Aftermath of Lady Vols Loss to Michigan

#1

teacherdean

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#1
I know that many of us are disappointed with our second round ouster from the NCAA Tournament and I am just as disappointed as anyone else. For the last 10 years, or more, we all watched the LV program head South. With my disappointment, I still take into consideration that this is KJH’s second year at the helm. It takes more than two years to give life to a program where the oxygen has been sucked out. It becomes difficult to convince many 5 stars that it is in their best interest to be a part of a dying program. Most top recruits are mostly interest in playing for top 10 programs. Sadly, the prior coaching staff recruited well but produced little. Within 7 years the mojo of playing at Tennessee lost its magic. In addition, a rabid fan base, including me, went after players and coaching staff because we craved for the good old days.The attitude of a fan base can either affect recruiting in a negative or positive manner. In reality, retrieving the good old days is going to take a lot of work. No, KJH has not recruited a bunch of 5 stars, however, the 4 four star players coming in, seem to have some strong upsides. It took KJH 6 years to rebuild MoState’s basketball program with a group of no stars. I truly believe it will take KJH at least five years to build a consistent D1 top ten team. Success comes in increments and simply will not happen in two years.
 
#2
#2
I know that many of us are disappointed with our second round ouster from the NCAA Tournament and I am just as disappointed as anyone else. For the last 10 years, or more, we all watched the LV program head South. With my disappointment, I still take into consideration that this is KJH’s second year at the helm. It takes more than two years to give life to a program where the oxygen has been sucked out. It becomes difficult to convince many 5 stars that it is in their best interest to be a part of a dying program. Most top recruits are mostly interest in playing for top 10 programs. Sadly, the prior coaching staff recruited well but produced little. Within 7 years the mojo of playing at Tennessee lost its magic. In addition, a rabid fan base, including me, went after players and coaching staff because we craved for the good old days.The attitude of a fan base can either affect recruiting in a negative or positive manner. In reality, retrieving the good old days is going to take a lot of work. No, KJH has not recruited a bunch of 5 stars, however, the 4 four star players coming in, seem to have some strong upsides. It took KJH 6 years to rebuild MoState’s basketball program with a group of no stars. I truly believe it will take KJH at least five years to build a consistent D1 top ten team. Success comes in increments and simply will not happen in two years.
I agree with a lot of sentiment. I think it will be really hard to get recruits without winning consistently. However, we’re losing a lot in Re and Kasi and I’m not convinced any of the incoming freshman will have a huge impact. We can’t recruit MO State caliber players and win in the SEC. I am hopeful that our core group doesn’t transfer our ( not bc of Kellie but because that’s the world we live in) and JH and TK make the jump Rae did between year 2 & 3. If that doesn’t happen, I think we will be in for a long year. I recognize that she needs time and I am in full support of KJH...but recruiting or lack there of scares me. A lot.
 
#5
#5
Where we need to get and still trying to get is a roster that has a lot of upperclassmen that have been in the program a long time and have continued to develop their playing skills. Davis and Burrell were very good players in their second year under Harper after those two there wasn't much help putting the ball in the basket so everything rested on how those two players played. If they had a bad game definitely more likely to lose as no one else could be depended upon to step up and play well when things were not going well for these two key players. That is what this season was all about no support for two players that occasionally had bad games. A very few times Horston or Key played well enough to be considered sufficient help although that was not to often. KK better than she has ever been yet not a scorer and never one you could depend on to have a big game when the big two were having their problems. Walker not an efficient scorer and then after those six it got much worse as none of Suarez, Salary, Darby, Saunders, or Rennie could be depended upon enough to even play more than a few minutes a game. McCoy injured all season as was Green don't know how much help they might have been unlikely enough to change the record much.
So going into next season a lot will have to go right for us to be a top SEC team. We have Burrell back and she will be an AA she is a worker and will get even better than she was this season. We need the sophomores this season Key and Horston to take huge strides in becoming efficient scorers. Key just needs a way to get more touches which couldn't happen very often this season because teams did not respect our outside shooting and were very comfortable keeping a lot of defensive players in the paint. Horston needs a complete makeover of her offensive game. She needs to start with a shooting instructor today and work until next season in developing a shooting stroke. She is a player that must be an efficient and dependable scorer next season. Then we should have Walker and Green back who are dependable players and hopefully better than they were this season. Darby possibly could be a perimeter scorer but she would really need to build up her core strength and leg strength body just to soft at this point to play a physical offensive and defensive game. She has a 40 percent three point shooting stroke if she could get strong enough to stay on the floor. Salary seemed to lose her game late in the season maybe she develops it again over the summer. Suarez have to see where she goes from where she is now injured quite a bit late season. The freshman should provide a bench we haven't had in the first two seasons under Harper. Puckett and Striplin are physical players that know how to score. Wynn and Miles will make us quicker in the backcourt than we have been in a while. Wynn could be a breakout player even as a freshman she was fabulous her senior season 30 ppg 11 rpg 5.4 steals 3.6 assists. I don't think she is a terrific there point shooter her game is more mid-range and getting to the basket. I don't know where Rennie and Saunders fit in guess we'll find out over the summer and start of next season.

I think the team could potentially be better next season if all the players improve at the rate they did this season. We could use a top player out of the portal that has an established perimeter game plus defensive skills and can't emphasize enough how important it will be for Horston to live up to her number two in her class ranking next season. It will take a lot of hard work on her part over the next six months. Whether she is willing to do what it takes guess all of us that are here next season will find out.
 
#6
#6
I know that many of us are disappointed with our second round ouster from the NCAA Tournament and I am just as disappointed as anyone else. For the last 10 years, or more, we all watched the LV program head South. With my disappointment, I still take into consideration that this is KJH’s second year at the helm. It takes more than two years to give life to a program where the oxygen has been sucked out. It becomes difficult to convince many 5 stars that it is in their best interest to be a part of a dying program. Most top recruits are mostly interest in playing for top 10 programs. Sadly, the prior coaching staff recruited well but produced little. Within 7 years the mojo of playing at Tennessee lost its magic. In addition, a rabid fan base, including me, went after players and coaching staff because we craved for the good old days.The attitude of a fan base can either affect recruiting in a negative or positive manner. In reality, retrieving the good old days is going to take a lot of work. No, KJH has not recruited a bunch of 5 stars, however, the 4 four star players coming in, seem to have some strong upsides. It took KJH 6 years to rebuild MoState’s basketball program with a group of no stars. I truly believe it will take KJH at least five years to build a consistent D1 top ten team. Success comes in increments and simply will not happen in two years.
Sad to see the wait until next year or year after posts .Been that way for awhile now.I thought that Coach Harper had enough talent to at least reach Sweet 16.Just my opinion but I thought she was badly outcoached by the Michigan Head coach....especially Michigan's defense against our two best players who were essentially shut down in the 1st half and until the game was out of hand.No adjustments to offensive game plan at all that was apparent to me.
I am with you in the hope that next year will see some improvement with the new blood coming in but I have to see it to believe it and by the way I am not from Missouri .
 
#7
#7
I know that many of us are disappointed with our second round ouster from the NCAA Tournament and I am just as disappointed as anyone else. For the last 10 years, or more, we all watched the LV program head South. With my disappointment, I still take into consideration that this is KJH’s second year at the helm. It takes more than two years to give life to a program where the oxygen has been sucked out. It becomes difficult to convince many 5 stars that it is in their best interest to be a part of a dying program. Most top recruits are mostly interest in playing for top 10 programs. Sadly, the prior coaching staff recruited well but produced little. Within 7 years the mojo of playing at Tennessee lost its magic. In addition, a rabid fan base, including me, went after players and coaching staff because we craved for the good old days.The attitude of a fan base can either affect recruiting in a negative or positive manner. In reality, retrieving the good old days is going to take a lot of work. No, KJH has not recruited a bunch of 5 stars, however, the 4 four star players coming in, seem to have some strong upsides. It took KJH 6 years to rebuild MoState’s basketball program with a group of no stars. I truly believe it will take KJH at least five years to build a consistent D1 top ten team. Success comes in increments and simply will not happen in two years.
Sad to see the wait until next year or year after posts .Been that way for awhile now.I thought that Coach Harper had enough talent to at least reach Sweet 16.Just my opinion but I thought she was badly outcoached by the Michigan Head coach....especially Michigan's defense against our two best players who were essentially shut down in the 1st half and until the game was out of hand.No adjustments to offensive game plan at all that was apparent to me.
I am with you in the hope that next year will see some improvement with the new blood coming in but I have to see it to believe it and by the way I am not from Missouri .
 
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#10
#10
I'm not sure where the "badly outcoached" is coming from. We had many point blank layups and short 8 footers that were just missed. The coaching was good enough to put the players in position to score. I have no idea what could have been done or said that would have made the ball go through the hoop instead of bouncing off. Some things coaching can do, the rest is up to the players to do it.
 
#11
#11
So did any else know that Jordan was suffering with ill effects after having experienced COVID🤔
 
#12
#12
Michigan had a core of senior and junior players and that is always a good team if any of the players have talent and they do have several. It wasn't like they were some unranked team they were right in the same area as us. Our two top players had terrible shooting game it happens.
 
#15
#15
Although many are trying to play it down, the significance of this loss can't be overstated. Just a devastating defeat for the program for so many reasons....

Slow your roll there mighty merchant of doom. I know that you want this to be the loss that ends the LV program forever but this is not the death star loss. Upsets happen, particularly during this weird covid year.

It is disappointing but not devastating.
 
#16
#16
I'm not sure where the "badly outcoached" is coming from. We had many point blank layups and short 8 footers that were just missed. The coaching was good enough to put the players in position to score. I have no idea what could have been done or said that would have made the ball go through the hoop instead of bouncing off. Some things coaching can do, the rest is up to the players to do it.
All shots by Davis and Burrell ( the few that were taken in the 1st half ) were highly contested .Both had two ( 2 ) points respectfully at the half.Shots were being taken by our non scoring personnel.Nothing was done to adjust to the Michigan defense used to shut down our two best scorers and the rest of the team could not hit the broad side of the barn with a bass fidle.So Michigan sloughed off on rest of team ( left them open to shoot all they wanted to ) and there were two Michigan defenders on Davis and Burrell any time they touched the ball......no screens set or double screens set to break one or the other loose for an open shot.That is what I was referencing in being outcoached .By the end of the 1st quarter Harper should have adjusted the offensive game plan and sets to offset or at least try to offset the Michigan defense game plan which was not to bother guarding closely anyone but Davis and Burrell ......that strategy worked like a finely tuned Swiss watch.
 
#17
#17
Michigan had a core of senior and junior players and that is always a good team if any of the players have talent and they do have several. It wasn't like they were some unranked team they were right in the same area as us. Our two top players had terrible shooting game it happens.

Beyond a couple of players, they weren’t very talented though. They made fewer ugly turnovers, had a good defensive plan and competed harder in some cases.
 
#18
#18
Where we need to get and still trying to get is a roster that has a lot of upperclassmen that have been in the program a long time and have continued to develop their playing skills. Davis and Burrell were very good players in their second year under Harper after those two there wasn't much help putting the ball in the basket so everything rested on how those two players played. If they had a bad game definitely more likely to lose as no one else could be depended upon to step up and play well when things were not going well for these two key players. That is what this season was all about no support for two players that occasionally had bad games. A very few times Horston or Key played well enough to be considered sufficient help although that was not to often. KK better than she has ever been yet not a scorer and never one you could depend on to have a big game when the big two were having their problems. Walker not an efficient scorer and then after those six it got much worse as none of Suarez, Salary, Darby, Saunders, or Rennie could be depended upon enough to even play more than a few minutes a game. McCoy injured all season as was Green don't know how much help they might have been unlikely enough to change the record much.
So going into next season a lot will have to go right for us to be a top SEC team. We have Burrell back and she will be an AA she is a worker and will get even better than she was this season. We need the sophomores this season Key and Horston to take huge strides in becoming efficient scorers. Key just needs a way to get more touches which couldn't happen very often this season because teams did not respect our outside shooting and were very comfortable keeping a lot of defensive players in the paint. Horston needs a complete makeover of her offensive game. She needs to start with a shooting instructor today and work until next season in developing a shooting stroke. She is a player that must be an efficient and dependable scorer next season. Then we should have Walker and Green back who are dependable players and hopefully better than they were this season. Darby possibly could be a perimeter scorer but she would really need to build up her core strength and leg strength body just to soft at this point to play a physical offensive and defensive game. She has a 40 percent three point shooting stroke if she could get strong enough to stay on the floor. Salary seemed to lose her game late in the season maybe she develops it again over the summer. Suarez have to see where she goes from where she is now injured quite a bit late season. The freshman should provide a bench we haven't had in the first two seasons under Harper. Puckett and Striplin are physical players that know how to score. Wynn and Miles will make us quicker in the backcourt than we have been in a while. Wynn could be a breakout player even as a freshman she was fabulous her senior season 30 ppg 11 rpg 5.4 steals 3.6 assists. I don't think she is a terrific there point shooter her game is more mid-range and getting to the basket. I don't know where Rennie and Saunders fit in guess we'll find out over the summer and start of next season.

I think the team could potentially be better next season if all the players improve at the rate they did this season. We could use a top player out of the portal that has an established perimeter game plus defensive skills and can't emphasize enough how important it will be for Horston to live up to her number two in her class ranking next season. It will take a lot of hard work on her part over the next six months. Whether she is willing to do what it takes guess all of us that are here next season will find out.


I think you are 100% spot on. Walker and Key have to make a leap forward and Burrell needs to become that consistent AA type player. I am excited to see what a healthy Darby with an off-season under her belt will look like. You can tell that she has great court sense and does better on ball security than some of her teammates. She plays with great energy.

Some of the freshman are going to need to be impact players. I also think Salary is going to look a different and much improved player next season.
 
#19
#19
Which Jordan...Horston? Was this what caused the early season shut down?

Correct.. Dunno. Don’t wanna say she caused it because i don’t know but i do know i saw where her mom posted she had covid. I’m assuming she is talking about Jordan as it was in reference to the LVs and everything that went on we may or may not know about. Also, i wonder how her foot and back are. That young lady loves ball and i really think she wants to be a part of righting this ship.
 
#20
#20
Beyond a couple of players, they weren’t very talented though. They made fewer ugly turnovers, had a good defensive plan and competed harder in some cases.
We could've won if Davis and Burrell had their usual game. We don't have anyone else that can step it up enough to take over a game. When those two have a bad game anyone can beat us. Beyond Davis and Burrell our talent falls off quite a bit as well. Their two or three top players outplayed ours that is how games are won and lost when you don't have a consistent five or six. Only when you have a consistent five or six players will you be confident going into any game. Were trying to get there will be closer next season and hopefully even closer the next.
 
#21
#21
Slow your roll there mighty merchant of doom. I know that you want this to be the loss that ends the LV program forever but this is not the death star loss. Upsets happen, particularly during this weird covid year.

It is disappointing but not devastating.

Yep. Nothing grabs a top recruit's attention like a second round @ss-kicking to a worse seed....


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#22
#22
All shots by Davis and Burrell ( the few that were taken in the 1st half ) were highly contested .Both had two ( 2 ) points respectfully at the half.Shots were being taken by our non scoring personnel.Nothing was done to adjust to the Michigan defense used to shut down our two best scorers and the rest of the team could not hit the broad side of the barn with a bass fidle.So Michigan sloughed off on rest of team ( left them open to shoot all they wanted to ) and there were two Michigan defenders on Davis and Burrell any time they touched the ball......no screens set or double screens set to break one or the other loose for an open shot.That is what about I was talking about in being outcoached .By the end of the 1st quarter Harper should have adjusted the offensive game plan and sets to offset or at least try to offset the Michigan defense game plan which was not to bother guarding closely anyone but Davis and Burrell ......that strategy worked like a finely tuned Swiss watch.

Davis got plenty of shots that she normally makes. Little floater in the lane, short jumpers, several right at the rim. Michigan could not guard her but she clanking everything off the back of the rim. It reminded of Holdsclaw last game against Duke. Burrell missed several open jumpers and then she wound up driving into the crowded lane and that did not work well.

In 3rd and 4th quarters, the LVs got several stops and then had wide open threes which would have cut the lead to single digits and they bricked everyone,
Davis, Walker, Horston, Burrell all got "good looks" with terrible results. For the most part, there was no reason to change the offensive scheme because the LVs were getting plenty of open shots.

We started the game with Key and Davis missing infinite shots right at the rim. The LVs could have easily had a 10 pt lead early on.

Honestly, I can't say a whole lot about Michigan's mighty game plan unless it was let the LVs get the shots they want and hope they inexplicably miss. If so, then brilliant coaching.
 
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#24
#24
I'm not sure where the "badly outcoached" is coming from. We had many point blank layups and short 8 footers that were just missed. The coaching was good enough to put the players in position to score. I have no idea what could have been done or said that would have made the ball go through the hoop instead of bouncing off. Some things coaching can do, the rest is up to the players to do it.

Why, did you not see the coaching staff on the sidelines flinging bones and newts and sech and mumbling incantations in whispers that said, "Miss it! Miss it!" as their players attempted layups?
 
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#25
#25
Correct.. Dunno. Don’t wanna say she caused it because i don’t know but i do know i saw where her mom posted she had covid. I’m assuming she is talking about Jordan as it was in reference to the LVs and everything that went on we may or may not know about. Also, i wonder how her foot and back are. That young lady loves ball and i really think she wants to be a part of righting this ship.

That's great if that's her goal. She will certainly have the opportunity next year to be a major part of the team's success if she makes significant improvement to her game.
 

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