Is Diamond injured ?

[Darth_Vol]

Individual goals and team goals are not mutually exclusive. I'm sure Maya Moore cared a lot about individual awards. Any player who says they don't is lying.

The difference between "confidence" and "cocky" is whether you can back it up on the court. Moore let her play on the court do the talking. But as long as Diamond thinks she's the best....

 

[BMvol27]

Diamond gets a lot of the same type of hate that Candace Parker gets. I'm not saying they're close to being the same player, but the parallels are pretty strong.

 

[gule]

It wouldn't hurt any of you to take a break from the DD & team bashing till 2017 at the least. You're spoiling my Xmas with your drivel.

reformed poster here

 

[MDVolFan14]

Don't think for a moment that that is true.
I saw both of them play. DD played for Norcross. Maya for Collins Hill. They are about 30 minutes from each other (or 2 hours "atlanta traffic" time). I saw both of them in AAU and both play HS ball. Maya was a highly visible role model for DD. Played for the GA Metros. An org that came out of nowhere and bloomed. DD has all the skills Maya does, but not that innate "something" that Maya has..., It will have to be coached out of DD. . . I have seen DD at her best and most confident. I know what can be gotten out of this girl. It is amazing what she CAN do.

Great points but IMO, the difference in MM and DD over their college careers is coaching. Look at MM and Bre Stewart for example, they had the luxury of being coached by a great who pushed them everyday to get better and the program itself forces you to get better.

DD didn't and doesn't have that luxury now. Hatchell was out in her freshman year and Calder didn't really do much coaching of that Fab Four freshman group. They mostly played on their own and their talent beat a lot of teams.

Fast forward.... She sat out a year.... Battled injuries last year all while not being coached. CHW can barely coach this team let alone develop the players. And IMO she's still not being coached because you can see it in her decision-making on the floor and that she is still relying on her talent alone. Talent that has not been nurtured and challenged by great coaching.

There is only so much you can do in the off-season working out with trainers. The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught. Add to that, I think that DD is a strong "alpha" type that needs an even stronger "alpha" type to coach her and know exactly what they are doing. The minute you show you don't know what you are doing, players will check out.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Great points but IMO, the difference in MM and DD over their college careers is coaching. Look at MM and Bre Stewart for example, they had the luxury of being coached by a great who pushed them everyday to get better and the program itself forces you to get better.

DD didn't and doesn't have that luxury now. Hatchell was out in her freshman year and Calder didn't really do much coaching of that Fab Four freshman group. They mostly played on their own and their talent beat a lot of teams.

Fast forward.... She sat out a year.... Battled injuries last year all while not being coached. CHW can barely coach this team let alone develop the players. And IMO she's still not being coached because you can see it in her decision-making on the floor and that she is still relying on her talent alone. Talent that has not been nurtured and challenged by great coaching.

There is only so much you can do in the off-season working out with trainers. The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught. Add to that, I think that DD is a strong "alpha" type that needs an even stronger "alpha" type to coach her and know exactly what they are doing. The minute you show you don't know what you are doing, players will check out.

I would love the challenge of working with DD.

Some would question whether one or two workouts or influences would last beyond the moment, but I know that when you meet someone you are impressed by, it stays with you... I met Pat twice at the SEC tourneys in Chatt and once here...I am still influenced by how humble, yet alpha she was. If I was a female coach,she would be an absolute role model for me. being male, I can't follow the footsteps of a female coach because it would be like a Dad trying to be a Mom. . . You, as a Dad may be called onto be a mommy-sub, but you can't do it like Mom does or you will fail miserably.

 

[xanamanax]

Great points but IMO, the difference in MM and DD over their college careers is coaching. Look at MM and Bre Stewart for example, they had the luxury of being coached by a great who pushed them everyday to get better and the program itself forces you to get better.

DD didn't and doesn't have that luxury now. Hatchell was out in her freshman year and Calder didn't really do much coaching of that Fab Four freshman group. They mostly played on their own and their talent beat a lot of teams.

Fast forward.... She sat out a year.... Battled injuries last year all while not being coached. CHW can barely coach this team let alone develop the players. And IMO she's still not being coached because you can see it in her decision-making on the floor and that she is still relying on her talent alone. Talent that has not been nurtured and challenged by great coaching.

There is only so much you can do in the off-season working out with trainers. The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught. Add to that, I think that DD is a strong "alpha" type that needs an even stronger "alpha" type to coach her and know exactly what they are doing. The minute you show you don't know what you are doing, players will check out.

How do you get into the practices? Are they open to the public? I would love to be able to see some of the practices.

 

[Coach Jumper]

how do you get into the practices? Are they open to the public? I would love to be able to see some of the practices.

where did he mention practice?

 

[Nute Gunray]

Great points but IMO, the difference in MM and DD over their college careers is coaching. Look at MM and Bre Stewart for example, they had the luxury of being coached by a great who pushed them everyday to get better and the program itself forces you to get better.

DD didn't and doesn't have that luxury now. Hatchell was out in her freshman year and Calder didn't really do much coaching of that Fab Four freshman group. They mostly played on their own and their talent beat a lot of teams.

Fast forward.... She sat out a year.... Battled injuries last year all while not being coached. CHW can barely coach this team let alone develop the players. And IMO she's still not being coached because you can see it in her decision-making on the floor and that she is still relying on her talent alone. Talent that has not been nurtured and challenged by great coaching.

There is only so much you can do in the off-season working out with trainers. The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught. Add to that, I think that DD is a strong "alpha" type that needs an even stronger "alpha" type to coach her and know exactly what they are doing. The minute you show you don't know what you are doing, players will check out.

I agree with everything you say except the statement that Geno pushed Maya. She did not need to be pushed. Geno pushed Breanna and Tina Charles mercilessly. He treated Maya with kid gloves. DD needs someone to push her.

 

[xanamanax]

where did he mention practice?

It wasn't specifically mentioned. But the post I quoted talks about being coached and how DD isn't. Their post says "The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught." I realize that coaching is not just practice, but much of it is. In fact, MDVolFan14 specifically uses a practice example in a post in another thread to talk about being coached. If someone wants to definitively state that DD is not being coached, then they must be watching or have inside knowledge of practices to know that she isn't. You can't watch a player in a game and know what has or hasn't been done in practice.

 

[LVJeff]

It wasn't specifically mentioned. But the post I quoted talks about being coached and how DD isn't. Their post says "The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught." I realize that coaching is not just practice, but much of it is. In fact, MDVolFan14 specifically uses a practice example in a post in another thread to talk about being coached. If someone wants to definitively state that DD is not being coached, then they must be watching or have inside knowledge of practices to know that she isn't. You can't watch a player in a game and know what has or hasn't been done in practice.

Under Pat, practices were open. I don't remember when they were closed but it's been several years hasn't it?

I would love to see how Holly structures her practices. I disagree a bit about not being able to tell what they do in practice. You play like you practice and I believe that.

 

[Coach Jumper]

It wasn't specifically mentioned. But the post I quoted talks about being coached and how DD isn't. Their post says "The real work is put in being coached, challenged and taught." I realize that coaching is not just practice, but much of it is. In fact, MDVolFan14 specifically uses a practice example in a post in another thread to talk about being coached. If someone wants to definitively state that DD is not being coached, then they must be watching or have inside knowledge of practices to know that she isn't. You can't watch a player in a game and know what has or hasn't been done in practice.

But you can know the level of performance for a given athlete. We all knew Jordan would score thirty. And when he didn't every now and then, np,,, But if a three game stretch went by and MJ didn't hit for 25-30, he wasn't "normal". The same stands true for DD. Fans and viewers have seen her do some "wow moment" things. So when they don't see her have a wow moment all-game!!, in fact some un-wow moments,,,, they feel like the ones who caught Jordan in a funk.

Jordan felt it necessary to always show he was competing. He had fun. Made faces, but earned that right, by no one being able to accuse him of anything but full effort. This can, and should be gotten out of a gift like Diamond...And I am so vocal because I have handled some pretty hard to read, athletes. And I was able to get "their game" out of em.

Also consider, an old coaching adage, "You practice like you play" meaning, the effort they put into practice directly reflects in their game. Not the spectacular moments. . . The give-up's, the dropping of shoulders, tantrums, frustration outlets,,etc, they all happen in practice, if they happen in game.

That's what will turn DD... When practice-performance is "important", to both player and coach.

 

[Hoya Saxa]

Great points but IMO, the difference in MM and DD over their college careers is coaching. Look at MM and Bre Stewart for example, they had the luxury of being coached by a great who pushed them everyday to get better...

Hatchell was out in her freshman year and Calder didn't really do much coaching of that Fab Four freshman group. They mostly played on their own and their talent beat a lot of teams.

Perhaps the reason Diamond is at Tennessee (and not UConn) is because she doesn't want to be coached and forced to play "team" basketball. When she originally committed to UNC she was quoted as saying that Hatchell would let her play her own style of basketball. Diamond is a super-athletic young woman who likes to play one-on-one in the open court (much like Charde Houston years ago). She doesn't want to be constrained by a system on offense or defense. Holly lets Diamond do her own thing which may be the reason Diamond transferred to Tennessee.

 

[FrozenLVFan]

Under Pat, practices were open. I don't remember when they were closed but it's been several years hasn't it?

I would love to see how Holly structures her practices. I disagree a bit about not being able to tell what they do in practice. You play like you practice and I believe that.

I believe the AD closed the practices, not CHW.

 

[LVJeff]

I believe the AD closed the practices, not CHW.

I didn't mean to imply it was Holly who closed practices. I was thinking it was either Hart or one of the assistant athletic directors under him that wanted all practices closed across all sports. But I couldn't remember for certain.

 

[NoBackBoard]

But you can know the level of performance for a given athlete. We all knew Jordan would score thirty. And when he didn't every now and then, np,,, But if a three game stretch went by and MJ didn't hit for 25-30, he wasn't "normal". The same stands true for DD. Fans and viewers have seen her do some "wow moment" things. So when they don't see her have a wow moment all-game!!, in fact some un-wow moments,,,, they feel like the ones who caught Jordan in a funk.

Jordan felt it necessary to always show he was competing. He had fun. Made faces, but earned that right, by no one being able to accuse him of anything but full effort. This can, and should be gotten out of a gift like Diamond...And I am so vocal because I have handled some pretty hard to read, athletes. And I was able to get "their game" out of em.

Also consider, an old coaching adage, "You practice like you play" meaning, the effort they put into practice directly reflects in their game. Not the spectacular moments. . . The give-up's, the dropping of shoulders, tantrums, frustration outlets,,etc, they all happen in practice, if they happen in game.

That's what will turn DD... When practice-performance is "important", to both player and coach.

Very nice!

 

[Darth_Vol]

Diamond gets a lot of the same type of hate that Candace Parker gets. I'm not saying they're close to being the same player, but the parallels are pretty strong.

Parker was beloved by UT fans when she played in college, the venom didn't really come until well into her professional career.

I think the better parallel is Meighan Simmons, another enigmatic talent that also polarized the LV fanbase....

 

[gule]

if only meighan had had DD to run the floor with, can you say fast break city?

 

[bobkitten]

With the two of them, we would have 200 shots per game!

 

[armchair]

Parker was beloved by UT fans when she played in college, the venom didn't really come until well into her professional career.

I think the better parallel is Meighan Simmons, another enigmatic talent that also polarized the LV fanbase....

I see no similarity between Simmons and DeShields. They are very different. Very different personalities. I was a fan of Simmons because she loved the game--was a passionate player. She was very likable and I don't think there was anything enigmatic about her. I wasn't such a big fan of her game. She was a good player, but certainly not exceptional, and very inconsistent, and didn't play very well in a lot of UT's big games during her career. She didn't have the size to have a well-rounded game as a shooting guard.

DD is a true enigma. She has more talent and size than Simmons, more potential, but does not seem to have the same passion for the game, or certainly does not show it. Is she popular with the fans? She's a swan who hasn't/doesn't always seem to give full effort, as I've seen it--and I think as Warlick has seen it in some games. She was not good in many games last year--bad body language, bad performance, was benched more than a few times. She's been better this year--her effort as been better, her attitude a bit better, but she still doesn't strike me as the leader she should be. For someone with her talent,the game should be fun. She reminds me of Stricklen, another enigmatic player who usually could be counted on to play one solid/good HALF of basketball but rarely true. Players with iffy, capricious attitudes can bring down a team as much as their talent can bring one up.

 

[Darth_Vol]

I wasn't such a big fan of her game. She was a good player, but certainly not exceptional, and very inconsistent, and didn't play very well in a lot of UT's big games during her career.

Yes, clearly there are no similarities.

That's great you liked Simmons. A LOT of fans on here didn't. Much of the vitriol being written about Diamond, you could substitute Meighan's name with the same comments word for word when she played here....

 

[NoBackBoard]

DD is a true enigma...She reminds me of Stricklen, another enigmatic player who usually could be counted on to play one solid/good HALF of basketball but rarely true. Players with iffy, capricious attitudes can bring down a team as much as their talent can bring one up.

The Stricklen comparison is spot on...FWIW, Stricklen averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds at UT. Those averages have dropped to 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in the WNBA...let's all wait with bated breath to see how amazing DD does in the WNBA.