Wake-Up call for Vols in Destin

#1

Evergrenevol

Lux et Veritas
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#1
I knew that FSU made the Elite Eight last year in the Big Dance. I also knew that FSU was experienced, deep, big, athletic, physical and well coached. They intimidated the Vols last night.

The loss of 3 NBA players obviously hurts, and it’s left us with some glaring weaknesses. The most concerning weakness is the lack of any inside offense. FSU knew it and the SEC knows it. FSU overplayed our guards, took away our offense and caused a ton of turnovers.

Fulky plays his guts out, but got manhandled inside last night. The loss of physical strength and presence inside from Williams and Schofield hurts.

Yves continues to impress. He’s the only player who could match the physicality of FSU inside.

I’m very impressed by James and believe he’s our best option at the point. Gaines and Nkamoua impress me and just need experience.

Our two senior guards had a rough night. Lamonte had 8 turnovers, and neither shot well. With all of this.....the Vols played hard, stayed in the game and never quit. Hopefully, they’ll play better tonight.
 
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#2
#2
I knew that FSU made the Elite Eight last year in the Big Dance. I also knew was that FSU was experienced, deep, big, athletic, physical and well coached. They intimidated the Vols last night.

The loss of 3 NBA players obviously hurts, and it’s left us with some glaring weaknesses. The most concerning weakness is the lack of any inside offense. FSU knew it and the SEC knows it. FSU overplayed our guards, took away our offense and caused a ton of turnovers.

Fulky plays his guts out, but got manhandled inside last night. The loss of physical strength and presence inside from Williams and Schofield hurts.

Yves continues to impress. He’s the only player who could match the physicality of FSU inside.

I’m very impressed by James and believe he’s our best option at the point. Gaines and Nkamoua impress me and just need experience.

Our two senior guards had a rough night. Lamonte had 8 turnovers, and neither shot well. With all of this.....the Vols played hard, stayed in the game and never quit. Hopefully, they’ll play better tonight.

As James, Gains, Nkamoua improve their play our wins on the court should increase. They have a ways to go yet.
 
#3
#3
It also looked to me like they had scouted us really well and keyed-in on our tendency to be lazy with our passes. They used their length and athleticism to anticipate and fill gaps and they got a lot of their turnovers that way, seemingly with very little effort. We need to clean that up for sure.
 
#4
#4
I knew that FSU made the Elite Eight last year in the Big Dance. I also knew that FSU was experienced, deep, big, athletic, physical and well coached. They intimidated the Vols last night.

The loss of 3 NBA players obviously hurts, and it’s left us with some glaring weaknesses. The most concerning weakness is the lack of any inside offense. FSU knew it and the SEC knows it. FSU overplayed our guards, took away our offense and caused a ton of turnovers.

Fulky plays his guts out, but got manhandled inside last night. The loss of physical strength and presence inside from Williams and Schofield hurts.

Yves continues to impress. He’s the only player who could match the physicality of FSU inside.

I’m very impressed by James and believe he’s our best option at the point. Gaines and Nkamoua impress me and just need experience.

Our two senior guards had a rough night. Lamonte had 8 turnovers, and neither shot well. With all of this.....the Vols played hard, stayed in the game and never quit. Hopefully, they’ll play better tonight.

I don't think anyone expected this roster to pick up where things left off last year. The deficiencies are apparent and the moves attempted by Barnes only serve to confirm our shortcomings. I consider this a transition year. Just keep the culture intact, fight in every game and I'll be happy with the record we bring home. If we somehow manage to make the dance, even better. I'm also not counting on this incoming class to have us in the elite 8 in year one. Just hope they hang around long enough for the team to gel and benefit from their growth and experience.
 
#5
#5
I knew that FSU made the Elite Eight last year in the Big Dance. I also knew that FSU was experienced, deep, big, athletic, physical and well coached. They intimidated the Vols last night.

The loss of 3 NBA players obviously hurts, and it’s left us with some glaring weaknesses. The most concerning weakness is the lack of any inside offense. FSU knew it and the SEC knows it. FSU overplayed our guards, took away our offense and caused a ton of turnovers.

Fulky plays his guts out, but got manhandled inside last night. The loss of physical strength and presence inside from Williams and Schofield hurts.

Yves continues to impress. He’s the only player who could match the physicality of FSU inside.

I’m very impressed by James and believe he’s our best option at the point. Gaines and Nkamoua impress me and just need experience.

Our two senior guards had a rough night. Lamonte had 8 turnovers, and neither shot well. With all of this.....the Vols played hard, stayed in the game and never quit. Hopefully, they’ll play better tonight.
Fair and accurate criticism.
 
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#6
#6
We do have a tendency to telegraph our passes and Lamonte is somewhat inconsistent.

We need Vescovi badly. Looking more like an 18 win team than 22-24 wins, that's for sure.

I think we need to get JJ more involved with the pg situation sooner rather than later due to inconsistent play from Turner.
 
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#7
#7
We do have a tendency to telegraph our passes and Lamonte is somewhat inconsistent.

We need Vescovi badly. Looking more like an 18 win team than 22-24 wins, that's for sure.

I think we need to get JJ more involved with the pg situation sooner rather than later due to inconsistent play from Turner.
Quick question: did you develop that opinion based on last night's outcome? That's a pretty dramatic 4-6 win seasonal swing based on a single 3-pt loss.
 
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#8
#8
We do have a tendency to telegraph our passes and Lamonte is somewhat inconsistent.

We need Vescovi badly. Looking more like an 18 win team than 22-24 wins, that's for sure.

I think we need to get JJ more involved with the pg situation sooner rather than later due to inconsistent play from Turner.

I believe JJ has had enough chances. He needs to follow Kent.
 
#13
#13
Realistically, don't you think we have the team that we will have to carry for this year? Plavsic has been denied twice already. Not happening this year. Vescovi is a long shot to play PG this season. Doesn't even get on campus until SEC play has started with a ton to learn about our offense and this level of physical play.

I think it is vital to get Nkamhoue, Gaines, and Pember into the flow before January when the real grind and physicality begins. Might cost some early losses but I think it will provide dividends later in the season. Doesn't any team need to have at least 7 or 8 to divide serious minutes or run out of gas?
 
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#14
#14
I don't think anyone expected this roster to pick up where things left off last year. The deficiencies are apparent and the moves attempted by Barnes only serve to confirm our shortcomings. I consider this a transition year. Just keep the culture intact, fight in every game and I'll be happy with the record we bring home. If we somehow manage to make the dance, even better. I'm also not counting on this incoming class to have us in the elite 8 in year one. Just hope they hang around long enough for the team to gel and benefit from their growth and experience.

The fun will be to just sit back and watch the kids develop. See who really takes to the coaching
 
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#15
#15
I believe the poster is referring to Josiah James. Jalen Johnson is nowhere near a PG.
Yeah you are right. But since Jalen's name has been brought up I think you are a good one to ask this question. Jalen has never taken the next step. What do you think went wrong? We see some players make great progress between one season and the next. Jalen just doesn't seem to be advancing. It's just a question and I'm not throwing off on the kid but his play seems the same as last year.
 
#16
#16
Yeah you are right. But since Jalen's name has been brought up I think you are a good one to ask this question. Jalen has never taken the next step. What do you think went wrong? We see some players make great progress between one season and the next. Jalen just doesn't seem to be advancing. It's just a question and I'm not throwing off on the kid but his play seems the same as last year.

Way too passive.
 
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#17
#17
Yeah you are right. But since Jalen's name has been brought up I think you are a good one to ask this question. Jalen has never taken the next step. What do you think went wrong? We see some players make great progress between one season and the next. Jalen just doesn't seem to be advancing. It's just a question and I'm not throwing off on the kid but his play seems the same as last year.
Well, it could be a number of reasons, or a combination of several.

Some kids peak too early. Some just never take their game to the next level. Some are just satisfied being a member of the team. Some never develop physically to the level required to compete at the highest level. Some are more intrigued by life away from basketball and the celebrity status of being a college athlete. Some are blocked at their position by better players. Some don't have the mentality to be great and are just too passive.

For Johnson, I think he was way behind physically when he arrived. He was blocked by better players at the guard position in his own class (Bowden and Bone). Lastly, he has just never taken the bull by the horns and laid claim to a spot in the rotation. Too passive in his limited oppourtunities.

He and Jordan McRae are interesting case studies. Both arrived with varying degrees of fanfare, both were underdeveloped physically, both were pretty invisible as freshmen and sophomores. McRae had a killer instinct and desire to be the man. I haven't seen that from Johnson.
 
#18
#18
It also looked to me like they had scouted us really well and keyed-in on our tendency to be lazy with our passes. They used their length and athleticism to anticipate and fill gaps and they got a lot of their turnovers that way, seemingly with very little effort. We need to clean that up for sure.
Yes, what you talked about was very evident, frustrating, but smart by FSU to take advantage of.
 
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#19
#19
Well, it could be a number of reasons, or a combination of several.

Some kids peak too early. Some just never take their game to the next level. Some are just satisfied being a member of the team. Some never develop physically to the level required to compete at the highest level. Some are more intrigued by life away from basketball and the celebrity status of being a college athlete. Some are blocked at their position by better players. Some don't have the mentality to be great and are just too passive.

For Johnson, I think he was way behind physically when he arrived. He was blocked by better players at the guard position in his own class (Bowden and Bone). Lastly, he has just never taken the bull by the horns and laid claim to a spot in the rotation. Too passive in his limited oppourtunities.

He and Jordan McRae are interesting case studies. Both arrived with varying degrees of fanfare, both were underdeveloped physically, both were pretty invisible as freshmen and sophomores. McRae had a killer instinct and desire to be the man. I haven't seen that from Johnson.

Gaines is more underdeveloped than Johnson was his 1st year but seems poised to overtake him in the rotation as a true freshman. Gaines seems to want it more, while Johnson seems complacent.
 
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#22
#22
Gaines is more underdeveloped than Johnson was his 1st year but seems poised to overtake him in the rotation as a true freshman. Gaines seems to want it more, while Johnson seems complacent.
Agree. A significant difference in true freshman Gaines and rJR Johnson in terms of aggression.
 
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