Starting Lineup

[Voluble2]

The thing I like about Darby is that she had a good game when the rest of the team was falling apart.

Sometimes you need a player like that.

We haven't really seen enough of her to draw any conclusions though.

 

[Darth_Vol]

Our guard play was not the strong part of our team last year.

Yeah that probably should have been addressed in the offseason...

 

[Coach Jumper]

Good point. KJH likes to experiment early in the season, and falls in love with players in practice and plays them alot more than expected. So early lineups don't count.

For a settled out lineup, I think
Walker
Horston
Burrell
Key
and . . TBD between Dye and Marta. I can't make that call right now. KJH really likes Marta though, or did last year.

Big mins for Green, Striplin (I hope) and whoever doesn't start btw Marta and Dye. Medium mins for Puckett (I hope) and Darby (who Kellie also really likes). Experimental mins early for Miles, mop up for Jessie and Emily.

I confess I don't know Wynn, somehow I completely missed her story in recruiting. Is she a 3? Can she shoot? Can she defend? I would love to be pleasantly surprised by her.

You will be surprised. I have seen this kid's games on NFHS and she is the real deal.
I look for her to give JH and RB a run for the most creative off the dribble-scorer

 

[Coach Jumper]

I think she will be in the mix. Our guard play was not the strong part of our team last year. Hopefully, the point guards who have the best assist to turnover rate gets the chance to play a lot of minutes. We cano not continue to have 17-20 turnovers if we want to win the tough games.

JH is as healthy as she has been since her initial entry,,,look for her to really up her game. JW is a beast and Miles, if coached right can impact the game on defense and on drives.

We should be much better on the bringdowns this year

 

[VOLPAT]

You will be surprised. I have seen this kid's games on NFHS and she is the real deal.
I look for her to give JH and RB a run for the most creative off the dribble-scorer

Coach, How much difference do you see the two new coaches making in development?

 

[Coach Jumper]

Coach, How much difference do you see the two new coaches making in development?

I haven't followed Coach Joy so much but I can see that she is already more in tune with recruiting and that will translate into confidence from the players.

Just as I pick Karoline to be the most impactful new recruit and Wynn to be the most surprising, I pick Coach Samantha Williams to be the missing element in this entire run of both CHW's and Coach K's tenures. Samantha is an Alpha coach, quiet, confident, assured and no-nonsense...She will bring out the best in the Alpha players: JH, RB and JW,,,she will calm Marta down and she will impact both Alexus Dye and Kaiya Wynn.

What do I base these chosen players on,,,AN Alpha recognizes another ALpha and If I were to coach in this org, these are the players I would concentrate on.

SO to answer your question,,,they will be very impactful in not only development,,,but in leadership and team-symmetry

 

[mcannon1]

I would have to be at all the practices to decide on a starting lineup.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I would have to be at all the practices to decide on a starting lineup.

In a perfect world...we all would

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

I honestly never recall a game where Darby had a good game

 

[GameTime]

I honestly never recall a game where Darby had a good game

It was late in the season....Her shin splints seemed to have gotten better...When she got in the game, she had more spring in her step and made a nice 3 ball, maybe a couple of times....

She finally looked like a girl that belonged on the court...Her shin splints had really handicapped the young lady....If she is finally healthy, the LVs are going to be full of deep ball shooters, which will translate into wins.....

Sweet face...

 

[djtee]

The thing I like about Darby is that she had a good game when the rest of the team was falling apart.

Sometimes you need a player like that.

We haven't really seen enough of her to draw any conclusions though.

I agree we have not seen enough of her, Here is the problem for Darby what position do you player her at ? is she a SG or SF. And to me those two position are a real challenge for players like her. Remember in HS she played pretty much as team post player but spent most of the time shooting from the 3. Also she never really had to handle the ball to in HS. So to me it will be all about the matchup and the team we play. Last season when she did play she played on the wing. And trust me she was nor the only player that had problem guarding SEC wing players. I remember Old Miss Snudda Collins lit up Rae in a game to i think it`s all about the matchup not just for Darby but other players on the roster to.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I agree we have not seen enough of her, Here is the problem for Darby what position do you player her at ? is she a SG or SF. And to me those two position are a real challenge for players like her. Remember in HS she played pretty much as team post player but spent most of the time shooting from the 3. Also she never really had to handle the ball to in HS. So to me it will be all about the matchup and the team we play. Last season when she did play she played on the wing. And trust me she was nor the only player that had problem guarding SEC wing players. I remember Old Miss Snudda Collins lit up Rae in a game to i think it`s all about the matchup not just for Darby but other players on the roster to.

she has to be a SG...no way she matches up with SEC SF's
Nothing against Darby, but can you see her guarding Rennia or Rae game in and game out?

 

[djtee]

she has to be a SG...no way she matches up with SEC SF's
Nothing against Darby, but can you see her guarding Rennia or Rae game in and game out?

Coach i`m with you 100% she has to be a SG but KJH played her on the wing last season.

 

[Amb3096]

she has to be a SG...no way she matches up with SEC SF's
Nothing against Darby, but can you see her guarding Rennia or Rae game in and game out?

The problem is I can't see her guarding most of the SGs in the SEC either. Can you imagine her trying to guard Anastasia Hayes, Zia Cooke or Robyn Benton? Any of these players could blow by her at will.

I think that if she can't defend either of these positions, she will see limited court time.

 

[37620VOL]

she has to be a SG...no way she matches up with SEC SF's
Nothing against Darby, but can you see her guarding Rennia or Rae game in and game out?

Her defense in limited minutes in the NCAAT made me think that she is capable. Before that I was skeptical.

 

[Volfan1017]

Her defense in limited minutes in the NCAAT made me think that she is capable. Before that I was skeptical.

Agreed, she was one of our better defenders when we played Michigan. She's never going to be our best player, but I think she will contribute more than people realize. She also has a great basketball IQ.

 

[37620VOL]

I agree with @Coach Jumper and @Amb3096 "most likely" lineups. But I would like to propose 5-10 minutes per game in the "Shooter's Package".

PG Burrell
SG Darby
SF Marta
PF Striplin
C Key (or Saunders to rest Key)

Run a high pick and roll with Burrell and Key/Striplin.
Darby camps out in the corner.
Marta/Striplin work the space around the 3 point line as an outlet when the defense has to double Burrell.

Move the ball correctly and the defense has to choose what to give up:
1. Go under the screen and give up a 3 to Burrell
2. Go over the screen for a 1 on 1 drive vs Burrell
3. Double Burrell on the screen and give up a good look in the lane to Key on the roll.
4. Help on Burrell after the screen and give up an open 3 in the corner or at some point on rotation.

In all 4 scenarios, Key ends up in prime rebounding position.

 

[37620VOL]

Agreed, she was one of our better defenders when we played Michigan. She's never going to be our best player, but I think she will contribute more than people realize. She also has a great basketball IQ.

Adding to that. She had more active hands than I expected. In only 5 minutes she had a steal and 2 what I would call "disruptions" on defense. She also didn't give up anything easy. Honestly, against MTSU and UM she just looked like she belonged out there. We'll have to see if she can do that against SC, UGA, etc, but I'm now hopeful instead of skeptical.

 

[Voluble2]

Her defense in limited minutes in the NCAAT made me think that she is capable. Before that I was skeptical.

This is what I was referring to.

There is no reason she can't contribute in certain situations, we haven't seen enough of her to really know her ceiling yet.

She would be fine if we are in a zone defense, or guarding a player who is not a slasher etc... She could really help us bust a zone. And as I mentioned, if she is smart, and remains calm when others are losing their heads, then she can be valuable in ways people tend to discount too easily.

Doesn't mean she will be a starter. I doubt that ever happens. But like I said, you need a player like her on the team.

 

[GameTime]

I agree with @Coach Jumper and @Amb3096 "most likely" lineups. But I would like to propose 5-10 minutes per game in the "Shooter's Package".

PG Burrell
SG Darby
SF Marta
PF Striplin
C Key (or Saunders to rest Key)

Run a high pick and roll with Burrell and Key/Striplin.
Darby camps out in the corner.
Marta/Striplin work the space around the 3 point line as an outlet when the defense has to double Burrell.

Move the ball correctly and the defense has to choose what to give up:
1. Go under the screen and give up a 3 to Burrell
2. Go over the screen for a 1 on 1 drive vs Burrell
3. Double Burrell on the screen and give up a good look in the lane to Key on the roll.
4. Help on Burrell after the screen and give up an open 3 in the corner or at some point on rotation.

In all 4 scenarios, Key ends up in prime rebounding position.

Nice post.....This season we are going to have many possibilities to score from the deep outside...So many different scenarios....

Sara and Karoline will give our coach options she has never had before....These are 2 big women that can score from all over the court...Damn, what a luxury.

If the D goes out to stop them (Butch & Sundance) from bombing the 3 ball, just let Miles, or Wynn keep it for a driving lay up, or a quick kick out for a corner 3 ball from the rim robbers....(Oh, I like that nick name)

Guys this team is going to develop into a scoring machine....The league is too busy looking at their chosen ones to see that a "Tennessee Terror" is coming their way....

 

[OldNSlow]

Do not sleep on Wynn. Elite.

 

[Rickster]

What I believe needs to happen is our big three (Burrell, Horston, Key) must lead and not only in scoring. Walker and Suarez/Dye need to be efficient in the looks they get. What will get this team to the next level is good bench play. We have several contributors who look like they are up to the task. If Dye's game is effective and Wynn, Striplin, Puckett don't hit a brick wall, our bench will be as good as I can remember in a very long time. I can't say how effective the last five or six players will be but they will be going into their 3rd year with Kellie and their games will be better if the development plan is as effective as I expect it is.

 

[lfvol]

Now that we have the full roster, lets see who can predict the starting lineup:
If I was putting them out there it would be

Traditional set:
PG-Jordan Walker
SG-Jordan Horston
SF-Rae Burrell
PF-Karoline Striplin
C-Tamari Key

or
Hi-Lo set:
Striplin/Key with JH, JW, RB

4-out/1-in set:
JH, RB, Alexus Dye, Kaiya Wynn/TK

But my prediction for Coach K is:
Jordan Walker
Jordan Horston
Marta Suarez
Rae Burrell
Tamari Key

Hope you are wrong in your KH prediction. I could see your first two options. Like others also hopeful that Dye deserves a lot of time.

 

[lvocd]

Her defense in limited minutes in the NCAAT made me think that she is capable. Before that I was skeptical.

I saw the same thing in Darby, 37620VOL. After having had to nurse painful shin splints all season, I was actually shocked by how well Darby was getting after it on defense. I got a sense she has a relentlessness about her that makes her deceptively tenacious.

I can’t remember the game now, but there was one game toward the end of the season that Kellie pulled all the starters and both Darby and, yes, Rennie came in there and terrorized the opponent for a couple of outstanding minutes. It was one of the highlights of the season for me because of the pride I was feeling for that last group to have come in there and made those two minutes the most tenaciously throwback-LV-like, competitive minutes of the entire game. I just know they must have received high praise from the staff during post-game film session for those minutes. Good stuff.

 

[lfvol]

she has to be a SG...no way she matches up with SEC SF's
Nothing against Darby, but can you see her guarding Rennia or Rae game in and game out?

You have to play zone if you are playing her. Same for Marta unless she is at the 4.