Tennessee Played Well But Not In The Cards

[LasVegasBill23]

Bernadette Peters would be the famous Broadway actress. lol:

Deveraux Peters played for ND.

You are correct thank you!!! But it can be said that Devereaux never played Broadway!!!!

I remember Devereaux as a bit unhinged, but wow, never seen passion like that.....

We need someone with that type of desire

 

[PointGuard]

Points are points no matter how you get them. If DD was on the bench, MSU would have won by 30 going away.

I don't see MeMe, Alexa, Kortney or Qui being able to contribute on both ends of the floor to even suggest that this team is better without Diamond.

I said better TEAM. I stand by the total content of my post

 

[gule]

I'm not trashing Draya. Draya was what she was. A fantastic person and teammate but not a great basketball player despite all of her physical gifts. She wasn't the first and won't be the last. I'm not sure what you mean by "early in her career". She was never an aggressive offensive player prior to UT and she wasn't at UT from the moment she stepped on campus.

I saw Draya play several times in HS. The "shot knees" excuse doesn't fly. What was her excuse earlier in her career prior to her knee? What was her excuse in high school? She was always afraid of the big moment at UT and was in high school as well. She had all the tools to become an elite college guard. Fantastic athletic ability (leaping and quickness), quick hands and a perfectly textbook jumper. She easily could've been All-SEC on both sides of the ball. What she lacked was court vision, a high basketball IQ and a mental toughness to show up big when her team needed her to.

I totally disagree. What she lacked was a coach who could bring out the best in her and her teammates.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I'm not trashing Draya. Draya was what she was. A fantastic person and teammate but not a great basketball player despite all of her physical gifts. She wasn't the first and won't be the last. I'm not sure what you mean by "early in her career". She was never an aggressive offensive player prior to UT and she wasn't at UT from the moment she stepped on campus.

I saw Draya play several times in HS. The "shot knees" excuse doesn't fly. What was her excuse earlier in her career prior to her knee? What was her excuse in high school? She was always afraid of the big moment at UT and was in high school as well. She had all the tools to become an elite college guard. Fantastic athletic ability (leaping and quickness), quick hands and a perfectly textbook jumper. She easily could've been All-SEC on both sides of the ball. What she lacked was court vision, a high basketball IQ and a mental toughness to show up big when her team needed her to.

In an earlier post you wrote:
When the team makes the same mistakes over and over and over, I think it can be pinned on coaches because it's clear things aren't being done to address it. . . .What changed, besides your "stance"?

I had several athletes out of the Flowery Branch area, as well as Collins Hill, Norcross, and many other HS in the Gwinnett Metro ATL. ...I saw Draya play several times in HS as well as with my org, the Pistols.

You sir, are wrong re Draya... How do you think she got the look from UT in the first place if she wasn't a gamer? Either you don't like the girl, or, you saw a bad game of hers...Draya deserved the look she got. But SHE did not get the training after HS she should have gotten post-HS in college!.

 

[LVJeff]

I'm not trashing Draya...I saw Draya play several times in HS. The "shot knees" excuse doesn't fly. What was her excuse earlier in her career prior to her knee?...

She played 4 or 5 games her freshman season before missing the rest of the season. She had both knee and shoulder injuries. There was a press release announcing her retirement due to health reasons. I guess you missed that. No, you didn't miss it - you either don't believe it or don't care. And yes you are trashing her when you say her shot knees were just an excuse.

 

[bobkitten]

I'm not trashing Draya. Draya was what she was. A fantastic person and teammate but not a great basketball player despite all of her physical gifts. She wasn't the first and won't be the last. I'm not sure what you mean by "early in her career". She was never an aggressive offensive player prior to UT and she wasn't at UT from the moment she stepped on campus.

I saw Draya play several times in HS. The "shot knees" excuse doesn't fly. What was her excuse earlier in her career prior to her knee? What was her excuse in high school? She was always afraid of the big moment at UT and was in high school as well. She had all the tools to become an elite college guard. Fantastic athletic ability (leaping and quickness), quick hands and a perfectly textbook jumper. She easily could've been All-SEC on both sides of the ball. What she lacked was court vision, a high basketball IQ and a mental toughness to show up big when her team needed her to.

Did you REALLY see her in high school? I did and she was everywhere, getting steals, making layups, shooting from outside, passing to open players, rebounding. I believe her junior year she scored something like 100 points over the course of the high school playoffs, which her team won. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLSDHi53sm0&index=7&list=PLEB45AD725A34E54E especially at 13 min mark, but really all the way through all 6 videos of that year.

She brought a lot of that to her abbreviated first year at UT.

 

[Amb3096]

Did you REALLY see her in high school? I did and she was everywhere, getting steals, making layups, shooting from outside, passing to open players, rebounding. I believe her junior year she scored something like 100 points over the course of the high school playoffs, which her team won.

She brought a lot of that to her abbreviated first year at UT.

Didn't Kamera Harris have 28 blocks in a game in HS?

HS success does not always equate to college success. Every player on the roster looked like a star in HS. I'm sure even Kortney Dunbar did. Alexa looked like a can't-miss star based on her all around HS game, but looks like she doesn't belong on the college court when matched up against athletic guards.

So even if Andraya brought her 5.3 ppg, 37% FG, and 1.5 rpg freshman year averages against the cupcake likes of Chattanooga, Georgia Tech, Miami (well, not a cupcake), Rice, Alcorn State and Middle Tennessee State, that doesn't mean she was ever going to be a standout college player.

She's like Jordan. She had that one glorious game against SC her 2nd year where she harassed the sh!t out of Tiffany Mitchell and scored with confidence, and people have been looking at this game as if this is her normal production rather than an aberration. She was never a good player, even before her knees started to give way. She didn't have the confidence, she wasn't clutch, and other than diving on the floor for loose balls, she looked like she was afraid to compete against the better teams.

 

[Amb3096]

I said better TEAM. I stand by the total content of my post

And that means what? Sure, they can look great without Diamond against cupcakes like Troy and UNCW, but do you really believe that they would have played better team basketball without Diamond? Instead of Diamond going 1-on-1, it would be Jaime because there are no other confident clutch ball handlers on this team.

Without Diamond, they would have stunk it up on both ends, shot well below 30% and would have lost by at least 30 points. But if they were smiling, being supportive and hugging it out, I'm sure that would lessen the blow from the thrashing on the court.

 

[armchair]

Didn't Kamera Harris have 28 blocks in a game in HS?

HS success does not always equate to college success. Every player on the roster looked like a star in HS. I'm sure even Kortney Dunbar did. Alexa looked like a can't-miss star based on her all around HS game, but looks like she doesn't belong on the college court when matched up against athletic guards.

So even if Andraya brought her 5.3 ppg, 37% FG, and 1.5 rpg freshman year averages against the cupcake likes of Chattanooga, Georgia Tech, Miami (well, not a cupcake), Rice, Alcorn State and Middle Tennessee State, that doesn't mean she was ever going to be a standout college player.

She's like Jordan. She had that one glorious game against SC her 2nd year where she harassed the sh!t out of Tiffany Mitchell and scored with confidence, and people have been looking at this game as if this is her normal production rather than an aberration. She was never a good player, even before her knees started to give way. She didn't have the confidence, she wasn't clutch, and other than diving on the floor for loose balls, she looked like she was afraid to compete against the better teams.

That sadly describes about 80 percent of our players over the last decade. I agree with you about Carter: I liked her as a person, but she just never developed much, wasn't very confident on offense and failed to contribute much of anything offensively. Didn't she mostly play the 2 guard spot? She was better suited to play PG than shooting guard, and I believe she played PG for a long stretch as a junior--and I thought was pretty good in the role. She did not have the size or confidence to play the 2--was very timid offensively.

Middleton, like most everyone on our team, could be, and should be, playing better than she is. No, she's not terribly athletic, but she's got more athleticism than, say, Zolman had. She can handle the ball and she can shoot, but you can't do anything if you play scared--and for some reason she's looked nervous on the court lately--and that hasn't always been the case. It is the job of the coaches to BUILD the confidence of every player on the team, and the team as a whole--and to BUILD the mental toughness of every player on the team and the team as a whole. We have not seen that at UT in a long time. We've had a few players who've had both--Harrison and Burdick had it--but a lot of our players don't. Middleton has looked weak lately, and maybe one reason is that I don't think she's been getting many minutes. It's hard to be comfortable if your minutes are very limited, but she's going to have to adjust.

 

[bobkitten]

Didn't Kamera Harris have 28 blocks in a game in HS?

HS success does not always equate to college success. Every player on the roster looked like a star in HS. I'm sure even Kortney Dunbar did. Alexa looked like a can't-miss star based on her all around HS game, but looks like she doesn't belong on the college court when matched up against athletic guards.

So even if Andraya brought her 5.3 ppg, 37% FG, and 1.5 rpg freshman year averages against the cupcake likes of Chattanooga, Georgia Tech, Miami (well, not a cupcake), Rice, Alcorn State and Middle Tennessee State, that doesn't mean she was ever going to be a standout college player.

She's like Jordan. She had that one glorious game against SC her 2nd year where she harassed the sh!t out of Tiffany Mitchell and scored with confidence, and

people have been looking at this game as if this is her normal production rather than an aberration. She was never a good player, even before her knees started to give way. She didn't have the confidence, she wasn't clutch, and other than diving on the floor for loose balls, she looked like she was afraid to compete against the better teams.

I would say it was destroyed somewhere along the way after she got to UT. She was recruited by EVERYONE from about 8th grade on, so it wasn't just Pat who saw something.

 

[Amb3096]

I would say it was destroyed somewhere along the way after she got to UT. She was recruited by EVERYONE from about 8th grade on, so it wasn't just Pat who saw something.

I don't think there's any question that Andraya had the physical skills to be a collegiate All American, but she was the kind of player that needed to be coached up to reach her potential, which never happened. She needed someone to help build her confidence in tight games and to help her excel in a role that was probably different from her HS days where she was the star player. Never happened.

No one will blame Andraya for not being an All American caliber player when she walked through the door, but at the same time, no one is pretending that she was more than what she was able to give as a player. Truthfully, even with her knees, she would have thrived as a college player if she had a more capable coach.

 

[NoBackBoard]

In an earlier post you wrote:
When the team makes the same mistakes over and over and over, I think it can be pinned on coaches because it's clear things aren't being done to address it. . . .What changed, besides your "stance"?

I had several athletes out of the Flowery Branch area, as well as Collins Hill, Norcross, and many other HS in the Gwinnett Metro ATL. ...I saw Draya play several times in HS as well as with my org, the Pistols.

You sir, are wrong re Draya... How do you think she got the look from UT in the first place if she wasn't a gamer? Either you don't like the girl, or, you saw a bad game of hers...Draya deserved the look she got. But SHE did not get the training after HS she should have gotten post-HS in college!.

So what's your solution for the team moving forward?

 

[Coach Jumper]

So what's your solution for the team moving forward?

My stance has never wavered.,,,This coaching staff has one very obvious missing ingredient.

A coach who can :

- Read each player and understand what they need verbally and emotionally to be their best before each contest and within each contest, that same coach must be able to Rip into a player if they need it U]without[/U] taking away her drive for that game. Who can also "build up a player" when her confidence is down.(An Alpha Coach).

- A skills and drills coach, who understands what practice drills are needed to correct the last game's deficiencies. And has new and interesting drills that precisely pinpointing the necessary mechanics that are deficient.

-A coach who will assist Holly without trembling when she speaks to them and will give her the feedback she needs, NOT!! just the feedback she WANTS.

This is what we lost with Pat and this is what has to be replaced before we reach that level again.

And I am applying for the position!

I don't in any way claim to be Pat's equal, but I do fully claim to be the coach I just described.

 

[lvocd]

My stance has never wavered.,,,This coaching staff has one very obvious missing ingredient.

A skills and drills coach, who understands what practice drills are needed to correct the last game's deficiencies. And has new and interesting drills that precisely pinpointing the necessary mechanics that are deficient.

.

I have been hoping and praying for years for this. It is painfully obvious that whatever drills and practice methods currently being used by this staff are not getting the job done. A major overhaul is in order.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of the more successful coaches' practices to see what, exactly, they are doing in practice to have their players looking so much more crisp and polished instead of desperate and frustrated like our players often look.

 

[LVJeff]

I have been hoping and praying for years for this. It is painfully obvious that whatever drills and practice methods currently being used by this staff are not getting the job done. A major overhaul is in order.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of the more successful coaches' practices to see what, exactly, they are doing in practice to have their players looking so much more crisp and polished instead of desperate and frustrated like our players often look.

Agreed and I've said the same thing. For 4 or 5 years I have wondered what the heck the LV's practice sessions and preseason consists of. As you say, whatever it is they do - stop doing it and try something else.

 

[LVJeff]

I don't think there's any question that Andraya had the physical skills to be a collegiate All American, but she was the kind of player that needed to be coached up to reach her potential, which never happened. She needed someone to help build her confidence in tight games and to help her excel in a role that was probably different from her HS days where she was the star player. Never happened.

No one will blame Andraya for not being an All American caliber player when she walked through the door, but at the same time, no one is pretending that she was more than what she was able to give as a player. Truthfully, even with her knees, she would have thrived as a college player if she had a more capable coach.

Agreed. What got me was the statement that her "shot knees" were an "excuse", as if she suffered from some kind of character flaw that prevented her from playing through her injuries. Rubbish. I have no doubt her injuries were real and that they affected her play. But I also recognize that whether it was injuries or coaching, she didn't make that much of an impact especially on the offensive end of the floor. I think it's possible to recognize her lack of impact without trashing her for making "excuses" as the other poster did.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I have been hoping and praying for years for this. It is painfully obvious that whatever drills and practice methods currently being used by this staff are not getting the job done. A major overhaul is in order.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of the more successful coaches' practices to see what, exactly, they are doing in practice to have their players looking so much more crisp and polished instead of desperate and frustrated like our players often look.

I have offered to do a practice session with any coach who wants to oversee it.

Among my more unique drills are:

- Bang Bang: A shooting drill that fully rotates all available players, wherein the participants (5 minimum) as a unit, can shoot 300 shots in 6 minutes, at game speed, with every player shooting and no shots in the paint.
- 7-Direction Layups ; Layups from 7 different directions with 7 different finishes, with no use of the off hand for any step of the process.
- Offense continuity drills in which it is explained WHY and HOW you "use or take away" the advantage of offense/defensive numbers.
- Contact layups against humans, not pillows.

I have access to over 400 drills on my dbase that i have established for coaching basketball.

 

[Amb3096]

Agreed. What got me was the statement that her "shot knees" were an "excuse", as if she suffered from some kind of character flaw that prevented her from playing through her injuries. Rubbish. I have no doubt her injuries were real and that they affected her play. But I also recognize that whether it was injuries or coaching, she didn't make that much of an impact especially on the offensive end of the floor. I think it's possible to recognize her lack of impact without trashing her for making "excuses" as the other poster did.

I don't think that poster was implying that Andraya herself was making excuses. It was clear that Andraya was physically compromised during the latter half of last season as her minutes started to drop. Rather, there are posters who say that Andraya didn't reach her potential solely because of her injuries while ignoring the fact that she had a lot of fundamental issues as a basketball player when she arrived to Knoxville that needed to be coached out of her.

Andraya would have been a much better player, even with the knee and shoulder issues, if she played for a coach that could have been a better teacher to her.

 

[brassie]

So what's your solution for the team moving forward?

Hire coach jumper!

 

[Martic]

we can't have a "structured offense" with Reynolds or Middleton playing PG, I would disagree. We have had a structured offense this season, but not today. We are not beating good teams playing like we played offensively today--playing like we play offensively in almost every game. Nared was 2-10; DD--5 of 15. And we had no treys. The offense was terrible.

RE Timeouts: It's just another indication of how clueless Warlick is. We did not substitute in the 2nd half until Nared fouled out. Do you think our starters could have used another breather or two? It goes without saying--but didn't call any TO's, I don't think. Warlick likes to keep her timeouts and then after the game put them in her refrigerator. How smart do you have to be to realize that if your starters are all playing big minutes, you should use your TOs to give them a breather--and stanch the momentum of the opponent if they get on a roll.

If you watch UConn he has very seldom substituted or rested his players even when they are up big and it doesn't seem to hurt him. The ones that do come off the bench usually are ready though.

 

[Coach Jumper]

If you watch UConn he has very seldom substituted or rested his players even when they are up big and it doesn't seem to hurt him. The ones that do come off the bench usually are ready though.

UCONN also rarely goes deep into a shotclock on either Off or Def... that is what wears out players.

If things come easy to you, it is mentally less taxing, ergo, physically less taxing.

 

[Martic]

Yep...Holly Warlick will ruin them as well with bad coaching. Pay Kim Mulkey what she would want to come here.

Oh h**l no!! Are you kidding me?

 

[Nute Gunray]

I have been hoping and praying for years for this. It is painfully obvious that whatever drills and practice methods currently being used by this staff are not getting the job done. A major overhaul is in order.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of the more successful coaches' practices to see what, exactly, they are doing in practice to have their players looking so much more crisp and polished instead of desperate and frustrated like our players often look.

You don't have to be a fly on the wall. I believe Geno's practices are open to the public. If not, you can probably find some ESPN videos of his practices.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Agree that our ball movement leaves a lot to be desired at times, but that's more on the 3 wings who are standing around on offense and not our PG. We saw in the second quarter today how much the team depends on Reynolds to function on offense. And we were very exposed for our lack of a bench.[/QUOTE]

Have you watched that "3 wing offense??"
One goes to one corner (arc), and another goes to the other corner. Then the others play a three man game for a few seconds. yhen the ball goes side to side and then in a weave,,,If we don't get a curl jumper out of the set, ,, it failed.

Continuity of motion, Taking routes that fills, or crosses gaps, and make it make sense to the preceding movements. . . Or in basketball terms, "Take what the defense gives you"

That's offense.
Always has been.

Want a fluid offense... Instruct them how to move and then give them the reason why.

 

[teacherdean]

Our coaching staff is doing the best job they are capable of doing. I doubt if it will get much better, even with next year's recruiting class. It is a very good chance we will be at this same juncture next year, should of, could of but can't. This coaching staff has taken the Lady Vols as far as their abilities will allow, however, the power that be must realize this and move on. No matter what the record shows, it is a good chance, that this is as good as it gets.

I recorded the game and went back and looked at it again. There were mistakes made in the game but we still had a chance to win it in crunch time, however, MSU was more aggressive and wanted the game more. There was standing around, by Russell and others while one or two of our players were fighting for rebounds with three or more MSU players. Russell has to attack the boards. I get the feeling that, at times, she becomes too concerned about fouls. Except for the second quarter, and crunch time, I thought the ladies played well. I still wonder why Holly insist on not calling time outs when the team heads South. After each game she usually has two or more timeouts left. Though MSU was winning, they still called time outs when we seem to turn the momentum our way. Knowledge of the game includes the ability to call timeouts when necessary.