ATLVolFan06
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Off-season Injuries
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LadyVol1908
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Those three will need to average about 17 ppg apiece, because it doesn't look like there will be much scoring from the rest of the team.
It sounds like Nared has been working hard on her outside shot. If her and Diamond can shoot >35% from the perimeter, that will open things up for Russell and Nunn inside.
ATLVolFan06
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LadyVol1908
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armchair
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Outside shooting will be a major problem for this team again, I predict. I think Russell will be better (has to be), as will DeShields (has to be). Nared has the athleticism and skills to be a very good player--but she definitely needs to be a more consistent shooter. Our guard play and shooting again looks to be a concern.
Not this one. And not when they are losing to far less "talented" teams such as Syracuse by 24 points or so.
In either event, I don't think E8 is a given, particularly if Cooper's injury keeps her off the court, and to a lesser extent, Carter's. They will have no depth at the guard spot, and will basically have the below average Reynolds, shaky Middleton, and splinter-addled behind Jackson as their guard rotation. Unless all three of them suddenly become above average players, then last year's guard play will look like a work of art compared to this season's.
They will not go anywhere until they have guards that can direct the offense and have confidence to shoot good, open shots, and not constantly rely on Diamond or Jaime having to go 1 on 4 to create their own shot while the rest of the backcourt stands and watches.
This is a great opportunity for Middleton and Jackson in particular to step up to the plate. The question is...will they?
volnationnj
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In a word, NO.
Your scenario could easily mean a repeat of last year (A lot of regular season losses and no SEC title) and then playing better in the NCAA's only to get beat by an upstart program in the E8.
This team SEEMS to have way too much talent for that result. Of course, that's what I thought last year too.
One caveat would be our injury report.
Even if Mercedes and Diamond play every game this year, we could have huge problems in the backcort if Cooper's injury is serious.
volnationnj
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Somewhat frightening how we both posted basically the exact same sentiments :crazy:
I think that there's hope, but it will require Middleton to play the way that we all thought she would when she arrived at Knoxville, and the rest of the starters having made some degree of improvement since last year.
Nunn is the wildcard. If she isn't able to play in the big leagues, I can't see how this is a top 10 team unless the rest of the team has improved enough to mask this deficiency.
So what I am getting is last years ending was a bit of a life giver to the fans considering how rough the team looked at times, but what is expected next year is more consistency through out the year. Not winning 4 games in a row at all during the regular season despite the conference will not be accepted.
Would it be accurate to say finishing at least top 3 in the SEC overall and getting to the SEC title game would quiet some of the "fire holly" talk and make people feel more confident in her coaching?
I'm just curious if the concern is more about the play or the losses. Maybe it's a bit of both. Would the fans be happier if they played better but still lost even if it was to lesser teams? I guess if it's considered a "good game" at the end are the losses more acceptable even if they happened to be in the double digits or does that still warrant anger because this team shouldn't have losses in the double digits next year?
Would it be accurate to say finishing at least top 3 in the SEC overall and getting to the SEC title game would quiet some of the "fire holly" talk and make people feel more confident in her coaching?
I'm just curious if the concern is more about the play or the losses. Maybe it's a bit of both. Would the fans be happier if they played better but still lost even if it was to lesser teams? I guess if it's considered a "good game" at the end are the losses more acceptable even if they happened to be in the double digits or does that still warrant anger because this team shouldn't have losses in the double digits next year?
Coach Jumper
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Coach Jumper
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Since the last NC run, Tennessee has been that team that for the most part beats teams that they should and loses to the teams ranked ahead of them. They have not been a championship contender. I'd like to see them be a championship contender again, and with the roster they had last year, that was a final four team, not a 12-loss team. That was a pitiful coaching job. If, as you suggest, they played good games in the games they lost this year, they wouldn't have lost most of them. Yes, South Carolina was a better all around team than them, and Texas probably was too...but they should have been able to handle a rebuilding ND, a star-less Stanford, and had no business losing to teams like Kentucky or Miss State. It was inexcusable for them to lose pretty much the rest of their games.
The "Fire Holly" brigade will stop when it looks like players benefit from playing under her tutelage, not becoming worse. For years, she was able to get by with players that would perform the same with or without her on the sideline, but when you have a player like Diamond, you coach the team to take advantage of her skills, not just the same "Inside OUT!!!!" screeching regardless of your personnel. As it stands, there is not one player on the team who looks like they have benefitted from her coaching, and that needs to stop ASAP.
If the injuries are as reported, it would be too much to expect Tennessee to beat the likes of South Carolina, ND, Baylor or Texas. At the same time, a good coach can develop a game plan for a team missing critical pieces, like Muffett did against UConn. Holly needs to show that she can do the same. Not necessarily win, but do something more than the same, 6th grade level coaching that she's demonstrated to date. And they sure as hell shouldn't be losing to the likes of Chattanooga or Alabama with the likes of Diamond or Russell on the team. If Holly can't fix that, then it's clear she's out of her league.
Talk is cheap. They need to bring it on the court. I'll believe it when I see it.
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I'm not a Tennessee fan but I am curious as to the divergence between the angry crowd vs the concerned crowd and where it comes from. Trying to get some sort of insight.
I agree some of those games were just complete collapses whether it be by staff or players. If they could just put the ball through the hoop and find some sort of semblance of a real thoughtful rotation in subbing they could save at least half of the losses.
Maybe a year of playing together has taught them something that will bode well for 2016-2017.
Concerned crowd: 2009-2015
Angry crowd: 2016
I don't think anyone was calling for Holly's head her first few years. I think people doubted she was the answer, but the cries for her outright firing were the loudest when she massively underachieved with a team that was ranked in the Top 3 preseason.
The reason they don't put the ball in the hoop is because there is no semblance of offensive flow in their game. They look like a bunch of chickens running around with no head. It's not a matter of the team being together. This is a team that is begging to be coached, and Holly needs to prove that she can do it.
LadyVol1908
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Coach Jumper
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Actually, I would have preferred "headless chickens".. at least they DO move.
Offensive flow is created with the right drills. . . 9 Or 11 man is a simple way to create movement, if it is run with explanations about "creating a wave"," breaking the wave at the right time" and doing a 5-7 second countdown (Once the ball is in scoring range, if no shot attempt has happened before the count runs out, the ball goes to the 2-down court players.
Running fastbreaks sets,,, choreographed "feed and assist drills",,,, Timed rebound-to-fast-break drills.
There are many drills that can create offensive flow.
What I do know is these girls are much more intent on changing their destinies this year than they were in prior years. . . .It WILL translate into more confident players as long as they continue to stay hungry and work hard.
I . . . Believe they will!
Fastbreak is not the answer. That's about the only time they look in sync on offense. They need some reliable half court sets. Once the other team is settled on defense, Tennessee looks like they are playing hot potato around the perimeter until Middleton/Carter/Reynolds tosses the ball to Diamond with 1s on the shot clock. And I don't consider, "Get the ball inside and play inside out" to be a playcall.
It would also be nice to see the posts do something other than the statue of liberty pose when calling for the ball. They need to do a better job of moving to get open and going around their defenders and getting open. Nina Davis does this exceptionally well, and she's 5'11. Mercedes needs to take note.
Coach Jumper
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Fast-breaks account for about 30% of an athletic team's game. It is most often a happening in which the offense has numbers. Yes, they did do ok on them, but on a FB I want scoring to be at 90+% and I saw many misses on open downcourt drives, wide open. I would have to analyze the tapes of the games, but I am quite certain they didn't finish on 90% efficiency.
Low post and ball/personnel movement is by far our most glaring inefficiencies in the last couple of seasons. They had the perfect hi-low with Graves and Russell, but didn't exploit it. This was due to several things.
- When Basha would take it to the hoop, the post would stand and watch instead of either: backing out and drawing her defender or recognizing a drive was coming and fronting her defender so she could boxout for a weakside rebound.
- When a player drove, the post often froze, giving the driver no dish option
- If the post front and stays, NP, but if the post pulls her defender out of the paint, it is up to another player to become a weakside cutter or rebounder.
- Nearly every feed to Russell was one at her knees instead of at her head (I believe this is because Russell often had "hands of stone"... This can be remedied by running her through a few drills of single-hand receptions into gathers).
- If no weakside player is available on a drive, it has to come from a trailer on the strongside
Things like these have to be practiced and ran until they are embedded and reactionary per the specific environments. Coaching offensive flow isn't about running set plays, it is about running situational environments and knowing what to do for execution for each type.
I agree with you Amb, our half-court sets and around the horn passing until a single post could break free isn't going to be effective. (This is easily defended with a 2 in and 3 out defense, with constant double-teaming the post) High screen for shooters will work, but only with a high degree of efficiency in the shots made off of the screens. But the single most important thing that this team is in need of is mental strength. That mental strength will come from:
- Knowing they can readily take an open look without repercussion. (except of course on forced or simply "dumb" decisions, e.g. taking a shot when a teammate is at a better spot and open, or shooting even though a teammate is cutting to the basket and no one is in their path)
- Never calling out a shooter in the public
- Coaches having the tenacity to get in the face of a player who does something that is unequivocally a thoughtless or defiant thing. (But even this isn't just a matter of getting in the player's face. Think of your own children. One parent can get in their face and scream and shout until the cows come home, while the other parent can say two words and the fear of God is in the child. It is up to the parents to be able to understand this phenomenon and not try to be what they're not. It is not a character flaw, it is nature's way of giving both parents roles.,... And if you think coaching is not parenting, you have never coached!)
I believe much was learned this past year, by not only the players, but the staff as well. . . It is one thing ride shotgun in a stock-car, it is by far another thing to drive it... The staff has now driven the super-car for a few years on their own...Now, that their "Richard Petty" influence is coaching in that "court in the sky"... It is time for a new phenom to take the wheel and make her proud.
Larry Bird was once asked... "With you, Michael and Magic all retiring, who will carry the mantel?... Bird replied, "When someone quits, someone else is ready to begin."
It is time to begin!
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