All Out Effort

#1
bobkitten

bobkitten

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#1
I think the team has seen what the reward is when everyone gives it an all out effort, and I hope each member decides it was worth it (scratches, bruises, and all) to put in so much of herself, unselfconsciously, to bring about a win. Seeing that sacrificing self can lead to exciting things, good things happening, will,perhaps, help each team member resolve to throw it all out there for every game left.

Mercedes got pushed around a good bit, but did not give in. DD gave so much effort in every aspect of her game. Middleton made a huge effort on defense, and did some great things on offense. Nared showed, again, terrific cool under pressure the whole game. Reynolds showed good leadership and went after the ball on both ends. MeMe made some important plays. Jackson, Nunn, KD, they all had a role. All in all, everyone,even those on the bench, were crucial.

Let's build on this, and continue this kind of effort for the rest of the season!
 
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#2
#2
I agree! I just wish we could find a few more minutes for Nunn! She is a rebounder and we could use her to give Russell a breather. There were times (especially on the play when Diamond chased down Coates to strip it away) where Mercedes didn't make it pass half court and she can't do that when the person she is responsible for guarding is running full speed down the court.

Nunn allows Nared to get a break from having to bang with some of the 4's in the league.

Great game! Looking for more from them!
 
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#4
#4
The SEC tourney worries me a little with our bench/depth. South Carolina would be eager to play us again. I hope these ladies realize the importance of finishing out the SEC season strong, because a top 4 seed and double bye will be HUGE for this team.
Diamond mentioned having 8 or so more games in SEC play in the press conference so I think they understand not taking teams lightly. We just can't play like we did against Auburn after this big win.
 
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#5
#5
mlindsay said:
I agree! I just wish we could find a few more minutes for Nunn! She is a rebounder and we could use her to give Russell a breather. There were times (especially on the play when Diamond chased down Coates to strip it away) where Mercedes didn't make it pass half court and she can't do that when the person she is responsible for guarding is running full speed down the court.

Nunn allows Nared to get a break from having to bang with some of the 4's in the league.

Great game! Looking for more from them!
Click to expand...



This is something I am going to push for moving forward. Nunn and Dunbar as a tandem down-low to rest Mercedes... Besides the obvious, rest for MR,,, It would give us another offensive set-option. Right now I feel we don;t really have a secondary offense unit option... We need one.
 
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#6
#6
Perhaps we should hope our sisters at other SEC schools will take out SC and Miss St (and not US!) in the tournament so the way be clear!
 
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#7
#7
bobkitten said:
I think the team has seen what the reward is when everyone gives it an all out effort, and I hope each member decides it was worth it (scratches, bruises, and all) to put in so much of herself, unselfconsciously, to bring about a win. Seeing that sacrificing self can lead to exciting things, good things happening, will,perhaps, help each team member resolve to throw it all out there for every game left.

Mercedes got pushed around a good bit, but did not give in. DD gave so much effort in every aspect of her game. Middleton made a huge effort on defense, and did some great things on offense. Nared showed, again, terrific cool under pressure the whole game. Reynolds showed good leadership and went after the ball on both ends. MeMe made some important plays. Jackson, Nunn, KD, they all had a role. All in all, everyone,even those on the bench, were crucial.

Let's build on this, and continue this kind of effort for the rest of the season!
Click to expand...

I was impressed with Mercedes game last nite after her laying the egg in the previous game.She did not give in to physical play last nite so have to give her credit.Part of that was that SC bell cow ( Wilson ) was sitting on the bench for much of 2nd half in foul trouble.
 
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#8
#8
Coach Jumper said:
This is something I am going to push for moving forward. Nunn and Dunbar as a tandem down-low to rest Mercedes... Besides the obvious, rest for MR,,, It would give us another offensive set-option. Right now I feel we don;t really have a secondary offense unit option... We need one.
Click to expand...

Coates or Wilson are too quick for Nunn to guard and would have eaten her lunch then had desert.
 
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#9
#9
alexvol said:
I was impressed with Mercedes game last nite after her laying the egg in the previous game.She did not give in to physical play last nite so have to give her credit.Part of that was that SC bell cow ( Wilson ) was sitting on the bench for much of 2nd half in foul trouble.
Click to expand...

She got a lot of offensive rebounds and outbacks. Credit to Nared and Diamond for drawing Coates out of rebounding position to contest the shot and free up MR to grab the miss.
 
#10
#10
We need to give them a break but it was not happening in that game and she sat mercedes down with five minutes to go in second quarter that was smart that was a 20 min break with halftime coming up.
 
#11
#11
I think strength and conditioning will determine how far this team goes. Expect the big 3 (Diamond, Nared, Mercedes) to play big mins here on out. We will have about a 7 player rotation so being disciplined on both sides of the ball without fouling will take us a long way into the bottom half of the season. If I'm Holly I'm running them hard in practice.
 
#14
#14
Amb3096 said:
She gave up a lot of rebounds to MR because she had to slide over for help defense. I don't think "lazy" is in Coates'vocabulary. She's got a limitless motor.
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That's why I said appeared, because I know she plays hard. I expected TN to get dominated on the glass. Yes they were outrebounded, but it was much closer than I thought it would be.
 
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#15
#15
Chris89128 said:
That's why I said appeared, because I know she plays hard. I expected TN to get dominated on the glass. Yes they were outrebounded, but it was much closer than I thought it would be.
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Not having the two bigs on the court together hurt SC's rebounding. If both had played 30+ minutes, I think they would have had a huge advantage. Plus, MR really stepped it up in the 2nd half.
 
#16
#16
Amazing win. Diamond was everywhere, accomplishing everything. Jamie is a star. Mercedes was tougher than expected. Alexa had some impressive moments.

Holly coached a solid game and even had a couple of impressive inbounds play calls. Her team played smart, tough and motivated. Maybe the most stellar stat of the night was DD's lone turnover (wow!).

Folks, we're a great point guard away from contending with UConn. Not sure Reynolds (still can't hit a layup ... no shooting touch whatsoever) can lead us to the crown this year.

Next year, watch out if DD and MR return and Cooper is 100 percent.

Kudos to South Carolina for the beautiful "We Back Pat" tribute. Sweet!

Go Lady Vols!
 
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#17
#17
mlindsay said:
I agree! I just wish we could find a few more minutes for Nunn! She is a rebounder and we could use her to give Russell a breather. There were times (especially on the play when Diamond chased down Coates to strip it away) where Mercedes didn't make it pass half court and she can't do that when the person she is responsible for guarding is running full speed down the court.

Nunn allows Nared to get a break from having to bang with some of the 4's in the league.

Great game! Looking for more from them!
Click to expand...

I like Nunn but I think Holly understands her capabilities and limitations and where she might be over matched.

We are better with MR on the court (obviously) and she has been holding up well.

Something the staff has not been getting credit for is that MR (and the entire starting unit) are playing good defense WITHOUT fouling.

I envisioned the downfall of the team for this season would be key players, particularly MR, getting in foul trouble. That generally has not been a problem and the LVs have often fouls to give at the end of the game.

On the men's side, people hailed Bo Ryan and U of Wisconsin men for being a good defensive team that did not foul. I think Holly and co. deserve some credit on this aspect of their game.
 
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#18
#18
MR was not backing down in the game. I love the way she scraps in the paint and tried to find ways to get open. We need her to finish strong moving forward. If her feet was just a little bit smaller she could move quicker down the court. She's playing a lot better since her surgery though.
 
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#19
#19
Amb3096 said:
Not having the two bigs on the court together hurt SC's rebounding. If both had played 30+ minutes, I think they would have had a huge advantage. Plus, MR really stepped it up in the 2nd half.
Click to expand...

Both things are true. Our guards going right at Coates and Wilson from the beginning was a smart move. The worst that can happen is you get your shot blocked. The best is the refs call fouls or you get and ones and layups. MR is stepping up big time. She, Jamie, and DD were so active last night.
 
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#20
#20
Coach Jumper said:
This is something I am going to push for moving forward. Nunn and Dunbar as a tandem down-low to rest Mercedes... Besides the obvious, rest for MR,,, It would give us another offensive set-option. Right now I feel we don;t really have a secondary offense unit option... We need one.
Click to expand...


I think. MR needs her rest. Her game really falls off when she gets tired, as it does for anybody and especially bigs.
 
#21
#21
DD has been playing like the player we thought we'd gotten last year. She's been playing hard, they all have, and when they play hard and even reasonably smart, we can be a formidable team. And you can't overstate how well we've been shooting in recent games--I think we shot 49 percent last night or somesuch--must check. But that's an unbelievable number. Nared is quickly rounding into one of the best wingers in the country--she's got the whole package, but again, it's a matter of playing smart and not trying to force things. Middleton NEEDS to be our spot-up three-point shooter--not our only three-point shooter, of course, but that is her best role. Ideally, you need about five threes, I think, to beat a strong opponent. We got away with making 3 last night (2 by Middleton) compared to 5 for USC.

We were helped immensely last night by the fact that Wilson only played 22 minutes.

This win ought to give the team added confidence.
 
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#22
#22
maxvolfan said:
MR was not backing down in the game. I love the way she scraps in the paint and tried to find ways to get open. We need her to finish strong moving forward. If her feet was just a little bit smaller she could move quicker down the court. She's playing a lot better since her surgery though.
Click to expand...

Mercedes had big bodies pushing her all night long. She had to be exhausted from trying to hold her position. I think that has probably been the case all year long and it has taken her a while to adjust to the physicality that teams must have if they are to compete with the LV's. Just have to avoid injury from the physical contact.
 
#23
#23
One thing I got frustrated about is our inability to hold onto the ball when rebounding. Seems like all year there have been a lot of ham-fisted attempts at securing the ball. It was worse last year, but we could use some practice gripping the ball! Maybe there is a fingertip-strengthening exercise?

I LOVED the play where DD rebounded and secured the ball and then threw it (accurately!) the length of the floor when no one was expecting it, and 2 TN players were already down there! That was classic!
 
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#24
#24
Coach Jumper said:
This is something I am going to push for moving forward. Nunn and Dunbar as a tandem down-low to rest Mercedes... Besides the obvious, rest for MR,,, It would give us another offensive set-option. Right now I feel we don;t really have a secondary offense unit option... We need one.
Click to expand...

?????
Who are you "pushing" this to?
are you on staff ???
 
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