Non-Lady Vol Basketball News 2024-25

[Dak1219]

The offense doesn't suck; you have a faulty premise. Now her current group has potential. However, they have not had a consistent (keyword) offensive threat that can make plays since Lawson has been there AND NIL is a big part why. The elite PG and elite centers are what are needed to reach a final four and win. NIL gives you the opportunity to get more kids that fit your system. You can be more selective and get what you are looking for. So like I said...two years from now we'll see how things shake out now that Duke has some NIL money to play with.

Now Lawson is in her 5th yr coaching college basketball without any experience as an asst. Few people have had her level of success with so little experience. If in 5yrs of college coaching, you have built a top 20 offense and defense, I'd hardly say your offense or defense suck.

A couple years back, Duke had a team comprised All Americans from the transfer portal that should have stacked up against anyone in the country offensively and yet Duke could not score. That was in 22-23 I believe. On paper they looked like they could be a final 4 team but on the floor they could not score. That was coaching mindset, because the talent was there. If the offense is going to walk the ball up and run every possession to the end of each shot clock, chances are you are not going to score very much.

 

[Volfan2012]

All ik is the more i watch LSU play the more pissed i get we couldnt pull it off jus very mid to me smh

That first quarter was brutal to watch if your a Lady Vol fan. I hope were learning to stop fouling and box out on misses two key areas where we have to improve quickly. Arkansas gets 25 free throws no reason to foul them and yes some were really ugly Ref calls, but every game almost were getting killed at the foul line. Not a challenge against a team like Arkansas, but it will be against most of the SEC teams.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

All ik is the more i watch LSU play the more pissed i get we couldnt pull it off jus very mid to me smh

Same thing I’ve said, they aren’t that good to me either.

 

[leeeda97]

A couple years back, Duke had a team comprised All Americans from the transfer portal that should have stacked up against anyone in the country offensively and yet Duke could not score. That was in 22-23 I believe. On paper they looked like they could be a final 4 team but on the floor they could not score. That was coaching mindset, because the talent was there. If the offense is going to walk the ball up and run every possession to the end of each shot clock, chances are you are not going to score very much.

Nope not at all. Clearly you know nothing about those players. All American does not equal offensive player or even guarantees you will be a standout college player. That team was comprised of who Lawson could get, not who fit into the system. They all left their previous schools for a reason. Few to none of those players were offensive minded kids. Look at how they have done at their transfer locations and what they did at their previous schools. The only one that has had some level of success is Taylor and she can't make a WNBA roster bc she doesn't have a strong offensive game. NIL helps you get what you need and when you don't have much in NIL, you have to get what you can...unfortunately the parts don't always lineup the way you need them, too.

But you all carry on, you need Lawson to fit a narrative for comparison's sake.

If we are going to look on paper, maybe check out the high school rankings of 1st round WNBA picks. They are not all in the top 25 coming out of high school........

 

[Lucy]

It's hard to watch the game on television from that arena. I can just imagine how bad it is to play in it. Geez....

You should sit court side. All you see is running sneakers.

 

[Rooster1]

That first quarter was brutal to watch if your a Lady Vol fan. I hope were learning to stop fouling and box out on misses two key areas where we have to improve quickly. Arkansas gets 25 free throws no reason to foul them and yes some were really ugly Ref calls, but every game almost were getting killed at the foul line. Not a challenge against a team like Arkansas, but it will be against most of the SEC teams.

@Volfan2012

The biggest area that Tenn needs to clean up imo is PPG allowed. They are currently ranked 271 in the nation, that has to change. No team has ever come from that far down the defensive rankings list to contend for a championship, none of the other teams ranked in the 200’s or below are contenders. I get that this system is unique and it does not rely on normal metrics to win. Still, I believe some big improvement there will be needed, even if the LV’s continue to be the top scoring team in the nation on average.

Go to pages 13 and 14 of 30 and review the numbers for conference games only. SEC Opponents are shooting over 50% for 79 PPG currently. I’m not stating it is impossible to contend with those defensive numbers, but logic says it would be very difficult in my opinion only. Free throw % needs a little work also. Everything else looks top notch.

https://storage.googleapis.com/secsports-prod/upload/2025/01/14/023f5731-36fe-40b4-9f8a-3401523fd4b0.pdf

Page six of this stat sheet…..

NCAA College Women's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Women's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

 

[newladyvolfan]

@Volfan2012

The biggest area that Tenn needs to clean up imo is PPG allowed. They are currently ranked 277th in the nation, that has to change. No team has ever come from that far down the defensive rankings list to contend for a championship, none of the other teams ranked in the 200’s or below are contenders. I get that this system is unique and it does not rely on normal metrics to win. Still, I believe some big improvement there will be needed, even if the LV’s continue to be the top scoring team in the nation on average.

We need to get better defensively.. Plan and Simple. This gimmick isnt going to last long.. just look at Sac State for example

 

[chuckiepoo]

We need to get better defensively.. Plan and Simple. This gimmick isnt going to last long.. just look at Sac State for example

Good ole Bucky Harkleroad! Needs the right players and it may be sustainable. Yet to be seen. Plenty of new sports philosophical schemes were eschewed prior to broad acceptance by competitors.

 

[Rooster1]

Quad 1 games played to date are interesting….some teams getting the benefit of the doubt. Kansas State for instance has played only two quad 1 games and are 1-1 in them. Exact same for Kentucky btw. Vandy is 0-4. OSU is 1-0 with an awful SOS, Ole Miss is 1-4.

DI Women's Basketball Rankings - NCAA Women's Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com

Get NCAA women's college basketball rankings from the Associated Press, USA Today/WBCA and NCAA committee.

www.ncaa.com

 

[brittannica]

Quad 1 games played to date are interesting….some teams getting the benefit of the doubt. Kansas State for instance has played only two quad 1 games and are 1-1 in them. Exact same for Kentucky btw. Vandy is 0-4. OSU is 1-0 with an awful SOS, Ole Miss is 1-4.

DI Women's Basketball Rankings - NCAA Women's Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com

Get NCAA women's college basketball rankings from the Associated Press, USA Today/WBCA and NCAA committee.

www.ncaa.com

My new theory after watching a few LSU games is that if you have experience like they do in really high pressure games against top quality you can play a very soft schedule. I don't know that playing that soft of a schedule did Vanderbilt any favors though, for example.

 

[Rooster1]

My new theory after watching a few LSU games is that if you have experience like they do in really high pressure games against top quality you can play a very soft schedule. I don't know that playing that soft of a schedule did Vanderbilt any favors though, for example.

Agree somewhat here. On the LSU topic I would mention we are still waiting for their first SEC championship under Mulkey, but given the NC win and prolonged winning under her, I suspect there is some merit here in your thoughts reference that team. Talent was never an issue at LSU obviously.

My post was more concerned with the current rankings, and some teams getting the benefit of the doubt to date. Certainly LSU is 3-0 so far in Quad 1 wins, so they pass the smell test. Others? Well, I brought up some good examples.

Perhaps the point is that in spite of few quad 1 type wins or even only a few such games played to date, some teams are getting that early “benefit of the doubt”. For me KState is a prime example, as well as OSU and KY. All are ranked quite high with little Quad 1 resume to back it up. They may well be as good as their current rankings, we just don’t know, doubt exists here and imo for good reason. As for Vandy and OM, they look like pretenders with a combined 1-8 record in Quad 1 games.

 

[VolBall09]

Agree somewhat here. On the LSU topic I would mention we are still waiting for their first SEC championship under Mulkey, but given the NC win and prolonged winning under her, I suspect there is some merit here in your thoughts reference that team.

My post was more concerned with the current rankings, and some teams getting the benefit of the doubt to date. Certainly LSU is 3-0 so far in Quad 1 wins, so they pass the smell test. Others? Well, I brought up some good examples. Perhaps the point is that in spite of few quad 1 type wins or even such games played to date, some teams are getting that early “benefit of the doubt”. For me KState is a prime example, as well as OSU and KY. All are ranked quite high with little Quad 1 resume to back it up.

Big 12 is way down with OU and Texas vacating. I don’t think they have any teams beyond the Sweet 16 this season. Including TCU and KState.

Iowa State should be better than they are but players are not getting the development in that system that they need. Brown still fouls like crazy and Crooks came back in worse physical condition than her freshman year which was shameful for the coaching staff. With her talent she should be an AA. Really hope she transfers to Texas, I want to see what Schafer can do with her. They have already totally changed Oldacre’s body.

 

[Rooster1]

Big 12 is way down with OU and Texas vacating. I don’t think they have any teams beyond the Sweet 16 this season. Including TCU and KState.

Iowa State should be better than they are but players are not getting the development in that system that they need. Brown still fouls like crazy and Crooks came back in worse physical condition than her freshman year which was shameful for the coaching staff. With her talent she should be an AA. Really hope she transfers to Texas, I want to see what Schafer can do with her. They have already totally changed Oldacre’s body.

100% on the B12 @VolBall09 ….and with TCU ranked #10 in spite of only 3 Quad 1 games played to date (2-1) and the loss being by 30+ points at home I suspect they are pretenders also. The ND win looks to be an outlier, we will see.

Oldacare is a handful on the offensive boards this season, agree that Texas has done well by her.

 

[Rooster1]

As for the LV’s, they should have one goal in mind for the rest of the season. Reduce that 50%+ FG percentage and 79 PPG allowed on defense. Too many good things about this team to allow that alone to sink the ship this season. I fully understand that CKC’s system is different, and it allows for more leeway in these departments with its offensive approach, I just believe that by March it has to be addressed to be successful in the tourney where teams will be better at handling and or breaking the press. UT has the athletes to play way better defense.

I know someone will come on and say the press is part of the system, it is. A big part of it. But they need to get opponents well below 50% shooting imo when they get there. #271 in the country on defense isn’t good enough to reach their potential.

.

 

[VolBall09]

As for the LV’s, they should have one goal in mind for the rest of the season. Reduce that 50%+ FG percentage and 79 PPG allowed on defense. Too many good things about this team to allow that alone to sink the ship this season. I fully understand that CKC’s system is different, and it allows for more leeway in these departments with its offensive approach, I just believe that by March it has to be addressed to be successful in the tourney where teams will be better at handling and or breaking the press. UT has the athletes to play way better defense.

I know someone will come on and say the press is part of the system, it is. A big part of it. But they need to get opponents well below 50% shooting imo when they get there. #271 in the country on defense isn’t good enough to reach their potential.

Based upon the results against LSU and OU they don’t need a bunch of improvement on defense, just enough to make the difference against tourney type teams.

Yeah realistically if we can hold teams to 40% and 70ppg we are going to be extremely difficult to beat.

 

[Rooster1]

Yeah realistically if we can hold teams to 40% and 70ppg we are going to be extremely difficult to beat.

I mentioned several posts ago it might end up being that UT uses 3-4 players on top for the press pressure with 1-2 being safeties that guard the back side of the press to prevent all of the easy layups. That is the reason for the 50%+ shooting by opposing teams. Something along those lines may be the answer. Your coaches are working it out.

Just one man’s thoughts. Positive waves here for this team, ton of potential. They can blow out any team in the country on a given night right now, but the D needs some tweaks to be contenders at year end.

That press, no matter how good it is, and it is elite, it won’t work against teams that can break the press easily and keep getting easy layups if no one is guarding the rim. I suspect SC for example, with their guards will not be bothered a ton by the press. Raven, PaoPao, Fulwiley and Tessa know how to get it past half court quickly with a press on them. Many tourney teams will be capable of the same.

 

[VolBall09]

Minnesota/Maryland should be a good game this evening. Dawn Plitzuweit can coach some ball, has Minnesota in a really good spot after they were atrocious under Whalen. In only one season they are now 16-1 and 4-1 in Big 10 play. Lost by a good margin to a decent Nebraska team.

They did play an easier schedule, curious to see how they shape up against the top half of the Big 10. I do think they’ll surprise a couple teams.

 

[Rooster1]

Minnesota/Maryland should be a good game this evening. Dawn Plitzuweit can coach some ball, has Minnesota in a really good spot after they were atrocious under Whalen. In only one season they are now 16-1 and 4-1 in Big 10 play. Lost by a good margin to a decent Nebraska team.

They did play an easier schedule, curious to see how they shape up against the top half of the Big 10. I do think they’ll surprise a couple teams.

MD will destroy Minn if I am not mistaken. Minn is one of those teams that has a shiny record because they have one of the weakest SOS’s to date. Md wins big. I could be wrong, but don’t think so.

I wonder if Minn can keep it together enough from here to even make the tourney. Favorable schedule says likely. B10 might get ten+ teams in. Minn will end up around .500 or so in conference, they only face 3-4 more ranked teams. They have played one ranked team to date, #25 Nebraska, and got pasted. Md is real, but yeah I would love to see Minn win.

Interesting fact about Minnesota, they produce quality D1 players annually, though few stay home. Paige is from there, so is Tessa Johnson and many other players on D1 rosters. The coach that can keep their best at home will do well.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Scores, Stats and Highlights - ESPN

Visit ESPN for Minnesota Golden Gophers live scores, video highlights, and latest news. Find standings and the full 2024-25 season schedule.

www.espn.com

 

[CoryDallasLV]

MD will destroy Minn if I am not mistaken. Minn is one of those teams that has a shiny record because they have one of the weakest SOS’s to date. Md wins big. I could be wrong, but don’t think so.

I wonder if Minn can keep it together enough from here to even make the tourney. Favorable schedule says likely. B10 might get ten+ teams in. Minn will end up around .500 or so in conference, they only face 3-4 more ranked teams. They have played one ranked team to date, #25 Nebraska, and got pasted. Md is real, but yeah I would love to see Minn win.

Interesting fact about Minnesota, they produce quality D1 players annually, though few stay home. Paige is from there, so is Tessa Johnson and many other players on D1 rosters. The coach that can keep their best at home will do well.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Scores, Stats and Highlights - ESPN

Visit ESPN for Minnesota Golden Gophers live scores, video highlights, and latest news. Find standings and the full 2024-25 season schedule.

www.espn.com

I’m curious to see how they compete against Maryland or other stronger competition the rest of the season. They are well coached though like @VolBall09 mentioned, but they are also without their best player due to a broken bone in her foot. Same injury to the same bone happened to her last year too. If she is able to come back at all this year it may still be a while.

 

[Rooster1]

Well well well, Minn starting good, they could make a game out of this until the third.

 

[VolBall09]

Well well well, Minn starting good, they could make a game out of this until the third.

Looked good to start. Marylands pace starting to bother them a little here in the second. Dawn always had a good game plan. Her SD teams were TOUGH.

 

[Rooster1]

Looked good to start. Marylands pace starting to bother them a little here in the second. Dawn always had a good game plan. Her SD teams were TOUGH.

Let’s watch the third, should tell us everything, perhaps. Battle needs more help but she is balling so far. Third quarter is usually the tell. Tipping my cap to the gophers so far, esp w/o one of their best players as was mentioned. Some fight there I didn’t expect from the resume.

Freese making adjustments at half, Minn coach will need to counter effectively, Freese has been there.

 

[stllvf]

I just looked at the Minnesota roster and there are nine players from the state, and two from nearby Wisconsin. Their coach formerly was at South Dakota and ran an offense fun to watch. I doubt there are many state teams, especially that win that have a strong state roster. and as I remember the top players have gone to power schools.

 

[Rooster1]

I just looked at the Minnesota roster and there are nine players from the state, and two from nearby Wisconsin. Their coach formerly was at South Dakota and ran an offense fun to watch. I doubt there are many state teams, especially that win that have a strong state roster. and as I remember the top players have gone to power schools.

several posts above, yep. Minn produces a bunch of D1 players.

 

[Rooster1]

Minn prob won’t win but a great effort..