What should be our strategy until Rae returns?

[stllvf]

do any of you long time boarders remember the refrain from many boarders after the first half-dozen games when Burdick was shooting a very poor percentage. so familiar negative tone. Personally for those who want to over-analyze a team adjusting while in a shooting slump while still winning 1,2,and 3 games they could easily have lost.. have at it.

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

do any of you long time boarders remember the refrain from many boarders after the first half-dozen games when Burdick was shooting a very poor percentage. so familiar negative tone. Personally for those who want to over-analyze a team adjusting while in a shooting slump while still winning 1,2,and 3 games they could easily have lost.. have at it.

Did Burdick start shooting better as the season progressed?

 

[GameTime]

Guys, the best way out of a shooting slump is to shoot your way out of it....It looked like a lot of our shots did not have enough arc on them; way to flat...

I refuse to believe that Puckett Darby, and Striplin, to name a few, have forgot how to shoot a damn basketball...That's illogical to believe that....

On offense set plays have got to be run to open up the shooter for a good look...These open shooters have got to start making some damn buckets...

The free throws have got to be made...Done.

You're D1 Women College Basketball player, representing the University of Tennessee....

 

[lvocd]

Are you drinking, GameTime? You post came off as uncharacteristically mean-spirited. It's so not cool to a criticize player's appearance as a reason she may not be hitting free throws. Good grief. Think about editing that out, man!

 

[VOLPAT]

This team just can't shoot. They miss layups and free throws. Only hope is to play tough defense which is their strength, block shots and hope Horston doesn't have an off night.

How did they get college scholarships without the ability to shoot the ball? They need some dedicated time in the gym working on free throws, layups, reg shots and 3’s. That will take personal commitment. It’s a conundrum they need to find answers to and soon.

 

[GameTime]

I don't drink, never have, nor anything else that may affect my judgement....Hell make me the bad guy, I don't care...

The false eyelashes comment is a bit extreme, apologies, but maybe they are interfering with their vision....I'm usually an optimistic person, but 0-13 three balls, and a bunch of missed bunnies is ridiculous...

 

[LV renaissance]

Interesting topic and some good ideas posted. I don't think we can give up on threes completely, as teams are already beginning to swarm the inside with defense. I do think we need to make it easier for our shooters by getting the ball inside more often and then at least occasionally passing it back out to the open 3 point shooter. That way the shooters are already set and ready with no defenders on them. Finally. when we make a few of the shots the defenders will have to go out to defend against it and that will open the inside for a possible assist. It is a mystery to me that we haven't done this strategy even once this year while it is as common as a layup at many schools.

 

[Rickster]

How did they get college scholarships without the ability to shoot the ball?

That's just it, they wouldn't have that scholarship if they were not excellent at offense. It's a mental thing and people that need to step up are starting to do so. Question is whether it will be enough to beat Texas who is coming in confident after taking down Stanford.

 

[I4Vols]

I notice (possibly due to size) that the team is pretty slow so fastbreak is tough. I do think we need to work on our in and out game some. Of course, we have to be able to hit 3s.

There are very few strategies that are going to be effective if our FT shooting or 3s don't improve.

Use a smaller ball

 

[plumbervol]

TN needs to add screens and picks to take advantage of Puckett's shooting ability. She has problems creating her own shot and fast defenders get out on her to quick moving the ball around the perimeter. Some top of the key screens would really help. Next year it appears not only will TN be slow they will also be small. KJ better pick up her recruiting.

 

[PG1]

We can do like the football team we can pay any team that can beat us not to play us.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

A review of last year's team SHOOTING stats and this year (small sample) helps me believe the shooting problems are not representative and not as bad as who we really are. For example, this year the team is shooting 52% from the FT line, vs last year at 71%. And this year we are 14% from 3, last year 31%. Overall last year we shot 44% from the field, and this year 36.4%.

We're missing Rennia and KK, but those two weren't great shooters either. So it's the same sarters without them. The main floor volume-shooting offenders this year are Walker, Horston, and Dye. But Walker and Horston were main shooting offenders last season, too.

What I'm getting at is: We have a body of work from last year and this year that show us who we are: 1) Walker is not a shooter, this year nor last, don't expect anything different 2) Horston is slumping now, but history says she's not as bad as she's showing now, and 3) Dye has yet to match Rennia as an inside shooter. And the other big reason we aren't shooting well is that we're missing Burrell, who is our only real shooter, as was true last year. Take her away and ask someone to take her place and we just don't have that someone. None of the newbies are showing showing so far to be a terrific shooter, either. That might change, but it might now. And when it comes to shooting the three, we need Rae back and others to revert at least to what they were last season and that'll be a big improvement. When it comes to shooting the two and free throws, the low percentages are mainly due to a couple of people having poor volume-shooting percentages, who were similar to last season.

In sum, we are just not a good shooting team, period. We weren't last year, and given this poor start, we most likely won't be this year, either. But the shooting start that we are off to this year is much poorer than who the team really is. My forecast is that when the newbies settle into their roles and we get Rae back, we'll be a better shooting team than we've shown so far, but still not good, especially at 3's. We'll probably be close to last season when it's all said and done. We're just going to have to live with that reality and focus on our team strengths, which are defense and rebounding. On offense we should shoot some threes just to keep defenses honest and pound the ball inside, where our only real scoring strength is.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

We can do like the football team we can pay any team that can beat us not to play us.

That strategy hasn't been working too well so far this season.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

TN needs to add screens and picks to take advantage of Puckett's shooting ability. She has problems creating her own shot and fast defenders get out on her to quick moving the ball around the perimeter. Some top of the key screens would really help. Next year it appears not only will TN be slow they will also be small. KJ better pick up her recruiting.

Wynn, Miles, Horston are not slow.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

double post.

 

[LadyOrange]

How did they get college scholarships without the ability to shoot the ball? They need some dedicated time in the gym working on free throws, layups, reg shots and 3’s. That will take personal commitment. It’s a conundrum they need to find answers to and soon.

They need to establish a rhythm. Three freshman, a new transfer, and two juniors are carrying the team. Give it time.

 

[LadyOrange]

TN needs to add screens and picks to take advantage of Puckett's shooting ability. She has problems creating her own shot and fast defenders get out on her to quick moving the ball around the perimeter. Some top of the key screens would really help. Next year it appears not only will TN be slow they will also be small. KJ better pick up her recruiting.

Such a wrong analysis. Puckett just got here. She’s learning how to make decisions with the ball at the college level. Stop being alarmist.

 

[LadyOrange]

I am so freakin glad Kellie, Joy, Sam, and Jon coach the Lady Vols and not the 5-star asshats on this board. Most of you just like to hear yourselves talk. Do you hear what comes out of your mouths on this board? If I were a parent of a player or recruit, a recruit, or a player, I would bust out laughing at the crap you all post.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

What should be our strategy until Rae returns?

First thought this was just Offensive strategy, but since it is both, will include what we’re already doing, rebounding and suffocating Defense. Disrupt their play. When I saw the Texas /Stanford game, Texas reminded me of our team, good defense and scrappy. Obviously, we have to keep playing tough Defense, with blocks, and steals. Never be surprised by an unexpected pass, always watch the ball and be ready.

For our Offense:

1. The no brainer: Get the ball to Tamari, high enough so she can turn and make a quick layup. Texas has a 6’5 player, and 2 players 6’4, so Tamari will have to be in position for a quick pass from Horston, or from anyone else who sees her open.

2. Spread the players out on the floor, so that their players must come out and are not bunched in the paint, which will give Horston a more open path to the basket. If it’s still too crowded, she can make a short jumper, or pass out to a 3 point shooter, Sara or Tess.

3. Rebounds and put backs under the basket. We have several players who can do this, Tamari, Alexus, Green, Sara, and Karoline. Be determined when making the layup.

4. Do whatever it takes to get your 3 point shooters an open shot, screens, quick passes until one ends up with an open shot, whatever. That’s half of it, the other half is, the shooter cannot hesitate. Take the shot, not the pass. Hopefully they’re practicing this all week.

5. Make all your free throws.

6. If all else fails, give the ball to Horston.

7. Most importantly, DEFEND YOUR HOME COURT!

GO LADY VOLS!!!

 

[Volfaninfl2]

TN needs to add screens and picks to take advantage of Puckett's shooting ability. She has problems creating her own shot and fast defenders get out on her to quick moving the ball around the perimeter. Some top of the key screens would really help. Next year it appears not only will TN be slow they will also be small. KJ better pick up her recruiting.

TN will not be small. Right now, including Marta, next year we will have 7 players 6’2 and over.

 

[Vol67]

Without Rae I think we need to Huep up our offense ... go faster than fast. Try to create transition points because our set offense doesn't pack much punch.

Order of operations:
1. get a steal or long defensive rebound ... fast break and finish it at the rim, draw fouls.

2. normal defensive rebound or inbound made basket ... run secondary break as fast as possible, a guard shooter should inbound, let the posts run. This breakdown of Roy Williams secondary break is pretty close to what I'm thinking.


.....a) get the ball asap to any ball handler
.....b) wings/guards sprint to opposite sides below the ft line, ball handler pushes to them asap.
.....c) the first post down the floor sprints to the rim, then establishes on the low block aggressively.
.....d) second post down goes to the ball side elbow.
.....e) original ballhandler trails the play, receives pass from wing/guard, if other options are not open, beginning a ball reversal
.....f) complete the reversal by passing to the opposite wing, first post crosses the paint and establishes on low block, then moves to set a screen at the elbow for the second post to cut to the same low block.

3. secondary break should produce a good shot 75% of the time, but if it doesn't move to offensive set. The secondary break should smoothly transition into the set offense, there should not be an opportunity for the defense to set or correct mismatches.

4. most of the sets are going to be pick and rolls for Horston and Key, except for a few set plays that are installed each week based on opponent weaknesses.

5. Puckett and Darby must continue to shoot threes. Puckett gets 30 minutes, Darby 10. Between the 2 of them, I want at least 10 3s per game.

That's my plan, what ideas do yall have?

Doesn't matter... Not coached well and a weak team

 

[creekdipper]

"Not coached well"?

One of our assistant coaches was a head coach before coming here, and the other was an associate head coach who took over as interim when the head coach took medical leave. Both have tournament experience with former teams where they assisted, including Final Four experience.

 

[Rickster]

"Not coached well"?

One of our assistant coaches was a head coach before coming here, and the other was an associate head coach who took over as interim when the head coach took medical leave. Both have tournament experience with former teams where they assisted, including Final Four experience.

Consider the source.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

After seeing Kelly's interview about "now we have some time to work on our selves" I think we will see some improvements. Whether its enough to beat a good TX team will see but the perfect storm of events to start the season was just a killer:

1. Rea going down in first game was certainly an unforeseen event.
2. Freshman having to step up much sooner than would normally be expected.
3. The 2 games after Rea went down were back to back with no practice time to make adjustments for Rea's injury.

With this being at the beginning of the season they can overcome without much seasons damage and should make them better later in the season when RB gets back and it really matters. Just my 5-star asshat view of things.

 

[37620VOL]

Doesn't matter... Not coached well and a weak team

Thank you for your amazing contribution. This forum is so much better due to this insightful post ... NOT.