Things to Expect Out of Coach Martin.

#30
#30
Vols4us said:
Really good post, LawVol. Agree on all points including Woolridge. Am also hoping for a consistent surprise from him - not once every 10 games.

I will give Pearl the props that he took the program to its highest level, just like Meyer did for UF in football. However, the foundation was flawed and it caved in after 6 seasons just like Meyer's did. Once the "once in a decade" athlete(s) move on it all falls apart. It also proved that character matters - both in players and coaches. Like who we have in all major sports at UT now.
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Who were the once in a decade athletes?
 
#32
#32
Not to be a party pooper but:
martin-harris.jpg
 
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#37
#37
LawVol13 said:
1.) Discipline, discipline, discipline: Expect this team to be vastly more disciplined and more fundamentally sound than last year's team.

2.) Excellent Half-Court Defense: Expect this thing to finish in the top half of the league in most defensive categories. With Pearl's half-court defense, most teams could reverse the ball two or three times and get whatever shot they wanted. Also, there were just way too many uncontested layups on missed rotations. Expect that to improve by a long shot.

3.) Expect games in the 60s. : It's clear that Martin isn't going to be a fastbreak first team, as Coach Pearl was with great success. Expect many half-court slugfests this season.

4.) Expect Improvement out of Several Players: Bruce Pearl had trouble recruiting players that suited his system. However, he did recruit players that fit a motion offense. Trae Golden immediately comes to mind. He showed great natural instincts in the open floor last year but sucked, like everyone else, in the pathetic half-court sets we saw last year. Luckily, a motion offense is all about instincts, and that's a good thing for Trae.

5.) Finally, Expect to be Competitive: First, our league isn't that good from top to bottom, so we should be able to compete with most of the teams in the SEC. Also, Martin's style is conducive to staying in games that you might not have any business staying in. Don't be surprised if one of these non-conference games that many have chalked down as a blow-out loss turns into a barn-burner.
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Sounds kind of like a Tom Izzo team. We can only hope.
 
#38
#38
and the guys will work hard but his Missouri State team was 8th out of 10 teams in FG pct defense; 6th in 3 pt pct defense; 9th in steals; 5th in blocked shots and turnover margin; 7th in defensive rebounds in the MVC last year. They were 3rd in the points against, but that seems to have been more a function of disciplined offense, not defense. They finished in the top half of the league in more offensive stats than defensive stats.

MVC season statistics

LawVol13 said:
1.) Discipline, discipline, discipline: Expect this team to be vastly more disciplined and more fundamentally sound than last year's team.

2.) Excellent Half-Court Defense: Expect this thing to finish in the top half of the league in most defensive categories. With Pearl's half-court defense, most teams could reverse the ball two or three times and get whatever shot they wanted. Also, there were just way too many uncontested layups on missed rotations. Expect that to improve by a long shot.

3.) Expect games in the 60s. : It's clear that Martin isn't going to be a fastbreak first team, as Coach Pearl was with great success. Expect many half-court slugfests this season.

4.) Expect Improvement out of Several Players: Bruce Pearl had trouble recruiting players that suited his system. However, he did recruit players that fit a motion offense. Trae Golden immediately comes to mind. He showed great natural instincts in the open floor last year but sucked, like everyone else, in the pathetic half-court sets we saw last year. Luckily, a motion offense is all about instincts, and that's a good thing for Trae.

5.) Finally, Expect to be Competitive: First, our league isn't that good from top to bottom, so we should be able to compete with most of the teams in the SEC. Also, Martin's style is conducive to staying in games that you might not have any business staying in. Don't be surprised if one of these non-conference games that many have chalked down as a blow-out loss turns into a barn-burner.
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#39
#39
germanicus said:
and the guys will work hard but his Missouri State team was 8th out of 10 teams in FG pct defense; 6th in 3 pt pct defense; 9th in steals; 5th in blocked shots and turnover margin; 7th in defensive rebounds in the MVC last year. They were 3rd in the points against, but that seems to have been more a function of disciplined offense, not defense. They finished in the top half of the league in more offensive stats than defensive stats.

MVC season statistics
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I kind of disagree. There isn't a vast difference between 9th in the league and first in the league in field goal percentage defense. #1 gave up 40.9% from the field, and Missouri State gave up 44.9% from the field. That's not bad defense.
 
#40
#40
And, for comparison, Tennessee last year gave up 41.9 pct opposing FG pct and 33.2 pct 3 pt FG pct, both better than Missouri State and both against a much tougher schedule. I think Coach Martin is very vocal about defense and the team works on it a lot, but the results at Missouri State didn't portray him as a defensive savant.
LawVol13 said:
I kind of disagree. There isn't a vast difference between 9th in the league and first in the league in field goal percentage defense. #1 gave up 40.9% from the field, and Missouri State gave up 44.9% from the field. That's not bad defense.
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#41
#41
germanicus said:
And, for comparison, Tennessee last year gave up 41.9 pct opposing FG pct and 33.2 pct 3 pt FG pct, both better than Missouri State and both against a much tougher schedule. I think Coach Martin is very vocal about defense and the team works on it a lot, but the results at Missouri State didn't portray him as a defensive savant.
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So the numbers say we had a better coach last year.
 
#42
#42
germanicus said:
And, for comparison, Tennessee last year gave up 41.9 pct opposing FG pct and 33.2 pct 3 pt FG pct, both better than Missouri State and both against a much tougher schedule. I think Coach Martin is very vocal about defense and the team works on it a lot, but the results at Missouri State didn't portray him as a defensive savant.
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That's interesting and thanks for posting. I never compared stats. I do think that the offense we run is going to keep us in a lot of games with teams we shouldn't be playing with. No way we run and gun with the likes of Duke, Kentucky, or Memphis. A smarter offense / scheme can almost make you forget about the talent gap (see Princeton / Kentucky)
 
#43
#43
germanicus said:
And, for comparison, Tennessee last year gave up 41.9 pct opposing FG pct and 33.2 pct 3 pt FG pct, both better than Missouri State and both against a much tougher schedule. I think Coach Martin is very vocal about defense and the team works on it a lot, but the results at Missouri State didn't portray him as a defensive savant.
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But the VolNation brain trust (without seeing an actual game) has determined we are going to have an awesome defense this season. Therefore, it must be true.
 
#44
#44
Missouri St gave up 63.1 points per game, 60.9 at home, 46th in NCAA . UT gave up 67.5per game 65.2 at home making them 148th in NCAA. who would you say had better D.
 
#45
#45
You look down the line at lowest points per game against stats and most every time it as team that plays a slow pace. If you find a team which averages 80 points/game and only gives up 63, that's a team which is doing it on defense.

utchuckster said:
Missouri St gave up 63.1 points per game, 60.9 at home, 46th in NCAA . UT gave up 67.5per game 65.2 at home making them 148th in NCAA. who would you say had better D.
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#46
#46
germanicus said:
And, for comparison, Tennessee last year gave up 41.9 pct opposing FG pct and 33.2 pct 3 pt FG pct, both better than Missouri State and both against a much tougher schedule. I think Coach Martin is very vocal about defense and the team works on it a lot, but the results at Missouri State didn't portray him as a defensive savant.
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The competition argument doesn't work. Tennessee had better players than Missouri state. Tennessee played excellent defense at times last year, but usually got handled by good teams later in the year. I'm not saying we are going to be some beastly defensive team, but I expect them to play hard and be fundamentally sound.
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#47
#47
The Vols are getting a Gene Keady / Matt Painter like coach, but he'll be a better recruiter than Gene, and probably on par with Painter. Expect the starting 5 to be his best defensive team, with offensive options coming off the bench. He's going to run a motion offense that can adapt. I'll be interested to see if he jams the other teams point guard full court. He will play the guys that bring it every game, and not guys that drift in and out depending on their mood/hair/lunch or N.B.A. stock.
 
#48
#48
there's a significant difference in playing the 16th rated schedule in the country and holding them to 42% shooting and playing the 133rd rated schedule (Mo State) and holding that schedule to 45% shooting.

I'm not trying to argue the guy is a bad coach, either. Just think it is unfair to build him up as a defensive guru.
LawVol13 said:
The competition argument doesn't work. Tennessee had better players than Missouri state. Tennessee played excellent defense at times last year, but usually got handled by good teams later in the year. I'm not saying we are going to be some beastly defensive team, but I expect them to play hard and be fundamentally sound.
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#49
#49
germanicus said:
there's a significant difference in playing the 16th rated schedule in the country and holding them to 42% shooting and playing the 133rd rated schedule (Mo State) and holding that schedule to 45% shooting.
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It depends, to some extent, on the mix of teams you play.

Moreover, even over a 30-game schedule, if you face a few teams who have really bad or really good shooting nights (regardless of the defense), it's going to change your ranking on those kind of standings.
 
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#50
#50
Sounds as if Martin doesn't need to spend any time on defense as the returning players are already very good defensively. Guess it just wasn't that apparent watching our team last year.
 
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