Lady Vols Recruiting Info

#2,351
#2,351
It is unheard of not to have a commitment at this point--that alone should be a firing offense for this staff. We've had three chances to get to the final four in recent years and show that we're still a major player in the sport--and we've blown all three chances.
 
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#2,354
#2,354
armchair said:
It is unheard of not to have a commitment at this point--that alone should be a firing offense for this staff. We've had three chances to get to the final four in recent years and show that we're still a major player in the sport--and we've blown all three chances.
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2015 (Loss to Maryland) - A healthy Harrison, Jones, and Russell, gives us the needed inside presence to beat Maryland that year. Their post players dominated that game...no way they do that having to defend Harrison and play against her length on the offensive side of the ball.

2014 (Loss to Maryland) - Harrison's Jr All-American season (good work Lockwood)....the reason she was able to have such a great season....Ariel's outside shooting that year. People seem to forget what a good season Ariel was having shooting wise before she went down with a concussion. Had Ariel been available, maybe Maryland wouldn't have clogged the paint so much to render Harrison ineffective that game. Who knows?!

2013 (Loss to Louisville) - Complete choke job in my opinion. This was the only EE game that I thought we actually had a good shot at winning. Wasn't this Holly's first year at the helm?

Now this year.....we played a hell of a tournament and right when it's time to return to glory....out goes Reynolds with a concussion???? Graves has a broken finger???? Carter has a broken finger????? Those injuries alone, combined with Syracuse's pressure proved to be too much to overcome. I honestly was deeply saddened cause I felt like the way they were clicking and the way the brackets fell, this would be the year we get back on the national scene, however one has to take into account the absolute worst luck with injuries at the most inopportune times in the season we've had over the years.

I'm really not trying to make excuses here but had we had our guns fully loaded in these last 3 EE games, I believe we could have won them.
Until Holly goes into an EE game with a fully healthy squad, I can't say that we've "blown" any of these games except the Lousiville one. Of course this is just my humble opinion.
 
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#2,355
#2,355
teacherdean said:
I agree with you Tony, it is still hard to imagine that a famous D1 program can't recruit one player of any stars. Holly should admit that it is an embrassement to the program. That is a real program setback. Holly's excuse of we don't recruit just anybody is only a defensive excuse for a program she is making infurtile. Can she recover? I believe she can, but first she has to analysis where she and the staff failed and come up with a recruiting game plan better than the 2016 plan. Flush the 2016 recruiting plan, or lack there of, down the toilet. With this staff she needs outside help.

She also have to give recruits hope that there is a prize at the end of the rainbow. Recruiting top players on the hope they will reach the sweet 16 is not a winner as opposed to hope that they will play in a final 4. Recruiting on the Lady Vol name, by itself, will not do it any more. Too many young recruits look at such things as, "that was then and this is now." She needs to totally change her coaching style, which will mean a change in coaching philosophy and a change in coaching personnel.

The issue is, can Holly identify the recruitment mistake and take corrective action? Can she analysis her coaching philosophy and make changes? The coach for Stanford changed her offensive philosophy because it was outdated. Look how aggressive Stanford is now. Look how they can hurt you inside, outside and the dribble drive. Before this year Stanford played mostly an inside game with a little help from the outside. Tara has vision and realized that in the new era of basketball a total inside game is not what will get you where you need to go. She, because of academics, seldom have a bunch of five stars. Holy, hopefully, will have 5 five stars on the team. She will be the HC, so the ball is in her court.
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You cannot just go after top 100 or just 5* athletes! We have no one in 2016 (I wonder what other programs limitations are for 2016 recruits?) UCONN has 2-3* commits, Stanford, U.S.C., KY., Texas Maryland, Louisville, Maryland ALL have 3* recruits for 2016!!!! Syracuse has three / three star recruits for 2016 and we all know where they are now and where we are! !! The guard that made us look like we were walking in quick sand was barely in the top 100 for 2013. I think she was 92 ???

It is one thing to say we did not get any 5* recruits......Its another to not get any 3* recruits when ALL of the main teams are all signing 3* recruits!
 
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#2,356
#2,356
I would have liked to see what kind of defense Jackson could have given against cuse's big guard. Nared & Cooper were not good.

my lineup from the start would have been DD, KD, MJ, Nia, MR. with Nared spelling KD when needed. & let the hurt girls sit.
 
#2,357
#2,357
armchair said:
It is unheard of not to have a commitment at this point--that alone should be a firing offense for this staff. We've had three chances to get to the final four in recent years and show that we're still a major player in the sport--and we've blown all three chances.
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We struck out because the top two posts stayed home in Texas and the only other (Tori McCoy) stayed close and went to Ohio. If this scenario holds true for 2017???

KK and Maya Dodson in Georgia are closer to South Carolina than to Tenn. (about and hour drive closer) We are on the list for the top two again! Megan Walker's list includes everyone within 2 hour drives and UT and UCONN. We are only 7 hours away and UCONN is 8 hours away! I am betting on Maryland? Rellah Bouthe in Florida is 5 hours from Auburn....10 hours from Knoxville, and 15 hours from Maryland. I am betting on Auburn? Cannot blame the young ladies for wanting family and friends to come see them play!!

We better get a JUCO or the 3 star kid from Elizabethon or we will not even be able to scrimmage with only 9 players on the team!!!

Not to be the instigator for doom and gloom but.....If we get 0 for 2017!!!!!! The new coach will have 13 scholarships to offer to anyone who will come! We have 8 to offer for 2017..... and after 2017 the Sophomores and the Red shirts will all be gone!!! Leaving Tea and MEME !:)
 
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#2,358
#2,358
PRG said:
Right now we have nine returning players! Assuming no one transfers? That leaves us with 6 (SIX) scholarships to use if we could get anyone to come here???? If we do end up with a zero for 2016 !!!!! You can add at least two more scholarships to that list! Or 8 (THATS EIGHT) scholarships available for 2017 ! Hopefully, we can get someone to come as we cannot even scrimmage without an assistant or manager making us have ten to be on the court at one time???

Maybe we can find a good high school team that they would all want to come and continue to play together? Since it takes so long for Holly to get players to want to play together?
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I am sure Holly is aware of these issues. What's worrisome is when she realizes what she's doing isn't working, her response is to double down and do the same thing even harder than before thinking that will fix it.
 
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#2,360
#2,360
T-TownVol said:
Tony....I am AGREEING with you! The "that's hard to read" comment I made on your post is in reference to the FACT that what you said is the 100% truth.....
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Gotcha now. You didn't seem like you was agreeing though when I originally took a first read of your post. :thumbsup:

BTW, we should be jumping for joy just by signing any 2 star recruits when all is said & done for the 2016 signing class. I don't know where things stand with the 2-3 of the top 150 that are not signed anywhere yet but we need at least one of them badly having not a single signee yet.

I think it's the #4 recruit(espnW). The #27 recruit. The #99 recruit that's left to be signed. None of them have us even considered as a possible signing.

We will be dipping into 2-3 star recruits because that's all that will be left & that's a shame for a Lady Vols program. This 2016 class will probably go down as the worst signing class in Lady Vols history. How many scholarships are available after Graves & Moore graduate? Are those the only 2 available or am I missing more?

We still are going to be a solid team next season but we need better recruits coming in for the 2017 season. Cooper really started playing like her recruit status towards the end of the season & the other freshman Jackson hopefully will work harder to improve her game for next season.

Mercedes was like the difference between night & day from the beginning of the season to the end. We have a good solid bunch of girls coming back for next season so 2016 recruiting isn't going to be as important as the 2017 signing class. We're going to miss Graves though. She was a solid player all 4 years in a Lady Vols uniform even though she never reached stardom status.

DeShields will no doubt be our best player coming back but she even needs to mature a bit with her game. It's mostly mental with her though & nothing to do with physical skills. She's by far the most skilled player we have on the roster. She can do anything she wants on the court but she gets out of control at times but like I said it's almost 100% mental with her.

She has a chance to be 1st team All-American next season not just 1st team All SEC. We should compete for the SEC title next season despite the lack of recruits coming in. We have enough coming back to have a real solid team. They should have all learned a lot from this past season too. That goes for Holly & the coaching staff as well.
 
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#2,363
#2,363
I would like to see CHW get some help from the JUCO ranks and pick up a project player also,definately need help in the post

of course CHW said she isn't going to waste any scholarships,so it will be interesting to see what happens between now and Signing Day,I think that is April 13th ? so there isn't much time left
 
#2,364
#2,364
If the LVs don't pick up a few players, they're going to have a short bench. The team would be very vulnerable to injuries.
 
#2,365
#2,365
There are already players from other schools who've announced they're transferring, and I expect more will do so in the next couple of weeks. It would be fortuitous if any of them end up wearing orange.
 
#2,366
#2,366
LA Vol said:
If the LVs don't pick up a few players, they're going to have a short bench. The team would be very vulnerable to injuries.
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They would be screwed beyond belief if anything happens to Mercedes. She's basically going to have to play 40 minutes each game. There's no one on the team who can spell her.

Makes me kind of wish that there standards weren't so high that they didn't give Krystaline McCune a sniff. They could really use her next season, even if she wasn't as good as they were projecting.
 
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#2,367
#2,367
I ain't worried. I think this will carry on into the next season, momentum that is. I think expect Deshields to have a monster season as well as Russell. Our outside shooting will have to be a much bigger part of our game, due to our inside game potentially not being as strong with only one true post. I expect Carter to become like she was her freshman year and shoot more from the outside. Players like her have to be able to step up their offensive game. Defense doesn't just win games, you gotta score. I think Dunbar could be the difference maker if she is able to become more conditioned and better on defense. She's got the height and body of a post player. If she does enough improvement, she could take Graves' spot. The biggest problem that we had with this problem was the inability of one of our post players being a threat from three. We need a post who can consistently knock down a three point shot, something Basharra was trying to accomplish, but just wasn't able to perform it enough.
 
#2,370
#2,370
Amb3096 said:
They would be screwed beyond belief if anything happens to Mercedes. She's basically going to have to play 40 minutes each game. There's no one on the team who can spell her.

Makes me kind of wish that there standards weren't so high that they didn't give Krystaline McCune a sniff. They could really use her next season, even if she wasn't as good as they were projecting.
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Losing MR would be a season-changer. And what if Jordan Reynolds has concussion issues like Jasmine? The LVs had a rash of injuries early in the season. What if that happens next year? Nine players-- three of whom sat most of this year-- is scary.

I know Holly has said she's not giving away scholarships, but it might be worthwhile to consider a project or two, if she can't get a couple of JUCOs or grad transfers.
 
#2,371
#2,371
LA Vol said:
Losing MR would be a season-ender. And what if Jordan Reynolds has concussion issues like Jasmine? The LVs had a rash of injuries early in the season. What if that happens next year? Nine players-- three of whom sat most of this year-- is scary.

I know Holly has said she's not giving away scholarships, but it might be worthwhile to consider a project or two, if she can't get a couple of JUCOs or grad transfers.
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Fixed your post :)

Jordan is a nice to have, but she's not critical like Mercedes is. There are options to compensate for her absence. In all honesty, Jordan is not good enough to be a starter for a team with NC aspirations. If Tennessee is going to go far, Cooper or Middleton need to become much better. Jordan will be a senior, and Andraya is a fifth year. It's hopeless to think they will all of a sudden become good players after being in the program so long and being below average.

They are in dire need of post players, however. Holly will need to suck it up and prove that she can coach whatever scraps she can find in the "Lost and Found" box.
 
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#2,372
#2,372
tonybologna said:
Gotcha now. You didn't seem like you was agreeing though when I originally took a first read of your post. :thumbsup:

BTW, we should be jumping for joy just by signing any 2 star recruits when all is said & done for the 2016 signing class. I don't know where things stand with the 2-3 of the top 150 that are not signed anywhere yet but we need at least one of them badly having not a single signee yet.

I think it's the #4 recruit(espnW). The #27 recruit. The #99 recruit that's left to be signed. None of them have us even considered as a possible signing.

We will be dipping into 2-3 star recruits because that's all that will be left & that's a shame for a Lady Vols program. This 2016 class will probably go down as the worst signing class in Lady Vols history. How many scholarships are available after Graves & Moore graduate? Are those the only 2 available or am I missing more?

We still are going to be a solid team next season but we need better recruits coming in for the 2017 season. Cooper really started playing like her recruit status towards the end of the season & the other freshman Jackson hopefully will work harder to improve her game for next season.

Mercedes was like the difference between night & day from the beginning of the season to the end. We have a good solid bunch of girls coming back for next season so 2016 recruiting isn't going to be as important as the 2017 signing class. We're going to miss Graves though. She was a solid player all 4 years in a Lady Vols uniform even though she never reached stardom status.

DeShields will no doubt be our best player coming back but she even needs to mature a bit with her game. It's mostly mental with her though & nothing to do with physical skills. She's by far the most skilled player we have on the roster. She can do anything she wants on the court but she gets out of control at times but like I said it's almost 100% mental with her.

She has a chance to be 1st team All-American next season not just 1st team All SEC. We should compete for the SEC title next season despite the lack of recruits coming in. We have enough coming back to have a real solid team. They should have all learned a lot from this past season too. That goes for Holly & the coaching staff as well.
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2016 recruiting really matters because of injuries and especially the concussion protocol. We need to somehow come up with at least 3 players or injuries could leave us extremely short. We really need a post to replace Graves and one to spell Russell.

Russell did improve, but she is still a little too tentative and lacks constant aggression. She really needs to play tougher in the post, consistently, like she did in a couple of the NCAA games.

No matter who we have next year the coaching has to improve or it will be another tough year. We have to coach our players up. Our players just do not seem to be getting collective better on a consistent basis. We certainly need a better offense and a better post coach.
 
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#2,373
#2,373
CHW does not know how to develop players. Nia Moore case in point. Then there is Kortney Dunbar. Last year Nia was our best player in preseason when she started the first 4 games. To see what she could do was exciting and the anticipation of Nia for the rest of the season was on high. But CHW settled on less from Nia Moore. For a player that can run the floor, hit open shots, block shots and be that go to player in the paint she was under utilized.

All the talk in preseason about how Kortney was going to have more of a role at the 4 spot this past season was fleeting. In preseason Kortney showed so much promise but then CHW stopped playing her for long stretches.

Alexa Middleton shown so much promise also. She was yet another player in preseason that played exceptionally well with her passing skills to Nia and Mercedes. And she was a good midrange shooter. But, she too stopped playing for long stretches during the season.

This was the most frustrating season because the Lady Vols have the players to succeed.

The team won most games because of their skill set not because of what Holly did to set them up for success.

The Syracuse game showed that Holly can not coach. Just ONE game to get to the Final Four and The Lady Vols lose by 22 points?

Holly has taken a once proud program and turned it into a chaotic mess! She's in over her head, unqualified and too stupid to realize it.
 
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#2,374
#2,374
I thought Cooper played too much this year and Middleton too little. Cooper did not justify all her PT. She's not a good shooter--she's not very effective against zone defenses--and yet she played big minutes all year, and often not very well. Middleton has got a better jump shot, is a better passer--and in my mind plays defense just as well. We know this: you can't develop sitting on the bench. It's not like our guard play was strong all year--it was weak! We lacked scoring all year--we lacked three-point shooting, which was a major issue--and two players who could have helped in that respect sat on the bench most of every game. Dunbar would make a three and then Warlick would taker her out! She did this numerous times. Leave her in and see if she can make another three.
 
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#2,375
#2,375
armchair said:
I thought Cooper played too much this year and Middleton too little. Cooper did not justify all her PT. She's not a good shooter--she's not very effective against zone defenses--and yet she played big minutes all year, and often not very well. Middleton has got a better jump shot, is a better passer--and in my mind plays defense just as well. We know this: you can't develop sitting on the bench. It's not like our guard play was strong all year--it was weak! We lacked scoring all year--we lacked three-point shooting, which was a major issue--and two players who could have helped in that respect sat on the bench most of every game. Dunbar would make a three and then Warlick would taker her out! She did this numerous times. Leave her in and see if she can make another three.
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I'm sorry but I disagree with your assessment between the comparison of Cooper & Middleton. Cooper is by far the better player. Cooper can shoot the ball. She's better at penetrating than Middleton as well. She's most certainly quicker than Middleton. She's a better defender than her too. I mean Cooper was a top 15 recruit coming out of high school compared to Middleton being way further down on that list. I agree though that Middleton did deserve a little more PT. She didn't get very many minutes at all once SEC play started.

However, she just doesn't have a lot of skills. She's mostly a set 3pt shooter even though she can take a couple of dribbles & shoot a mid range jumper pretty well. I don't get what you're saying about Middleton's defense. She fouls most of the time trying to guard players one on one. Cooper does foul too but she has the quickness & better skillset than Middleton.

Middleton & Dunbar both are role players for this team period. Dunbar got screwed worse than Middleton on PT. Holly should have used her way more this season than she did. Especially against teams that played strictly zone defense like Syracuse. I'm afraid this lack of playing time might run Dunbar away from the program & she will transfer elsewhere. You could really same the same for Middleton as well but she's a TN girl so maybe she will stick it out.
 
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