday, a 2 game winning streak sounds nice.

Hope we don't give it away with TOs which is pretty much what VA did.

 

[ndubvols]

Fulky is typically guarded by a 5 whereas Pons by a 4 which might give the appearance of him being pushed around some? But, we’ve played 1/2 a season and Fulky has the best shooting percentage on the team so I’d keep going to that well till it dries up.

Something that hasn’t been touched on was how much harder Pons was battling to get post position yet the perimeter guys weren’t feeding him the ball that much. If one of our bigs gets post position then we’ve got to feed them every time. That’s what’s made CRB’s offense so effective the last 2 years was feeding the post to either get a close shot or a pass back out for an open jumper.

SV is the new tech FT shooter IMO.

All conference road wins are great wins! Hopefully we’re turning the corner

I agree Fulky has been really good this year, although I didn’t think it was his best game. It just seems to me he’s more effective taking his man 6-8 feet from the basket than pinning his guy on the block. A lot of it is likely matchup based, but when we need an easy bucket or two it just seems we’re more effective getting the ball to Pons down there. Either way if one of them buries their man we definitely need to give it to them. Bowden missed Pons toward the end of the game which resulted in a wasted possession.

 

[vavolfan6]

I think the mental fatigue of having to play college ball is wearing on our younger guys...pember, nkahmoura, and Gaines.

Glad to see JJ shoot with confidence. Hopefully he cam carry it into the next game.

Also, we have some good free throw shooters on this team (Vescovi, Jalen Johnson, Bowden, JJJ)...but we need to find ways to get to the rim and draw some fouls to get to the line..

 

[sport3500]

James can be option 1 followed by Bowden and then Pons and Vescovi.

Vescovi was more of a distributor last night.

Pons had an excellent game offensively.

Great defensive slug fest which is to be expected against a Martin coached team.

UT needs to hold serve against South Carolina and Georgia which are two winnable home games.

 

[calban]

James can be option 1 followed by Bowden and then Pons and Vescovi.

Vescovi was more of a distributor last night.

Pons had an excellent game offensively.

Great defensive slug fest which is to be expected against a Martin coached team.

UT needs to hold serve against South Carolina and Georgia which are two winnable home games.

GA is away. will be a tough out.

 

[i2amavol]

Lot's of good points on here.

I think both Pons and Fulkerson have proved themselves down low. You can't argue with Fulkerson's fg percentage. He is gaining more confidence in his shot, and is adding some moves to his repertoire. We just need to try a little harder to get them the ball.

JJ looked really good last night. I had just about given up on him being that much help, but we really need him to keep gaining confidence.

I think Santi just has ice in his veins. I would put him on the line at the end of games as much as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with an 85 - 90 % ft shooting percentage. He may lose some games with his passing, but I think he is going to become our go-to guy when the game is on the line. I don't care if he is the Pg or Sg. He can play both. He is the shot in the arm that we needed, at just the right moment.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Did we miss all 3 front ends of the 2H one-and-ones? Maybe the 8th foul was after a made basket.

 

[BruinVol]

Did we miss all 3 front ends of the 2H one-and-ones? Maybe the 8th foul was after a made basket.

Flagrant foul?

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

Did we miss all 3 front ends of the 2H one-and-ones? Maybe the 8th foul was after a made basket.

I was thinking that too. And I believe Pons was the main culprit.

Gotta hit the front end.

 

[ColinS]

One other thing I neglected to mention was @BruinVol ’s theory that Vescovi is better suited for SG. After watching two games, I still think it’s too early for me to make a definitive determination, but I am sliding towards his theory a little bit.

I watch SV and I see a little bit of Chris Lofton. A guy who can probably get away with playing PG but is maybe more valuable as a SG because, right now, his greatest attribute is his shooting ability. A guy who isn’t a great athlete but can get to the paint on occasion. Vescovi is a better passer, which is likely a result of him having actually played a lot of PG over his young career. He doesn’t create his own shot nearly at the level of Lofton, and I’m not sure he’ll ever be held in similar regard unless he can either demonstrate some ridiculous range, or develop a quicker release. But, right now, it’s hard to argue with his shooting numbers.

I still believe it is far too early in his career to make determinations on where he’ll end up primarily playing or to expect he’ll approach the level of someone like Chris Lofton, but it is fun to speculate, and I don’t think the notion of Vescovi being more suited for SG is as far-fetched as some others seem to feel.

I see him as a combo guard but lean towards seeing him play the shooting guard more. He could really be a deadly assassin playing of the ball. It's a little too early to make that call however.

 

[BruinVol]

I was thinking that too. And I believe Pons was the main culprit.

Gotta hit the front end.

Pons has the yips at the free throw line right now. If I was the opposing coach I’d play hack an Yves inside a minute in a close game

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

Vescovi has brought life back to the team. He has a pure stroke and is our new closer. At one point he scored 10 or 12 straight with under 6 to play. He also needs to be our technical free throw shooter. Bowden and Pons missed some big free throws late in the game.