The LVs probably won't win the NC. Enjoy the season for what it is

[ALLVOL24/7/365]

MadVol you are so out of touch with reality. Holly might somehow luck into a Natty, but she will never coach her team to one. It will be the team that wins it and she would just happen to be the coach of the team. We need to quit wating our time on the womens Bball team equvilent of Dooley, cut our losses and get rid of her. Thenopen the bank and go hire a real coach like Staley. Then the Vols are back where we need to be, competing year in and year out for NC's. We might get lucky like any tesm can, but I would not be surprised to see us out after the Sweet Sixteen, I would like to see us win it all, but I just do not think Holly has the ability to coach in tough situations and win. Win or go home is a tough situation. We will see and I hope I am wrong and they hoist the Natty this year, but I am afraid I am closer to right than wrong.

 

[ALLVOL24/7/365]

+10000....that's what pisses me off the most about refs with Tenn...idc what nobody says, if you're a troll, not a fan of the LadyVols, hell even my grandmother who just likes Pat Summit and doesn't know a lick about basketball can tell how over the past few years how they've treated our post players. I'll NEVER in my life forget that game I think we were playing Kentucky on our hone floor and Glory Johnson was falling out of bounds and she simply threw the ball off a Kentucky player to save a possession, like almost EVERY basketball player in the country does, and I'll be damned Dee Kantner gives Glory the most despicable look like Glory had committed a crime against humanity and T'd her up!!!!

The way they let these girls kill Izzy and Graves in the post and then let one of them even blow on an oppenent its a foul! They done Glory in her years the same way. And yes I'm playing the "blame the ref" card cause I have plenty reason watching some of these basketball games this year....not only in the SEC but across all conferences! Its a down year for officiating, and its time for another team workshop or a skills camp for Reffing whatever it is that they do cause this isn't cutting it!

Ok rant over! Lol

You all are being melodramatic. The reason fouls are called is because they are fouling. The coaches are not coaching them on maintaning their position on the floor. Also, every player fouls down in the post. The art of it is to not get cought. It is poor technique do to poor coaching. Quit blaming the ref's. Yes ref's do make bad calls from time to time, but you are watching the games through orange colored glasses and it distorts your view. I have been guilty of it at times myself so I know of what I speak.

 

[stubbs9]

Wow! Even if she does make it to the FF she won't get credit. That's crazy. I hope parents of recruits don't read these boards.

 

[kvol1987]

MadtownVol makes some good points but any given day any team can win. Yes UConn and SC would be favored over the LVs but if "the team" showed up with their A game they can compete with either. LVs lost to UTC and so did Stanford which beat UConn so there is always a chance. Individual players have ups and downs but that is why you have a team. Holly is doing a great job especially when she has redshirted two of her best players and Jones, who was just coming into her own, goes down with a concussion. As long as this team can be consistent with their jump shots so teams can't triple team the post players, they can make a final four this year.

 

[stubbs9]

MadtownVol makes some good points but any given day any team can win. Yes UConn and SC would be favored over the LVs but if "the team" showed up with their A game they can compete with either. LVs lost to UTC and so did Stanford which beat UConn so there is always a chance. Individual players have ups and downs but that is why you have a team. Holly is doing a great job especially when she has redshirted two of her best players and Jones, who was just coming into her own, goes down with a concussion. As long as this team can be consistent with their jump shots so teams can't triple team the post players, they can make a final four this year.

I totally agree. If we make outside shots we can beat anybody because it will open it up for Graves and Izzy.

 

[kvol1987]

MadVol you are so out of touch with reality. Holly might somehow luck into a Natty, but she will never coach her team to one. It will be the team that wins it and she would just happen to be the coach of the team. We need to quit wating our time on the womens Bball team equvilent of Dooley, cut our losses and get rid of her. Thenopen the bank and go hire a real coach like Staley. Then the Vols are back where we need to be, competing year in and year out for NC's. We might get lucky like any tesm can, but I would not be surprised to see us out after the Sweet Sixteen, I would like to see us win it all, but I just do not think Holly has the ability to coach in tough situations and win. Win or go home is a tough situation. We will see and I hope I am wrong and they hoist the Natty this year, but I am afraid I am closer to right than wrong.

You guys forget what Pat Summit's record was after Candace left ... the very next year they lost in the 1st round, then went to the sweet 16 and two elite 8s so don't act like PS was killing it her last 4 years. Holly Warlick will get it done better than you think.

 

[madtownvol]

I didn't ask you to explain quantum physics or elaborate on the existential meaning of life. The question was actually pretty simple.


When did I ever say a non-championship season was a failure??? If you're going to attempt to mock me, at least mock something I actually said.

Well Darth, then why don't you answer your own question. It is kind of easy to be the perpetual critic who negates everything.

Was it successful when the LVs under Holly won the SEC title and the EC tourney but did not get past the sweet 16? If not, would the great 8 constituted a success. Would making it to the final four and then losing constitute a success (or losing the championship game?).

Does it matter how injuries effect the team? Is being down two of the top recruits in the country (Russell, Tucker) and another key play Jones have any impact on the assessment?

 

[tallyho]

Wow i guess I'm the only one here who thinks we could give UCONN a little fit if we were to meet them! You never know how the flow of a game will go until its played. Izzy stays out of foul trouble and hits her shots.....Burdick sticks her mid-range jumpers....Ariel makes some 3s....Graves has a ND type game....Carter brings some defensive intensity...Jordan consistently drives to the basket making sound decisions....Jamie realizes what she's capable of and plays has a breakout game, Alexa gives us a 20 ppoint outing unafraid of the UCONN giant....we give a Stanford/TexasA&M team defensive effort! If 3-4 of those things happen on a night we play UCONN I like our chances.....

OR


We could get utterly embarrassed and just hang our hats on next year just like everyone else in the country except for 1 team! And hopefully it'll be the LadyVols this year NEVER KNOW but I can dream! Lol

The Lady Vols can barely give Florida, Miss St., Kentucky and South Carolina a game...this team has already showed how it will do when it steps up the competition outside the SEC against a decent team...lost to Texas and then crashed and burned against Notre Dame...a team closest to UCONN. Oh yeah then there was the loss to UTC.

Let's face it ... Geno continues to recruit the best players to fit his system which is team basketball...hitting 3s, free throws and layups...The Lady Vols are good athletes but :thud:cannot seem to do any of these three things on a consistent basis.

 

[djtee]

Several things going against the LV. They have a weak coach, they shoot poorly and they have no leader. Good team but far from elite.

Holly should listen ! Quote from Tom Luginbill on ESPN Recruiting Nation If you play your freshmen they will get better and help the team.

 

[gule]

you're gonna make his brain cell explode, madtown.

 

[BMvol27]

 

[VolDango]

Lol. There's exactly a 0% chance of the Lady Vols winning the NC this year. 20% chance at best that they even get to the final four. I see them exiting the Elite 8 or maybe even the Sweet 16.

Watching UCONN play is reminiscent of the late 90's Lady Vol teams. They want to dominate, and can. South Carolina's program is gaining steam also behind Dawn Staley. I just think Warlick is an average coach with above average talent. But they don't have UCONN or USC talent. It has already been 7 years since Tennessee's last final four or NC. Unless Deshields is the player of the year, it'll probably be another 7 at least. Warlick is whiffing on recruits. UCONN has Dangerfield committed for 2016. #3 player in the country and she lives in TN. What does that say?

 

[stubbs9]

It says that maybe you should become a UCONN or USC fan and stop crying. Holly is the coach so stop bi***ing about it bc its not going to change.

 

[OrangeDog]

WOW!! For a minute I thought I was in the Football Forum

 

[Amb3096]

When did I ever say a non-championship season was a failure??? If you're going to attempt to mock me, at least mock something I actually said.

You've mastered that MO, so you should be thankful that s/he is applying a logic you would understand.

 

[BMvol27]

Lol. There's exactly a 0% chance of the Lady Vols winning the NC this year. 20% chance at best that they even get to the final four. I see them exiting the Elite 8 or maybe even the Sweet 16.

Watching UCONN play is reminiscent of the late 90's Lady Vol teams. They want to dominate, and can. South Carolina's program is gaining steam also behind Dawn Staley. I just think Warlick is an average coach with above average talent. But they don't have UCONN or USC talent. It has already been 7 years since Tennessee's last final four or NC. Unless Deshields is the player of the year, it'll probably be another 7 at least. Warlick is whiffing on recruits. UCONN has Dangerfield committed for 2016. #3 player in the country and she lives in TN. What does that say?

There's no reason DeShields has to be the player of the year for us to get to the Final Four. Warlick is not whiffing on recruits. We have Cooper and Jackson signed here, and it's a player's choice of where she wants to go, not the coach's. You cannot force a recruit to sign with your school. If I was a recruit I wouldn't want to come here either.

 

[Darth_Vol]

You've mastered that MO, so you should be thankful that s/he is applying a logic you would understand.

Show me evidence where I've made up comments anyone else has said. And if I did say it and someone called me out on it, I would have the guts to own up to it...

 

[teacherdean]

Hey, to each his own but it must take some of the enjoyment of watching the LVs put together a great SEC run when the primary thoughts are "Well, they will never beat UConn playing like that! They sure won't beat South Carolina playing like that! Wow, let's focus on who had a bad game rather than the overall performance and win!" Yeah, so and so played okay but she is not LIVING UP to my expectations]!!!

News flash: Odds are that the LVs will not win the national championship and, in a match-up with Uconn, any right minded person would bet on Uconn. Now, upsets happen but that is what it will be if the LVs go all the way. Beating South Carolina would be an upset too. I hope those unexpected achievements materialize but they are not my primary evaluative criteria for this team.

And yes, it was different story ten years ago but this team is not as good as it was when it had Candace Parker and company or the Meeks. That is a bummer but all programs have their peaks and valleys. The LVs' valley is still one where they are in ballpark of a top 5 team and competing for an SEC title and are in the conversation about elite teams who have a decent chance to make the final four.

To the last game, Florida @ Gainseville has been a trap game for the LVs in the past. They have a team of really good athletes, get very pumped to beat the LVs and in this game particularly, the atmosphere seems to get the refs wanting to do the gator chomp.

Izzy was outstanding in her limited minutes (Sandvol, she kept her head together and did not the fouls and hacking impact her play on the court, so :hi: to her and the coaching staff). Jamie Nared's improvement curve is so steep she needs rock climbing shoes (maybe Holly and company can develop some players). She looks like an entirely different player than then she did at the start of the SEC season. Yes, Burdick had a bad shooting night but she crashed the boards, played with energy on the defense and made a Sportscenter top ten pass to Graves (at a pivotal game moment). 2H TENN B. Graves made Layup. Assisted by C. Burdick. - ESPN Video - ESPN. Reynolds and Carter were both excellent.

Love your analysis, and we must follow your lead and realize that we are a long way from where we use to or need to be. However, not only players,but coaching also has to shoulder some of the blame. The one question I have is, do we have what it takes to develop players?

 

[madtownvol]

Show me evidence where I've made up comments anyone else has said. And if I did say it and someone called me out on it, I would have the guts to own up to it...

Darth, just scan up stream in this thread where you proclaimed "A great philosophy not to have expectations so you are never disappointed....." in regard to my original post.

I never mentioned anything about not having expectations.

Do I feel victimized, do I want to choke you with the force. Not all. You made an inference from what I wrote. You extrapolated. I felt it was a mischaracterization but you felt it was a logical conclusion. You can easily say I did the same to you later in the thread. That is life in the world of fan boards.

I am surprised that your feelings are so sensitive given that you are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONdLEqzhXOI

 

[Darth_Vol]

Darth, just scan up stream in this thread where you proclaimed "A great philosophy not to have expectations so you are never disappointed....." in regard to my original post.

I never mentioned anything about not having expectations.

I didn't think you really felt that way which is why I asked you, more than once, to clarify what your expectations were...

 

[madtownvol]

Teacherdean,

Thanks,

When Holly became the head coach, I was not excited. I assumed that she had opted to be a perennial assistant for a reason. I lamented that our chance to hire Niki Caldwell had passed.

After three years, Holly is growing on me. She has proven that she can recruit and I think her X and O's chops and game management skills are getting better.

She would look a whole better as a coach if 1) Russell had not come to the team needing major reconstructive surgery and 2) if Jannah Tucker had not the knee injury and other complications. Let's imagine that DeShields had realized sooner that Tennessee was where she wanted to be. Add those players to LVs talent pool and we would very likely be looking at a true rival to Uconn.

 

[Smallvol#1]

I didn't think you really felt that way which is why I asked you, more than once, to clarify what your expectations were...

Darth, aren't you highjacking the thread? Madtown did not post re his expectations but about enjoying the LVs and seeing improvement in different areas, and, just wondering, why do you expect him to respond to your demands he present you with a list of his expectations? "...I asked you, more than once,..." The way I see it, he has no more of a requirement to justify his enjoyment of the LVs than you have to demand a justification from him. Arguing, just for the sake of arguing, is petty, and you are frequently negative, but rarely petty. Flame away at me, but before you do, look in the mirror....and I'm already duckinghmy:

 

[Darth_Vol]

Darth, aren't you highjacking the thread? Madtown did not post re his expectations but about enjoying the LVs and seeing improvement in different areas, and, just wondering, why do you expect him to respond to your demands he present you with a list of his expectations? "...I asked you, more than once,..." The way I see it, he has no more of a requirement to justify his enjoyment of the LVs than you have to demand a justification from him. Arguing, just for the sake of arguing, is petty, and you are frequently negative, but rarely petty. Flame away at me, but before you do, look in the mirror....and I'm already duckinghmy:

This is a discussion forum and I put out a question that I thought was logical extension of the thread title. I don't really care if madtown (or whoever) wants to respond or not. I was and still am perfectly content to drop it. But if somone (not madtown) makes a snide defamatory comment about me, I have the right to address that....

 

[ChattyVolfan]

I'll answer ya, Darth. The expectations at UT should always be Final 4's and National Championships. It HAS to be that if we expect to rise back to the elite level set now by UCONN. I want girls that are so mad when they lose that they take it upon themselves to improve individually so another loss won't happen again. I want girls on our team that hate to lose more than they love to win. If anyone expects to catch and/or surpass UCONN eventually, perfection in ALL aspects of the game must be demanded. Winning SEC titles is great and I'll definitely take it but until our team gets tired of losing on the National stage, IMHO we will underachieve every year. Someone has to put in the work necessary to catch UCONN and I pray that it will be us.

 

[Darth_Vol]

I'll answer ya, Darth. The expectations at UT should always be Final 4's and National Championships. It HAS to be that if we expect to rise back to the elite level set now by UCONN. I want girls that are so mad when they lose that they take it upon themselves to improve individually so another loss won't happen again. I want girls on our team that hate to lose more than they love to win. If anyone expects to catch and/or surpass UCONN eventually, perfection in ALL aspects of the game must be demanded. Winning SEC titles is great and I'll definitely take it but until our team gets tired of losing on the National stage, IMHO we will underachieve every year. Someone has to put in the work necessary to catch UCONN and I pray that it will be us.

Careful, that sounds dangerously close to Debbie Downer talk....