Tennessee Lady Vol News

#1,376
#1,376
Darth_Vol said:
Everyone else can clearly see that, the question is whether Kellie is smart enough to play her there...
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I am going to have to disagree on this one a bit. Up till now she hasn't shot anywhere near well enough to be a scoring guard. She can get to the basket pretty much whenever she wants, but she has trouble finishing, and her outside shot is not reliable. That makes it hard to find a spot for her. She got her turnovers down enough that she can play the point some, but like about half our team, her best position might be the three where she can slash and be nearer the basket more often.

If she can improve her shooting then she could play the 2 position, but since that is supposed to be a high scoring position it would be better to have a more efficient player in that spot, like Rae, sans any drastic improvement on Horston's part. The two spot is where a poor shooter can do the most damage to their own team.
 
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#1,377
#1,377
Amb3096 said:
When I think of effective "combo guards", they are usually PGs that have scoring prowess and can play off the ball (Bueckers, Clark, and Ionescu are recent examples that come to mind). Having a SG try to play PG seems to be a much harder transition, even if they are a combo guard. Jordan Walker is a perfect example of that.

If a freshman had to play some backup, I'd rather it be Miles since that is her natural position and she'll likely need to play there a lot next season. Even then, I still think Horston will play primary backup to Walker.
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LOL, And when I think of combo guards, I think of natural 2's with a good handle.

As far as Miles being the backup, point is the most difficult position on the floor and the transition from high school to D1 is intense. If she is a capable backup as a freshman, she will be fantastic as a junior.
 
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#1,378
#1,378
Voluble2 said:
I am going to have to disagree on this one a bit. Up till now she hasn't shot anywhere near well enough to be a scoring guard. She can get to the basket pretty much whenever she wants, but she has trouble finishing, and her outside shot is not reliable. That makes it hard to find a spot for her. She got her turnovers down enough that she can play the point some, but like about half our team, her best position might be the three where she can slash and be nearer the basket more often.

If she can improve her shooting then she could play the 2 position, but since that is supposed to be a high scoring position it would be better to have a more efficient player in that spot, like Rae, sans any drastic improvement on Horston's part. The two spot is where a poor shooter can do the most damage to their own team.
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he meant every "one",,, not everyone
 
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#1,380
#1,380
Darth_Vol said:
That's what I'm afraid of. I have serious doubts about Walker holding up this season. After she and Horston limped through the season at PG last year, literally, why Kellie decided to run it back with those two is beyond me...
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Interesting. Are you talking about the Walker who led the team in charges, averaged more rebounds than our tallest post player, and played better defense on Naz Hillmon as a PG than anyone else on the team? Or are you thinking of another Walker?
 
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#1,381
#1,381
I like the notion of Horston at point. In one of, what I consider their best wins last year, which was against Kentucky, she was the engine that made the whole train run. Likely, this was before she got injured and had Covid. (This much is heresay from this board, I have no other verification on injury or Covid status). I think another year of growth under Kellie and she could be a superstar for this team. Certainly would be good for recruiting.

Also, I wonder about a 2 guard sorta set. Haven’t seen it since early 2000s. Key is certainly big enough to create havoc, is an able passer and good range to the free throw line. Could something like that work with Key, Rae, dye, horston and Walker? Kinda keeps the lane open for cutters except when Key wants to dive in.
 
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#1,382
#1,382
Texas said:
I like the notion of Horston at point. In one of, what I consider their best wins last year, which was against Kentucky, she was the engine that made the whole train run. Likely, this was before she got injured and had Covid. (This much is heresay from this board, I have no other verification on injury or Covid status). I think another year of growth under Kellie and she could be a superstar for this team. Certainly would be good for recruiting.
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I'm not a basketball expert by a long shot, but I notice the team is more dynamic with her at the 1 spot. Last season, she was out of control a lot of the times she was at the point, and we got hurt with turnovers and breakdowns, etc. If she can play at that fast pace AND keep it under control at the same time, then I'm with you about liking her at the point. That's a big if, though.
 
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#1,383
#1,383
youcancallmeAl said:
I'm not a basketball expert by a long shot, but I notice the team is more dynamic with her at the 1 spot. Last season, she was out of control a lot of the times she was at the point, and we got hurt with turnovers and breakdowns, etc. If she can play at that fast pace AND keep it under control at the same time, then I'm with you about liking her at the point. That's a big if, though.
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She drastically reduced turnovers from freshman to sophomore year (which i think would be a natural progression) she is she continues somewhat on that trajectory it would go to reason we would be in good hands at the point but she will be off the ball more i would think and be more of a combo guard than just a shooting guard.
 
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#1,384
#1,384
VA_VOLFAN said:
She drastically reduced turnovers from freshman to sophomore year (which i think would be a natural progression) she is she continues somewhat on that trajectory it would go to reason we would be in good hands at the point but she will be off the ball more i would think and be more of a combo guard than just a shooting guard.
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I thought Kelly favored Walker more as the #1 point. Jordon clearly has more talent than her but as you said maybe she can be more effective at the shooting position.
 
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#1,385
#1,385
OrangeBeachVol said:
I thought Kelly favored Walker more as the #1 point. Jordon clearly has more talent than her but as you said maybe she can be more effective at the shooting position.
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Last season Walker did play more minutes at point guard usually down the stretch at the end of games both could be in there, but Horston tended to be the point guard in the last part of the game. This season I think it will be Walker and early in the season they will give Miles every opportunity to earn playing time for the SEC. If she can be effective I think you'll see a lot of Horston at the two, but when the game is on the line Kellie tends to like Horston leading the way.
 
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#1,389
#1,389
Voluble2 said:
I am going to have to disagree on this one a bit. Up till now she hasn't shot anywhere near well enough to be a scoring guard. She can get to the basket pretty much whenever she wants, but she has trouble finishing, and her outside shot is not reliable. That makes it hard to find a spot for her. She got her turnovers down enough that she can play the point some, but like about half our team, her best position might be the three where she can slash and be nearer the basket more often.

If she can improve her shooting then she could play the 2 position, but since that is supposed to be a high scoring position it would be better to have a more efficient player in that spot, like Rae, sans any drastic improvement on Horston's part. The two spot is where a poor shooter can do the most damage to their own team.
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Well first of all, I'm not sure when being a great shooter ever became a prerequisite to play shooting guard at Tennessee. When Kellie played, she won championships with the likes of Latina Davis, Kyra Elzy, and Semeka Randall at shooting guard -- great players but not exactly the bomb squad. Alexis Hornbuckle was the shooting guard for their last title runs. To her credit, she improved as a shooter throughout her career but it was never the strongest part of her game.

Secondly, the ideal lineup has Walker starting at point with Burrell and Horston as the wings starting alongside her. In this modern era of "positionless" basketball I wouldn't get too hung up on designating one as the shooting guard and one as the small forward because it really doesn't matter... as long as Horston isn't the primary ballhandler. As you mentioned, each has her own strengths and weaknesses and they will continue to fill their differing roles regardless of whatever position you want to call them.

I do agree Horston would help the team tremendously by becoming a better finisher and improving her perimeter shooting. It's also killing her WNBA stock, she can ask Rennia Davis about that...
 
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#1,391
#1,391
Darth_Vol said:
Well first of all, I'm not sure when being a great shooter ever became a prerequisite to play shooting guard at Tennessee. When Kellie played, she won championships with the likes of Latina Davis, Kyra Elzy, and Semeka Randall at shooting guard -- great players but not exactly the bomb squad. Alexis Hornbuckle was the shooting guard for their last title runs. To her credit, she improved as a shooter throughout her career but it was never the strongest part of her game.

Maybe, just maybe, this is why Coach K went out and got Justine " a great shooter" Pissott.

Secondly, the ideal lineup has Walker starting at point with Burrell and Horston as the wings starting alongside her. In this modern era of "positionless" basketball I wouldn't get too hung up on designating one as the shooting guard and one as the small forward because it really doesn't matter... as long as Horston isn't the primary ballhandler. As you mentioned, each has her own strengths and weaknesses and they will continue to fill their differing roles regardless of whatever position you want to call them.

true this,,,BB has gone to a "two combo-guards, two-stretch forwards and a Post.

I do agree Horston would help the team tremendously by becoming a better finisher and improving her perimeter shooting. It's also killing her WNBA stock, she can ask Rennia Davis about that...
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Jordan progressed on lessening turnovers (104 assists to 68 turnovers: 1.52 ratio) and was hampered much of the year. For the W,,,it's not what you did in your fresh/soph year that matters,,,Its how much better you are at graduation,,, that will matter most
 
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#1,395
#1,395
Tennessee drew more fans to Thompson-Boling Arena for men's and women's basketball games during the 2019-20 season than any other school in America. A total of 461,146 Big Orange fans attended 33 games, as the Vols drew 322,822 for their 17 home games, and the Lady Vols drew 138,324 for their 16 home events

I project the Lady Vols to draw 157000 this season which will be up 19000 from 2019-20 hopefully with the men's team we will again lead every other school in America this season.
 
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