Will the Lady Vols be Improved next Season?

[glv98]

I do beleve we are long overdue for big get, whether that the transfer portal or by flippiing someone from another school.

Long overdue for a big get? Bigger than RJ, arguably one of the biggest gets in the short history of the transfer portal last spring? Ok then.

As we are constructed with the current roster, and with reasonable expectations of growth/improvement of these players in the off season, here's what I see at the beginning of next season:

5) Key/Hollingshead/Striplin
4) Hollingshead/Striplin &/or Puckett
3) Jackson/Pissott/Puckett
2) Darby/Wynn/Powell
1) Powell/Wells/Miles

Exactly my lineup, though I'm still very hopeful of getting an upgrade at 2 from the portal. IMO that player will be the difference in chances for a really big season. Need speed, great D, and 3 pt shooting at that spot. Tess can be a great situational spot up shooter there as well.

I see the 4/5 as kind of fluid depending on matchups, schemes, and foul situations btw Karo, Jill, and Key. So valuable that Jill and Karo got such good experience there this season. Both are probably better suited to 4, but can def step into 5. It wouldn't hurt my feeling to get one more post with lots of eligibility left to mostly watch and learn this upcoming year.

Hard to say how this next team will do, lots of great teams and players out there. Right now my plan is just relax and enjoy whatever happens and cherish the experience with my ball game buddy who's growing up way too fast for Grandad. Probably change as the season gets closer lol.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

Long overdue for a big get? Bigger than RJ, arguably one of the biggest gets in the short history of the transfer portal last spring? Ok then.

Exactly my lineup, though I'm still very hopeful of getting an upgrade at 2 from the portal. IMO that player will be the difference in chances for a really big season. Need speed, great D, and 3 pt shooting at that spot. Tess can still be a great situational spot up shooter there as well.

I see the 4/5 as kind of fluid depending on matchups, schemes, and foul situations btw Karo, Jill, and Key. So valuable that Jill and Karo got such good experience there this season. Both are probably better suited to 4, but can def step into 5. It wouldn't hurt my feeling to get one more post with lots of eligibility left to mostly watch and learn this upcoming year.

Hard to say how this next team will do, lots of great teams and players out there. Right now my plan is just relax and enjoy whatever happens and cherish the experience with my ball game buddy who's growing up way too fast for Grandad. Probably change as the season gets closer lol.

Yeah, I put that together just to see where we are now and sift through the list of perceived needs, as Madtown did when he kicked this thread off. I don't think either Striplin or Puckett are suited for the five, even as backups. All of our prospective fours are offensive oriented players, and neither Puckett or Striplin are quick or fast enough to defend and Puckett isn't a good rebounder, so improvement is needed in their games for defense and rebounding, or else Hollingshead will have to take that position over. I expect a huge leap forward for Hollngshead this offseason. The three is solid with Jackson, obviously, and Pissott should take a big leap this offseason. The one and the two are our largest problems, I agree. Tess cannot defend, and Kaia can't shoot. Not sure about Wells at the one yet, and Powell needs a lot of work in the offseason if she would be the answer at PG. So that sets up who we go for in the portal.

 

[th2421]

Long overdue for a big get? Bigger than RJ, arguably one of the biggest gets in the short history of the transfer portal last spring? Ok then.

Exactly my lineup, though I'm still very hopeful of getting an upgrade at 2 from the portal. IMO that player will be the difference in chances for a really big season. Need speed, great D, and 3 pt shooting at that spot. Tess can still be a great situational spot up shooter there as well.

I see the 4/5 as kind of fluid depending on matchups, schemes, and foul situations btw Karo, Jill, and Key. So valuable that Jill and Karo got such good experience there this season. Both are probably better suited to 4, but can def step into 5. It wouldn't hurt my feeling to get one more post with lots of eligibility left to mostly watch and learn this upcoming year.

Hard to say how this next team will do, lots of great teams and players out there. Right now my plan is just relax and enjoy whatever happens and cherish the experience with my ball game buddy who's growing up way too fast for Grandad. Probably change as the season gets closer lol.

I'm with you on all of the above! I'm so curious to see how Wells adjusts to our gauntlet of a non-conference schedule and SEC play, but I thought this highlight reel was encouraging.

She scores through contact against players like Olivia Cochran at Louisville and Maddy Siegrist at Villanova (and easily took Louisville's guards, Mykasa Robinson and Hailey Van Lith, off the bounce), hits quite a few late shot clock and end-of-quarter shots, seems to have really good active hands on defense, and seemingly hits 3s with consistency all over the court.

 

[glv98]

I'm with you on all of the above! I'm so curious to see how Wells adjusts to our gauntlet of a non-conference schedule and SEC play, but I thought this highlight reel was encouraging.
She scores through contact against players like Olivia Cochran at Louisville and Maddy Siegrist at Villanova (and easily took Louisville's guards, Mykasa Robinson and Hailey Van Lith, off the bounce), hits quite a few late shot clock and end-of-quarter shots, seems to have really good active hands on defense, and seemingly hits 3s with consistency all over the court.

Hoping its not such a gaunlet next year.

Highlight reel making an old guy drool! I feel pretty good about PG, especially if we get that 2 guard out of the portal,[/QUOTE]

 

[chuckiepoo]

Long overdue for a big get? Bigger than RJ, arguably one of the biggest gets in the short history of the transfer portal last spring? Ok then.

Exactly my lineup, though I'm still very hopeful of getting an upgrade at 2 from the portal. IMO that player will be the difference in chances for a really big season. Need speed, great D, and 3 pt shooting at that spot. Tess can be a great situational spot up shooter there as well.

I see the 4/5 as kind of fluid depending on matchups, schemes, and foul situations btw Karo, Jill, and Key. So valuable that Jill and Karo got such good experience there this season. Both are probably better suited to 4, but can def step into 5. It wouldn't hurt my feeling to get one more post with lots of eligibility left to mostly watch and learn this upcoming year.

Hard to say how this next team will do, lots of great teams and players out there. Right now my plan is just relax and enjoy whatever happens and cherish the experience with my ball game buddy who's growing up way too fast for Grandad. Probably change as the season gets closer lol.

Warms my heart…

 

[Mr.Vol2U]

I don't think some of you understand how big of a get Destinee Wells is. She is a scorer and is a proven scorer against elite competition. She also plays great defense and knows how to facilitate a team. We definitely need another big time transfer to compliment RJ and Destinee. There is plenty of time for some top players to enter the transfer portal. I know Coulibaly has entered that would be a major get. I also like Nina Rickards from Florida that just entered. She torched us when played them last year and is a definition of a so-called dog. Has that tough mentality that any championship team needs on their team. I'm looking forward to next year. I'm confident Pissot will improved and contribute more next year and that will be welcoming sign

 

[LadyVol1908]

I'm with you on all of the above! I'm so curious to see how Wells adjusts to our gauntlet of a non-conference schedule and SEC play, but I thought this highlight reel was encouraging.

She scores through contact against players like Olivia Cochran at Louisville and Maddy Siegrist at Villanova (and easily took Louisville's guards, Mykasa Robinson and Hailey Van Lith, off the bounce), hits quite a few late shot clock and end-of-quarter shots, seems to have really good active hands on defense, and seemingly hits 3s with consistency all over the court.

Everything in that highlight reel, I was hoping Miles would one day be able to do. I really hope practicing against and seeing Wells next year, helps the light bulb go off for BK.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Everything in that highlight reel, I was hoping Miles would one day be able to do. I really hope practicing against and seeing Wells next year, helps the light bulb go off for BK.

Well never mind!

 

[LasVegasBill23]

as of the view right now we are no better,,,,,, i mean Horston is gone..... Key is coming back..... she has spurts of brilliance but is she a game changer at the pivot position? Destinee is a good addition.... but is she the total answer from talent and depth standpoints at PG? We need several more solid additions to thisx roster to manifest improvement..... or we will be battling again for 3rd place in SEC

 

[creekdipper]

as of the view right now we are no better,,,,,, i mean Horston is gone..... Key is coming back..... she has spurts of brilliance but is she a game changer at the pivot position? Destinee is a good addition.... but is she the total answer from talent and depth standpoints at PG? We need several more solid additions to thisx roster to manifest improvement..... or we will be battling again for 3rd place in SEC

Considering that the top two teams were both in the Final Four and featured the eventual champion, a close third wasn't the disaster posters pretend it to be.

 

[gymmlover]

I don't think some of you understand who big of a get Destinee Wells is. She is a scorer and is a proven scorer against elite competition. She also plays great defense and knows how to facilitate a team. We definitely need another big time transfer to compliment RJ and Destinee. There is plenty of time for some top players to enter the transfer portal. I know Coulibaly has entered that would be a major get. I also like Nina Rickards from Florida that just entered. She torched us when played them last year and is a definition of a so-called dog. Has that tough mentality that any championship team needs on their team. I'm looking forward to next year. I'm confident Pissot will improved and contribute more next year and that will be welcoming sign

We all agree with you that she will help but just adding her scoring is not enough. We are losing Horston's points so I hope Wells can make them up but we need two more players at the least off the portal......scoring guard and big time scoring forward. Kellie also needs to sign 1-2 super high school players off 2024 or 2025 classes. Just not sure about her present recruiter can do the job or is the NIL money just not there?

 

[#1LVLS MAN 4 LIFE]

Long overdue for a big get? Bigger than RJ, arguably one of the biggest gets in the short history of the transfer portal last spring? Ok then.

Rickea Jackson is a big get, but that was last year. One of the fundamentals of high level recruiting is that you must stack talent and stack classes. Why settle and hope for one great player? It takes just as much effort to get two or three great players as it does to get one, and the tranfer portal lends itself to multiple gets under the right situation, a.k.a. LSU. When I say we need a big get, what I truly mean is that we need a generational talent, ie., Candice Parker, Maya Moore, or Caitlin Clarke. Rickea is very good, but not generation as of yet, but she does have the potential. There is nothing wrong with another elite player, or two or three for that matter.

 

[LasVegasBill23]

Considering that the top two teams were both in the Final Four and featured the eventual champion, a close third wasn't the disaster posters pretend it to be.

Ya creekdipper was just answering the plain question of has our team improved looking at it right now....... wasnt comparing to what the top 2 teams in conference did this past year.....

I just do not see us having stepped forward to any degree as of today

 

[volfan102455]

Consistency is the key next year. This year's team was not consistent.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I don't think some of you understand who big of a get Destinee Wells is. She is a scorer and is a proven scorer against elite competition. She also plays great defense and knows how to facilitate a team. We definitely need another big time transfer to compliment RJ and Destinee. There is plenty of time for some top players to enter the transfer portal. I know Coulibaly has entered that would be a major get. I also like Nina Rickards from Florida that just entered. She torched us when played them last year and is a definition of a so-called dog. Has that tough mentality that any championship team needs on their team. I'm looking forward to next year. I'm confident Pissot will improved and contribute more next year and that will be welcoming sign

How can u not mention Kiki Jefferson, she’s a big time player and would have confidence in her no matter who we play, that’s the kind of player she is.

 

[turbovol]

I watched Powell's tape last year, as did others, and we all thought she'd be a major upgrade at PG and it didn't happen--and she played against
a higher level of competition than Wells. So we'll see...Everybody was making Final Four reservations after we signed four transfers last year, and
only Jackson really elevated the team. Hollingshead came on, to be sure, and there's some good potential with her if she can continue to develop.

Tenneessee's biggest problem for a long time hasn't been our talent level, it's been how we're coached and how we play. Not good enough. Too many mistakes. Not well-drilled. Not tough. I suspected all year that we'd lose in the NCAA the first time we played a quality team. Why? Because that's what we've been doing, mostly, for 15 years. It's the USUAL NCAA scenario for UT.

And the first half of the Va. Tech NCAA game was the latest example. We had momentum after the SEC tourney, and Jackson was in the lineup after missing the first Va Tech game--which we only lost by 3 points. I---women's basketball skeptic--actually thought we'd win the game. But no: We came out and laid another egg for two-and-half quarters, which was effectively the game. We looked like we looked in the Warlick era--meaning, bad: standing around, losing the ball, missing shots. We had 8 assists vs. 18 turnovers for the game--terrible. Made only 3 Threes--17.6 percent. Terrible. Va. Tech made 8. (In the first loss to Va. Tech, we had 2 3-point shots compared to 9 for Va. Tech. Three-point shooting is a BIG issue with this team--has been for 10 years. I've been saying it for a long time). Bottom line: We choked. No mentality. No swagger. We rallied late, yes--and you know why, because it's easy to play free when you're way behind. There's no pressure--you're probably going to lose. We've seen it before. Soon as we got close, we threw the ball away twice and fouled VaTech on a 3-point shot. Same old UT.

So we can hope for and talk about talent all we want--and I hope we get more. But talent hasn't really been the problem with this program for more than 10 years. It's been lax coaching, our lack of discipline and mental toughness, our mediocre offensive system and propensity for making mistakes. Lots of fans confidently picked us for a Final Four this year. I wasn't one of them, because it was easy to see us folding when it got to the business end of the NCAA. It's been our pattern. Ultimately, just more of the same. When we start to play consistently sound, fundamental, intelligent basketball, things might change. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[RAVOL]

With the current roster we are not a top 10 team, maybe 20-25 at best, the roster still has too many holes. If we can get 1 elite guard we could be top 10 and if we get 2 we will be top 5.

Your opinion but look at all those other rosters and tell me who you wouldn't want to play. Yes we need a 2 guard to play for championship but there is not anything in top 20 I would be scared of playing plenty of holes on most rosters. In CHRIST Alone

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Your opinion but look at all those other rosters and tell me who you wouldn't want to play. Yes we need a 2 guard to play for championship but there is not anything in top 20 I would be scared of playing plenty of holes on most rosters. In CHRIST Alone

I would have to go check all the rosters out, but I wouldn’t want to play UConn with our current roster. We really need 2 guards in my opinion to be able to play for a championship and I hope we get them. Tell me if u would feel confident with Wells/Powell going against Paige/Azzi?

 

[RAVOL]

I would have to go check all the rosters out, but I wouldn’t want to play UConn with our current roster. We really need 2 guards in my opinion to be able to play for a championship and I hope we get them. Tell me if u would feel confident with Wells/Powell going against Paige/Azzi?

If you read my original post you will see that only Uconn is that skilled. And Yes we do need at least 1 shooting guard who also makes others better by getting into paint. In CHRIST Alone

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I watched Powell's tape last year, as did others, and we all thought she'd be a major upgrade at PG and it didn't happen--and she played against
a higher level of competition than Wells. So we'll see...Everybody was making Final Four reservations after we signed four transfers last year, and
only Jackson really elevated the team. Hollingshead came on, to be sure, and there's some good potential with her if she can continue to develop.

Tenneessee's biggest problem for a long time hasn't been our talent level, it's been how we're coached and how we play. Not good enough. Too many mistakes. Not well-drilled. Not tough. I suspected all year that we'd lose in the NCAA the first time we played a quality team. Why? Because that's what we've been doing, mostly, for 15 years. It's the USUAL NCAA scenario for UT.

And the first half of the Va. Tech NCAA game was the latest example. We had momentum after the SEC tourney, and Jackson was in the lineup after missing the first Va Tech game--which we only lost by 3 points. I---women's basketball skeptic--actually thought we'd win the game. But no: We came out and laid another egg for two-and-half quarters, which was effectively the game. We looked like we looked in the Warlick era--meaning, bad: standing around, losing the ball, missing shots. We had 8 assists vs. 18 turnovers for the game--terrible. Made only 3 Threes--17.6 percent. Terrible. Va. Tech made 8. (In the first loss to Va. Tech, we had 2 3-point shots compared to 9 for Va. Tech. Three-point shooting is a BIG issue with this team--has been for 10 years. I've been saying it for a long time). Bottom line: We choked. No mentality. No swagger. We rallied late, yes--and you know why, because it's easy to play free when you're way behind. There's no pressure--you're probably going to lose. We've seen it before. Soon as we got close, we threw the ball away twice and fouled VaTech on a 3-point shot. Same old UT.

So we can hope for and talk about talent all we want--and I hope we get more. But talent hasn't really been the problem with this program for more than 10 years. It's been lax coaching, our lack of discipline and mental toughness, our mediocre offensive system and propensity for making mistakes. Lots of fans confidently picked us for a Final Four this year. I wasn't one of them, because it was easy to see us folding when it got to the business end of the NCAA. It's been our pattern. Ultimately, just more of the same. When we start to play consistently sound, fundamental, intelligent basketball, things might change. I'm not holding my breath.

Talent has been the problem when u are talking about final four talent, too many slow players and players that can’t create their own shot, i even called it all last season when everyone was so high on the team, I said the roster is very flawed. It’s even more flawed now unless we get more players through the portal.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

If you read my original post you will see that only Uconn is that skilled. And Yes we do need at least 1 shooting guard who also makes others better by getting into paint. In CHRIST Alone

If it’s only 1 guard I hope it’s Jefferson.

 

[Mr.Vol2U]

How can u not mention Kiki Jefferson, she’s a big time player and would have confidence in her no matter who we play, that’s the kind of player she is.

I was at the dentist when I wrote this so I was thinking on top of my head very quickly before the dentist came in lol. Yes Kiki would be a huge get

 

[Golfteacher]

It is impossible to imagine what type of team we will be until portal recruiting is complete. Right now there is no one to replace Horston. She and Jackson were our main scoring threats on a consistent basis. Who is going to help Jackson or rebound like Horston? Darby is good but disappears many times in big games. We lack speed all over the place. We need to improve our turnover margin. Ole Miss and MissState are nipping at our rear. We need Piscott to be the five star player she was in high school. I believe that she is one of the X-Factors which will go towards the improvement of this team. As we saw in the NCAA’s you need consistency when it comes to shooting the three. KJH has a lot of work ahead of her if we plan to compete on the same level as USC and LSU.

 

[Lawdawg]

It is impossible to imagine what type of team we will be until portal recruiting is complete. Right now there is no one to replace Horston. She and Jackson were our main scoring threats on a consistent basis. Who is going to help Jackson or rebound like Horston? Darby is good but disappears many times in big games. We lack speed all over the place. We need to improve our turnover margin. Ole Miss and MissState are nipping at our rear. We need Piscott to be the five star player she was in high school. I believe that she is one of the X-Factors which will go towards the improvement of this team. As we saw in the NCAA’s you need consistency when it comes to shooting the three. KJH has a lot of work ahead of her if we plan to compete on the same level as USC and LSU.[/QUOTE
Hire Coach Yo. Guarantee recruitment would improve overnight.

 

[LUVMESUMVOL]

What you said even though I like it is an unpopular statement to some