Warlick Better Get a Grip on Simmons...

#26
#26
armchair said:
You can't have a player shoot 3-17--you just can't. Warlick has apparently missed all of the big games in which Simmons has shot terribly, like this one--games that UT has LOST. It looked like the light had finally come on for Simmons--but it's dark again, I'm afraid. And when UT faces a good team in the NCAA tourney, and Simmons starts putting up brick after brick, UT will lose. Depth is a problem, because Massengale seems to enjoy watching games now more than playing, but the coach needs to know when to tell Simmons to stop shooting, for the good of the team. And that needs to happen before she's hoisted 17 shots. When the ball is not dropping, you stop shooting and starting trying to create good shots for your teammates. Simmons has quickness--drive and dish. But that didn't happen either--a meager 2 assists. If I were a mafia don, I'd turn to Warlick and say, "Handle it." If only she knew how...
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That is a purely low class remark on Ariel. The kid would be on the floor if she could.
 
#28
#28
jim43 said:
I have heard the complaints about Simmons and it really gets under my skin. She did have a couple of bad shooting games, but she still does so much for this team. Her speed is something that does not show up in the box score, but it does affect the opposing team.

We would not be anywhere near where we are today without Simmons. She is a great asset to our team. I am very proud and thankful that Meighan Simmons chose to be a Lady Vol. She is an outstanding player who anyone would love to have on their team.
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I totally disagree. In the big games against top 10 teams over her career Simmons has been less than spectacular. She tries to do too much and disrupts the offense of the whole team. This winning streak that the team has been on here at the end of the season is because of the infusion of the two freshman guards that has improved the post play and also because Simmons hasn't played like she has in the past and she has blended in with the offense much better recently and shot a lot better. We've been lucky to win the last two games despite Simmons. She can't have the same mindset against Kentucky or we will lose. She needs to move without the ball and not turn the ball over and take high percentage shots. She needs to let the offense work through the point guards.Teams like UConn and ND play selfless basketball. We need to do the same. P.S.-She wouldn't even get a lot of playing time on ND or UConn teams because she's been too erratic over her career. Luigi or Muffet wouldn't have put up with that.
 
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#29
#29
you can't really say despite her Sandvol,she has quietly gotten some key points at the end of both games,I just wished she would settle down and get into the flow of the game in the first half,of course she can change the flow of a game in a heartbeat
 
#30
#30
governmentmule said:
you can't really say despite her Sandvol,she has quietly gotten some key points at the end of both games,I just wished she would settle down and get into the flow of the game in the first half,of course she can change the flow of a game in a heartbeat
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If you noticed though the last 5 minutes of the game she got the key points because TAM fouled her when we were working the clock and she has been a clutch free throw shooter. But then she was playing her role and playing within the needs of the team. When she was jacking all those shots up earlier she was really disrupting the offense. Luckily our posts are playing a lot better. That script can't continue.
 
#31
#31
That game she played against USCe I thought was a very good and well balanced game by her. She scored about 16 points but only had a few turnovers and she took good shots. If she would play every game that way with more of a conservative ball security mindset she would be a better player.

P.S.-About Massengale, she can't play until the medical staff clears her. There is no evidence she doesn't want to be back. That doesn't make any sense. I just hope she can come back.
 
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#32
#32
I don't know why,but her shots aren't going in,a lot of her attempts I didn't have a problem with,i do think she is getting to jacked up and trying to hard,like Sly said,next year we will be missing her blazing speed
 
#33
#33
Meighan, you went 3-17 and we won anyway, so you get a mulligan, so to speak. Fresh start tomorrow young lady, so while the rest of the team is giving Kentucky 40 minutes of pain, hit a few threes, put the trophy on the shelf, then get even hotter and get us to the final four.

It looked like you were aiming the ball today, and we all know that doesn't work. (I used to be a baseball pitcher, and it is the same thing.) Just get open and let 'er rip.
 
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#39
#39
The reponses to this threat were very refreshing - I "liked" most of them except the initial one and it demonstrated that always half-empty boarders don't rule.

big game coming go LVs.
 
#40
#40
Every time the LVs lose a game to the kittens earlier in the season. They always come back and stomp the mud out of them in the rematch. This will happen again today and Simmons will go completely off on them. Mitchell might as well get ready to take an ass whippin!
 
#41
#41
clkou said:
This season:

Simmons vs. #6 Stanford 15 points - 0 turnovers
Simmons vs. #2 Notre Dame 23 points - 10/14 FG%
Simmons vs. #4 South Carolina 16 points - 2 turnovers - 7/16 FG%

Seems pretty solid to me.
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There you go - bringing facts to the haters is just not fair. Ha!

Simmons can have an off night, but I still feel good with the ball in her hands. She makes things happen. They can say what they will, but even with her off day shooting yesterday, we would not have won that game without Meighan Simmons. I want her on my team!

Go Lady Vols!
 
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#42
#42
clkou said:
This season:

Simmons vs. #6 Stanford 15 points - 0 turnovers
Simmons vs. #2 Notre Dame 23 points - 10/14 FG%
Simmons vs. #4 South Carolina 16 points - 2 turnovers - 7/16 FG%

Seems pretty solid to me.
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Wow, talk about cherry picking data. Against Stanford she was 5/18 from the field and had zero steals and 1/6 from 3 point. Against Notre Dame she had 7 turnovers and no steals. Plus against ND she was hogging the ball a lot so she got everyone else out of their offense. Those two games very erratic play. And, you forgot to mention stats against UK-4/13 from the field with 5 turnovers. Again, and to prove my point against USC she was 7/16 from the field with only 2 turnovers but 3 assists and a steal and she played within the context of the offense so everyone else was playing well too. Much more solid game all around. In this game yesterday until about the last 5 or 10 minutes it seemed like everyone on the team was playing together and then there was Simmons kind of on her own. So now they are starting to win in spite of her. So you think she has been solid her whole career in big games or what's your point?

Also, why don't you pull up her stats in tournament games both SEC and NCAA over the last four years when we need our best players to come up big?
 
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#43
#43
jim43 said:
There you go - bringing facts to the haters is just not fair. Ha!

Simmons can have an off night, but I still feel good with the ball in her hands. She makes things happen. They can say what they will, but even with her off day shooting yesterday, we would not have won that game without Meighan Simmons. I want her on my team!

Go Lady Vols!
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Haters? Are you in 8th grade?
 
#44
#44
Last year I noticed that at times Massengale seemed to have a disconnect. She would just be holding the ball and have someone to walk up and strip her of the ball. May be results of the four or five concussions. It almost seem to be a mini seizure. I hope not. Let all hope she is ok and a little rest will get her healthy again regardless if she ever plays again.
 
#45
#45
A good basketball coach knows that a shooters job is simple. Shoot.

If your shot is falling, shoot till it doesn't. If it's not falling? Shoot till it is. Most coaches on all levels recognize this when they have great scorers who are shooters.
 
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#46
#46
armchair said:
You can't have a player shoot 3-17--you just can't. Warlick has apparently missed all of the big games in which Simmons has shot terribly, like this one--games that UT has LOST. It looked like the light had finally come on for Simmons--but it's dark again, I'm afraid. And when UT faces a good team in the NCAA tourney, and Simmons starts putting up brick after brick, UT will lose. Depth is a problem, because Massengale seems to enjoy watching games now more than playing, but the coach needs to know when to tell Simmons to stop shooting, for the good of the team. And that needs to happen before she's hoisted 17 shots. When the ball is not dropping, you stop shooting and starting trying to create good shots for your teammates. Simmons has quickness--drive and dish. But that didn't happen either--a meager 2 assists. If I were a mafia don, I'd turn to Warlick and say, "Handle it." If only she knew how...
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Typically, those who disagree with this assessment attack the poster, not what he said. There is a lot of truth in the post. His point is Simmons typical game will not fly against the better opponents. The LVs are able to cope with most of the SEC because they are not elite teams. Lots of offensive rebounds are not a good stat to hold because it means there are a lot of missed shots.

The frustration with Simmons is that although she has a lot of ability, she often does not use it wisely. Her shot selection is poor on average. She takes many contested, off balance, or ill timed shots. Her native skill allows her to make some of these bad shots, but she could be so much more valuable if she only took the good ones.

Shooting is only one aspect of the game. Her poor performance with turnovers detracts from her offensive skill. For every two shots she makes, she has more than one turnover. Her drawbacks lower her status into the average category. A shame considering her natural ability. Which Meighan will show up in future games? It's a crapshoot.
 
#47
#47
Daloth said:
A good basketball coach knows that a shooters job is simple. Shoot.

If your shot is falling, shoot till it doesn't. If it's not falling? Shoot till it is. Most coaches on all levels recognize this when they have great scorers who are shooters.
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So you shoot 17 shots when others are shooting better? I think the really good coaches tell them to pick up their games in other areas like assists, rebounds and steals. If you focus on just the shooting you put inordinate amount of emphasis on it.
 
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#48
#48
Look, I love Simmons' passion for the game--who doesn't. But the fact is her shooting has been a problem throughout her career. I believe her career shooting percentage coming into this year was under 40 percent--which is NOT a good thing when she is taking far more shots than anyone on the team. You don't need to be a statistical analyst to understand that that is a team negative. She has had a LOT of poor performances in big games--last year's Louisville NCAA elite 8 game, to name one. Good players simply do not have 3-17 nights--they just don't, and they certainly don't have them back to back. It is a testimony to the team's resilience that they've overcome this and come back to win--though let's agree that lsu and texas a&m are not nd and ct, and that was my point. Simmons has been better this year--her game has matured--but she seems to be falling back into the old funk. Warlick's response is always rather lame: "Oh, that's just Meighan." A guard who is having a bad shooting night ought to be able to throttle back into an ''assist-not-shoot" mode for a while, but she's never really been taught to do this. This idea that Simmons is a "scorer" is something of a fallacy. A true scorer is a //good shooter//--not someone who accumulates a lot of points by shooting a lot. If you are taking 20 shots a game and making, say, only 6 or 7, you are not a scorer--you are a shooter. Big difference. My point is not to knock Simmons--she is what she is--but I will knock the coaches for not making her more than what she is, because I think that was possible had they worked with her more aggressively earlier in her career.

RE Massengale: When asked in a /taped interview/ three or four days ago if Massengle was ready to play, Warlick said that "it's up to Ariel." I infer from that that Massengale has been cleared to play. That would mean that she has passed the concession protocol. If she has not been cleared, then why would Warlick say it was up to the player? It wouldn't be up to the player. Massengale was on the court warming up in the background when Warlick made the comment. I have not read or heard anything definitive on this because the team's reporters are too docile to ask any real questions, and because of this silly new imperative to shroud everything in secrecy. Perhaps an enterprising UT reporter should meet one of the trainers at night in a parking garage--deep throat/watergate style--and get the word: "She's got a sprained ankle--but you didn't get that from me.." If she has not been cleared to play, then I'm wrong and Warlick said the wrong thing.
 
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#49
#49
armchair said:
Look, I love Simmons' passion for the game--who doesn't. But the fact is her shooting has been a problem throughout her career. I believe her career shooting percentage coming into this year was under 40 percent--which is NOT a good thing when she is taking far more shots than anyone on the team. You don't need to be a statistical analyst to understand that that is a team negative. She has had a LOT of poor performances in big games--last year's Louisville NCAA elite 8 game, to name one. Good players simply do not have 3-17 nights--they just don't, and they certainly don't have them back to back. It is a testimony to the team's resilience that they've overcome this and come back to win--though let's agree that lsu and texas a&m are not nd and ct, and that was my point. Simmons has been better this year--her game has matured--but she seems to be falling back into the old funk. Warlick's response is always rather lame: "Oh, that's just Meighan." A guard who is having a bad shooting night ought to be able to throttle back into an ''assist-not-shoot" mode for a while, but she's never really been taught to do this. This idea that Simmons is a "scorer" is something of a fallacy. A true scorer is a //good shooter//--not someone who accumulates a lot of points by shooting a lot. If you are taking 20 shots a game and making, say, only 6 or 7, you are not a scorer--you are a shooter. Big difference. My point is not to knock Simmons--she is what she is--but I will knock the coaches for not making her more than what she is, because I think that was possible had they worked with her more aggressively earlier in her career.

RE Massengale: When asked in a /taped interview/ three or four days ago if Massengle was ready to play, Warlick said that "it's up to Ariel." I infer from that that Massengale has been cleared to play. That would mean that she has passed the concession protocol. If she has not been cleared, then why would Warlick say it was up to the player? It wouldn't be up to the player. Massengale was on the court warming up in the background when Warlick made the comment. I have not read or heard anything definitive on this because the team's reporters are too docile to ask any real questions, and because of this silly new imperative to shroud everything in secrecy. Perhaps an enterprising UT reporter should meet one of the trainers at night in a parking garage--deep throat/watergate style--and get the word: "She's got a sprained ankle--but you didn't get that from me.." If she has not been cleared to play, then I'm wrong and Warlick said the wrong thing.
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OK, then if Holly did say that then maybe she has been cleared. Maybe she has to get back into playing shape is what Holly meant. Why all the focus on Massengale? Her return might upset the apple cart.
 
#50
#50
Here's what I found from Kingsport Times. Knox News reporting is just horrible. But it would be a stretch to say she is scared Armchair. I mean she has not played in a while she can't just start where she left off and it might disrupt the team now.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee's Ariel Massengale is practicing again for the eighth-ranked Lady Vols basketball team, but the injured guard's return date remains uncertain.

Massengale hasn't played since inadvertently getting hit in the face Jan. 23 in an 89-69 victory over Florida. Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said Massengale participated in a shootaround Monday before an 81-53 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt. During portions of Friday's practice open to the media, Massengale ran and shot but wasn't involved in any contact.

Warlick said that they're "just kind of trying to understand how she feels and go off of how she's feeling on a daily basis."

Massengale is averaging 12.5 points and 5.8 assists per game. Tennessee has won all five games she has missed.


Read more: Massengale back practicing with Lady Vols | Kingsport Times-News Massengale back practicing with Lady Vols | Kingsport Times-News
Follow us: @timesnewsonline on Twitter | timesnews on Facebook
 
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