Practice begins

[Amb3096]

Let's not move the goal posts here. I said earlier that I thought Draya needed to get better on the defensive side and that is not the lock down defender she needs to be and can. I ask you, does that not sound like a statement which implies she has room to improve and is not maxing out her potential?

I agree that Draya can improve her defense. But I think it's equally important that she improve her offense. There's no reason she can't do both.

Also I don't recall saying that Draya is just as good Green. No, I think the point was that even at the highest level of the sport you find players who are intended defensive specialist and for whom points scored are a bonus.

The point I'm making is that Green was a scoring machine in college. He was a complete player. In the NBA, he's surrounded by better offensive players, but when he has an open shot, he's taking it.

With the level of competition and player talent, being a "defensive specialist" doesn't cut it anymore. You still have to be able to play offense.

Per Alex and Draya, I am not why we are not communicating. We agree that the two play a similar role (and Lex was also a hybrid who in some shared PG duties with Bobbitt). But, Lex had Candace, the best player in the game at that time by far. Draya had no one on the team who was that kind of force. My point is that it is a lot easier to play that role with a genuine superstar along side you. Draya would look a whole better playing along side Candace and I predict the additions of Russell and DeShields will do wonders for "her game." The quality of players around you, can make you more or less effective.

The biggest difference I see between Lex and Draya is Lex's willingness to score when the opportunity presented itself. Candace got a lot of double/triple teams, and when the ball came back out to Lex, she knew what to do with it. I haven't seen that from Draya. Sure, Harrison is no Candace, but she still drew the focus of the defense and Draya had a lot of open looks. There is a tendency to shy away from responsibilities when you have a superstar teammate. Lex didn't do that, and this is where Draya will need to be ready to step up and make teams pay for double teaming Diamond.

 

[gule]

let Diamond have all of Carter's minutes, problem solved! imvvho


play Carter at pg in relief of Jordan and Cooper.

 

[LVJeff]

let Diamond have all of Carter's minutes, problem solved! imvvho


play Carter at pg in relief of Jordan and Cooper.

Of course this is a segue into what the lineups will be. I've wondered whether a lineup of Russell at the 5, Jones at the 4 on offense and at the 3 on defense, Dunbar at the 4 on defense and at the 3 on offense, Deshields at the 2, and Cooper at the point wouldn't solve a lot of problems.

I'd like to see that lineup but I doubt seriously it would ever materialize. It leaves both Graves and Carter out and I doubt Dunbar is up to the task yet.

Holly sure has a lot of options.

 

[armchair]

I checked at one pt last year and UConn was shooting a whole 10% better than we were. The stats were just night and day different.

I think they shot 54% as a team and we shot 43%. From three pt they were 41% and we were 35%. They had 6 players who shot over 50% and we had 2.

Defense isn't going to make up for that sort of discrepancy, especially when their defense is every bit as good as ours.

Dunbar is probably our best returning outside shooter and she will be playing inside because of mobility, ball handling and numbers issues. She can still pop out for a three sometimes but her opportunities will be more limited.

So yeah, a lot will be riding on how well the new girls shoot.

than UT ever since Geno took over that program. They have always been a much better ball movement/passing team than we are, which gets them better shots. Notre Dame is the same way. They school us with their passing. The Vols have been somewhere between lousy and mediocre at team offense for 20 years--it is our ongoing major weakness, and I have been railing about it, seemingly, for about 10 years! We had a terrible assist/turnover ratio for many years. We have a tendency to get panicky and shoot badly in big games. Look at our performance against Maryland--not a great team: We scored 48 points. Yea, we had injuries--but that was still terrible. Until we get better at passing and shooting the ball, we will not win another national title.

--We will not miss Massengale much. She turned into a decent three-point shooter late in her college career, but as an all-around guard she was a disappointment. When I first saw her as a freshman, I thought she'd be good, but it didn't work out that way. She played soft--that was/is her first and perhaps biggest problem. You are't going to win a national title with a PG who plays soft, and of course she ended up losing her PG job and coming off the bench.

I like Reynolds because she has some size and does not play soft--she's got a tough streak. But she does need to make more shots. Her ability to get into the lane consistently is big--an advantage--but, yea, she's got to make those 10 footers more consistently.

 

[stubbs9]

20 years really? We have always had at least 2 great shooters on the court. Zolman, Spencer, Lawson, Bobbitt. Just to name a view.

 

[Amb3096]

Of course this is a segue into what the lineups will be. I've wondered whether a lineup of Russell at the 5, Jones at the 4 on offense and at the 3 on defense, Dunbar at the 4 on defense and at the 3 on offense, Deshields at the 2, and Cooper at the point wouldn't solve a lot of problems.

I'd like to see that lineup but I doubt seriously it would ever materialize. It leaves both Graves and Carter out and I doubt Dunbar is up to the task yet.

Holly sure has a lot of options.

I'd be interested in seeing how this rotation would work out:

PG - Cooper, Middleton, Reynolds
SG - Deshields, Reynolds, Carter, Jackson
SF - Nared, Deshields, Dunbar, Jackson
PF - Graves, Jones, Nared, Dunbar
C - Russell, Graves, Moore

 

[Martic]

Sure you can. They are the team that dropped 81 points and shot 54% against a Maryland team that held Tennessee to 48 points and 32% a week earlier.

The fact that they demolish ranked teams just as mercilessly as they do conference creampuffs invalidates any excuses that they only look good because of their pitiful conference.

I do think that once Stewart is gone (assuming Samuelson is not the heir apparent and Cox chooses elsewhere), then other teams will surpass them (both SC and Tennessee should be superior teams next season). But they are clearly the gold standard today as they have been for the last 2 seasons.

They still pad their stats with the cupcake teams if they played better teams(more than 3) consistently maybe not Who knows?

 

[Amb3096]

They still pad their stats with the cupcake teams if they played better teams(more than 3) consistently maybe not Who knows?

How is it padding their stats when they beat the top teams just as badly?

What bragging right does Tennessee have to say that they played (and lost) to a Texas team in the regular season that UConn beat by like 50 points in the tournament?

We can run "what if" scenarios all day, but the fact remains that UConn wasn't beating cupcakes in the FF and Championship games. They were beating top teams...and badly, at that.

Tennessee needs to get there, not have us try to diminish what UConn has accomplished.

 

[Martic]

How is it padding their stats when they beat the top teams just as badly?

What bragging right does Tennessee have to say that they played (and lost) to a Texas team in the regular season that UConn beat by like 50 points in the tournament?

We can run "what if" scenarios all day, but the fact remains that UConn wasn't beating cupcakes in the FF and Championship games. They were beating top teams...and badly, at that.

Tennessee needs to get there, not have us try to diminish what UConn has accomplished.

Wow who licked the red off your candy?? Go back to the uconn forum. Me think thou dost protest too much!!

 

[Amb3096]

Wow who licked the red off your candy?? Go back to the uconn forum. Me think thou dost protest too much!!

Yawn...lame! Carry on making excuses for Tennessee.

 

[volcrazy89]

I don't understand the logic in giving 'defensive specialists' a pass for being bad offensive players when, in the past, guards that have been good on offense but couldn't play well defensively have consistently been eaten alive by fans. TBH I get sick of people raving about needing to improve on defense when we look like hot garbage on offense and can't score 50 points in an E8 game.

Draya IS a good defensive player. But I do think her defensive talents are overrated by many of our fans, who act like she's this amazing, outstanding, impenetrable defender that shuts down the team's best player every game. When looking at her physical gifts (speed, agility, elevation/leaping ability), Draya is definitely a below-average offensive player. She doesn't lack quickness of athletic ability like, for example, Alexa does. And she's much quicker and more athletic than Jordan. Honestly if we could combine Jordan's attitude and aggressiveness with Draya's physical gifts and shooting form ... we could be hot to trot. As it stands (at least going off of the last two seasons) we're hindered by both of them offensively, although it looked like in Italy Jordan's shooting form was improved, which was a cause of concern for me her first two seasons.

Tennessee's problem biggest problem is its offense ... and it's not even close. Our season ended last season with scoring 48 points to a team that was average defensively. I don't care if Izzy was hurt or not. 48 points is absolutely inexcusable. Call me negative or whatever ... I don't care. Not being able to score points, careless turnovers and missing layups are our problems ... and those are offensive problems. Can defense stand to improve? Yes, but the amount of improvement needed on offense is MUCH greater than on defense. So yes, Draya needs to become more aggressive on offense and shoot the effin ball when she's open. Nobody is asking Draya to become a superstar offensively. But she needs to be able to score when given the opportunity. And if she can't do that, it's really going to hurt the team. If she could become a viable option for a 3rd or 4th scorer it would really help our chances at doing something substantial this season.

 

[Martic]

Yawn...lame! Carry on making excuses for Tennessee.

what excuse have I made? Haven't seen that from me but here you are feeling the need to defend uconn!! yawn indeed, bored? go back to your own forum smh

 

[Voluble2]

We had a terrible assist/turnover ratio for many years. We have a tendency to get panicky and shoot badly in big games.

UConn's assist to turnover ratio was about twice ours last year. We were close to 1/1 as a team and they were around 2/1. Notre Dame's ATO was very close to ours at 1.2. So we are getting better but have a ways to go, especially in the big games.

I think we have also gotten mentally tougher each year Holly has been the coach. We still don't play with total confidence and swagger. You still see players pass up open shots or hesitate before taking them. But it is better than it was.

Another thing I am looking for is for our players to elevate their level of play in tournament games. Champions always play their best ball when they face the greatest challenge. Many of our tournament efforts are sub-par even when we win.

 

[mcannon1]

I agree with you on Middleton (also need the same from MeMe this year as I heard she is also a great outside shooter).

Hope you heard right. I've heard MeMe can't shoot a lick. Scores by driving. I think we need five who can shoot on the floor. Andraya can't shoot. It's a talent that can be improved with practice, however, some people have a natural talent for shooting and they will always be the best at it because their shots don't disappear when the pressure is on.

 

[stubbs9]

I wouldn't say Draya cant shoot. She just isn't a consistent shooter especially in big games. I'm sure if she took the open shot more then she would make more.

 

[volcrazy89]

I wouldn't say Draya cant shoot. She just isn't a consistent shooter especially in big games. I'm sure if she took the open shot more then she would make more.

That's exactly what's being said by me.

 

[Amb3096]

what excuse have I made? Haven't seen that from me but here you are feeling the need to defend uconn!! yawn indeed, bored? go back to your own forum smh

Poor thing seems to have gotten lost trying to find The Summitt. Google is your friend.

 

[madtownvol]

Below is the box score from the Maryland game. Draya took 10 shots and 4 from outside, and missed on most (2 for 10). A poor shooting night but I don't think the problem was not shooting enough.

Graves went 3 for 10. You could argue that her performance was even worse since here misses were often in the lay-up range and she was one of the main linchpins of the LV offense.

Burdick was slightly better 4-13 (around 30%) but again a low percentage and a low number of shots for the teams senior leader and another key scorer.

Reynolds 4-12 (again not exactly lighting up the score board).

Whether due to Maryland defense or LV's offensive inadequacies, the LVs had a bad night across the board shooting and scoring.

Of course, Draya needs to get better but this is team-wide problem




TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Reynolds, Jordan.... * 4-12 0-3 0-0 1 6 7 1 8 2 1 0 2 33
05 Massengale, Ariel... * 7-15 2-9 0-0 0 4 4 3 16 1 0 0 0 40
11 Burdick, Cierra..... * 4-13 1-4 0-0 3 3 6 1 9 4 6 3 2 35
12 Graves, Bashaara.... * 3-10 0-0 0-1 3 4 7 5 6 1 0 0 1 28
14 Carter, Andraya..... * 2-10 1-4 0-0 4 0 4 3 5 1 1 1 2 35
01 Moore, Nia.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
31 Nared, Jaime........ 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 2 4 1 2 0 2 0 0 16
33 Middleton, Alexa.... 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 1 12
TEAM................ 2 3 5 1
Totals.............. 22-68 4-22 0-1 17 23 40 16 48 9 11 4 8 200

 

[stubbs9]

Goodness! Horrible night. We have to do better in big games(Elite 8). I think Diamond will step up to the challenge.

 

[Amb3096]

Below is the box score from the Maryland game. Draya took 10 shots and 4 from outside, and missed on most (2 for 10). A poor shooting night but I don't think the problem was not shooting enough.

Graves deserves a pass for her bad shooting because she was undersized going up against two giants on offense AND defense. She had to fight for every shot that left her hand. Burdick was a hero against Gonzaga and looked like she was playing on tired legs against significantly bigger players.

Draya's problem was how scared she was to shoot. So even though she had the shot volume, it's because she was all but forced to shoot. Maryland dared her to shoot and played very loose defense on her. And you could see after the first 3 pointer she made that she didn't want to shoot. She had 3 airballs I remember: a 3 pointer, a long jumper and a layup (!).

Carter and Reynolds (the whole backcourt actually) are the ones that stand to be able to help the team the most with shooting improvement: Carter needs to be confident in her shot and Reynolds needs to improve her accuracy.

 

[LVJeff]

Below is the box score from the Maryland game. Draya took 10 shots and 4 from outside, and missed on most (2 for 10). A poor shooting night but I don't think the problem was not shooting enough.

Graves went 3 for 10. You could argue that her performance was even worse since here misses were often in the lay-up range and she was one of the main linchpins of the LV offense.

Burdick was slightly better 4-13 (around 30%) but again a low percentage and a low number of shots for the teams senior leader and another key scorer.

Reynolds 4-12 (again not exactly lighting up the score board).

Whether due to Maryland defense or LV's offensive inadequacies, the LVs had a bad night across the board shooting and scoring.

Of course, Draya needs to get better but this is team-wide problem




TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Reynolds, Jordan.... * 4-12 0-3 0-0 1 6 7 1 8 2 1 0 2 33
05 Massengale, Ariel... * 7-15 2-9 0-0 0 4 4 3 16 1 0 0 0 40
11 Burdick, Cierra..... * 4-13 1-4 0-0 3 3 6 1 9 4 6 3 2 35
12 Graves, Bashaara.... * 3-10 0-0 0-1 3 4 7 5 6 1 0 0 1 28
14 Carter, Andraya..... * 2-10 1-4 0-0 4 0 4 3 5 1 1 1 2 35
01 Moore, Nia.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
31 Nared, Jaime........ 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 2 4 1 2 0 2 0 0 16
33 Middleton, Alexa.... 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 1 12
TEAM................ 2 3 5 1
Totals.............. 22-68 4-22 0-1 17 23 40 16 48 9 11 4 8 200

It's been said this is a team wide problem. I know of no knowledgeable observer who says otherwise.

The focus on Carter in this thread was a result of a throwaway comment I made about her lugging a basketball around instead of a sandbag.

 

[madtownvol]

It's been said this is a team wide problem. I know of no knowledgeable observer who says otherwise.

The focus on Carter in this thread was a result of a throwaway comment I made about her lugging a basketball around instead of a sandbag.

I got that. I am pushing for a bigger team narrative. For example, if Izzy is in the line-up, then she would have drawn double teams which in turn could have created better shot opportunities for other players and so on.

That is why I have been saying that the additions of DeShields and Russell not only add more talent to the team but they make each player look a whole better.

 

[armchair]

Hornbuckle was not "far superior" to Carter. Hornbuckle was a good athlete, like Carter, but no great shakes offensively /at all/. She was a fairly good player on a team with two dominant inside players and so didn't need to carry a heavy load. Carter has played on less talented teams. Carter does not to assert herself more offensively. We really haven't had exceptional guard play in a very long time. Last year we were decent, and there were a number of years where you couldn't even say that about our guards. Who was the last guard we had that was All America quality or even close to it? I couldn't even say.

 

[Amb3096]

Hornbuckle was not "far superior" to Carter. Hornbuckle was a good athlete, like Carter, but no great shakes offensively /at all/. She was a fairly good player on a team with two dominant inside players and so didn't need to carry a heavy load. Carter has played on less talented teams. Carter does not to assert herself more offensively. We really haven't had exceptional guard play in a very long time. Last year we were decent, and there were a number of years where you couldn't even say that about our guards. Who was the last guard we had that was All America quality or even close to it? I couldn't even say.

I disagree. Hornbuckle scored when she needed to and had much better ppg and % averages than Carter. She was probably even more important offensively because at least in her senior year, there was no consistent scorer besides Candace (her and Bobbitt were probably equal at #2; she was 3rd option behind Candace, Zolman/Spencer the previous 2 years). Hornbuckle was also the 4th pick in the WNBA draft and had a few decent years in the league.

Carter was the 5th (4th after Izzy's injury) scoring option last year behind Izzy, Ariel, Bashaara and Cierra. The opportunity was there for her to score more because she was the player on the court that was the most loosely guarded. Unless she picks up her offensive game, no WNBA team will waste a draft pick on her.

I'd also say that the last two premier guards for Tennessee were Simmons and Stricklen. Simmons had her flaws, but she was a legit scorer. Stricklen didn't put up as big numbers, but she was a solid player.

 

[Volfan2012]

If the team's best outside shooter is shooting only 34%, I don't think that is good enough to challenge for a championship. Somebody has to get close to 37-40% to take the pressure off the inside game. Otherwise it will be more of the same - the other team will pack in the defense because the LV's shoot too poorly from the outside.

I agree and there are two or three players that may be able to get to 37 percent or higher and they are Reynolds who hasn't come close but looks like she has put in the time and has a better looking shot might see her percentage go up 3 or 4 percent from the three. Dunbar can shoot 37 to 40 if she can stay on the court long enough to get three or four shots. I thought she looked a little quicker and Holly was using her at the four which made her look quick enough to get some minutes. The third is Diamond who I expect to be better from the three she has sit out over a year and expect all she did is shoot the ball. Carter may have reached her ceiling at 34 percent. I am hoping as a team we can add three percentage points to the team average doubt we'll do better than that. I certainly don't expect us to be anywhere near to 40.6 percent UConn shot from the three if we are we win the National title.