SEC Play

[WinnerCircle]

Tennessee has a good opportunity to win the SEC. This is not football.
Style points don’t count.
I believe the schedule and off-season preparation does not align.
While there’s no way to account for injuries, if the philosophy is set to play 10 or more players early in the season then that’s how they practiced.
Practicing that way and then playing 4 ranked teams that are well prepared, well conditioned, and have better chemistry playing 7 or 8 sometimes 6 of their best is not going to result in wins.
Tennessee now has 8 that I would play against anyone in Rickea, Jewel ‘fear da spear’ Spear, Kaiya, Karo, Jillian, TK, Powell, and Sara. I would use Tess Darby to her strength based on the opponents and matchups.
LSU is no where near better than they were last season. They have no player that is an explosive scoring threat as Alexis Morris. They play at an even slower pace than Tennessee has up until this point before inserting Kaiya Wynn into the offense and the return of Rickea J.
If Tamari Key can continue to make progress she can thrive against LSU. Matter of fact, that is the one game I would even think about increasing her minutes outside of the SC game on Rocky Top. Jewel Spear is the most polished offensive guard in the SEC. Completely dominated the #1 portal player.
South Carolina is one step ahead of TN. They have a system in place and it works for them. TN needs to define a system. There’s 8 pieces and a bonus. That’s good enough to win the SEC.

 

[Volfan1000]

As long as Jackson is healthy, I expect us to be competitive (within 10-15 points) with SC and LSU although we will need a good 3-point shooting game to win one of those. Ideally, I'd like to see us beat either of those two and not lose more than one out of the remainder of the SEC schedule.

I think Key is the X factor as to whether Tennessee wins the conference or conference title and has a deep NCAA Tournament run.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Yeah, no doubt. Prob won’t get to race this year though, she is getting less than 7 minutes per game and scoring 2 pts.

With Morrow,Pao and Williams,,,it will be tough for a freshy to get minutes
but when she does and gets comfortable,,,lights on!
I hope they keep limiting her minutes...she may get frustrated and fly the coop

 

[WinnerCircle]

The non-conference schedule damaged the perception of this team. It won’t matter once conference play starts. Style points and rankings get thrown out the equation. Never forget a team the dressed only 8 players for the contest beat the #1 ranked team in WBB a few years ago and they weren’t even in the top 5 of the SEC. It’s any given night.

Tennessee is loaded and healthy in their 8 player rotation with sharpshooter Tess Darby as the additional reserve as a 3pt specialist!

 

[JohnnyPayne]

I would say 3-6 without Wells is likely. South Carolina and LSU will be 1-2. We should be in the mix with Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Alabama, Miss State, and Vanderbilt. Lots of good teams.

 

[th2421]

This is all I remember anyone posting about Morrow. "Everyone" did not say she was no good. Obviously she's transitioned well to her new situation and makes LSU that much better. Morrow removes all pressure fm Angel to score and she can just be a board beast.

Morrow seemed to turn a corner when she was moved back into the post after the Sa'Myah Smith injury. She's been terrific since then, though I understand why they were probably trying to work with her to transition her into a perimeter player for her pro career (she's still listed as a guard on the LSU website).

 

[WinnerCircle]

Folks can break it down anyway they see fit… Tennessee controls its own destiny. No team in the SEC scares me.

LSU is not a guarantee to beat anyone. This is the same team this season that got dominated by Colorado at full strength.

LSU is in the same group with Tennessee and others like Mississippi State. They are not above anyone.

South Carolina is a step ahead of Tennessee due to having a define system and consistency. Tennessee needs to be able to stay healthy and that will result in having some good fortune/luck. The issues TN have had can happen to any team but I’m sure on this forum if any team suffers the fate TN endured with injuries the group of posters on this forum will give them the benefit of the doubt unlike they would TN.

I will bet anyone if TN stays healthy as they are now and faces LSU healthy that the LVs will win. Last season, TN could’ve beaten LSU twice. Played them close at home and beat them in the SEC tourney. That team at that point for TN was no better than they are today. It’s basically the same group. I loved watching Jordan Horston and Jordan Walker compete. They contributed and left their mark as LVs for life.
It took awhile to adjust without their leadership and skill in addition to all the injuries, yet as of now the team seems steady and ready to contend.
Last season, the free throw shooting and turnovers were devastating the team. Right now, they are ahead of the curve.

 

[volmanNC]

Tennessee controls its own destiny. No team in the SEC scares me.

All teams in the SEC control their own destiny.

 

[knoxvol52]

No Basketball team should be scared of another team..
Good grief..

 

[WinnerCircle]

You can tell when people never played a sport a day in their life or wasn’t good if they did by the way they talk (or in this case post).

 

[Rooster1]

You can tell when people never played a sport a day in their life or wasn’t good if they did by the way they talk (or in this case post).

You can also tell when people never educated their brain a day in their life or wasn’t smart enough if they did by the way they talk (or in this case post).

 

[Majors]

Getting chippy in here.

 

[1reVOLver]

Lots of us like a good hard, civilized tussle. But sometimes someone shows up all determined to be just as grumpy as they are annoying. Really no need to say anything harsh about them; they self-incriminate so effectively with every post.

Lest there be any doubt, I find Rooster to be knowledgeable, civil, and refreshingly open-minded.

 

[UTtoDC]

Dawn n

CJ,
Dawn beat Kim by 27 last year, heck your coach beat her also. I agree on RJ though, after watching her dominate on team USA this summer I was firmly convinced of her abilities. She is something. Unstoppable turn around fadeaway jumper, deadly accurate as well. If Clark comes out, I would take RJ second if I was a GM and that might include Paige also, though I think she stays another year and Clark does also. Brink is tempting as well.

Agree on this. People are quick to forget that TN came back to beat LSU in the SEC tourney. While there were many reasons that happened, part of it was coaching changes in the second half when we realized we couldn’t guard them in a man D. That was one of the better coached game Kellie has had as far as I can remember.

Both are great coaches. I’d rather not face either. Haha

Appreciate the RJ praise. I also think she’s the best in the SEC and I hope this season proves that. We certainly need it!

 

[volnationnj]

Tennessee has a good opportunity to win the SEC. This is not football.
Style points don’t count.
I believe the schedule and off-season preparation does not align.
While there’s no way to account for injuries, if the philosophy is set to play 10 or more players early in the season then that’s how they practiced.
Practicing that way and then playing 4 ranked teams that are well prepared, well conditioned, and have better chemistry playing 7 or 8 sometimes 6 of their best is not going to result in wins.
Tennessee now has 8 that I would play against anyone in Rickea, Jewel ‘fear da spear’ Spear, Kaiya, Karo, Jillian, TK, Powell, and Sara. I would use Tess Darby to her strength based on the opponents and matchups.
LSU is no where near better than they were last season. They have no player that is an explosive scoring threat as Alexis Morris. They play at an even slower pace than Tennessee has up until this point before inserting Kaiya Wynn into the offense and the return of Rickea J.
If Tamari Key can continue to make progress she can thrive against LSU. Matter of fact, that is the one game I would even think about increasing her minutes outside of the SC game on Rocky Top. Jewel Spear is the most polished offensive guard in the SEC. Completely dominated the #1 portal player.
South Carolina is one step ahead of TN. They have a system in place and it works for them. TN needs to define a system. There’s 8 pieces and a bonus. That’s good enough to win the SEC.

That's an "interesting" analysis of Spear. Tell me, what factors did you take into consideration to state that Jewel "is the most polished offensive guard in the SEC" ?
Jewel is the same player she was last year at Wake Forest.
Last year at Wake, she shot 37.7% in fg's., 35.4 % in 3's,
1.9 turnovers to 1.8 assists per game and 16.5 points per game.
This year at UT, she is shooting
37.1% in fg's., 32.0% in 3"s,
1.6 turnovers to 1.8 assists per game and 11.0 points per game.
The only stat that has fallen off substantially is points per game. And the reason for that is she's playing less minutes per game (because she's on a better team). In fact, her minutes per game has dropped 19.4% (33.5 to 27) so far this year, from last year.
Compare Jewel's stats to Lauren Park-Lane on Mississippi St.
LPL is averaging 31.1 mins per game. 10.4 ppg, 6.1 assists to 2.2 turnovers per game. 43.5 % in fg's, 42.3% in 3's.
Or take Raven Johnson on SC.
28.3 mins., 8.9 points, 5.9 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 52.6% fg's., 42.3% in 3's.
Or Mikaylah Williams on LSU.
29.2 mins., 17.1 points, 2.8 assists, 2.2 turnovers, 52% fg's.,
45.5% in 3's.

Jewel is scoring slightly more than the first two players above, but at a significantly lower shooting percentage. And the first two's assists per game are on a completely different level.
I wish your conclusion of Spear was accurate. It would be great to have the most polished offensive guard in the SEC. I just don't see it. Maybe I'm overlooking something.
Convince me.

 

[glv98]

That's an "interesting" analysis of Spear. Tell me, what factors did you take into consideration to state that Jewel "is the most polished offensive guard in the SEC" ?
Jewel is the same player she was last year at Wake Forest.
Last year at Wake, she shot 37.7% in fg's., 35.4 % in 3's,
1.9 turnovers to 1.8 assists per game and 16.5 points per game.
This year at UT, she is shooting
37.1% in fg's., 32.0% in 3"s,
1.6 turnovers to 1.8 assists per game and 11.0 points per game.
The only stat that has fallen off substantially is points per game. And the reason for that is she's playing less minutes per game (because she's on a better team). In fact, her minutes per game has dropped 19.4% (33.5 to 27) so far this year, from last year.
Compare Jewel's stats to Lauren Park-Lane on Mississippi St.
LPL is averaging 31.1 mins per game. 10.4 ppg, 6.1 assists to 2.2 turnovers per game. 43.5 % in fg's, 42.3% in 3's.
Or take Raven Johnson on SC.
28.3 mins., 8.9 points, 5.9 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 52.6% fg's., 42.3% in 3's.
Or Mikaylah Williams on LSU.
29.2 mins., 17.1 points, 2.8 assists, 2.2 turnovers, 52% fg's.,
45.5% in 3's.

Jewel is scoring slightly more than the first two players above, but at a significantly lower shooting percentage. And the first two's assists per game are on a completely different level.
I wish your conclusion of Spear was accurate. It would be great to have the most polished offensive guard in the SEC. I just don't see it. Maybe I'm overlooking something.
Convince me.

Good analysis thanks. We only need Jewel to crank it up a bit for her to help us greatly this year. Would like to see every stat tick up starting w scoring about 15 or 16 ppg just like at WF, get 3 pt % up to 37ish% just like at WF, and assists up to at least 3. Also she needs to keep getting better defensively to add minutes per game. I believe she can/will do all this, esp. now that Rickea's back drawing all the defensive attention.

With other steady scorers like Sara, Strip, and JP backing up RJ, just getting Jewel back to the player she was last year would be great.

Next year is the year for Jewel to polish it up to a shine.

 

[turbovol]

The conference, top to bottom, does not seem very strong--which has been the case for a while. After SC and LSU, Massey's highest
rated SEC team is bama at 32. It has A&M ranked No. 35 and we're No. 39. Conference play will tell us more, of course.

 

[turbovol]

Good analysis thanks. We only need Jewel to crank it up a bit for her to help us greatly this year. Would like to see every stat tick up starting w scoring about 15 or 16 ppg just like at WF, get 3 pt % up to 37ish% just like at WF, and assists up to at least 3. Also she needs to keep getting better defensively to add minutes per game. I believe she can/will do all this, esp. now that Rickea's back drawing all the defensive attention.

With other steady scorers like Sara, Strip, and JP backing up RJ, just getting Jewel back to the player she was last year would be great.

Next year is the year for Jewel to polish it up to a shine.

I haven't been wowed by Jewel, I must say. (Or Wells either, before she got hurt, to be candid.) They're both decent--but haven't seen anything special with either. I'm not sure why you'd say that Jewel will shine "next year." She's an experienced player--and based on all we heard about her--first team All ACC, yes?--she should be shining now.

 

[Volfan2012]

That's an "interesting" analysis of Spear. Tell me, what factors did you take into consideration to state that Jewel "is the most polished offensive guard in the SEC" ?
Jewel is the same player she was last year at Wake Forest.
Last year at Wake, she shot 37.7% in fg's., 35.4 % in 3's,
1.9 turnovers to 1.8 assists per game and 16.5 points per game.
This year at UT, she is shooting
37.1% in fg's., 32.0% in 3"s,
1.6 turnovers to 1.8 assists per game and 11.0 points per game.
The only stat that has fallen off substantially is points per game. And the reason for that is she's playing less minutes per game (because she's on a better team). In fact, her minutes per game has dropped 19.4% (33.5 to 27) so far this year, from last year.
Compare Jewel's stats to Lauren Park-Lane on Mississippi St.
LPL is averaging 31.1 mins per game. 10.4 ppg, 6.1 assists to 2.2 turnovers per game. 43.5 % in fg's, 42.3% in 3's.
Or take Raven Johnson on SC.
28.3 mins., 8.9 points, 5.9 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 52.6% fg's., 42.3% in 3's.
Or Mikaylah Williams on LSU.
29.2 mins., 17.1 points, 2.8 assists, 2.2 turnovers, 52% fg's.,
45.5% in 3's.

Jewel is scoring slightly more than the first two players above, but at a significantly lower shooting percentage. And the first two's assists per game are on a completely different level.
I wish your conclusion of Spear was accurate. It would be great to have the most polished offensive guard in the SEC. I just don't see it. Maybe I'm overlooking something.
Convince me.

What she really brought last year that she hasn't done this season is getting to the free throw line. She got there 149 times for Wake Forest and has only got there a terrible 22 times for us. She shot 40.1 percent and 38.3 percent from the three her first two seasons sunk to 35.4 last year and only 32.0 for us. I think what we hoped to get out of her was the same thing they got and it just hasn't happened. She went for 546 points on 435 field goal attempts. 1.26 points per attempt. For us 132 points on 124 attempts for 1.06 so she has been drastically worse. Mainly because for them she seemed to be the go to player she was driving the ball and getting to the line. Regardless of percentage her 1.26 everytime she took a shot is an elite type production. She was scoring 84 percent of those free throws getting there 149 times. Just 22 here made 16 for 73 percent. Her aggressive play has diminished at Tennessee. 1.06 is fair at best and we really needed what she gave at Wake Forest meaning getting to the line 6 times a game and making 5. Her career three point average is 36.3 and at Wake it was over 38 percent for her three years there. She is a good two guard when she is totally engaged in doing everything she done there. Here she has been almost totally a perimeter shooter and not a very good one to this point over four points below her career average. If she was giving us that five additional points at the free throw line a game and even just one extra three then she is exactly what we need at that position.

 

[madtownvol]

I haven't been wowed by Jewel, I must say. (Or Wells either, before she got hurt, to be candid.) They're both decent--but haven't seen anything special with either. I'm not sure why you'd say that Jewel will shine "next year." She's an experienced player--and based on all we heard about her--first team All ACC, yes?--she should be shining now.

You could have said the same thing about Powell, who is playing at a much higher level this season than she has in the past.

Spear is on a better team, and contrary to popular opinion has a good coach, so she will get better. the only question is how big of a leap she can make.

 

[Lucy]

I haven't been wowed by Jewel, I must say. (Or Wells either, before she got hurt, to be candid.) They're both decent--but haven't seen anything special with either. I'm not sure why you'd say that Jewel will shine "next year." She's an experienced player--and based on all we heard about her--first team All ACC, yes?--she should be shining now.

I think we learned last year that it takes a while to get portal players really integrated into a team and playing their best. Spear should continue to get better especially with Rikea back.
I know this is a repeat comment on my part but the whole offense design and preseason practice was designed to run through Rikea’s as option #1. The injury to Rikea changed everything and Jewel was probably most impacted as she did not have previous experience in Kellie’s system to fall back on. As an example Powell is playing much better this year. Portal players are just not plug and play.

 

[glv98]

What she really brought last year that she hasn't done this season is getting to the free throw line. She got there 149 times for Wake Forest and has only got there a terrible 22 times for us. She shot 40.1 percent and 38.3 percent from the three her first two seasons sunk to 35.4 last year and only 32.0 for us. I think what we hoped to get out of her was the same thing they got and it just hasn't happened. She went for 546 points on 435 field goal attempts. 1.26 points per attempt. For us 132 points on 124 attempts for 1.06 so she has been drastically worse. Mainly because for them she seemed to be the go to player she was driving the ball and getting to the line. Regardless of percentage her 1.26 everytime she took a shot is an elite type production. She was scoring 84 percent of those free throws getting there 149 times. Just 22 here made 16 for 73 percent. Her aggressive play has diminished at Tennessee. 1.06 is fair at best and we really needed what she gave at Wake Forest meaning getting to the line 6 times a game and making 5. Her career three point average is 36.3 and at Wake it was over 38 percent for her three years there. She is a good two guard when she is totally engaged in doing everything she done there. Here she has been almost totally a perimeter shooter and not a very good one to this point over four points below her career average. If she was giving us that five additional points at the free throw line a game and even just one extra three then she is exactly what we need at that position.

It was a really good sign that a play was drawn up for Jewel at halftime of the Liberty game to get her to the rim. That's exactly what happened on the first play and I believe she also got an and 1? Pretty sure we'll see more of that. I think Jewel is just adjusting to picking her spots more carefully since chances are Rickea's already down there picking hers. It's a new way for Jewel to play.

Jewel stepping up her stats is definitely one of the keys for our SEC run.

 

[turbovol]

You could have said the same thing about Powell, who is playing at a much higher level this season than she has in the past.

Spear is on a better team, and contrary to popular opinion has a good coach, so she will get better. the only question is how big of a leap she can make.

She's the starting 2 guard on a team that has not had Jackson all season, until now, and that has been middling at best, so I'm not sure the "she's on a better team" argument applies. It's not like we've had a lot scorers without Jackson--just the opposite. I thought she'd been first-team ACC, but in fact she was second team. She's got some talent, for sure; my point is not to criticize her. But she is not as athletic or quick as some top shooting guards. Many were raving about how we'd struck gold when we landed her, which perhaps explains why I've been a bit underwhelmed by her play. Everybody should benefit somewhat from having Jackson back as she will command a lot of defensive attention.

 

[volnationnj]

What she really brought last year that she hasn't done this season is getting to the free throw line. She got there 149 times for Wake Forest and has only got there a terrible 22 times for us. She shot 40.1 percent and 38.3 percent from the three her first two seasons sunk to 35.4 last year and only 32.0 for us. I think what we hoped to get out of her was the same thing they got and it just hasn't happened. She went for 546 points on 435 field goal attempts. 1.26 points per attempt. For us 132 points on 124 attempts for 1.06 so she has been drastically worse. Mainly because for them she seemed to be the go to player she was driving the ball and getting to the line. Regardless of percentage her 1.26 everytime she took a shot is an elite type production. She was scoring 84 percent of those free throws getting there 149 times. Just 22 here made 16 for 73 percent. Her aggressive play has diminished at Tennessee. 1.06 is fair at best and we really needed what she gave at Wake Forest meaning getting to the line 6 times a game and making 5. Her career three point average is 36.3 and at Wake it was over 38 percent for her three years there. She is a good two guard when she is totally engaged in doing everything she done there. Here she has been almost totally a perimeter shooter and not a very good one to this point over four points below her career average. If she was giving us that five additional points at the free throw line a game and even just one extra three then she is exactly what we need at that position.

Yes, she has shot way fewer free throws at UT then she did at Wake. Principally because the middle was always open at Wake, since they didn't have any players to post up !! At Tennessee, there is always someone in the lane looking to post up.
The rest of her numbers are virtually identical to her last year at Wake Forest. Especially when you take into account that her playing time dropped by almost 20% at UT.

 

[th2421]

I thought she'd been first-team ACC, but in fact she was second team. She's got some talent, for sure; my point is not to criticize her. But she is not as athletic or quick as some top shooting guards. Many were raving about how we'd struck gold when we landed her, which perhaps explains why I've been a bit underwhelmed by her play. Everybody should benefit somewhat from having Jackson back as she will command a lot of defensive attention.

She was second-team ACC last year, but she was first-team her sophomore season.