Transfer Portal 21-22

[LadyOrange]

I wonder if the staff also feels that back-up post is their most pressing need. Right now, the LVs guard depth looks pretty good with Walker coming back , Jackson and Powell transferring in (and Horston, Miles, Darby, Wynn). Justine is listed as a guard/forward. Then, we have Puckett and Striplin who can play at forward or go into the post when Key is out. We have seen increasingly how conventional post players can be taken out of games by smaller teams who can spread the floor and have a 5 who can shoot from the mid range. I am not sure a conventional post player is as essential as it once was, if you have outside shooting.

Yeah. Kellie has implied that height is not the most
Important trait of a center. Height matters, but it you aren’t mobile, being the tallest player on the court will only help so much.

 

[mtsuraider06]

Doesn't surprise me one bit, the Hayes have caused complete chaos everywhere they have went ...HS all the way to present day. No wonder noone wants to play along side them, imagine the drama on a day to day basis. Anastasia is the ring leader of trouble

Actually Mom and Dad are the ring leaders of the trouble. They learned from the parents.

 

[VolBall09]

You also don't know what the 2023 class will bring so you need a player with two years to play to go with Karoline the next season when Key will be gone.

Yeah don’t know what that class will bring, but I do know we are likely to add at least one more from the portal this summer or a 2022 . Wouldn’t even be shocked if it’s two more.

We will be losing at least 4 maybe 5 players to graduation/transfer with Emily out.

I’m thinking we get at least one more quality transfer this summer and then a class or 3-4 for 2023. Don’t see us taking more than 4 incoming freshmen in 2023. Better to leave at least some room for people to transfer in these days.

 

[VolBall09]

She will graduate this June and be a grad transfer. I’m not sure it’s as easy as she happy or unhappy. She wants to play but loves the Lady Vols.

Totally agree, you could just tell it may be coming this season. She was clearly frustrated for the middle third of the season. I actually wonder if this decision wasn’t agreed on a couple months ago and just announced now.

She was really struggling with her attitude on the bench toward the beginning of SEC play. Not long after that she improved attitude wise but no longer entered games. I think she was going through a lot losing her memaw early in the season as well.

 

[LadyOrange]

Totally agree, you could just tell it may be coming this season. She was clearly frustrated for the middle third of the season. I actually wonder if this decision wasn’t agreed on a couple months ago and just announced now.

She was really struggling with her attitude on the bench toward the beginning of SEC play. Not long after that she improved attitude wise but no longer entered games. I think she was going through a lot losing her memaw early in the season as well.

Agreed.

 

[VolBall09]

True and not sure why K.Love picked AZ she was reduce to the bench

Same with Chavez and couple others. I thought they completely misused their roster this season. She highly favored players who had originally gone to the school and the transfers languished on the bench. Their offense was totally anemic all season. Something Love could have helped with immensely. She was the only player on that roster that could create AND finish her own shot.

Both Pellington and Yeaney are ultra athletic and fast but neither can shoot the ball and neither finishes that well at the rim. Yeaney in particular is infuriating to watch. She slams open layup after open layup off the backboard.

 

[creekdipper]

She will graduate this June and be a grad transfer. I’m not sure it’s as easy as she happy or unhappy. She wants to play but loves the Lady Vols.

Sad to see Em leave the program as I know how much she loves Tennessee. She fulfilled her dream to be a Lady Vol, though, and made positive contributions to her teammates. Every dream doesn't have a storybook ending, but she will soon have her degree and two years left to play if she chooses to take them both. Also very strong academically, earning SEC honors. That element is too often overlooked.

It will be interesting to see where she lands, and we hope she will thrive and have a great finish to her career. She was very proud of her sister's accomplishments and school winning a national championship. Might be an ideal situation for a family-oriented, hometown girl.

Shout out to her family, too. Always enjoyed reading het dad's tweets. Chris Saunders is a proud military vet, former gunnery sergeant, I believe. Loves his God, his family, and his country, and always wholeheartedly supported
the Lady Vols right tbrough this year's tournament. Much respect to the family.

Em, we'll miss you but hope to see you many times again in TBA. Thank you for all your hard work and for always representing the Lady Vols well. Best wishes for a great future and life moving ahead!

 

[djtee]

Same with Chavez and couple others. I thought they completely misused their roster this season. She highly favored players who had originally gone to the school and the transfers languished on the bench. Their offense was totally anemic all season. Something Love could have helped with immensely. She was the only player on that roster that could create AND finish her own shot.

Both Pellington and Yeaney are ultra athletic and fast but neither can shoot the ball and neither finishes that well at the rim. Yeaney in particular is infuriating to watch. She slams open layup after open layup off the backboard.

I agree with you 100% a lot of the players in the portal now better be looking sign with another team ASAP. The reason i say that is because there is over 800 players in the portal and many of the players will lose there scholarship ? There are top tier players in the portal but how many to get you to the next level ?

 

[Hoosier]

Ra Shaya Kyle is a project, at best. Really, if she can't/won't play for Katie Gearlds, she won't be a good fit for Kellie Harper's LVs --- just sayin'

 

[creekdipper]

Yes, players can lose scholarship s once they enter the portal, as I understand it. The school can renew the scholarship if the player decides to stay, but the school isn'i required to take them back.

That might help explain why some players stick it out a little longer in order to first obtain their undergrad degree, especially if they end up at a less "prestigious" school at their next stop. As for success on the court, I remember a couple of local high bb school legends (boys and girls) who initially went to Tennessee but eventually transferred to a better fit for them. Worked out fine in the end.

 

[Volfan1000]

Sad to see Em leave the program as I know how much she loves Tennessee. She fulfilled her dream to be a Lady Vol, though, and made positive contributions to her teammates. Every dream doesn't have a storybook ending, but she will soon have her degree and two years left to play if she chooses to take them both. Also very strong academically, earning SEC honors. That element is too often overlooked.

It will be interesting to see where she lands, and we hope she will thrive and have a great finish to her career. She was very proud of her sister's accomplishments and school winning a national championship. Might be an ideal situation for a family-oriented, hometown girl.

Shout out to her family, too. Always enjoyed reading het dad's tweets. Chris Saunders is a proud military vet, former gunnery sergeant, I believe. Loves his God, his family, and his country, and always wholeheartedly supported
the Lady Vols right tbrough this year's tournament. Much respect to the family.

Em, we'll miss you but hope to see you many times again in TBA. Thank you for all your hard work and for always representing the Lady Vols well. Best wishes for a great future and life moving ahead!

Good luck to Saunders in her future endeavors.

 

[And1]

Ra Shaya Kyle is a project, at best. Really, if she can't/won't play for Katie Gearlds, she won't be a good fit for Kellie Harper's LVs --- just sayin'

Not sure your point there. Any transfer can't/won't play for their current team or coach...

 

[CP3_LVFL]

Actually Mom and Dad are the ring leaders of the trouble. They learned from the parents.

I will agree the parents are trouble, always have been but the girls choose to cause drama everywhere they go that is a personal choice they could easily choose what is right

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

I just found this a bit weird lol the WNBA twitter page liked Emily’s transfer post?!?

 

[Cb153181]

It’s just a part of the game now!

 

[teacherdean]

Before the game, I didn’t give the Lady Vols much of a chance to win, but as the game progressed, I changed my mind, especially late in the 2nd quarter and it would have been quite the upset had they been able to. I know that I’m in the minority in my opinion that Key is nothing more than 6’6” uncoordinated stiff in the paint with absolute no concept of what to do and will never be anything else. She just hasn’t learned to play that position and after 3 years, she is not going to. The freshman would have been just as good and perhaps better. As for the guards, too small and by this point in the season they should have realized that the only way that they are going to score at the bucket is if they are leading on a fast break. Otherwise the high percentage of shots are and we’re blocked. I didn’t think that Harper did a very good job of coaching, especially in the first half. No time outs taken in the first quarter to either change defenses to stop the Louisville early beat down that was occurring and substitution pattern of taking out the only two scorers (Burrel and Dye) that were having any success for a period of time in the 2nd quarter.

Neverless, they are to be congratulated on the season. They had a lot of adversity and personnel losses throughout the season and fought thru them. Watching them throughout the season got me thru the winter!

I disagree with you on Key. Key has the measurables but lacks the coaching which is necessary to make her a good post player. The women’s game have few good post coaches. A good coach should be able to teach her to develop a soft touch around the paint so she stops missing easy shots. A good coach should be able to improve her footwork and teach her how to use her body to block out opponents. She has proven that she has a shot from the elbow. However, she needs to improve her strength in the weight room. She is a premier shot blocker. Boston of South Carolina improved her post play after being coached by Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

No matter if we think KJH is a bad, or good coach, she did a good job coaching an injury ridden team. A team with a good defense but a questionable offense. Her freshman recruits improved immensely from the start of the year. She is bringing in two top players from the portal and she has a top twenty recruit coming in as a freshman next year. She will have a good unit of veterans coming back with good experience. She could use a good additional post player. What she does next year will go a long way towards determining if she is a good coach. KJH has gone a long way in putting this program back on track after a seven year period of ineptitude.

 

[alexvol]

I disagree with you on Key. Key has the measurables but lacks the coaching which is necessary to make her a good post player. The women’s game have few good post coaches. A good coach should be able to teach her to develop a soft touch around the paint so she stops missing easy shots. A good coach should be able to improve her footwork and teach her how to use her body to block out opponents. She has proven that she has a shot from the elbow. However, she needs to improve her strength in the weight room. She is a premier shot blocker. Boston of South Carolina improved her post play after being coached by Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

No matter if we think KJH is a bad, or good coach, she did a good job coaching an injury ridden team. A team with a good defense but a questionable offense. Her freshman recruits improved immensely from the start of the year. She is bringing in two top players from the portal and she has a top twenty recruit coming in as a freshman next year. She will have a good unit of veterans coming back with good experience. She could use a good additional post player. What she does next year will go a long way towards determining if she is a good coach. KJH has gone a long way in putting this program back on track after a seven year period of ineptitude.

In my meager opinion you are right on target .

 

[Volfan2012]

It’s just a part of the game now!
View attachment 443946

I would just say these coaches need to stop overrecruiting or at least being honest with players on how much they will play as freshmen. You can play about 9 players enough minutes that they remain happy. Every team likes to keep 13 or 14 on their roster because of possible injuries etc. The portal is going to even the score with a lot of these schools that overrecruit freshmen. I can see classes becoming 2 freshmen and two portal players. Sometimes when you have a lot of seniors and juniors you probably go all freshman. The portal just started last season three or four more seasons going to extend the amount of teams that have the talent to win the National title.

 

[madtownvol]

I disagree with you on Key. Key has the measurables but lacks the coaching which is necessary to make her a good post player. The women’s game have few good post coaches. A good coach should be able to teach her to develop a soft touch around the paint so she stops missing easy shots. A good coach should be able to improve her footwork and teach her how to use her body to block out opponents. She has proven that she has a shot from the elbow. However, she needs to improve her strength in the weight room. She is a premier shot blocker. Boston of South Carolina improved her post play after being coached by Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

No matter if we think KJH is a bad, or good coach, she did a good job coaching an injury ridden team. A team with a good defense but a questionable offense. Her freshman recruits improved immensely from the start of the year. She is bringing in two top players from the portal and she has a top twenty recruit coming in as a freshman next year. She will have a good unit of veterans coming back with good experience. She could use a good additional post player. What she does next year will go a long way towards determining if she is a good coach. KJH has gone a long way in putting this program back on track after a seven year period of ineptitude.

I agree with your post On Key, more time in the weight room and working on improving her explosiveness and verticality would make a huge difference. She will never be a jump out of the gym player but an inch or two more on her jump and getting up quicker would make a huge difference.

I think she has been coached pretty well on the fundamentals. She has had games where she looked solid in the post and finished with a good %. But when she gets tired or is not mentally locked in, her bad habits sneak back in. Sometimes when I watch her play, I feel that it actually take more effort for her to do many of the right things because, they have not become habituated. But, she is much improved from last season and if she can make one more leap this off season, she could be a force.

 

[Volfan2012]

I disagree with you on Key. Key has the measurables but lacks the coaching which is necessary to make her a good post player. The women’s game have few good post coaches. A good coach should be able to teach her to develop a soft touch around the paint so she stops missing easy shots. A good coach should be able to improve her footwork and teach her how to use her body to block out opponents. She has proven that she has a shot from the elbow. However, she needs to improve her strength in the weight room. She is a premier shot blocker. Boston of South Carolina improved her post play after being coached by Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

No matter if we think KJH is a bad, or good coach, she did a good job coaching an injury ridden team. A team with a good defense but a questionable offense. Her freshman recruits improved immensely from the start of the year. She is bringing in two top players from the portal and she has a top twenty recruit coming in as a freshman next year. She will have a good unit of veterans coming back with good experience. She could use a good additional post player. What she does next year will go a long way towards determining if she is a good coach. KJH has gone a long way in putting this program back on track after a seven year period of ineptitude.

I think she has a lot more ability than she shows. I think her mental approach to the game needs a lot or work. Somewhere past the middle of the season she really regressed from what she was doing.

 

[Darth_Vol]

I disagree with you on Key. Key has the measurables but lacks the coaching which is necessary to make her a good post player. The women’s game have few good post coaches. A good coach should be able to teach her to develop a soft touch around the paint so she stops missing easy shots. A good coach should be able to improve her footwork and teach her how to use her body to block out opponents. She has proven that she has a shot from the elbow. However, she needs to improve her strength in the weight room.

Who is the post coach?

 

[Amb3096]

It’s just a part of the game now!
View attachment 443946

Rivers and Russell seem like possible candidates

 

[Ladyvol777]

Good luck to Saunders in her future endeavors.

Yes, best of luck to Emily Saunders. I would love to see her go to UTC. like the old people say CHATTANOOGA. As always go Lady Vol's.

 

[WVU05UT09]

This is such great news!! I wonder if she goes and plays with her sister at the D2 school that just won the national championship.

I guess its possible but I would think the floor is Marshall.

 

[ARPfan4life]

I disagree with you on Key. Key has the measurables but lacks the coaching which is necessary to make her a good post player. The women’s game have few good post coaches. A good coach should be able to teach her to develop a soft touch around the paint so she stops missing easy shots. A good coach should be able to improve her footwork and teach her how to use her body to block out opponents. She has proven that she has a shot from the elbow. However, she needs to improve her strength in the weight room. She is a premier shot blocker. Boston of South Carolina improved her post play after being coached by Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

No matter if we think KJH is a bad, or good coach, she did a good job coaching an injury ridden team. A team with a good defense but a questionable offense. Her freshman recruits improved immensely from the start of the year. She is bringing in two top players from the portal and she has a top twenty recruit coming in as a freshman next year. She will have a good unit of veterans coming back with good experience. She could use a good additional post player. What she does next year will go a long way towards determining if she is a good coach. KJH has gone a long way in putting this program back on track after a seven year period of ineptitude.

I love this!!! You are absolutely correct about coal Kellie.