My thoughts on the Texas game

[LVJeff]

I was surprised at how easily Russell was pushed around. She needs to assert herself more forcefully. Holly pulling her away from the rim didn’t help, but Russell was surprisingly ineffective.

Graves struggled against the Texas four-guard lineup. This was the first game this season that some of her liabilities showed up. Before the season started I toyed in my own mind with the idea of taking Graves out of the starting lineup. The way she started the season like gangbusters showed why that would have been a dumb idea, but still, she can be exposed.

The LV guards should be ashamed of themselves at how poorly they played. Texas’s guards are not going to win any major awards yet they played rings around the LV guards.

You could easily see in this game the difference in a team that practices offense (Texas) and a team that doesn’t (Tennessee). Texas’s floor spacing was perfect, their cuts were sharp and everyone moved in sync with each other and knew where each other was on the floor. It was really kind of nice to watch in a way.

Holly has put herself in a box with her adherence to the double post scheme. She insists on no quick shots and that the posts much touch the ball. To accomplish this the guards have be close to the posts or at least have a good angle for an entry pass. It is all very predictable, leads to improper floor spacing, and a congested lane. To add to this, she apparently doesn’t practice it much anyway preferring to spend most of the time on defense. This team currently has no balance. It won’t change unless Holly changes it.

Last but not least, Red Auerbach, the long-time Celtic coach once said the most important part of the game was putting the ball in the basket and defense is what separates good offensive teams from each other. I wish somebody that Holly respects would tell her that.

 

[Darth_Vol]

Last but not least, Red Auerbach, the long-time Celtic coach once said the most important part of the game was putting the ball in the basket and defense is what separates good offensive teams from each other. I wish somebody that Holly respects would tell her that.

You would think she learned that, with all the Celtics footage they've apparently been watching....

 

[Nocleats]

Biggest thing I see.. Coach Pat would sign the number 1 or number 2 recruiting class year after year.. When was the last time Tenn signed 2 back to back #1 classes.. All the coaching in the world wont beat talent..

 

[Volfan2012]

I was surprised at how easily Russell was pushed around. She needs to assert herself more forcefully. Holly pulling her away from the rim didn’t help, but Russell was surprisingly ineffective.

Graves struggled against the Texas four-guard lineup. This was the first game this season that some of her liabilities showed up. Before the season started I toyed in my own mind with the idea of taking Graves out of the starting lineup. The way she started the season like gangbusters showed why that would have been a dumb idea, but still, she can be exposed.

The LV guards should be ashamed of themselves at how poorly they played. Texas’s guards are not going to win any major awards yet they played rings around the LV guards.

You could easily see in this game the difference in a team that practices offense (Texas) and a team that doesn’t (Tennessee). Texas’s floor spacing was perfect, their cuts were sharp and everyone moved in sync with each other and knew where each other was on the floor. It was really kind of nice to watch in a way.

Holly has put herself in a box with her adherence to the double post scheme. She insists on no quick shots and that the posts much touch the ball. To accomplish this the guards have be close to the posts or at least have a good angle for an entry pass. It is all very predictable, leads to improper floor spacing, and a congested lane. To add to this, she apparently doesn’t practice it much anyway preferring to spend most of the time on defense. This team currently has no balance. It won’t change unless Holly changes it.

Last but not least, Red Auerbach, the long-time Celtic coach once said the most important part of the game was putting the ball in the basket and defense is what separates good offensive teams from each other. I wish somebody that Holly respects would tell her that.

With a boat load of guards we could have matched up with a four guard offense ourselves. That would have open up the inside and made it easier to drive the ball to the basket.

 

[hokievol12]

This team, talent wise, is a legitimate top 5 program. This coaching staff, talent wise, is a legitimate outside looking in top 25 staff. It was total lunacy to have Mercedes playing out on the perimeter in the Texas game...but Holly had given ample warning of the madness in post game comments made in the previous game. This is a train wreck...and the conductor hasn't a clue.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

All of this has been discussed in the previous FOUR THREADS on the very same subject.

There is nothing new in this fifth thread on the same subject.

 

[vol1981]

All of this has been discussed in the previous FOUR THREADS on the very same subject.

There is nothing new in this fifth thread on the same subject.

The ego-driven forum police strike again!

:birgits_giggle:

 

[LVJeff]

All of this has been discussed in the previous FOUR THREADS on the very same subject.

There is nothing new in this fifth thread on the same subject.

You certainly added nothing to it.

It interests me when people talk about something they profess to not be interested in. If you're truly not interested - don't post. It's really pretty simple.

 

[madtownvol]

Holly has put herself in a box with her adherence to the double post scheme. She insists on no quick shots and that the posts much touch the ball.

I am not yet in the "fire holly" camp but her emphasis on not quick shooting the b-ball (and her tendency to identify quick shooting as the root cause of poor offensive performances) has puzzled me. A good shot is a good shot, whether it comes early or late in the shot clock. I suppose it is a variation on the "don't settle for jump shots" mantra but when teams pack the paint (Like everyone is doing against the LVs) pounding the paint is not going to be the answer. We have enough slash and drive players that you think the LVs would also force the opponents' inside players to make plays or draw fouls.

This team has one offensive thoroughbred in Deshields; a couple of capable scorers--Graves, Russell-- who sometimes go missing; Nared should also be a solid offensive weapon if she can get back in the flow from her injury. The rest of the team are workhorses (good to great athletes but who are for whatever reason limited in the ability to score). If there ever was a team that needed to internalize the CPS' ethos of "defense and rebounding win championships," it is this one. Holly should be showing them clips from the Bad boys Detroit Piston era.

 

[LVJeff]

I am not yet in the "fire holly" camp but her emphasis on not quick shooting the b-ball (and her tendency to identify quick shooting as the root cause of poor offensive performances) has puzzled me. A good shot is a good shot, whether it comes early or late in the shot clock. I suppose it is a variation on the "don't settle for jump shots" mantra but when teams pack the paint (Like everyone is doing against the LVs) pounding the paint is not going to be the answer...

I appreciate your thoughtful response. Playing devil's advocate, it's easy to understand the double post offense and Holly's insistence on getting the ball inside - it won the LV's 8 National championships and countless other conference and tournament titles. The closer you can get the ball to the basket the higher your chances of scoring. Quick shooting negates this advantage if the quick shot isn't a score.

I understand this and have no real complaint about the scheme. But no offensive scheme will work if it isn't practiced, and Holly by her own admission says they haven't practiced offense enough. Gee, ya' think not? I keep talking about balance in my posts. This team doesn't have any. Only Holly can fix that.

 

[Pat4life]

I was surprised at how easily Russell was pushed around. She needs to assert herself more forcefully. Holly pulling her away from the rim didn’t help, but Russell was surprisingly ineffective.

Graves struggled against the Texas four-guard lineup. This was the first game this season that some of her liabilities showed up. Before the season started I toyed in my own mind with the idea of taking Graves out of the starting lineup. The way she started the season like gangbusters showed why that would have been a dumb idea, but still, she can be exposed.

The LV guards should be ashamed of themselves at how poorly they played. Texas’s guards are not going to win any major awards yet they played rings around the LV guards.

You could easily see in this game the difference in a team that practices offense (Texas) and a team that doesn’t (Tennessee). Texas’s floor spacing was perfect, their cuts were sharp and everyone moved in sync with each other and knew where each other was on the floor. It was really kind of nice to watch in a way.

Holly has put herself in a box with her adherence to the double post scheme. She insists on no quick shots and that the posts much touch the ball. To accomplish this the guards have be close to the posts or at least have a good angle for an entry pass. It is all very predictable, leads to improper floor spacing, and a congested lane. To add to this, she apparently doesn’t practice it much anyway preferring to spend most of the time on defense. This team currently has no balance. It won’t change unless Holly changes it.

Last but not least, Red Auerbach, the long-time Celtic coach once said the most important part of the game was putting the ball in the basket and defense is what separates good offensive teams from each other. I wish somebody that Holly respects would tell her that.

Or get to the rim under control, to draw defenders to be able to make easier passes into the post, but our posts look like they didn't want any parts of Texas in the paint.

We have a smart team, too, it seems like we have a lot players thinking too much, rather than playing, basketball is no longer instinctual for most of them, only player that has the gift is Diamond.

Holly has to figure where the disconnect is for her guards, cos they are not looking like players, they look like the are running the plays in their heads, wasting clock and by the time, they figure it out the shot clock has run down, that will get better as the season progress.
Nice post!

 

[Pat4life]

I am not yet in the "fire holly" camp but her emphasis on not quick shooting the b-ball (and her tendency to identify quick shooting as the root cause of poor offensive performances) has puzzled me. A good shot is a good shot, whether it comes early or late in the shot clock. I suppose it is a variation on the "don't settle for jump shots" mantra but when teams pack the paint (Like everyone is doing against the LVs) pounding the paint is not going to be the answer. We have enough slash and drive players that you think the LVs would also force the opponents' inside players to make plays or draw fouls.

This team has one offensive thoroughbred in Deshields; a couple of capable scorers--Graves, Russell-- who sometimes go missing; Nared should also be a solid offensive weapon if she can get back in the flow from her injury. The rest of the team are workhorses (good to great athletes but who are for whatever reason limited in the ability to score). If there ever was a team that needed to internalize the CPS' ethos of "defense and rebounding win championships," it is this one. Holly should be showing them clips from the Bad boys Detroit Piston era.

if you unable to get a shot in transition, you want to make the opposing team play defense, so they are able to play both sides of the ball, so if we quick shot the basketball, we play offense for 10 seconds, now we are on defense, for 60 -70% of the game, cos we didn't work to get the best shot each possession on offense. The way we are shooting, if we keep quick shooting we will lose more ball games until our players become better shooters, look at Uconn, and Notre DAme, they work to get the best shot, not he first shot or the shot the other team is giving us. No they get the shot they want from the player they want shooting it.

So when she say don't quick shoot the basketball, that a staple that all good coaches preaches, unless they have capable shooters, especially for a young team.

Why would you want a team or player who can't shoot quick shooting the basketball, when no one is in position to get a rebound?

 

[Pat4life]

I appreciate your thoughtful response. Playing devil's advocate, it's easy to understand the double post offense and Holly's insistence on getting the ball inside - it won the LV's 9 National championships and countless other conference and tournament titles. The closer you can get the ball to the basket the higher your chances of scoring. Quick shooting negates this advantage if the quick shot isn't a score.

I understand this and have no real complaint about the scheme. But no offensive scheme will work if it isn't practiced, and Holly by her own admission says they haven't practiced offense enough. Gee, ya' think not? I keep talking about balance in my posts. This team doesn't have any. Only Holly can fix that.

And the players.

 

[Pat4life]

And imagine you are a post players, and the two of you are getting less than 10 touches a game, and when they get you the ball, you are not in position to make a play, and you are two potential All American candidates or at least solid. You won't set good screens, you don't work to get the ball, cos you know you're not going to get it anyways.

So this team has some trust issues and they can be addressed and fixed with more games and tighter rotation.

Once this team figures out how to play together, mane oh mane.

 

[Pat4life]

The ego-driven forum police strike again!

:birgits_giggle:

Yes, but this one wasn't started by a Lady Vols hater, under the fake guise of "oh I love the Lady Vols so much", I want to help them by firing the coach.

I want to start rebuilding process for the Lady Vols, and then we will be that very same program every think we are, which we are not.

Thank you Holly for not letting the Lady Vols turn into a mediocore team or program, we might look like it in some games, but we are the Lady Vols, keep raising the bar, a couple games do not define the season, SEC, SEC Tournament and NCAA tournament defines the season.

Sky is the limit. Go Lady Vols.

 

[madtownvol]

if you unable to get a shot in transition, you want to make the opposing team play defense, so they are able to play both sides of the ball, so if we quick shot the basketball, we play offense for 10 seconds, now we are on defense, for 60 -70% of the game, cos we didn't work to get the best shot each possession on offense. The way we are shooting, if we keep quick shooting we will lose more ball games until our players become better shooters, look at Uconn, and Notre DAme, they work to get the best shot, not he first shot or the shot the other team is giving us. No they get the shot they want from the player they want shooting it.

So when she say don't quick shoot the basketball, that a staple that all good coaches preaches, unless they have capable shooters, especially for a young team.

Why would you want a team or player who can't shoot quick shooting the basketball, when no one is in position to get a rebound?

For the most part, the LVs half court offense involves a lot of standing around and high rates of turnover. The LVs are built to be an uptempo team and their half court approach is slowing the game way down. Getting a shot earlier in the shot clock does not mean that players are not in a position to crash the boards. Teams are packing the paint, making the entry pass difficult, which leaves the LVs passing around the perimeter hoping that someone almost magically gets open. This offensive needs more cutting to the rim, more driving the lane and more shots and offensive rebounds.

Even Mercedes at 6-6 is not a great post player; in many ways she plays smaller than Izzy who was stronger and better jumper. But, Mercedes is surprising good at running the floor. Everything about this team screams fast paced, transition basketball, supported by a high pressure defense.

 

[Pat4life]

Teams are also slowing them down, good teams are not going allow you to run, unless you have horses at all five positions, espeically if the coach is any good, transition basketball and putbacks, are the first things teams know they have to stop when they face us. Right now most of the teams we face are going to make it a basketball game, which is great cos we will get better, rather than a track meet.

So we have to become a better half court team and that takes time. Plus its still early in the season, I can see us pressing more, once we establish a rotation and or improve shooting, I mean we pressed on Sunday, and couldn't make layups. Our team is not ready to press, or play uptempo, I see holly telling them to speed up, they will dribble fast down court and stop at the three line and pull it back out, we never dribble down the court fast to get to the paint. (Reynolds is horrible at this, she gets down court fast but with no purpose). The players haven't bought into pressing, once they buy in; it will be done.

Madtownvol. I agree with everything you are saying about movement with or without the basketball or the lack thereof.

Cedes does play smaller than Izzy, I wish her presence was bigger, you can tell she was frustrated, she will get better. But yes she needs to have a presence in every game, if we want to go where we want to go. I thought defensively her presence was ok.

Nice post.

 

[Silence Dogood]

There sure is a lot of Hatred of Holly after losing just one game.

I seem to remember early last season after a somewhat slow start that the Haters all came out from under their rocks, and bashed Holly unmercifully.

Tennessee has lost one game. Get a f*****g grip on yourselves. Your lives have not ended. All is not lost.

 

[stubbs9]

I am frustrated but when you think about 1) This team hasn't really built any chemistry on the court 2) Diamond hasn't really practiced with the team. We have to improve though. We were getting lost on our matchup zone. Mercedes have to play more aggressive and stop being soft and keep the ball high.

 

[Pat4life]

I am frustrated but when you think about 1) This team hasn't really built any chemistry on the court 2) Diamond hasn't really practiced with the team. We have to improve though. We were getting lost on our matchup zone. Mercedes have to play more aggressive and stop being soft and keep the ball high.

Nice post! :good!:

 

[kamoshika]

There sure is a lot of Hatred of Holly after losing just one game.

I seem to remember early last season after a somewhat slow start that the Haters all came out from under their rocks, and bashed Holly unmercifully.

Tennessee has lost one game. Get a f*****g grip on yourselves. Your lives have not ended. All is not lost.

The only vitriol in this thread is your own. There's an enormous difference between thoughtful, critical analysis -- which should always be welcome -- and bona fide bashing.

 

[Hoya Saxa]

There sure is a lot of Hatred of Holly after losing just one game.

Tennessee has lost one game. Get a f*****g grip on yourselves. Your lives have not ended. All is not lost.

The criticism of Holly is not because of the loss to Texas. It started after the poor showing against Penn State and then continued after the games against Syracuse, Chattanooga, and Albany. Even though those four games were wins, the team played poorly with no offensive flow. That falls squarely on the coaching staff. The expectation is that when playing home games against cupcakes, the team should be performing at a much higher level.

 

[RollerVol]

Players ain't playin'...

GO LADY VOLS!

 

[j'adorevol89]

Texas for about 3 years was a thorn in the Lady Vols side.. They lost to Texas from 02-05 so I it is just another game lost to Texas but lets be real the Lady Vols just aren't playing well.. But my expectations are still the same a Final Four hopefully this team can gel and start playing some damn good ball.... This team is just too good to be mediocre but I think they got a much a needed wake-up call... Also I hope Jones is okay

 

[Volfan2012]

Holly has taken a bunch of five star players over her four seasons and managed to lose to UT Chattanooga twice as well as scoring 48 against Maryland in the NCAA Tourney. Then there is the team we played who was beating us by 20 before we made a miraculous comeback to win at the buzzer.
The point being she does less with more and that is obvious. She presently has players that were ranked 1, 2, 5, 3, and 6 on the present roster in their respective classes and still plays teams like Syracuse, Albany, and Chattanooga to the final minute.