Summitt sick about what's happening.

#2
#2
Just an opinion. This team is young, however that has nothing to do with effort. I think that most of these girls, (the article points out that it was women playing girls) want to win desperately, they just have lip service for effort. I also believe they will not go very far in the NCAA tournament mainly for the reason stated, the mouth does not win ballgames, the effort has to take place on the court at the time the game is played. Amber Gray is a perfect example of lip service, she is a rah rah player. If you watch her on the sideline you would think she is one of the leading players on the team, however when she enters the game, you can see she is simply not dedicated or talented enough to get the job done. The big girls inside are very fragile. Brewer and Cain are extremely fragile. I noticed that they would not go on the floor for a loose ball. I understand why, they would be injured just from hitting the floor. I hope strength training is some where in their future, they need it desperately. Angie is trying her heart out, IMO, however until she gets some help on the inside from these weak post players, she will not get open for her slow jump shot. Alex Fuller is a senior, with very little playing time. That is not her fault, just the fact that she happened to be with a group of great WNBA players. This may sound like I am blasting this group, not in the least, I love Tennessee Athletics, however sometimes you just have to tell it like it is, IMO.
 
#3
#3
a red herring. The fact is, the Lady Vols are NOT very talented--they've got deficiencies all over the floor, and no Candace Parker to bail this team out on offense. Part of the problem, yes, is that the team is young--but I'm not seeing a lot of talent--UT has a lot of one-dimensional players. There is ONE point guard on the team--and she is tiny and doesn't even start. Stricklin is playing PG but is not in any way a point guard. Bjorklund is heady and has skills--but she lacks the quickness that a 2 guard or swing player should have. Stricklin and Bjorklund are the Vols only real consistent offensive threats--and one is a freshman playing out of position and the other has limitations. After that there isn't anyone who can score much against a decent team: Cain uses her body well but is a bit ponderous. One thing that hurts PS's offenses--which are often pretty mediocre or worse unless she has a superstar like Parker to bail it out--is that they don't move and pass the ball very well. Losing Baugh hurt this team badly, and losing McMahon has created a lack of depth at guard, though she would not have helped this anemic offense much.
 
#4
#4
That was one of the ugliest basketball games I have ever watched. The Lady Vols could not do anything. I also think Duke didnt have one of their better games. Just imagine how bad it would have been if Duke had brought their A game
 
#5
#5
Missed free throws, out rebounded under their own basket late in the game, out hustled, only half the team seems to be playing with 100% effort and I'm tired of them saying their young. It's not the first game of the season, first week,or even month for that fact.
 
#7
#7
i'm sorry but how can anyone out there say these girls lack talent?? seriously? this team is full of mcdonald's all-americans. they have a TON of talent. pat summitt's teams never lack talent. this team seems to be having a bit of a difficult time transitioning to the college game. the problem seems pretty simple to me. the younger players are not stepping their games up. they are playing too timid and relying too much on somebody else to step up(angie,alex,shekinna). winning is a TEAM effort. you cannot rely on one or two people to win games for you. if youre lucky that works against weak or similar opponents, but that will not work against good competition.
 
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#8
#8
Pat is obviously a great recruiter of talent. Let's see if she's a great coach of talent as well.
 
#10
#10
you are right, she's doesnt have a superstar like candace parker this year. however, with that said, candace did not win the last 2 national championships by herself. she had some great players around her and they played as a TEAM. they pushed eachother to play to the best of their ability. they were extremely focused and they played like nobody else wanted it more than them.
 
#12
#12
MrNova said:
Pat is obviously a great recruiter of talent. Let's see if she's a great coach of talent as well.
Click to expand...

i'd say the 8 banners hanging from the rafters is a pretty good indication of her ability to coach talent.
 
#17
#17
The last time Pat lost this many games, she also won the national championship. I wouldn't dare say it couldn't happen again.

By the way, UConn was undefeated all year and making a joke out of that season, too. Until the regional final.
 
#18
#18
This team is just not very good,we missed tons of shots from three feet away ,and have all year,no "D"(and i don't necessarily mean Defense how bout "Determination")
 
#21
#21
The simple truth is that Pat has been out recruited recently therefore she has gotten in a position of having to play 5 freshmen with little to no upperclass leadership except Alex Fuller. Look at Connecticut with Maya Moore and Duke and North Carolina with the talent they currently have. Pat put all of her eggs in one basket for the past two years and although very successful she is paying for it this year. How can a team like Tennessee end up w/o a good point guard? The whole offense depends on getting the ball inside for the shooters and BB is inept at ball movement. If she gets pressure she makes a mistake 8 out of 10 times and she is a joke on defense. The entire team seems to be afraid to take the shot and let the shot clock run down on every play and then take a desperation out of control shot. We have got to get a true point guard or we will be in the same shape in the future.
 
#22
#22
Two things about Summitt. First, for a program of our stature and for a coach of HER stature, her recruiting is spotty. She gets some great players, but she misses on a number of players, too--or fails to develop them on the offensive end.

PS recruited two point guards in recent years--McMahon and Bobbitt, and neither is or, in McMahon's case, would have been that good. Bobbitt could yet become an effective player--but her tiny size is a definite limitation. McMahon, whose career is over sadly owing to bad knees, has a lot of toughness and heart but wasn't destined to be a great player. My point is, PS could have done better at that position.

Look at shooting guard: PS seems to have an affinity for heady girls who can shoot--but none of the last three shooting guards she's recruited--Zolman, Bjorklund and the Indiana kid who comes off the bench--is athletic enough to be really effective at that position. Shooting guards have to be able to create off the dribble; get their shots off while being guarded--and that requires athleticism, and none of this three could or can do that. Zolman was very good at making treys when she was wide open--but that was the ONLY thing she could do. Could not create shots on her own. Bjorklund is a little better, and has some game, but she's lanky and not very quick and that hurts her game. She is UT's best scoring option--and yet she scored her first point against Duke with about five minutes to go in the game!

Most of UT's problems over the last decade have been related to offense and scoring: PS has missed on a number of recruits, and beyond she tends to browbeat the offensive game out of a lot of players with her obsession with defense and rebounding. Anosike was a GREAT defensive player but it took her four years to learn how to make a four-foot shot. Because the women's game has been slow to develop, and there aren't a lot of great offensive players or teams out there, this PS strategy has worked: Look at the duke game: Even the Vols were terrible and clearly outplayed, they played enough defense to stay somewhat close to Duke--they were down less than 10 points late after a pathetic offensive performance.

That's the PS MO: Play tough defense and find a way to win even though the Vols often struggle offensively. Summitt managed to break her title drought and win two straight championships because she recruited Parker, who was not only the best offensive player in the game but a great defensive player too. She and Anosike were so good defensively and on the boards that the Vols could beat anybody even though they had to rely heavily on one player (parker) to score. Team offense is not PS's strength--that's why so many of UT's wins cannot be described as pretty.

As for CT: they are much better this year than last and it will take a HUGE upset to beat them, even tho they too have lost one starter for the year. I hope they lose in the tourney--would be sweet--but I can't see it happening.
 
#23
#23
I hope they at least make the Sweet 16. I think the fact that the LVs have played in every Sweet 16 might be the most impressive statistic of all.
 
#24
#24
armchairvol said:
Two things about Summitt. First, for a program of our stature and for a coach of HER stature, her recruiting is spotty. She gets some great players, but she misses on a number of players, too--or fails to develop them on the offensive end.

PS recruited two point guards in recent years--McMahon and Bobbitt, and neither is or, in McMahon's case, would have been that good. Bobbitt could yet become an effective player--but her tiny size is a definite limitation. McMahon, whose career is over sadly owing to bad knees, has a lot of toughness and heart but wasn't destined to be a great player. My point is, PS could have done better at that position.

Look at shooting guard: PS seems to have an affinity for heady girls who can shoot--but none of the last three shooting guards she's recruited--Zolman, Bjorklund and the Indiana kid who comes off the bench--is athletic enough to be really effective at that position. Shooting guards have to be able to create off the dribble; get their shots off while being guarded--and that requires athleticism, and none of this three could or can do that. Zolman was very good at making treys when she was wide open--but that was the ONLY thing she could do. Could not create shots on her own. Bjorklund is a little better, and has some game, but she's lanky and not very quick and that hurts her game. She is UT's best scoring option--and yet she scored her first point against Duke with about five minutes to go in the game!

Most of UT's problems over the last decade have been related to offense and scoring: PS has missed on a number of recruits, and beyond she tends to browbeat the offensive game out of a lot of players with her obsession with defense and rebounding. Anosike was a GREAT defensive player but it took her four years to learn how to make a four-foot shot. Because the women's game has been slow to develop, and there aren't a lot of great offensive players or teams out there, this PS strategy has worked: Look at the duke game: Even the Vols were terrible and clearly outplayed, they played enough defense to stay somewhat close to Duke--they were down less than 10 points late after a pathetic offensive performance.

That's the PS MO: Play tough defense and find a way to win even though the Vols often struggle offensively. Summitt managed to break her title drought and win two straight championships because she recruited Parker, who was not only the best offensive player in the game but a great defensive player too. She and Anosike were so good defensively and on the boards that the Vols could beat anybody even though they had to rely heavily on one player (parker) to score. Team offense is not PS's strength--that's why so many of UT's wins cannot be described as pretty.

As for CT: they are much better this year than last and it will take a HUGE upset to beat them, even tho they too have lost one starter for the year. I hope they lose in the tourney--would be sweet--but I can't see it happening.
Click to expand...

Uhhhhhh........Bobbitt graduated and no longer plays for UT. I guess you meant she could improve during her pro career.
 
#25
#25
Pat's plan for this years team had the starters being Parker, Baugh, Cain, Bjourkland and McMahan with Fuller being the six. Things drastically changed. Even if she anticipated Parker leaving early, the lineup should have been set. She lost Baugh and Cait out of that group. That's a lot to deal with. Tell me how good would UCONN would be without Moore and Houston. I don't think they would be anywhere near as good as the Lady Vols are. This team has the potential. I have seen it, but unfortunately it doesn't appear for 40 minutes yet. I think thet may be putting too much pressure on themselves trying to live up to expectations. The first part of the year they didn't know any better and I think they were playing better than now that they realize all the tradition, expectations and etc.
 
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