The Official #5 Tennessee @ Vanderbilt Game Thread, 6:00 PM ET, SEC Network

[lostsheep]

I'm not bashing JJJ and I love how the guy reps the university. However, something is definitely up with his confidence and his offensive production. I get that he does a lot of the "small things" well for this team, but he's not the same guy that routinely came off curls at the elbow and made 12-foot jumpers on a regular basis. As others have noted, he turned down a lay-up/dunk to pass it back out to the perimeter.

He and Vescovi need to make teams focusing on Knecht pay for leaving them open. Vescovi is adjusting and getting there, JJJ not so much.

 

[ColinS]

I'm not bashing JJJ and I love how the guy reps the university. However, something is definitely up with his confidence and his offensive production. I get that he does a lot of the "small things" well for this team, but he's not the same guy that routinely came off curls at the elbow and made 12-foot jumpers on a regular basis. As others have noted, he turned down a lay-up/dunk to pass it back out to the perimeter.

He and Vescovi need to make teams focusing on Knecht pay for leaving them open. Vescovi is adjusting and getting there, JJJ not so much.

Yeah, agree. When Knecht stops pouring un 35 a night which will happen this is gonna be more noticable. Like I said we don't need 15 a night from JJJ but he does need him to contribute on the offensive side.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I'm not bashing JJJ and I love how the guy reps the university. However, something is definitely up with his confidence and his offensive production. I get that he does a lot of the "small things" well for this team, but he's not the same guy that routinely came off curls at the elbow and made 12-foot jumpers on a regular basis. As others have noted, he turned down a lay-up/dunk to pass it back out to the perimeter.

He and Vescovi need to make teams focusing on Knecht pay for leaving them open. Vescovi is adjusting and getting there, JJJ not so much.

JJJ is doing what he’s supposed to when DK can’t be stopped, but it would make me feel better about what he’s going to do if Knecht goes cold. I didn’t like him passing the ball back outside when he was under the basket that one time Saturday, but I think he saw Aidoo or somebody flashing to the rim and made a quick decision that turned out to be the wrong one (I’m sure tgat he got an earful from the staff after passing up that shot). He still needs to have a scoring mentality when easy looks are there. Maybe he has PTSD in the paint after seeing the Purdue, UNC, and KU centers protecting the rim.

I disagree calling what he’s doing well the “small things”. They are very important things that don’t appear in the box scores.

 

[lostsheep]

JJJ is doing what he’s supposed to when DK can’t be stopped, but it would make me feel better about what he’s going to do if Knecht goes cold. I didn’t like him passing the ball back outside when he was under the basket that one time Saturday, but I think he saw Aidoo or somebody flashing to the rim and made a quick decision that turned out to be the wrong one (I’m sure tgat he got an earful from the staff after passing up that shot). He still needs to have a scoring mentality when easy looks are there. Maybe he has PTSD in the paint after seeing the Purdue, UNC, and KU centers protecting the rim.

I disagree calling what he’s doing well the “small things”. They are very important things that don’t appear in the box scores.

"Small things" isn't meant to demean his contribution. It's more a label for things that someone only following the movement of the basketball during a game will not notice.

Either way, I'm sure he'll get out of the scoring funk. This part of his game has ebbed and flowed for a few years now.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

"Small things" isn't meant to demean his contribution. It's more a label for things that someone only following the movement of the basketball during a game will not notice.

Either way, I'm sure he'll get out of the scoring funk. This part of his game has ebbed and flowed for a few years now.

Somebody or several somebodies need to be ready to take advantage of opponents focusing too much on DK while shutting him down (or his shot is off). Good to see Gainey playing well again. If SV and ZZ are able to regularly complement the offensive attack then UT will go far. I really don’t think that JJJ needs to be scoring but a few more rebounds by him wouldn’t hurt my feelings. Especially with Awaka now struggling to contribute.

 

[ColinS]

Somebody or several somebodies need to be ready to take advantage of opponents focusing too much on DK while shutting him down (or his shot is off). Good to see Gainey playing well again. If SV and ZZ are able to regularly complement the offensive attack then UT will go far. I really don’t think that JJJ needs to be scoring but a few more rebounds by him wouldn’t hurt my feelings. Especially with Awaka now struggling to contribute.

I actually think JJJ has one more hot offensive streak in him. History says he does. He just can't be trusted for scoring come tourny time.