Non-Lady Vol Basketball News 2024-25

[gule]

U con walked at least 3 times, no call . plus their usual over the backs and shoulder blocks... poor little depaul got robbed!!!! lol

 

[sisaq]

Actually only two Terrapin starters (Asley Owusu and Angel Reese) transferred, two starters (Katie Benzan and Chloe Bibby) exhausted their eligibility, and one starter (Diamond Miller) returned. They also lost a frequently-used substitute (Mimi Collins) a rarely-used substitute (Taisiya Kozlova) and a player coming back from injury (Channise Lewis) to transfer.

As talented as Owusu is, she appeared to be distracted (and possibly unhappy) in her junior year at Maryland and her production noticeably dipped from her sophomore year , when she was named a third-team All-American. Her transfer to Virginia Tech has not worked out so far. She has had a hand injury in the middle of the season and her conditioning seems to have deteriorated since she left Maryland. When she has played for the Hokies she appears to be passive, uncertain, and ineffective. She did not even play in Tech's last game.

Angel Reese's transfer was obviously the biggest loss for the Terps. She averaged almost 18 points and over 10 and a half rebounds per game and was Maryland's only real post player. Her offensive game was limited - and appears to be to this day - but she fought hard for rebounds, had a lot of putbacks and was also an effective interior defender. Fans could question her lack of an outside shot but not her commitment or hardnosed play. Reese's transfer caught a lot of Maryland fans by surprise as she did not seem disgruntled or out of sorts with the coaches. After the loss to Stanford in the NCAA Tournament she sent out a social media message about the Terps coming back stronger. And a week or two later she entered the transfer portal. I listened to an interview where she said that she left Maryland because she wanted to be a winner. Granted, Kim Mulkey is a great coach with multiple championships on her resume (as opposed to only one for Brenda Frese) but that statement didn't really ring true, especially with how dominant South Carolina is in the SEC. I think that Reese left to build her social media presence and following and through it for increased NIL opportunities. She left to have a team built around her, with no limitations on her playing time and ability to pad her personal statistics. And, truth to tell, it appears that things worked out quite optimally for "Bayou Barbie". I wish her, and the other players mentioned, well.

Players have short careers and they have every right to seek out the best opportunities for themselves and to maximize what they are able to get from their time in the game. I have never felt anger about the players who transferred out of Maryland and wished (and continue to wish) them success in their future endeavors.

As to your point regarding Brenda Frese earning coach of the year honors. While I believe that she is entirely deserving, she is probably not even going to get named B1G coach of the year. Teri Moren is more or less a shoo-in for that award and the current frontrunner for the national honor as well.

Thanks. Kim must have shown her cash

 

[sisaq]

U con walked at least 3 times, no call . plus their usual over the backs and shoulder blocks... poor little depaul got robbed!!!! lol

Every body wants to beat them but with Refs help they keep escaping. Geno would've gone crazy.

 

[brassie]

UConn is running on fumes. Auriemma has run his starters into the ground. His unwillingness to use his bench has cost his team down the stretch. It remains to be seen if the Huskies can catch a second wind heading into tournament play.

He has no bench. Deberry is a 6'5" non contributor, Patterson is a highly ranked recruit that hasn't shown anythin exceot the ability to foul and Bettencourt is a player headed for a junior college who was recruited out of desperation when Bueckers went down.

 

[Max Roguespierre]

He has no bench. Deberry is a 6'5" non contributor, Patterson is a highly ranked recruit that hasn't shown anythin exceot the ability to foul and Bettencourt is a player headed for a junior college who was recruited out of desperation when Bueckers went down.

Do you think that other coaches wouldn't prefer to use their best players exclusively? Auriemma made a conscious decision to try to squeeze everything that his top 5 or 6 players could give. That has now backfired on him and the Huskies. Both DeBerry and Patterson were highly sought after recruits. They may not have everything that Geno Auriemma wants in his players but they can play well enough so that the starters don't wear down to the point that fatigue becomes an unmanageable problem.

 

[Amb3096]

Patterson played quite a bit today and came up with some big defensive plays on Morrow towards the end.

Lopez Senechal looked like a shadow of the player I’ve seen in other UConn games before SC. Same with Aliyah Edwards.

 

[VolBalls33]

If Fudd doesn't come back this season UCONN isn't going to make the Final 4.

 

[lvocd]

He has no bench. Deberry is a 6'5" non contributor, Patterson is a highly ranked recruit that hasn't shown anythin exceot the ability to foul and Bettencourt is a player headed for a junior college who was recruited out of desperation when Bueckers went down.

I guess what most people wonder is WHY "he has no bench." These bench players are being coached by the most successful coach in the women's game, and they are practicing with and against many of the best players in this country and some players good enough to have played a few years professionally in other countries. So why aren't these players coming along at least good enough to not be considered as total non-contributors? Most of us are not seeing how it is possible.

 

[volnationnj]

I guess what most people wonder is WHY "he has no bench." These bench players are being coached by the most successful coach in the women's game, and they are practicing with and against many of the best players in this country and some players good enough to have played a few years professionally in other countries. So why aren't these players coming along at least good enough to not be considered as total non-contributors? Most of us are not seeing how it is possible.

You don't have to look far to find a top rated freshman recruit who is a "total non-contributor". Patterson, on uconn, doesn't play very much (though she did play more than a full quarter yesterday, according to the boxscore) for a currently top 10 ranked team. Pissott, the #11 ranked recruit by ESPN, doesn't get much playing time (2 minutes in the last 3 games) for the unranked LV's.
Do you also not see how this is possible ? After all, Justine gets to practice everyday against 2 of the top 10 projected picks in the upcoming WNBA draft.
Is it more important, because of injuries, and a shortage of other viable subs, for Patterson to play than Pissott?
Probably.
But the situation is that their respective coaches both deem those recruits not able to contribute to the team on an acceptable level. In uconn's case, he chooses to stay with his starters and in CKJH's case, she chooses to go with other bench players.
Now to the question of "why aren't they better by now" ?
In the short time that I've watched them play, Patterson, though very physical, has limited offensive skills. DeBerry just reacts too slowly. Whether it's deciding where to pass or moving for a rebound, she's very limited at this point and can't play at the same speed as her teammates.
As for Justine, I think most people see the same thing. She must get stronger and get used to playing at the increased speed of college basketball. I think as she gets stronger, it will help her defense immensely.

 

[lvocd]

You don't have to look far to find a top rated freshman recruit who is a "total non-contributor". Patterson, on uconn, doesn't play very much (though she did play more than a full quarter yesterday, according to the boxscore) for a currently top 10 ranked team. Pissott, the #11 ranked recruit by ESPN, doesn't get much playing time (2 minutes in the last 3 games) for the unranked LV's.
Do you also not see how this is possible ? After all, Justine gets to practice everyday against 2 of the top 10 projected picks in the upcoming WNBA draft.
Is it more important, because of injuries, and a shortage of other viable subs, for Patterson to play than Pissott?
Probably.
But the situation is that their respective coaches both deem those recruits not able to contribute to the team on an acceptable level. In uconn's case, he chooses to stay with his starters and in CKJH's case, she chooses to go with other bench players.
Now to the question of "why aren't they better by now" ?
In the short time that I've watched them play, Patterson, though very physical, has limited offensive skills. DeBerry just reacts too slowly. Whether it's deciding where to pass or moving for a rebound, she's very limited at this point and can't play at the same speed as her teammates.
As for Justine, I think most people see the same thing. She must get stronger and get used to playing at the increased speed of college basketball. I think as she gets stronger, it will help her defense immensely.

You're comparing apples to oranges. I'd guess one of the biggest reasons Pissott, Wynn and Miles don't play more than they do is that there are too many players to give everyone on the roster lots of minutes. This is not the case for Auriemma.

 

[volnationnj]

You're comparing apples to oranges. I'd guess one of the biggest reasons Pissott, Wynn and Miles don't play more than they do is that there are too many players to give everyone on the roster lots of minutes. This is not the case for Auriemma.

I agree, uconn does need subs more. I already stated that it was probably more important for uconn to have Patterson play meaningful minutes than for Tennessee to have Pissott play meaningful minutes.
But, as I have also already asked, why can't Pissott, a top recruit, find meaningful minutes for an unranked LV team ? Is not our need to improve the team's effectiveness as great as uconn's is ?

 

[Rooster1]

Right now, after the games yesterday, the top four NCAA teams for bracket purposes would be:
SC, IU, Utah and Stanford in that order.

After the conf tourneys, spots 2-4 would be considered fluid (Iowa/IU game today is important for IU). If there are any teams on the outside of that group with a chance to move up to a 1 seed, you would have to consider MD and UConn if they sweep from here. I still think Stanford wins the PAC12, so they would stay in the top 4, and of course SC will stay top 4 at this point regardless of the SEC tourney results. IU prob stays top 4 regardless of todays Iowa matchup and the B10 tourney results, I don’t see them slipping up too much if at all. That leaves Utah, MD and Uconn as the only teams with realistic shot at the last spot imo. Utah has the edge here for that spot obviously.

I have a feeling IU will have a tough game at Iowa today….I’m calling the upset.

 

[VolBall09]

I think MSST/LSU could be a really interesting matchup. If MSST has all their roster they probably matchup best with them of any team in the SEC. I could see that game going either way.


MSST looks well coached again and they do have some talented players on their roster. Carter truly is a beast in the post if she can stay on the floor.

 

[Rooster1]

I think MSST/LSU could be a really interesting matchup. If MSST has all their roster they probably matchup best with them of any team in the SEC. I could see that game going either way.


MSST looks well coached again and they do have some talented players on their roster. Carter truly is a beast in the post if she can stay on the floor.

MSU needs Carter to play and stay on the court. They could pull the upset if that happens, but I suspect Mulkey will outcoach MSU coach who tbh, has had some head scratching moments this season as a tactician per se. I’m calling LSU the winner here.

I said a few weeks ago that I thought the SEC would only get 6 in the NCAA tourney, but it looks like 7 now and tbh, the fact that only 2 SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 is ridiculous. There is bias against the SEC this season in the polls, and because of that I see some non ranked SEC teams making runs in this years NCAA tourney…

 

[VolBall09]

MSU needs Carter to play and stay on the court. They could pull the upset if that happens, but I suspect Mulkey will outcoach MSU coach who tbh, has had some head scratching moments this season as a tactician per se. I’m calling LSU the winner here.

I think a lot of it is going to come down to how many Free Throws LSU shoots compared to MSST.


The guards matchup well. Hayes/Morris should be a good matchup. I’d actually give players like Powe and Jordan the advantage against their LSU counterparts.


Carter/Reese will be the deciding matchup. LSU goes as Angel goes. When she has had slow starts they have struggled. They need her to have 20 and 15 every night or they aren’t that good and Kim knows that.

 

[Rooster1]

I think a lot of it is going to come down to how many Free Throws LSU shoots compared to MSST.


The guards matchup well. Hayes/Morris should be a good matchup. I’d actually give players like Powe and Jordan the advantage against their LSU counterparts.


Carter/Reese will be the deciding matchup. LSU goes as Angel goes. When she has had slow starts they have struggled. They need her to have 20 and 15 every night or they aren’t that good and Kim knows that.

Reese has delivered those results in 95% of her games this year, MSU likely won’t stop her. In the SEC tourney being played in Greenville, the only team that can beat LSU given the matchups and format will be UT, and that game could be very interesting.

 

[VolBall09]

Reese has delivered those results in 95% of her games this year, MSU likely won’t stop her. In the SEC tourney being played in Greenville, the only team that can beat LSU given the matchups and format will be UT, and that game could be very interesting.

If Carter takes it personal and can stay out of foul trouble I think she could be the one to slow her down. She’s got the foot speed and has the size advantage on her. I’m looking forward to the matchup today

 

[Volfan2012]

This game is at LSU and they will win it by 15 to 20 JMO.

 

[ttharp]

I think MSST/LSU could be a really interesting matchup. If MSST has all their roster they probably matchup best with them of any team in the SEC. I could see that game going either way.


MSST looks well coached again and they do have some talented players on their roster. Carter truly is a beast in the post if she can stay on the floor.

Agreed. I think it’ll be an interesting matchup for sure. Unfortunately, the game is at LSU. So even if Ms St plays really well, I doubt they’ll be able to beat LSU and the refs.

 

[Rooster1]

Agreed. I think it’ll be an interesting matchup for sure. Unfortunately, the game is at LSU. So even if Ms St plays really well, I doubt they’ll be able to beat LSU and the refs.

I get home court advantage from a player and fan perspective, but I have always doubted that refs come into a game favoring the home team….maybe the crowd affects them, but I doubt they have a pre planned outlook to influence a game. That is too far for me to go, implies shadiness in the game that I do not believe is true. It is why you never see me type a post blaming the refs for any loss or outcome. Now, many folks make such claims, but do they really believe that or is it just an easy go to theme after a loss? If as some say, refs have an agenda, show me some proof or even how that theory could have legs in the real world. That would require something other than a feeling, or what happened in this game or that game. It would require proof and the belief that the game is set up by officials to be less than a fair contest, which isn’t true.

Would also mean you believe the conference or some higher authority is dictating to refs how the game will be called, also untrue. And those refs everyone loves to pick on, they are real people trying to call a game as best they can. Could a crowd influence them? Sure, that’s the proverbial home court advantage if you have a raucous crowd, same as it ever was, but not part of a pre planned notion to influence a game. For all the things I love about this site, the one thing I believe it goes overboard on after most games is the constant implication that the refs favor one team to win. Also not true.

I expect blowback now. What I don’t expect is any proof for such “theories”.

 

[ttharp]

I get home court advantage from a player and fan perspective, but I have always doubted that refs come into a game favoring the home team….maybe the crowd affects them, but I doubt they have a pre planned outlook to influence a game. That is too far for me to go, implies shadiness in the game that I do not believe is true. It is why you never see me type a post blaming the refs for any loss or outcome. Now, many folks make such claims, but do they really believe that or is it just an easy go to theme after a loss? If as some say, refs have an agenda, show me some proof or even how that theory could have legs in the real world. That would require something other than a feeling, or what happened in this game or that game. It would require proof and the belief that the game is set up by officials to be less than a fair contest, which isn’t true.

I hear you. I’m usually not one to blame the refs. I’m really big on ‘control what you can control’. However, watching LSU play Georgia and Arky at home was a different story.

When Arky and Georgia built leads late in those games, the refs started calling ticky-tack fouls they didn’t call earlier in the game which allowed LSU to erase a lead on FTs alone. LSU had waaay more FT attempts in both games.

Georgia is a physical team that plays really good defense and when refs call fouls late in a game that they didn’t early on, it forces them to change how they play. And that hurt them because fouls weren’t being called both ways.

 

[ttharp]

The SEC tournament bracket as of now…Gonna be rooting hard for Ole Miss today.

 

[ncteacher88]

Rick Barnes can't coach offense much better than Kellie Harper, but I thank God the U of T has him.

I like Rick Barnes. He is from and played at Lenoir Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina. I used to run through that campus every evening. I have actually worked the Rick Barnes basketball camp at LR when he was the coach at Texas. I still have autographed basketballs and Texas shirts I received (won’t consider putting one on though). Also, the school allowed my students to do our weekly radio show from their school radio station. That was before we switched to a little liberal arts college in Durham, North Carolina you guys probably never heard of - Duke University.

 

[Rooster1]

I hear you. I’m usually not one to blame the refs. I’m really big on ‘control what you can control’. However, watching LSU play Georgia and Arky at home was a different story.

When Arky and Georgia built leads late in those games, the refs started calling ticky-tack fouls they didn’t call earlier in the game which allowed LSU to erase a lead on FTs alone. LSU had waaay more FT attempts in both games.

Georgia is a physical team that plays really good defense and when refs call fouls late in a game that they didn’t early on, it forces them to change how they play. And that hurt them because fouls weren’t being called both ways.

The diff in those two games came down to two things, LSU severely outrebounded both teams and those two opponents were fouling much in 4th intentionally to try and get back into the game….prior to that, the more skilled team (LSU) was getting calls because the two less skilled teams were fouling legitimately trying to stop better players who are good at drawing fouls.

 

[ttharp]

The diff in those two games came down to two things, LSU severely outrebounded both teams and those two opponents were fouling much in 4th intentionally to try and get back into the game….prior to that, the more skilled team (LSU) was getting calls because the two less skilled teams were fouling legitimately trying to stop better players who are good at drawing fouls.

I saw it differently. Can agree to disagree.