Things Could Get Better

[aaronvol]

Originally Posted by knowthevols

Just another list of excuses.

hush it.

[Special Ed]

Originally Posted by seaofORANGE22

This is a tough basketball year, hell sports year in general. Go Vols

Don't overlook the girls team. At least they're ranked and they seem to be getting better as the season goes along (unlike the men's team).

[RockyTop22]

Originally Posted by calban

Stokes was technically a Soph in January.

Hes 18 years old

[calban]

Originally Posted by RockyTop22

Hes 18 years old

19 actually.

[seaofORANGE22]

Originally Posted by calban

19 actually.

So was I my freshman year

[volbeast33]

Originally Posted by seaofORANGE22

So was I my freshman year

I was eighteen at the start of my sophomore yr and I dominated the sec.....ok maybe the last part was made up lol but I was eighteen.

[seaofORANGE22]

Originally Posted by volbeast33

Guys use to go straight from college to the pros and how many one and dones are there every yr....I dont think you can use that excuse....Hopefully he will improve.

Yes you are correct. There are players that have done these things. There have also been players that have sipped on milk before tip off. So what? Sometimes players come in as a freshman, play like it, and improve over the course of their college careers.

Just because he was a 5 star recruit doesn't necessarily mean he's a one and done player. Those guys are few and mostly at Kentucky.

Like you, I thought he would be playing better this year than he has. He has to learn to do a better job handling double teams (which I thought he did at UK a couple of times in the 2nd half, playing limited minutes), and staying out of foul trouble. Good grief, fouls are killing him.

[seaofORANGE22]

Originally Posted by volbeast33

I was eighteen at the start of my sophomore yr and I dominated the sec.....ok maybe the last part was made up lol but I was eighteen.

haha

[bleedingTNorange]

As I've said I'll wait until after the season to make my judgment...finish with 17 or more wins and I'll feel good about next year.

[UT IE 95]

I don't get these points from the OP:

1. Super young team. - How many freshmen do we start?
2. We replace least productive players McBee and Hall next season. - Why not replace them now?
3. It feels like we are slowly growing. - What is the team growth? We're on a 4 game losing streak?

[Fullfillmer]

Originally Posted by seaofORANGE22

The more I think about it, the more I feel like Kenny Halls mediocre play may be one of the biggest reasons why our season hasn't been more successful. He's going to look back on his career and wish he had left more on the court.

We have needed someone to step up in that spot with Maymon out. Yemi has done his part, but he's so limited offensively. Hall could be the real deal. But he won't be.

Our guard play sucks - poor shooting, assist to turnover ratio - awful, poor rebounding, can't or won't distribute the ball, poor ball handling, poor coaching, and sometimes we miss the rim when shooting our free throws. Not impressed with the skills of the people Coach M has brought in his first two years. If they can't step it up in recruiting - we will see more of the Wade Houston look a likes.

[bleedingTNorange]

Originally Posted by UT IE 95

I don't get these points from the OP:
2. We replace least productive players McBee and Hall next season. - Why not replace them now?

with? And Mcbee pretty much was replaced last game wasn't he?

[seaofORANGE22]

Originally Posted by bleedingTNorange

As I've said I'll wait until after the season to make my judgment...finish with 17 or more wins and I'll feel good about next year.

I understand this approach. But I have to admit that I like our pieces. I think we are building a pretty good foundation with solid 4 year players (those 4 year players are first and second year players now), and a few blue chips here and there.

Our offensive struggles have held us back. The adjustments that Coach Martin has had to make to spark more scoring has kept us from being able to play the type of defense he wants. We were down right dominating offenses early in the year. Mixing in that type of defense with better offensive talent on offense next year (Hubbs and Maymon) should mean more wins.

I mean who really knows though? Next year will surely be the test. If we have the same struggles next season, I will definitely start to lose the grip on my positive spin.

[UT IE 95]

Originally Posted by bleedingTNorange

with? And Mcbee pretty much was replaced last game wasn't he?

If they are the least productive players, per the OP, they should be replaced with anyone on the bench - it couldn't get worse.

And McBee played more than a quarter of the game minutes.

[VolGee4]

There is no reason to bring positive discussion to the board anymore because we can name the posters that lineup to tell you that we are poorly coached or making excuses.

I used to get involved on message boards with such people, but it is simply not worth it. You can tell people that the ocean is blue, and they will try to explain how it is really turquoise.

I don't think anybody is happy with starting 0-3 in conference, but last time I checked, we hadn't decided to get rid of the basketball program. So, let's see what happens.