Rae Burrell

[VOLINVONORE]

But aren’t you the least bit curious what would happen if she were to start? Wouldn’t it be nice to actually have a nice energetic start to a game instead of having to hold our breath and wait for Rae to check in five minutes later to see some action? The only truly great start we’ve gotten off to was against Notre Dame when we were hot from outside shooting. I’m just curious about whether we could have more fast starts if there were a starting lineup change.

But hey, I do trust Kellie and I do (obviously) love what Rae brings off the bench! But I also find that we fans in the arena are having to stand and clap for WAY too long this year while we’re waiting for our team to get their first points. Start Rae and give the old folks a break! lol

We are undefeated now, so why rock the boat. If we lose a couple of games, we will see what happens. I don't second guess a new coach until things go South when she is unbeaten.

 

[Chippo]

If Rae is smart, she will stay in this role...In the WNBAm 6th man players are hard to find
View attachment 242462

Rae's mechanics are excellent, this is why she looks so fluid on shot and layup. For instance her layup...I teach that the R knee is connected to the R elbow, so when you go up with the RH the R knee should be as high on the lift as possible. I'm not sure what the scientifics are, but when you lift your knee on liftoff as hard as you can, it throws a good portion of your body weight off of the other foot, thus more lift and more air time. Rae lifts on layups pretty good. Lifting her knee higher will make her go higher though

She has her eyes focused on the target (BB

In this shot she seems to be doing a RH layup on the L side, but at full speed, I am ok with going with the"trusted" hand to finish

Coach J, I learned something new today

 

[Chippo]

Good insight on your post madtownvol

 

[Darth_Vol]

Yes let's fix something that isn't broken. Great idea...

 

[Coach Jumper]

Coach J, I learned something new today

I am on track with the vast majority on that one concept.

One of my more unique mechanics in my teaching is to have them "land in a boxout on layups"
If you land in a boxout, you will always land with knees flexed and if you fall, you fall on your biggest muscle (Glute)
The only driving layup that you don't land in a boxout on is a R-base-line drive.
Otherwise you rotate in the air as you release the layup and roll into a boxout landing...Once mastered the player can be braver on drives because fear of falling is lessened

In games i do play in I have been a driver my entire life and have never had a bad fall on a driving layup because I land in a boxout-crouch

Another emphasis for me to a student is that on any layup,, their vision goes to target, at the exact moment they make their plant-step

 

[Creekdog]

I am on track with the vast majority on that one concept.

One of my more unique mechanics in my teaching is to have them "land in a boxout on layups"
If you land in a boxout, you will always land with knees flexed and if you fall, you fall on your biggest muscle (Glute)
The only driving layup that you don't land in a boxout on is a R-base-line drive.
Otherwise you rotate in the air as you release the layup and roll into a boxout landing...Once mastered the player can be braver on drives because fear of falling is lessened

In games i do play in I have been a driver my entire life and have never had a bad fall on a driving layup because I land in a boxout-crouch

Another emphasis for me to a student is that on any layup,, their vision goes to target, at the exact moment they make their plant-step

In a previous comment I mentioned the fact that Rae actually shoots a 3 foot bunny or layup and a part of that is her eyes go to the target. Our bigs, for the most part, seem to hurry their shot and just fling it toward the basket. And, is a simple head fake to get a defender off her feet a dying art?

 

[stlvolsfan]

She is a wild player at times. Let’s see how she does vs good competition which we will find out vs Stanford. No comp til then sadly.

Completely agree. She plays out of control at times and doesn’t make the best decisions. I believe she has all the potential in the world, but let’s see her against better competition. She will get her chance to start in due time.

 

[VolBall09]

I believe Rae and Kasi are exactly where they need to be right now. Rae needs a few minutes to sit and watch before she takes the floor. She’s still a little out of control and those few minutes are really valuable for her to gather her nerves. Kasi is playing like she should finally and I think starting Key really motivated her to take it to another level. I saw her run the floor ahead of everyone for a lay-in at least twice the other night, had never seen her do that before.

I won’t be shocked at all if those two are suddenly starting come SEC season. I truly believe Rae is 6th woman of the year material though, she’s the perfect player off the bench. She comes in and gives maximum effort every time she’s on the floor. Generally she’s first off the bench entering the game for whoever is giving the LEAST effort, so she’s an excellent motivator with her play alone. She rebounds and brings a real attack mentality to our transition game, great if we’ve started slow. She’s the spark. Bringing Lou off the bench wouldn’t have the same effect. I like her starting for her poise and calm leadership.

 

[Amb3096]

I believe Rae and Kasi are exactly where they need to be right now. Rae needs a few minutes to sit and watch before she takes the floor. She’s still a little out of control and those few minutes are really valuable for her to gather her nerves. Kasi is playing like she should finally and I think starting Key really motivated her to take it to another level. I saw her run the floor ahead of everyone for a lay-in at least twice the other night, had never seen her do that before.

I won’t be shocked at all if those two are suddenly starting come SEC season. I truly believe Rae is 6th woman of the year material though, she’s the perfect player off the bench. She comes in and gives maximum effort every time she’s on the floor. Generally she’s first off the bench entering the game for whoever is giving the LEAST effort, so she’s an excellent motivator with her play alone. She rebounds and brings a real attack mentality to our transition game, great if we’ve started slow. She’s the spark. Bringing Lou off the bench wouldn’t have the same effect. I like her starting for her poise and calm leadership.

I think the best 5 are Massengill (can't believe I'm saying this), Horston, Davis, Burrell and KK. I think that's the ride or die for Kellie. I don't think there's a huge difference between KK and Key (who should be first off the bench). I think Harris and Brown will stay in the rotation, but can't imagine Saunders or Rennie seeing the court much during SEC play. Writing all that out just highlights how they have zero depth at guard. God forbid if Massengill AND Horston are both in foul trouble...

 

[VolBall09]

I think the best 5 are Massengill (can't believe I'm saying this), Horston, Davis, Burrell and KK. I think that's the ride or die for Kellie. I don't think there's a huge difference between KK and Key (who should be first off the bench). I think Harris and Brown will stay in the rotation, but can't imagine Saunders or Rennie seeing the court much during SEC play. Writing all that out just highlights how they have zero depth at guard. God forbid if Massengill AND Horston are both in foul trouble...

I would agree. I think it's great that we have some post depth for the first time in a while. We've got 2 solid players in the lane in KK and Tamari. Harris has so far proven she can play so we can afford to be more physical in the paint than the last few seasons.

I agree with your estimation of our top 5 players right now as well. I do think Key has the opportunity to improve more than anyone on the team this season. She has the skill set, just needs more confidence and more games.

I don't see Saunders getting a ton of minutes, I think Rennie may be able to give a guard a little breather at the end of a quarter now and then, she has a nice shooting stroke, hustles and plays solid defense. She's also a smart passer, and knows when and how to enter it into the post. Harris has been doing a great job passing into the post from the top of the key as well. That's traditionally the best position to enter the ball into the low block, which is why Baylor was so successful with their high/low last season. Her little mid-range jumper is becoming a zone buster too, teams lose her in the middle of that zone and shes really shooting it confidently. Last seasons she was headed for the rebound before she even released the ball.

I keep forgetting about McCoy, I'm really not sure what we'll get there. She seems to be a player that will constantly be plagued by injury or illness. I don't think we'll be able to rely on her for consistent contribution, but maybe she'll prove me wrong. She does box out really physical while she's in the game.

 

[Volfan2012]

What you would have to say about Massengill to this point is that 32 assist and only 8 turnovers is amazing. That is the kind of play you want from your point guard. She is only playing 25 minutes a game but her 40 minute assist total is 7.3 and her turnovers per 40 minutes only 0.55 so that is really taking care of the ball. Her offensive efficiency has dramatically improved over the last three games and got her up to a 1.17 per shot attempt which is very good. She is only 70 percent from the line you really want more there from your point but in the past three or four games has been a lot higher. Massengill has nine blocks second on the team to Key.

Looking at the stats were not getting anything from the four and you wonder if against certain teams Coach Kellie may be willing to go with KK and Key at the same time with Horston, Davis, and Massengill. You don't lose much in speed right now Brown vs KK. You wonder if that big brace is ever gonna come off Brown it really slows her on the court. McCoy hasn't done much when she has played 10 points and 7 rebounds in 39 minutes. Harris 18 points in 91 minutes really not that effective. The four right now is the least productive position on the court. The two and three have been awesome. Center has also been very good. Point guard is getting the job done. Four position not much happening with the people that are playing there.

I don't know what we'll do going forward but against the bigger team I would consider going both Key and KK and against the guards let Burrell start instead of Brown. Nothing against Brown quite obvious she is not 100 percent right now. Have no idea what McCoy brings thus far the results have been average at best. I expect if McCoy doesn't start when she gets well she will at least get quite a few minutes at the four.

As a final rotation going into SEC play I like Key,KK, McCoy and Brown. Perimeter Massengill, Horston, Davis, and Burrell. I figure that would be the eight don't know how we can get the other three very many minutes as the competition gets tougher.

 

[FrozenLVFan]

I think McCoy has shown that she's a tough, inside banger, who's a good rebounder and can finish around the basket (unlike some of our other posts). She's going to be an asset when we play teams with a lot of inside size and strength. I'm hoping she's able to play in the Texas game.

 

[mike099]

The big key for this team in what will probably be a lot of close games, is who is going to the free throw line and make them in pressure. We do not have that 75 - 80 percent free throw shooter.

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

The big key for this team in what will probably be a lot of close games, is who is going to the free throw line and make them in pressure. We do not have that 75 - 80 percent free throw shooter.

Rennia Davis led the SEC in free throw shooting last year and is at 79% this year.

 

[mike099]

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

 

[madtownvol]

What you would have to say about Massengill to this point is that 32 assist and only 8 turnovers is amazing. That is the kind of play you want from your point guard. She is only playing 25 minutes a game but her 40 minute assist total is 7.3 and her turnovers per 40 minutes only 0.55 so that is really taking care of the ball. Her offensive efficiency has dramatically improved over the last three games and got her up to a 1.17 per shot attempt which is very good. She is only 70 percent from the line you really want more there from your point but in the past three or four games has been a lot higher. Massengill has nine blocks second on the team to Key.

Looking at the stats were not getting anything from the four and you wonder if against certain teams Coach Kellie may be willing to go with KK and Key at the same time with Horston, Davis, and Massengill. You don't lose much in speed right now Brown vs KK. You wonder if that big brace is ever gonna come off Brown it really slows her on the court. McCoy hasn't done much when she has played 10 points and 7 rebounds in 39 minutes. Harris 18 points in 91 minutes really not that effective. The four right now is the least productive position on the court. The two and three have been awesome. Center has also been very good. Point guard is getting the job done. Four position not much happening with the people that are playing there.

I don't know what we'll do going forward but against the bigger team I would consider going both Key and KK and against the guards let Burrell start instead of Brown. Nothing against Brown quite obvious she is not 100 percent right now. Have no idea what McCoy brings thus far the results have been average at best. I expect if McCoy doesn't start when she gets well she will at least get quite a few minutes at the four.

As a final rotation going into SEC play I like Key,KK, McCoy and Brown. Perimeter Massengill, Horston, Davis, and Burrell. I figure that would be the eight don't know how we can get the other three very many minutes as the competition gets tougher.

Massengill is looking like the clear candidate for the most improved player award. She is light years ahead of where she was last year. When she is at her best, she is also looking to score and she needs to keep that mentality. She needs to average 10 ppg and keep her assist to TO at its current level. I love her tenacity on defense. Her improvement definitely eases the blow of losing Westbrook.

 

[Chitownvol1129]

Madtown, I'd love for Rae to develop a Zaay-Like pull-up jumper from 8 to 10-feet out. That way the defense would never know whether she was going to drive all the way in for a layup or stop short and take a soft-touch jumper.

And you're right on about Lou. I love her leadership, but that weak knee is going to become a big factor soon. I don't see her being able to keep many SEC forwards in front of her. Plus, she appears to have stopped looking for a shot altogether. If she's not going to look to score now and then I'm not sure she's going to get many minutes. Also, with that weak knee I don't think it's wise for her to put herself in position to take as many charges as she has this season. That has tapered off, though, so maybe she's been advised to play it a little safer.

One final observation: Rennia and Horston have GOT to keep their heads in the game when they personally are not shooting well. That needs to be worked out PRONTO.

Tennessee has taken zero charges this season, when did you see Brown do this?

 

[lvocd]

Tennessee has taken zero charges this season, when did you see Brown do this?

Lou has taken several charges. I don't remember which games, but I vividly remember thinking a few times, "Lou! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

 

[gule]

horston took a charge in the last game.

 

[Nute Gunray]

Massengill is looking like the clear candidate for the most improved player award. She is light years ahead of where she was last year. When she is at her best, she is also looking to score and she needs to keep that mentality. She needs to average 10 ppg and keep her assist to TO at its current level. I love her tenacity on defense. Her improvement definitely eases the blow of losing Westbrook.

I agree with you, Madtownvol. However, with wishful thinking, I hope Rae wins this award.

 

[madtownvol]

I agree with you, Madtownvol. However, with wishful thinking, I hope Rae wins this award.

Dual winners!

 

[OutofStateFan]

I'm a huge fan! Despite getting a little in a hurry at times, she gives 100% effort and is a real contributor! LOVE her attitude!!!

 

[Power T-Rev]

I'm a huge fan! Despite getting a little in a hurry at times, she gives 100% effort and is a real contributor! LOVE her attitude!!!

I love her athleticism

 

[OutofStateFan]

I love her athleticism

Yes, she is amazing!

 

[cwbytruckers]

I have often said to myself Rae please take a breath. Slow down half a step and your an All American. She is always just a step to fast. But I love her.