Establishing Roles

#1

mlindsay

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#1
I have been very critical of Holly and the way she has handled things as a coach.

As a person who has been around the game my entire life (my uncle played in college and overseas) and having played the game in high school as well as coached the game (both as Head Coach and Assistant coach on the AAU circuit) to working with my sisters on their skill set (one played in high school but an injury stopped her from playing in college) and the other who is currently a senior for a Division II program, I haven't coached at the level Holly has but I know a thing or two about the game, as many other posters do.

I don't want to be critical of her, but it's hard to when it seems like when one step is taken forward we seem to take a few steps back. One of the major concerns for me (outside of the losing to the teams we shouldn't lose to). I'm finding that some players don't seem to know their roles or what is required of them for the team to be successful. Even with 9 players (many of which are High School All American's) we can still make some noise if changes were made.

I am going to list some changes I would make and will wait for suggestions from others.

The changes are;

1.) Bench the Seniors
a.) Jordan Reynolds has shown us the past 3 (now in her final season) years that we have really seen the best of her. It is time to see what someone else can do with the minutes she gets. Maybe her coming off the bench her senior season might light a spark under her and give us a punch off the bench.

b.) Playing Nunn and Russell together is a disaster in a sense because both are used to occupying the block. At Winthrop Nunn was our Russell and her team had to get her the ball inside. Having her at the high post is doing her (and the team) disservice. She can provide quality minutes behind Russell so that we don't have to play Russell 35 plus minutes a game.

2.) Start MeMe and Middleton together
The two of them have chemistry with one another and although MeMe isn't a great shooter, she isn't afraid to shoot (or attack the zone). Middleton should be used off of screens to knock down 3's.

3.) Let Diamond play the Point
This year Diamond has really tried to be a "team" player (which I think the assessment of her not being one is overblown) and much of her frustration is probably from the feeling that she has to do too much. She can get off her shot when she wants but can also get her teammates involved. She has a very high Bball IQ and if allowed to play how she truly plays this team would be tough to be despite of the coaching.

4.) Nared has to be the aggressor
Too many times she is standing at the 3Pt line waiting to shoot instead of getting into the open spot in the Zone and attack. We need her too attack and stop trying to shoot 3's. Diamond is looking to Nared to get Jamie going really before she gets herself going as she knows how important each other is to the teams success.

5.) Russell has to dominate
Every game has to be a double double with at least 2 to 3Blks. She has been playing very good but we need her to be great. She is hesitant at times, I know she gets beat up but she has to be strong and make her moves quickly. A lot of times she sits and wait to make her move. She also needs to be more vocal. My coaches always told me the PG was the conductor and the Center was the enforcer. If the girls aren't cutting to the basket when she is triple team she needs to get on them. If they aren't getting to their spots defensively she needs to get on them. We have too many nice girls, our 5 player has to be the nastiest (we have always had that from out 5s) during game time and not the nicest.

6.) Find minutes for Harris and rest Dunbar due to her injury.

a.)Dunbar is hurt and we will need her (she's a zone buster) when we get into SEC and (hopefully) Tournament play. We have to rest her when we can and truly monitor her. We also can't wait until we down 10/15 points to throw her in and expect her to be savior.

b.) Harris should see at least 3 minutes a half; If for nothing else to get her foot wet/block a few shots and rebound. I understand you have to show it in practice but some players just aren't good practice players. Some players just perform better in front of the lights. Kiah Stokes was a liability for Geno offensively but he found ways to utilize her to change other teams game plans, we must do the same.

Moving forward the lineup should be;

Starters/Bench
PG-Diamond/Reynolds
SG-Middleton/Diamond
SF-Jackson/Dunbar
PF-Nared/Nared
C-Russell/Nunn/Harris

Diamond and Nared should be the two players play 30 plus minutes with Russell playing the most behind them. At least 2 of those 3 should be on the floor at all times.
 
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#2
#2
While I agree with most of that, it's going to be hard to stick to a plan like that consistently due to an already short bench and the likelihood of injuries, illness, or foul trouble as the season progresses. Nared in particular needs to stay out of foul trouble or this whole house of cards is going to collapse. And I don't know if Mercedes will ever have the mindset of a dominator.
 
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#3
#3
I wish that Jordan would get benched, but it will never happen. I'm pretty sure that she will average more minutes than Diamond this year...
 
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#4
#4
While I agree with most of that, it's going to be hard to stick to a plan like that consistently due to an already short bench and the likelihood of injuries, illness, or foul trouble as the season progresses. Nared in particular needs to stay out of foul trouble or this whole house of cards is going to collapse. And I don't know if Mercedes will ever have the mindset of a dominator.

Nared AND Mercedes. If those two are off the court for any extended period of time against a semi-competent team with players above 6'2, then Tennessee will be in deep trouble.
 
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#5
#5
they should have been able to find a couple of capable ex high school players to add to the team in the hoard of students on campus. they don't need superstars, just the ability to give rest breaks, give a foul or two when needed and also to give moral support to the starters. the team is too limited in what changes they can make at present. Raid the other teams on campus. :)
 
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#7
#7
None of these players are consistent shooters or defenders and no matter who we play if Diamond and Mercedes go 7 for 28 were going to almost certainly lose the game. Those two players have to be consistent scorers and shoot decent percentages. Holly also must have a plan like most other teams do to slow down the top scorers on the other team.
I want even talk about the stupid turnovers we make in every game we play. The difference in most is that Mercedes and Diamond shoot a lot better than they did against Penn State.
Finally people that can't make a three should not be shooting a three. Really need Dunbar or Middleton to take those shots and we need to get them open for eight to ten tries per game maybe more against a packed in zone. We have to live and die by their result because the only way to attack a packed zone is to make them come out of it or extend it and that is only accomplished by making shots.

If you try to pass to the post your going to get a lot of turnovers caused by deflections. You can get some baskets by penetrating the zone but you have to be able to finish and players that couldn't against Penn State were Jackson, Reynolds, and Deshields. Nared did a good job at this but also threw up some ugly threes including one that was an air ball five feet short of the rim.

Overall this team goes how Russell, Deshields, and Nared play. We have to score over 70 to win because no one on this team can defend. When we score in the 50's I expect all those games will be losses.

It wasn't defense that beat us at Penn State it was our inability to finish layups, five footers and make a few threes. 2 for 19 is ridiculous and why we can't do better than that is hard to understand.
 
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#8
#8
Did you play? If u never played the game D1, sorry you are still just a fan.

And the Lady Vols are different, 100% graduation rate.

Can you tell me any other program that has that standard?
 
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#9
#9
None of these players are consistent shooters or defenders and no matter who we play if Diamond and Mercedes go 7 for 28 were going to almost certainly lose the game. Those two players have to be consistent scorers and shoot decent percentages. Holly also must have a plan like most other teams do to slow down the top scorers on the other team.
I want even talk about the stupid turnovers we make in every game we play. The difference in most is that Mercedes and Diamond shoot a lot better than they did against Penn State.
Finally people that can't make a three should not be shooting a three. Really need Dunbar or Middleton to take those shots and we need to get them open for eight to ten tries per game maybe more against a packed in zone. We have to live and die by their result because the only way to attack a packed zone is to make them come out of it or extend it and that is only accomplished by making shots.

If you try to pass to the post your going to get a lot of turnovers caused by deflections. You can get some baskets by penetrating the zone but you have to be able to finish and players that couldn't against Penn State were Jackson, Reynolds, and Deshields. Nared did a good job at this but also threw up some ugly threes including one that was an air ball five feet short of the rim.

Overall this team goes how Russell, Deshields, and Nared play. We have to score over 70 to win because no one on this team can defend. When we score in the 50's I expect all those games will be losses.

It wasn't defense that beat us at Penn State it was our inability to finish layups, five footers and make a few threes. 2 for 19 is ridiculous and why we can't do better than that is hard to understand.

Yes, schemes and line-up tweaks might make a difference at the margin (though with fouls, injuries and a short bench, Holly's degrees of freedom are limited).

While the team looked improved from last year in their games prior to PSU, that game was a return to the bad LVs of last season. Missing open jump shots and layups; forcing the ball inside against double teams; lots of desperation one on one shots with the buzzer winding down and so on (and let us not forget that there were long stretches when neither team was scoring).

I am afraid the LVs will continue to have games like these. When they hoit a decent A% from the field, they will look llke a top 10 team but they will have these stinkers mixed (I think with this group players there is enough history to recognize a pattern.
 
#10
#10
Its no schemes, wuteva...


"In the first half, we were moving the ball around the zone," said Nared, who played 40 minutes. "Nobody was cutting. Nobody was driving. It caused everyone to play us out and all we were doing was shooting threes. We had no movement. When you don't have any movement, it's easy to guard in a 2-3 zone."


It didn't help that DeShields went out for awhile in the first half with an ankle injury before picking up a second foul. She shot 2 for 7 from the floor in 10 first-half minutes and finished 4 for 15 with eight points. She had five assists but also committed four turnovers.

"She just wasn't on her game," Warlick said. "I thought she had moved past that. She's a great player and a great competitor. She didn't have it today. She didn't have it. When your best player doesn't have it, it's going to be a struggle."

When our ladies show up to play we are a good team, when they stand around we are not, simply as that.

The roles are being defined but can the players execute or follow the game plan. hmmmm

Guess u never coached to know, old habits die hard, especially when players simple don't feel like playing

but yes Holly has to do a better job of motivating her players to give it all they got every nite, they can't pick and choose when they want to play.
 
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#11
#11
Alexa... and the pattern continues... from the player's mouth.

(On the team chemistry)


"There are only eight or nine of us, so we know each night we are going to have to bring our all every game and we can't let up. Last year we had more numbers and some people might have taken a night off, and we can't do that so we have to hold each other accountable."

So, if 3 to 4 players don't show up to play, we will struggle, now that's a pattern I would like to see broken.
 
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#12
#12
...

The changes are;

1.) Bench the Seniors
a.) Jordan Reynolds has shown us the past 3 (now in her final season) years that we have really seen the best of her. It is time to see what someone else can do with the minutes she gets. Maybe her coming off the bench her senior season might light a spark under her and give us a punch off the bench.

b.) Playing Nunn and Russell together is a disaster in a sense because both are used to occupying the block. At Winthrop Nunn was our Russell and her team had to get her the ball inside. Having her at the high post is doing her (and the team) disservice. She can provide quality minutes behind Russell so that we don't have to play Russell 35 plus minutes a game...

Nunn, Russell, Reynolds, and DeShields are all academic seniors, is that correct? Yet only Reynolds and Nunn are in their final year of athletic eligibility, correct? I'm trying to understand which seniors you want to bench, all of these 4, only Reynolds, Russell, and Nunn...I'm unsure who you want to bench.
 
#13
#13
Holly's mouth...

(On offensive sets)
"It's taking us a while because generally, I think females are running a pattern. They do it when they're young, in high school, AAU. We're trying to teach them to play the game and play together. It can be ugly at times but it can be rewarding. Once you put in a couple of sets, you learn to read them more. We always say read the defense. Hopefully what we've done in the pre-season has taught them how to read defenses and react. We're doing it now but we'll see how it continues. I've been pleased with shot selection and the flow of our offense. It's going to need some tweaking, I know that. I'm just enjoying watching them play basketball, and I don't have to call every single thing that they run."


Of all the criticism coach Holly Warlick doled out afterward, one observation was especially withering.

“It doesn't take a smart person to figure out we just didn’t want to be up here today,” she said.

In advance of Sunday’s game, sustaining energy and effort was a prevailing theme. Yet those competitive attributes were insufficient virtually from the opening tip and didn't reach adequate levels for extended periods.
 
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#14
#14
Is that an unattributed quote?


When I watch this team, I see two players, Middleton and Jackson, who look like they're giving 100% all the time. They may make mistakes, but the effort is there. Nared is maybe 90%. The rest take plays off, play soft, or generally play at 50-75% of what they're capable of. Regardless of the coaching issues, we can't win if the players don't want it bad enough to bust their butts.
 
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#15
#15
Did you play? If u never played the game D1, sorry you are still just a fan.

And the Lady Vols are different, 100% graduation rate.

Can you tell me any other program that has that standard?

You sound like a fool, how many coaches who are coaching in the women's game that has played D1 basketball? Geno being one of them who didn't play in college and holds the record for most championships in the women's game. I have coached several players (on the AAU circuit) who have played Division 1 and Division 2 basketball.

It's cool to be a homer but a dumb one is the worst kind.
 
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#16
#16
Nunn, Russell, Reynolds, and DeShields are all academic seniors, is that correct? Yet only Reynolds and Nunn are in their final year of athletic eligibility, correct? I'm trying to understand which seniors you want to bench, all of these 4, only Reynolds, Russell, and Nunn...I'm unsure who you want to bench.

I was going based on the players who are not eligible to return, which is why I didn't include Diamond and Mercedes in my a and b because although they are Seniors academically, they are juniors when it comes to eligibility. So I would bench Reynolds and Nunn
 
#17
#17
Is that an unattributed quote?


When I watch this team, I see two players, Middleton and Jackson, who look like they're giving 100% all the time. They may make mistakes, but the effort is there. Nared is maybe 90%. The rest take plays off, play soft, or generally play at 50-75% of what they're capable of. Regardless of the coaching issues, we can't win if the players don't want it bad enough to bust their butts.

Amen! We can't judge Harris though because she doesn't practice well enough to get in (according to some)
 
#19
#19
You sound like a fool, how many coaches who are coaching in the women's game that has played D1 basketball? Geno being one of them who didn't play in college and holds the record for most championships in the women's game. I have coached several players (on the AAU circuit) who have played Division 1 and Division 2 basketball.

It's cool to be a homer but a dumb one is the worst kind.

So did you play? And sorry you are no Geno, Mike, and Wooden.

It worked for some, cos the question is pretty much in reference, cos you don't seem to understand the psychology of players or athletes.

Iz be dumb, but I did play the game, at a high level, won a championship on every level, I have and still coach girls and boys, and sports psychology, which my hater is a big part of coaching.

So yo point, did u play cos u seem to not understand its not always about x's and o's.
 
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#20
#20
And u rite, if u coached by removing players for every mistake or every bad game, u won't be coaching long, which players would play for you...ijs
 
#21
#21
Some games as player, I just didn't have it, been up all nite studying, exam early in the morning, I didn't really eat, I didn't drink healthy, just coffee, cos I was studying, attending study group sessions, and by the time the game, came that was the further thang on my mind but my team and I have expectation and you go to play and you are just a lil off but yo team usually pick u up, if shot wasn't falling, I defense and boards were still solid. But **** happens.

Or, receiving the news, a family is the hospital or died or sick, someone u are or were close too, and u find out hours before the game, or had a fight or break up with yo partner so **** happens.

But when I had my best games, I was usually go through something traumatic, that was the happiest place on earth the court and that can vary from player to player.

So, its not always about x and o's ole smartest one, oh King of WCBB!

Holly has to get better at sports psychology, and judging from that post game interview, she's getting tougher, but judging by their play, the players were sending a message, which says, we're not where you thought we are mentally and physically tough coach, we are not yet mature enough to handle the daily grind of Lady Vols Basketball. And that's fine, but any coach knows coaching effort is draining.
 
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#22
#22
Some games as player, I just didn't have it, been up all nite studying, exam early in the morning, I didn't really eat, I didn't drink healthy, just coffee, cos I was studying, attending study group sessions, and by the time the game, came that was the further thang on my mind but my team and I have expectation and you go to play and you are just a lil off but yo team usually pick u up, if shot wasn't falling, I defense and boards were still solid. But **** happens.

Or, receiving the news, a family is the hospital or died or sick, someone u are or were close too, and u find out hours before the game, so **** happens.

So, its not always about x and o's ole smartest one, oh King of WCBB!

Holly has to get better at sports psychology, and judging from that post game interview, she's getting tougher, but judging by their play, the players were sending a message, which says, we're not where you thought we are mentally and physically tough coach, we are not yet mature enough to handle the daily grind of Lady Vols Basketball. And that's fine, but any coach knows coaching effort is draining.


I pretty much agree with you and i don't like making excuses. It's all about effort with this team tho. We don't have enough go to players to take plays off. You have to defend even if you're not scoring. It seems like this team never gets mad. Coates from South Carolina is a prime example on how to play with a chip on your shoulder. I really wish Diamond would just take over games like she did at UNC.
 
#23
#23
If according to some Harris doesn't practice well enough to get in, then would her scholarship be in jeopardy? She can't be that much of a detriment to the team, IMHO.
 
#24
#24
No excuses, but it is what it is.

How you think as a coach, you on the sideline watching your team perform poorly and there's really nothing you can do about it during the game, they didn't show up, your embarassed for them, yoself, the team, your fans, so its a bitter pill, when you know you can perform better.

That's why we play a season, so teams can iron out those kinks, and one game is not the be all to the end of a team.

No excuses, but basketball is more than x and o's, way more you're teaching those kids life skills.
 
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#25
#25
I pretty much agree with you and i don't like making excuses. It's all about effort with this team tho. We don't have enough go to players to take plays off. You have to defend even if you're not scoring. It seems like this team never gets mad. Coates from South Carolina is a prime example on how to play with a chip on your shoulder. I really wish Diamond would just take over games like she did at UNC.

Yeah, I wished Diamond, would be steady, solid, consistent, I thought healthy we would see a Diamond, that player, that is National Player of the Year candidate, she don't understand losses, doesn't help her in that quest, if that's her goal. She still has time, and I have her back but damn, I thot she was ready!

Yeah, I thought we would be tougher too.

Russell said the Lady Vols were victimized by poor communication and confusion on defense.

“There were several times on the defensive end where we had two people thinking we were in one thing and a couple (players) thinking we were on another page,” Russell said. “So we all have to be on the same page and know what we’re in at the time."

going thru the motions.... no leadership.
 
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