The Official #6 Tennessee @ Texas A&M Game Thread, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN

[cgrish]

Barnes made the right adjusments, it was just too late to make a difference. I don't think he took Knecht out as punishment-- it was just he had four fouls.

I think he left him out of the game longer for punishment.

 

[cgrish]

Wonder why CRB didnt at least try some zone

That was my exact thought with all the drives to the basket, I think a good zone would have stopped that. or at least slowed it down a lot.

 

[cgrish]

The talking mouths were running that garbage.

I think he did, because he did it right after he drove to the basket and got fouled, he wanted him to pass. Barnes really got on to him hard.

 

[cgrish]

Nobody plays zone anymore. It’s outdated in this era of everybody shooting threes

Zone would have been the best defense against this team. And you do see see some zone played. And it can be very effective against a team that doen't shoot 3's very well.

 

[Volfan574]

Not blaming refs for this loss but have we won a Pat Adams reffed game this season?

 

[gray0306]

that was a sh!t show!

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

There is a serious lack of chemistry with this team. I don’t know if these guys like each other very much. Very weird vibes internally.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

I’d also like to know which assistant came up with the game plan tonight.

We should’ve run the ball more.

 

[JMSqb11]

Barnes made the right adjusments, it was just too late to make a difference. I don't think he took Knecht out as punishment-- it was just he had four fouls.

To me, DK looked tired. It isn't an unheard of thing that Barnes runs his guys way too hard mid season at times.

 

[CAVPUT]

Only thing he can do. Publicly humiliate Pat and probably call the SEC office behind the scenes to let them know exactly how he feels about Pat’s officiating. Beyond that, there’s nothing he can do unless he’s willing to take a fine by criticizing officiating in a press conference.

Given everything going on with UT athletics at the moment with the lawsuits, I’d say all the coaches have a directive to not throw a tirade about officiating in a press conference. He will do everything he can and at that point it is in the conference’s hands.

Did you watch the last eleven seconds? Calling the timeout when RB did when the game was long over with just to talk to Pat near mid court where everyone could see was as close to public humiliation as it gets in that business.

 

[CAVPUT]

There is a serious lack of chemistry with this team. I don’t know if these guys like each other very much. Very weird vibes internally.

And you know this how? You have that kind of access?

 

[CAVPUT]

To me, DK looked tired. It isn't an unheard of thing that Barnes runs his guys way too hard mid season at times.

Maybe if he had some help offensively he wouldn't have to carry things so much and that might keep him a bit more fresh....especially on the defensive end? Let's be fair here. Barnes insists guys bust it on defense or they don't play yet some guys can and do seem to be a lot less involved on the offensive end and that's okay? Come on.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

They’re in their early 20s. They can handle the physical aspect of playing and preparing for a couple of basketball games every week. Some of you make it sound like they’re in their 60s and Barnes took away their Geritol.

 

[JMSqb11]

Maybe if he had some help offensively he wouldn't have to carry things so much and that might keep him a bit more fresh....especially on the defensive end? Let's be fair here. Barnes insists guys bust it on defense or they don't play yet some guys can and do seem to be a lot less involved on the offensive end and that's okay? Come on.

While normally that has been the trend, Barnes has been more "slack in the leash" this year with guys. He isn't yanking guys after one mistake outside of the young dudes like Dillione or Carr.

Regarding DK, he is going to take over and shoot when people are passive. Introduce foul trouble and that makes passive JJJ, Santi, Gainey even worse. But at the end of the day, DK is going to get his 15-20 shot per game regardless. Doesn't matter if other guys are helping (and we are on pace to 100 points - See UK game) or tonight where no one else really does anything.

Honestly the biggest surprising thing to me last night was how weak Aidoo was in the paint on offense and defense. He has to get stronger.

 

[JMSqb11]

Maybe if he had some help offensively he wouldn't have to carry things so much and that might keep him a bit more fresh....especially on the defensive end? Let's be fair here. Barnes insists guys bust it on defense or they don't play yet some guys can and do seem to be a lot less involved on the offensive end and that's okay? Come on. ZZ took more shots than JJJ and Vescovi combined. Before Knecht joined the team, every defense knew they could focus on Vescovi and take him out of the game. We add Knecht and Gainey and Vescovi disappears? JJJ has an NBA body but he's also not willing to be there on offense night in and night out? With physical gifts like he has, he is reluctant to take it to the rim hard and help draw some fouls? And this can't be a surprise to fans. We've seen this over and over. They are who they are and that's why you can't really have a lot of faith in this team as long as we have to depend on them so heavily.

Just reading your edit. The disappearance of Santi hurts. He had to be primary ball handler last year when ZZ went down and its like he hasn't transitioned back to a shooter. I am getting really tired of Santi trying to break the Guiness Record for pumpfakes every game. Just shoot it


And regarding your last point, yes we can be surprised. We still have an old and experience team. Adding DK and Gainey into the fold by trading Uros and Olivier finally fixed the scoring issue. The reason Barnes is more animated this year is because he knows he has a Final 4 / Elite 8 caliber roster and team. This is his best built roster and team out of all the teams he's had here.

 

[VolGee4]

Maybe if he had some help offensively he wouldn't have to carry things so much and that might keep him a bit more fresh....especially on the defensive end? Let's be fair here. Barnes insists guys bust it on defense or they don't play yet some guys can and do seem to be a lot less involved on the offensive end and that's okay? Come on. ZZ took more shots than JJJ and Vescovi combined. Before Knecht joined the team, every defense knew they could focus on Vescovi and take him out of the game. We add Knecht and Gainey and Vescovi disappears? JJJ has an NBA body but he's also not willing to be there on offense night in and night out? With physical gifts like he has, he is reluctant to take it to the rim hard and help draw some fouls? And this can't be a surprise to fans. We've seen this over and over. They are who they are and that's why you can't really have a lot of faith in this team as long as we have to depend on them so heavily.

I didn’t watch the second half, but JJJ took it hard to the basket in the first half, got knocked on his back, and didn’t get a call. Neither did Aidoo. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work.

 

[CAVPUT]

While normally that has been the trend, Barnes has been more "slack in the leash" this year with guys. He isn't yanking guys after one mistake outside of the young dudes like Dillione or Carr.

Regarding DK, he is going to take over and shoot when people are passive. Introduce foul trouble and that makes passive JJJ, Santi, Gainey even worse. But at the end of the day, DK is going to get his 15-20 shot per game regardless. Doesn't matter if other guys are helping (and we are on pace to 100 points - See UK game) or tonight where no one else really does anything.

Honestly the biggest surprising thing to me last night was how weak Aidoo was in the paint on offense and defense. He has to get stronger.

Still wonder if we might not have been better off in the long run if JJJ and Vescovi hadn't returned. Estrella, Dillione and Carr would have gotten a lot more minutes.

edit: Aidoo is a junior. If he were gonna "get stronger" he'd have done it by now. Look at the transformation in Knecht in one year. It's been reported that he's changed his body tremendously. Aidoo is what he is I'm afraid.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Still wonder if we might not have been better off in the long run if JJJ and Vescovi hadn't returned. Estrella, Dillione and Carr would have gotten a lot more minutes.

edit: Aidoo is a junior. If he were gonna "get stronger" he'd have done it by now. Look at the transformation in Knecht in one year. It's been reported that he's changed his body tremendously. Aidoo is what he is I'm afraid.

Aidoo gained almost 20 pounds of muscle since last season. You can’t change his skeleton, but he’s added a lot of strength and good weight. JJJ seems to have a durability issue more than a body type issue. As for whether he does or doesn’t drive, it really depends on what the defense gives him. Last night, we faced to very athletic bigs who played their best game of the year. There wasn’t much available to drive on unless you were coming from the top of the key.

 

[CAVPUT]

Just reading your edit. The disappearance of Santi hurts. He had to be primary ball handler last year when ZZ went down and its like he hasn't transitioned back to a shooter. I am getting really tired of Santi trying to break the Guiness Record for pumpfakes every game. Just shoot it


And regarding your last point, yes we can be surprised. We still have an old and experience team. Adding DK and Gainey into the fold by trading Uros and Olivier finally fixed the scoring issue. The reason Barnes is more animated this year is because he knows he has a Final 4 / Elite 8 caliber roster and team. This is his best built roster and team out of all the teams he's had here.

The physical talent/pieces are there, but there's just something that seems to be missing with a few of the players we're counting so heavily on. With such a body of work, at this point, they are who and what they are.

 

[Raiford62]

I would like to say that this was just an off night but I can't. This is what continuously happens every few games.
Aidoo is not physical at all and sometimes his shots are so weak. With his length he does block shots but he gets manhandled by stronger players. He cannot hold his ground. Vescovi has just gone south. Pump fakes, and his drives to the basket never seem to be finished successfully. JJJ made a few shots then disappeared. DK even seemed human.

All that aside, their rebounding was and is horrendous and nobody could stay in front of their man on defense. Free throws are becoming a major problem. I hate to say it, but this team is not consistently good and they will have one of these games early in the NCAA tournament and they will sent home again.

 

[CAVPUT]

Aidoo gained almost 20 pounds of muscle since last season. You can’t change his skeleton, but he’s added a lot of strength and good weight. JJJ seems to have a durability issue more than a body type issue. As for whether he does or doesn’t drive, it really depends on what the defense gives him. Last night, we faced to very athletic bigs who played their best game of the year. There wasn’t much available to drive on unless you were coming from the top of the key.

No argument with any of those comments. By now, those players are who and what they are. JJJ has the body, but isn't what I'd expect in terms of physicality. As you pointed out, he's not the most durable dude. Always something banged up or injured with him. Vescovi is really doing all he can with his physical attributes. He's not super athletic. Can't create his own shots. He's a spot up kind of guy that will need the scheme to help him more often than not. Given that, it's crazy at how many open shots he passes up. Really felt like he'd shine this year with Knecht drawing so much attention. Pretty clear that was a poor assessment on my part. He looks like a golfer with the yips. Just can't pull the trigger right now. As for last night, I knew aTm was physical team and that's why I made the prediction I did. This roster, for the most part, will struggle against teams that can match or exceed their own physicality. Just had a feeling that it would be the kind of game to push Vescovi and JJJ into a bit of a shell. Then when I found out Adams was on the game, I knew what was coming.

 

[JMSqb11]

Still wonder if we might not have been better off in the long run if JJJ and Vescovi hadn't returned. Estrella, Dillione and Carr would have gotten a lot more minutes.

edit: Aidoo is a junior. If he were gonna "get stronger" he'd have done it by now. Look at the transformation in Knecht in one year. It's been reported that he's changed his body tremendously. Aidoo is what he is I'm afraid.

This is the sad part because only thing missing with him is strength at his height since he didn't really ever develop dependable mid range shot.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

No argument with any of those comments. By now, those players are who and what they are. JJJ has the body, but isn't what I'd expect in terms of physicality. As you pointed out, he's not the most durable dude. Always something banged up or injured with him. Vescovi is really doing all he can with his physical attributes. He's not super athletic. Can't create his own shots. He's a spot up kind of guy that will need the scheme to help him more often than not. Given that, it's crazy at how many open shots he passes up. Really felt like he'd shine this year with Knecht drawing so much attention. Pretty clear that was a poor assessment on my part. He looks like a golfer with the yips. Just can't pull the trigger right now. As for last night, I knew aTm was physical team and that's why I made the prediction I did. This roster, for the most part, will struggle against teams that can match or exceed their own physicality. Just had a feeling that it would be the kind of game to push Vescovi and JJJ into a bit of a shell. Then when I found out Adams was on the game, I knew what was coming.

Unconfirmed, but I’ve heard Santi has had a nagging wrist/lower arm issue. His shot is off in practice too, and he doesn’t have an always on green light. I think Barnes is stuck with the impossible choice of sitting him and letting it recover, and keeping him in for his leadership and defense. I thought we were out of the woods when he hit a few scoring spurts, but he seems to be back to “pushing” the ball on threes. His follow through looks very stiff lately. It’s bad news because we need his outside game to be a threat. Having one of our top three point shooters ever, head fake and drive all night is not ideal. His catch and shoot, hunt and shoot and sidestep move are all out of the repertoire. I assume it’s just arm fatigue, but we need it back.

 

[CAVPUT]

This is the sad part because only thing missing with him is strength at his height since he didn't really ever develop dependable mid range shot.

Stoerner hit the nail on the head. It's his body type. He's more like Alexander than Burns. Imagine what we'd look like with a wide body like Burns in the paint? Who would function better in a physical game like last night? Aidoo is athletic but more finesse than power. He's going to be a matchup problem in some games and a liability in others. Wanna guess what the selection committee does to us with the matchups? Yeah, me too.

 

[CAVPUT]

Unconfirmed, but I’ve heard Santi has had a nagging wrist/lower arm issue. His shot is off in practice too, and he doesn’t have an always on green light. I think Barnes is stuck with the impossible choice of sitting him and letting it recover, and keeping him in for his leadership and defense. I thought we were out of the woods when he hit a few scoring spurts, but he seems to be back to “pushing” the ball on threes. His follow through looks very stiff lately. It’s bad news because we need his outside game to be a threat. Having one of our top three point shooters ever, head fake and drive all night is not ideal. His catch and shoot, hunt and shoot and sidestep move are all out of the repertoire. I assume it’s just arm fatigue, but we need it back.

That's a tall hill to climb for an guy who is somewhat limited athletically. Slashing is not his game. Then there's the wrist/thumb with JJJ. Again, always something it seems. Know kids have to earn it in practice with Barnes and physically, kids like Estrella and Carr just aren't there yet, and Dillione was injured, too, but it's disappointing that none could give us meaningful minutes to allow the injured time to recover.