I wish this board would blow up after wins

[Ladyvol777]

And those plays were in the 2nd half right?

Mercedes had 13 pts and 4 rebounds. She is capable of more. Like I said, she had a solid game and she did make some big plays down the stretch.

Just what do you want out of Mercedes Russell, 40 points against the # 6 team. Brianna Turner only had 10 pts.

 

[alexvol]

Now lets not give all the glory to the players if you can bash holly when things go wrong then praise her for a signature win. she made great play calls and subs

It was not superior coaching is all I said .Average coaching ...yes.

 

[alaVOL]

An NC title would accomplish that. Maybe we should win one of those again.

 

[alexvol]

So when they win, it's the players, but when they lose its Holly????? Lmfaooo!

When they lose I have also given credit where credit is due on the players as well.I was not the one who introduced this subject in this thread .You need to read the whole thread .Holly was not the difference in this game.The players were and that difference was made with defense in the 4th qtr......

 

[madtownvol]

Just what do you want out of Mercedes Russell, 40 points against the # 6 team. Brianna Turner only had 10 pts.

Why the hostility? I never said Mercedes had a bad game. I said the LVs won without all their top players having their best games. I think Diamond played close to her max. I have seen Mercedes and Jamie have better games than they did against ND. Mercedes is a 6-6 post so a double-double, which she has many of this season, is the mark of a stronger (not poor but stronger performance).

If this team is going to make a run at the SEC or a deeper run in the tourney (elite 8 to final 4), they are going to need 20 pts and 10 rebounds from Russell with Nared and DeShields also delivering. We are "big 3 team" with 4 support players. So, the Big 3 has to deliver.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

For some unknown reason ....at least to me ....is that this team is a horrible road team.Outside the Baylor game they have given ....generally speaking good effort on the home floor.
Last nite they started out like a house on fire and as other poster have pointed out ,the passing in the 1st three minutes was the best that I have seen all year and it propelled them to a 11-2 lead.That lead soon vanished into thin air.

9 of the 14 SEC teams have losing road records.

 

[alexvol]

9 of the 14 SEC teams have losing road records.

Now that is certainly a revealing stat now isn't ? How many previous Lady Vol teams have had such a miserable road record as the last two have ?

Who in the SEC has losing records has absolutely no bearing at all on what the Lady Vol road record is or should be or ever will be.To make such comparison is ludicrous.

 

[Smallvol#1]

Just what do you want out of Mercedes Russell, 40 points against the # 6 team. Brianna Turner only had 10 pts.

Don't think he was dissing MR in anyway, just calling it the way he saw it, and she can have a better game. Which could usually be said about any player. Look at how she played against the Baylor bigs. CKM was so mad at them I bet they were scared to return to Wacolol:.

Also someone asked did MR get a hand on that last shot. TO said at the game he thought she had blocked it; we looked at a replay and both thought his in-game call was right. That said, she might have been the "game winner", but still think she can play better than last night.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Why the hostility? I never said Mercedes had a bad game. I said the LVs won without all their top players having their best games. I think Diamond played close to her max. I have seen Mercedes and Jamie have better games than they did against ND. Mercedes is a 6-6 post so a double-double, which she has many of this season, is the mark of a stronger (not poor but stronger performance).

If this team is going to make a run at the SEC or a deeper run in the tourney (elite 8 to final 4), they are going to need 20 pts and 10 rebounds from Russell with Nared and DeShields also delivering. We are "big 3 team" with 4 support players. So, the Big 3 has to deliver.

This game was hard fought, inspired play and won by a coaching tactic (Using the fouls to give at the end).

If I am able to see what I saw yesterday, every outing,,,Then maybe,,, errr,,,, Nope, sorry, I'm not giving up that easily. . .




;o)

 

[clkou]

Oh my, had the Lvs not accomplished a comeback victory, this board would have 100+ new threads all making the same point- Holly must go; the program is dead: BOYCOTT the LVs and on and on.

After a major win, it's more or less quiet on the western front with a few posters still wanting to make really tired jabs about how Holly scratches her head and puts her hands on her hips.

From my perspective, I've been much more quiet since the Lady Vols finished 8-8 in SEC play. Don't get me wrong. I obviously root for the Lady Vols and I was very happy they won last night, but that win doesn't change the reality of the situation. The reality that we are stuck with a mediocre coaching staff and indifferent athletic department to do anything proactive about it.

Even though I'm glad we won, I also cringed a bit when the players, fans, and coaching staff reacted to the win like they had won a National Championship. Think about that: we were player for player better than everyone on their roster and we were at home and beat the #6 team (not even top 5) and it was like we weren't supposed to win.

Fortunately, somehow someway we've been able to maintain good talent despite the slide in the program. In that sense, we will likely always have a chance to put together a game good enough to win many nights. Unfortunately, I just don't see any way in Hell this coaching staff can consistently get enough out of our team to win a National Championship. The offense alone will not allow that to happen and our defense doesn't show up consistently either.

Winning a marquee game here and there is not a difference maker when you still lose to unranked teams like Ole Miss. Until we have an offense, defense, and team effort that consistently shows up, we're going to keep spinning our wheels. And again, I don't think I've ever seen one game from start to finish that had, what I consider, a good offensive scheme and flow.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I'm not insane so until I see something different, I'm going to expect the same result, which unfortunately hasn't been good.

 

[madtownvol]

From my perspective, I've been much more quiet since the Lady Vols finished 8-8 in SEC play. Don't get me wrong. I obviously root for the Lady Vols and I was very happy they won last night, but that win doesn't change the reality of the situation. The reality that we are stuck with a mediocre coaching staff and indifferent athletic department to do anything proactive about it.

Even though I'm glad we won, I also cringed a bit when the players, fans, and coaching staff reacted to the win like they had won a National Championship. Think about that: we were player for player better than everyone on their roster and we were at home and beat the #6 team (not even top 5) and it was like we weren't supposed to win.

Fortunately, somehow someway we've been able to maintain good talent despite the slide in the program. In that sense, we will likely always have a chance to put together a game good enough to win many nights. Unfortunately, I just don't see any way in Hell this coaching staff can consistently get enough out of our team to win a National Championship. The offense alone will not allow that to happen and our defense doesn't show up consistently either.

Winning a marquee game here and there is not a difference maker when you still lose to unranked teams like Ole Miss. Until we have an offense, defense, and team effort that consistently shows up, we're going to keep spinning our wheels. And again, I don't think I've ever seen one game from start to finish that had, what I consider, a good offensive scheme and flow.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I'm not insane so until I see something different, I'm going to expect the same result, which unfortunately hasn't been good.

I see your point but there is a bit of a damned if you do, damned don't logic in your post.

ND had beaten the LVs 6 straight times; had a 15 pt. lead in the 2nd half; in a nationally televised game; and on Back Pat night. That is a lot of emotional stress in the mix and the LVs made a great comeback and won the game in dramatic fashion.

What response would you have liked to seen? Holly shrugging her shoulders and the players walking off like robots. Of course, then everybody would be "see, Holly does not care! No EMOTION blah, blah, blah."

Yes, this team is inconsistent and I expect they will continue to be for a multitude of reasons. But the SEC is a competitive conference and everyone is going to lose some games.

It is not so clear that we were better player for player than ND. ND is certainly deeper and they recruit well.

The assumption seems to be that we have the talent to be #1 and therefore anything less than an NC and undefeated season is a terrible.

Our fan base way over estimates the teams talent level. Being a HS AA does not necessarily mean that you are an inherently better player down the road in college.

Our big 3 players are good not great. Diamond is spectacular athlete but her game has a lot of deficiencies; Mercedes is moving in the direction of greatness but wide body posts still give her all kinds of problems and she really does not dominant games in the manner of say a Griner or a Parker, or a Stewart (three icons of greatness); Nared is moving toward greatness as well but she is not AA caliber as of yet. And the rest of the team are competent support players (Reynolds, Jackson and Nunn); two players who are still finding their way (Middleton and Dunbar); and freshman project player.

As for the NC, it pains me to say this but Uconn has left EVERYONE in the dust. If they don't win again, it will be regarded as a monumental upset.

It is worth pondering what Geno A. has going that has left every other coach and program in his wake.

So, for the LVs the realistic aim is to finish well enough to earn a 3rd or 4th seed (and they have a lot of work to do) and then make another tournament run. For this team it comes down to peaking at the right time. If they are playing their best b-ball in March, another elite 8 is possible and with some luck, maybe the long awaited return to the final four.

But at that point, everyone is playing for the right to be obliterated by the evil empire.

 

[Darth_Vol]

From my perspective, I've been much more quiet since the Lady Vols finished 8-8 in SEC play. Don't get me wrong. I obviously root for the Lady Vols and I was very happy they won last night, but that win doesn't change the reality of the situation. The reality that we are stuck with a mediocre coaching staff and indifferent athletic department to do anything proactive about it.

Even though I'm glad we won, I also cringed a bit when the players, fans, and coaching staff reacted to the win like they had won a National Championship. Think about that: we were player for player better than everyone on their roster and we were at home and beat the #6 team (not even top 5) and it was like we weren't supposed to win.

Fortunately, somehow someway we've been able to maintain good talent despite the slide in the program. In that sense, we will likely always have a chance to put together a game good enough to win many nights. Unfortunately, I just don't see any way in Hell this coaching staff can consistently get enough out of our team to win a National Championship. The offense alone will not allow that to happen and our defense doesn't show up consistently either.

Winning a marquee game here and there is not a difference maker when you still lose to unranked teams like Ole Miss. Until we have an offense, defense, and team effort that consistently shows up, we're going to keep spinning our wheels. And again, I don't think I've ever seen one game from start to finish that had, what I consider, a good offensive scheme and flow.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I'm not insane so until I see something different, I'm going to expect the same result, which unfortunately hasn't been good.

Outstanding summation of the state of the program.

 

[Ladyvol777]

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

(Opening statement)
"I thought Tennessee did a great job down the stretch. When they made their run, they rebounded. They held us to one shot, and I thought that was the difference in the game. We were outrebounding them in the first half, but in the second half, we could not get a rebound, especially at the offensive end. We were disappointed in our effort defensively, and our inability to guard the ball screen really killed us down the stretch. We talked about it, but we weren't able to guard them in the ball screen. We just made a lot of mistakes. To their credit, they took advantage of all of the mistakes we made.

 

[Rickster]

So when they win, it's the players, but when they lose its Holly????? Lmfaooo!

That certainly seems to be the nega-analysis.

 

[ladyvosl23]

Norte Dane has 8 McDonald's AA on there roster in no way our we the better team we are more athletic yea but they have better shooters. We are not supposed to win home or away also let you guys tell it they have a better coach and the celebration was the monkey off there back

 

[Nute Gunray]

Good points. My one beef with Holly is that she keeps saying, she does not coach effort. With this group of players, maybe she needs to. They may not always be aware when they are playing a little flat. 10% can make a huge difference for a team on the margin. They may need to some effort coaching motivation.

Holly may not coach effort, but Geno sure does! As you implied, maybe Holly needs to rethink her coaching philosophy.

 

[MDVols]

Think what they could do with a real coach.

 

[Rickster]

Perhaps motivation will come when there is more competition for playing time. Right now, the team struggles because of depth. Starters are having to play too many minutes and we don't have the reserves who can cover well for all the positions (point, wings, power forward, center). I like having Qui in there with Mercedes but there is no one who can come off the bench to replace them effectively when they get tired or in foul trouble or just having a bad game.

Players have bad games from time to time (sick, worried about school, worried about significant other, etc...). Sometimes fans forget about the effects of being in school and away from friends and family. It can take a toll. These are not objects but real people so you cannot expect perfection at the flip of a switch. None of you could do what they do....at least I'm pretty sure about that so you should consider giving them a break every now and again.

When you have injuries and lean recruiting years, the coaches lose flexibility in managing players. Blame who you will but to me, the issue is not coaching. It is having enough quality personnel to sub without a significant drop-off and having players fresh and able to apply defensive pressure the whole game and having players who can come in when a player is sick, unfocused or slightly injured who can keep up the defensive pressure while contributing to the offense or being the offense.

We have smaller good players but don't have the big strong inside (talented) players yet and we don't have consistent outside shooters who can keep defenses honest. Less turnovers because of forced passes would be a nice addition as well.

 

[Nute Gunray]

I see your point but there is a bit of a damned if you do, damned don't logic in your post.

ND had beaten the LVs 6 straight times; had a 15 pt. lead in the 2nd half; in a nationally televised game; and on Back Pat night. That is a lot of emotional stress in the mix and the LVs made a great comeback and won the game in dramatic fashion.

What response would you have liked to seen? Holly shrugging her shoulders and the players walking off like robots. Of course, then everybody would be "see, Holly does not care! No EMOTION blah, blah, blah."

Yes, this team is inconsistent and I expect they will continue to be for a multitude of reasons. But the SEC is a competitive conference and everyone is going to lose some games.

It is not so clear that we were better player for player than ND. ND is certainly deeper and they recruit well.

The assumption seems to be that we have the talent to be #1 and therefore anything less than an NC and undefeated season is a terrible.

Our fan base way over estimates the teams talent level. Being a HS AA does not necessarily mean that you are an inherently better player down the road in college.

Our big 3 players are good not great. Diamond is spectacular athlete but her game has a lot of deficiencies; Mercedes is moving in the direction of greatness but wide body posts still give her all kinds of problems and she really does not dominant games in the manner of say a Griner or a Parker, or a Stewart (three icons of greatness); Nared is moving toward greatness as well but she is not AA caliber as of yet. And the rest of the team are competent support players (Reynolds, Jackson and Nunn); two players who are still finding their way (Middleton and Dunbar); and freshman project player.

As for the NC, it pains me to say this but Uconn has left EVERYONE in the dust. If they don't win again, it will be regarded as a monumental upset.

It is worth pondering what Geno A. has going that has left every other coach and program in his wake.

So, for the LVs the realistic aim is to finish well enough to earn a 3rd or 4th seed (and they have a lot of work to do) and then make another tournament run. For this team it comes down to peaking at the right time. If they are playing their best b-ball in March, another elite 8 is possible and with some luck, maybe the long awaited return to the final four.

But at that point, everyone is playing for the right to be obliterated by the evil empire.

Madtown, Geno demands, and gets, 100% effort from all his players for 40 minutes, every game. His practices are brutal and unrelenting. His players say that practice is more demanding and lasts much longer than any actual game. Also, he is fundamentally sound in his offense and defensive schemes. When you couple this level of coaching with a team of talented players you get eleven NCs and counting. The difference between Geno and Holly, other than good offensive and defensive schemes, is Geno demands and gets total player effort all of the time while Holly expects but does not get it most of the time.

 

[MDVols]

There is an obvious reason Holly wasn't hired away before to be a head coach, she sucks and everyone knows it. She is just living off Pats brand and in a couple of years kid won't remember how dominant UT once was.

 

[madtownvol]

Madtown, Geno demands, and gets, 100% effort from all his players for 40 minutes, every game. His practices are brutal and unrelenting. His players say that practice is more demanding and lasts much longer than any actual game. Also, he is fundamentally sound in his offense and defensive schemes. When you couple this level of coaching with a team of talented players you get eleven NCs and counting. The difference between Geno and Holly, other than good offensive and defensive schemes, is Geno demands and gets total player effort all of the time while Holly expects but does not get it most of the time.

Nute,

Yes, the brutally unimaginably hard workouts are part of the Uconn mystique. And a lot of elite teams—across sports—often create some kind of mythology to make themselves appear invisible. “You can’t beat us because we practice in shark tanks….” But, I don’t believe it. There is only so hard you can push athletes before their bodies start breaking down. Athletic excellence is finding the right balance of intense training and recovery. I am sure that Uconn’s practices are intense and well organized but I would bet that holds true for pretty much every team that is regularly in the top 20.

And I don’t think the Uconn edge comes down to Xs and Os either because there are only so many things you can do on a b-ball court and with film, it is hard to maintain a tactical advantage over the course of a season.

Where I think Uconn excels is in player development (Geno and staff have some magic in terms of getting players to reach their potential) and perhaps most importantly, recruiting players that blend together in terms of being a team (both in terms of skill sets and team culture).

I find Geno to be a dislikeable character but what he has accomplished over the last 15 years is incredible. You have to go to John Wooden to find a comparison point.

 

[Nute Gunray]

Nute,

Yes, the brutally unimaginably hard workouts are part of the Uconn mystique. And a lot of elite teams—across sports—often create some kind of mythology to make themselves appear invisible. “You can’t beat us because we practice in shark tanks….” But, I don’t believe it. There is only so hard you can push athletes before their bodies start breaking down. Athletic excellence is finding the right balance of intense training and recovery. I am sure that Uconn’s practices are intense and well organized but I would bet that holds true for pretty much every team that is regularly in the top 20.

And I don’t think the Uconn edge comes down to Xs and Os either because there are only so many things you can do on a b-ball court and with film, it is hard to maintain a tactical advantage over the course of a season.

Where I think Uconn excels is in player development (Geno and staff have some magic in terms of getting players to reach their potential) and perhaps most importantly, recruiting players that blend together in terms of being a team (both in terms of skill sets and team culture).

I find Geno to be a dislikeable character but what he has accomplished over the last 15 years is incredible. You have to go to John Wooden to find a comparison point.

Madtown,

Below is an excerpt from an Web article about Geno and his success at UCONN. Geno is giving the answer(A):

"Q: Other than good players, the secret of your success.

A: Obviously the No. 1 thing is we’re not winning anything without the great players that we have. The thing that always drives me, the thing I fear the most on coaching is signing a kid who’s the No. 1 player in America, or signing a kid who is an acclaimed high school basketball player, and they come to Connecticut, and they don’t feel like after four years that I pushed them enough and did enough to make them great. That’s my biggest fear." (END OF ARTICLE)

This is the point that I was trying to make in my post. The secret (not magic) to Geno's success is his relentless demand that he makes on his players to excel at winning basketball games. The intense practices are part of his strategy of demanding excellence from his players. Other WCBB coaches may have intense practices but not to the level of Geno's. I have gather this information from a number of WCBB sports reporters. This is what separates Geno from the rest of WCBB coaches including Holly.

 

[alexvol]

Perhaps motivation will come when there is more competition for playing time. Right now, the team struggles because of depth. Starters are having to play too many minutes and we don't have the reserves who can cover well for all the positions (point, wings, power forward, center). I like having Qui in there with Mercedes but there is no one who can come off the bench to replace them effectively when they get tired or in foul trouble or just having a bad game.

Players have bad games from time to time (sick, worried about school, worried about significant other, etc...). Sometimes fans forget about the effects of being in school and away from friends and family. It can take a toll. These are not objects but real people so you cannot expect perfection at the flip of a switch. None of you could do what they do....at least I'm pretty sure about that so you should consider giving them a break every now and again.

When you have injuries and lean recruiting years, the coaches lose flexibility in managing players. Blame who you will but to me, the issue is not coaching. It is having enough quality personnel to sub without a significant drop-off and having players fresh and able to apply defensive pressure the whole game and having players who can come in when a player is sick, unfocused or slightly injured who can keep up the defensive pressure while contributing to the offense or being the offense.

We have smaller good players but don't have the big strong inside (talented) players yet and we don't have consistent outside shooters who can keep defenses honest. Less turnovers because of forced passes would be a nice addition as well.

How many players are in the rotation on UCONN's team ?

What was the refrain from pundits and most on this board preseason about UCONN not having the talent this year to win the National Championship ? I will answer both questions for you .UCONN has 7 players in their regular rotation so he has no problem creating competition so why does Holly and he does not have more talent on the bench than does the Lady Vols. and as to the preseason clamor that UCONN does not have the talent this year to win National Championship that is true on paper but the Short guy up there develops players and coaches them up to play as a team.He actually has both an offensive and defensive philosophy and drills it into them in practice and demands execution on the floor during games .

 

[ladyvosl23]

How many players are in the rotation on UCONN's team ?

What was the refrain from pundits and most on this board preseason about UCONN not having the talent this year to win the National Championship ? I will answer both questions for you .UCONN has 7 players in their regular rotation so he has no problem creating competition so why does Holly and he does not have more talent on the bench than does the Lady Vols. and as to the preseason clamor that UCONN does not have the talent this year to win National Championship that is true on paper but the Short guy up there develops players and coaches them up to play as a team.He actually has both an offensive and defensive philosophy and drills it into them in practice and demands execution on the floor during games .

Uconn IS playing in the AAC not SEC different animal. And Lets stop comparing to UCONN to us we are not them they are not us . hell nobody is beating uconn so don't come put that burden over here .

 

[volfanIND]

Geno has made coaching videos you can buy, and he teaches his offense in them. I've seen glimpse of his practices and the man is a perfectionist to the extreme. He will make his team run a drill, and if someone makes one mistake, the drill starts over. He makes no room for error, he demands perfection. The other part is the teaching part, he does teach. I am not a fan of uconn or geno, but I do respect what he has accomplished.