Mercedes Russell

#26
#26
boxerpupsrcool said:
As far as Russell is concerned, I'm not to concerned about her slow start this year. I expected it. For one, she is still playing behind Harrison and Graves. She might have some confidence issues, but she shows flashes of an AA type player every now and then. I think she will be fine. Like others have said, a year in the weight room will do wonders for her. I think she will even be much more improved by post season play..
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i agree with your assessment of Russell,she is behind 2 very good players and it has cut into her playing time,which is a good thing and may be cutting into her development,I do think she will be fine with more experience
 
#27
#27
I must say that I am impressed..I am a male that loves UT Sports which includes the LV's, and admit that I have not commented in this section many times..Not because I was not interested but never came across a thread where the posters showed strong conviction in different points of views..I really love the fire that posters here have showed in their beliefs in this one, even to the point of Holly's thought process in the Stanford personal, lol..I love it, but please don't get like all those fools we find in the men's football and basketball forums, that every time something doesn't go the way they want, or a lose, and they want heads to roll, all the way down to the water boys, and up to the President of the University...

That being said, I too have been a little disappointed in the production of Russell so far, but like many (and especially watching the men's college game so much) we tend to forget that everyone develops different..When someone comes in as the #1 player, we expect them to dominate and instantly become the best player on the floor, and that just doesn't happen that often...I for one believe that by the end of her career, we will be calling her one of the best LV's that ever played, at least that is my hope..Please don't compare her to that person who played at Baylor either, and I don't want her to be that..Frankly, she did not look like she should even be allowed to play with the women..Also, let's not be disappointed if she is not another Candace, because not many women will live up to those expectations...Candace when it is all over, I believe will be considered one of the best women's players ever..You could be great and not be Candace level
 
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#29
#29
fall2hb86 said:
I must say that I am impressed..I am a male that loves UT Sports which includes the LV's, and admit that I have not commented in this section many times..Not because I was not interested but never came across a thread where the posters showed strong conviction in different points of views..I really love the fire that posters here have showed in their beliefs in this one, even to the point of Holly's thought process in the Stanford personal, lol..I love it, but please don't get like all those fools we find in the men's football and basketball forums, that every time something doesn't go the way they want, or a lose, and they want heads to roll, all the way down to the water boys, and up to the President of the University...

That being said, I too have been a little disappointed in the production of Russell so far, but like many (and especially watching the men's college game so much) we tend to forget that everyone develops different..When someone comes in as the #1 player, we expect them to dominate and instantly become the best player on the floor, and that just doesn't happen that often...I for one believe that by the end of her career, we will be calling her one of the best LV's that ever played, at least that is my hope..Please don't compare her to that person who played at Baylor either, and I don't want her to be that..Frankly, she did not look like she should even be allowed to play with the women..Also, let's not be disappointed if she is not another Candace, because not many women will live up to those expectations...Candace when it is all over, I believe will be considered one of the best women's players ever..You could be great and not be Candace level
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Don't miss the game with LSU. They're going to retire Parker's jersey prior to the game. I think the ceremony is at 6:45. The doors will open at 5:30. They're giving a life size poster of Candace to the first 2500 through the doors.
 
#33
#33
i agree that MR needs to contribute more sooner, but she's not solely to blame for what little she offers. i have only seen her play in two games this season and there's a lot to be desired. She wasn't the #1 player in the country in all polls; namely, the bluestar basketball report. i doubt MR will ever be a huge threat in the low post. as i posted a few weeks ago, tennessee has never had any success developing low post players. we're almost at the halfway mark of the season and i must admit that i'm a little surprised at her play in the low post. additionally, one of her selling points coming out of high school was her ability to consistently knock down the 15 footer. i'm surprised that the coaching staff hasn't utilized her in this capacity. i honestly believe most of the blame lies with the coaching staff. they should have, by now, put her in every possible situation in practice and had her ready to get in the mix with stronger more physical players. i noticed during the game tonight (v. LSU), 5'9" Ballard continue to penetrate and score in the paint while MR was in the game. Each time, MR swiped across the ball in an attempt to block vs. going straight up. i believe at her best she'll avg 10pts and 8 rbds, unless tennessee finds a posts coach or she learns something at a camp during the off season. that said, massengale was #3 coming out of high school and burdick (#5) and neither of them is doing very much in their 3rd year as lady vols.
 
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#34
#34
I think Mercedes is adjusting to the competition of college basketball. She evidently played some very weak competition since she was putting up almost 30 ppg and 15 rebounds. She has to get stronger and get a different attitude. If she can progress as much from her freshman year to her sophomore year as Izzy she will be a great player. As it is she is doing a good job 60 percent from the field and 9 point and 5 rebounds a game in about 20 minutes.
 
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#35
#35
I think Mercedes will do fine also. She seems like a really nice girl. She will continue to grow. I remember when Lisa Leslie was at USC she stayed in foul trouble, earlier in her career. And even with Tina Thompson on the team with her for her senior year they lost to Lousiana Tech. Racquel Spurlock was a handful. But she constantly got better throughout her career. Stephanie Dolson, Tina Charles, they got better throughout their careers. I read where Taya Reimer at ND was talking about how she is too nice. All talented young ladies; they will get there. I like Mavunga at NC also, got some fight to her. Mercedes need to start demanding the ball, In one game she called for it and scored. GO, Mercedes!
 
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#36
#36
BigPickins17 said:
I think Mercedes will do fine also. She seems like a really nice girl. She will continue to grow. I remember when Lisa Leslie was at USC she stayed in foul trouble, earlier in her career. And even with Tina Thompson on the team with her for her senior year they lost to Lousiana Tech. Racquel Spurlock was a handful. But she constantly got better throughout her career. Stephanie Dolson, Tina Charles, they got better throughout their careers. I read where Taya Reimer at ND was talking about how she is too nice. All talented young ladies; they will get there. I like Mavunga at NC also, got some fight to her. Mercedes need to start demanding the ball, In one game she called for it and scored. GO, Mercedes!
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Coaching the bigs to improve is the most difficult challenge. They come out of HS a success without having to do much.

I think Mavunga is the cream of the freshman crop. Her body is fantastic and she's quite advanced in all other ways. She will probably develop into a big star.

Dolson probably improved the most from where she started. She was ranked somewhere in the 30's and was considered slow. There was much criticism of Geno for picking her. I guess he saw something (being a genius coach), as she may now be the all around best center in Div 1.

Tina Charles also showed great development. Physically she was superior from day 1, but she required intensive coaching to become a superstar her last 2 years.

Russell needs to get much stronger. No doubt she will improve, but she may not have the frame to become a true beast. She's a sweet kid and it's not easy to become something she's not. It must be a difficult year for her.
 
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#37
#37
BigPickins17 said:
I think Mercedes will do fine also. She seems like a really nice girl. She will continue to grow. I remember when Lisa Leslie was at USC she stayed in foul trouble, earlier in her career. And even with Tina Thompson on the team with her for her senior year they lost to Lousiana Tech. Racquel Spurlock was a handful. But she constantly got better throughout her career. Stephanie Dolson, Tina Charles, they got better throughout their careers. I read where Taya Reimer at ND was talking about how she is too nice. All talented young ladies; they will get there. I like Mavunga at NC also, got some fight to her. Mercedes need to start demanding the ball, In one game she called for it and scored. GO, Mercedes!
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Lucky! Boy would I have loved to see the great Lisa & Tina in college playing together.
 
#38
#38
She will be ok but, yes, needs to get stronger--and more aggressive. She's got to want and demand the ball in the low post--and our wingers need to be taught when to recognize that she is open and how to get the ball to her, via bounce pass. We're not good enough at that, which looks to me like half-a$$ed coaching.
 
#39
#39
I'm hoping that MR continues to develop and get stronger as the season progresses. I like her attitude...she seems very coachable and eager to listen and learn from what I've seen in interviews. I'm hoping as she gets stronger that she'll be that go-to post that we need. However, I agree with armchair...it's not all on MR. Our guards and wings need to have a clinic on how to throw a pass in to the post and when to do it. I hate to say it but they ALL have been horrible at doing this. Lord knows I'm not a coach but I know many coaches who have drills where the team has to get the ball up the length of the floor and score without dribbling it once...they must pass it only and work as a team to score. Maybe this would help our lack of passing skills? Who knows. Hopefully it improves tonight vs Ole Miss! GBO!
 
#40
#40
One thing I've noticed about MR is that she needs much stronger hands. She posts well but sometimes fails to catch the pass. I think she can improve just as much as Izzy did from freshmen to sophomore.
 
#41
#41
Russell and Izzy should be able to complement each other very nicely around the basket--one long, mobile and athletic and the other bigger and more physical. Izzy is already a scoring threat--and Russell can be, which will create a lot of offensive rebound opportunities for one who does not shoot, and if those two AND Graves are in at the same time we've got a pretty potent trio inside--each with a different skill set. But much demands on Russell becoming stronger and more assertive--a real physical presence AND scoring threat.
 
#42
#42
Izzy is twice the player she was as a freshman. For anyone to judge MR's career at this point shows a very low knowledge of basketball. She has a very high Bball IQ, decent skills that will get better, & most importantly, a 6'6 body. She will be a great one for us.
 
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#43
#43
Glory ditto
and I could continue to name posts who have matured and grown stronger after their freshman year. The physical nature of living in the paint pushing and pulling is much different than running around on the perimeter and getting called for hand checks.

and I will also state some of the posts never got better in subsequent years but they are my opinion and I will not name them.
 
#44
#44
My original post has been taken by some as a slam against Mercedes which it was never intended to be. I was actually impressed with a couple of power moves she had shown in the game. Yes, it was probably poorly worded.

Mercedes is a great player who will do fantastic things at Tennessee. She has shown much improvement just in the last few games. I guess the only reason I said I was a little disappointed was because I was comparing her to Diamond DeShields and Kalea Davis who have come on like gangbusters at their respective schools.

I was never questioning Russell's ability or basketball IQ. Again, if the post came out that way I apologize.
 
#45
#45
Decker Moss, your post is the main reason I registered on this website. hehe I had been reading the posts for a while before that. We always want to encourage young people. I was one who misunderstood what you meant. Even Diamond was not playing as well in the beginning as she is playing now, offensively that is. She was getting those steals. Sometimes players improve at different rates. I remember they mentioned how Glory Johnson had not improved as much as Nneke O., but she is doing very well now.

I remember when Holdsclaw came to play her first game at LSU. LSU was giving Tennessee the blues. Pat had Holdsclaw playing the 2 at one point, trying to find the right combination, and A. Conklin, Tiffani Johnson, and Pashen Thompson at 3.4.5 (Pashen has a nice looking sister, I think that was her sister), but LSU still beat Tennessee (Holdsclaw never won at the PMAC). She sent in Lashonda Stephens at one point for a brief period, a freshman, and I don't know what Pat told Lashonda, but Lashonda hung her head and went sat back on the bench. It was funny. She was a very good player, just young at the time, injuries in the end. Lashonda came in with Elzy and Niya Butts. Butts and Elzy showed out at the end of the year in the NCAA Tournament, the year they had 10 losses.

I like seeing the young players progress over their careers (true wins and losses are important), unfortunately most of the guys dont stay around long enough anymore, unlike the days of Alonzo Mourning and Christian Laettner. That is one thing I like about the collegiate women.
 
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#46
#46
Decker Moss said:
My original post has been taken by some as a slam against Mercedes which it was never intended to be. I was actually impressed with a couple of power moves she had shown in the game. Yes, it was probably poorly worded.

Mercedes is a great player who will do fantastic things at Tennessee. She has shown much improvement just in the last few games. I guess the only reason I said I was a little disappointed was because I was comparing her to Diamond DeShields and Kalea Davis who have come on like gangbusters at their respective schools.

I was never questioning Russell's ability or basketball IQ. Again, if the post came out that way I apologize.
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no problem Decker,Russell is going to be one hell of a player,no doubt about it
 
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#47
#47
I expect her strength will be almost twice what it is now by next season. When she gets strong enough she will be an intimidating force inside.
 
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#49
#49
Volfan2012 said:
I expect her strength will be almost twice what it is now by next season. When she gets strong enough she will be an intimidating force inside.
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I also expect her to add 3-5 inches in height over the off-season.
 
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