Game Thread: (5/6) Lady Vols 63 - (13/13) Georgia 55

She may not have great success against Staiti but getting a lot of minutes may be the best way for Emily to take that next step. Just a guess for sure but sometimes you need to throw them in the deep end. The coaches and she need to know what she can do for her team in a game situation. If it goes poorly that doesn’t mean she is not a benefit to the team. It just means further guidance on where she needs to develop.

it is a perfect matchup for her
 
it is a perfect matchup for her

But, IMHO, not for the Lady Vols.

Maybe, if playing at home, but it seems we need some inside points scoring/threat early. Playing away and increasing the risk of getting down early there doesn't strike me as a good strategy. Might mean their D gets an op to hassle our wings more. Minutes here and there for Emily maybe, but starting, not so much.
I like her, agree using her size and potential to cause space issues on the D side, but it's not there yet. A lot like the Uros dilemma, both seem excellent team players, but he suddenly shows a more aggressive offensive nature and rebounds & passes better. Emily needs to play more like she's up against a big brother in a rivalry game of Horse...
We will need points at UGA. Rae & KG numbers are "key"... pts, rb's and, especially, any early fouls
 
I was thinking about Uros and how CRB said the light switch came on and he was doing what the team needed him to do. Hoping Emily will have a similar breakthrough and provide some aggressive defensive minutes against bigger teams. We know she has a sweet shot, but she has to be an irritant to the opposing posts. Also needs to keep them off the boards as much as possible.
 
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In the John Adams article in the News Sentinel today about the Lady Vols and hopes for the Final 4 this year, he quoted KJH saying that Tamara was "day to day" about her health. I know this is still vague, but I didn't remember her saying anything postgame like this and have not seen any media releases since then. Does any one else know where this quote came from and did they include any other information about Tamara?
 
Can't find the post now, but someone was suggesting a radical strategy of starting Emily against Staiti. Now, without trying to rekindle a discussion about Emily's merits as a player, I have to admit that it's an intriguing idea (if she has shown the staff in practice that she could carry out the scheme).

GA certainly wouldn't be expecting that strategy. To me, Staiti doesn't appear to be the quickest post player although she is crafty. Lots of times it takes players a while to settle into a game, so playing Emily early might be ideal if her only focus was to make Staiti have to work. Emily wouldn't be expected to provide help defense...her assignment would be to shadow Staiti and not let her get comfortable. An added benefit would be keeping other posts out of early foul trouble. The longer Emily was effective, the longer she could play. And if she could draw a foulf or two on Staiti....

This may all be idle speculation and just throwing it out there. Emily is bound to have picked up some valuable experience facing TK in practice. The plan might totally flop and require a quick substitution, or it could work effectively and make the staff look like geniuses. And give us another feel-good story as well as creating more depth.

This team has really helped create such positive energy that it's convinced me to believe their magic is real.
As long as the back court is scoring enough, let Emily push Staiti around for a half. Emily inevitably fouls at least twice in 4 minutes, so might as well foul Staiti. Emily is a good player, but she hasn’t adjusted to the college game yet.
 
In the John Adams article in the News Sentinel today about the Lady Vols and hopes for the Final 4 this year, he quoted KJH saying that Tamara was "day to day" about her health. I know this is still vague, but I didn't remember her saying anything postgame like this and have not seen any media releases since then. Does any one else know where this quote came from and did they include any other information about Tamara?
Kellie has said it’s day-to-day since it happened.
 
As long as the back court is scoring enough, let Emily push Staiti around for a half. Emily inevitably fouls at least twice in 4 minutes, so might as well foul Staiti. Emily is a good player, but she hasn’t adjusted to the college game yet.
If Tamari Key can't go, I would love to see Emily Saunders start. This could give her the confidence she needs to get her started. Kellie should know in two minutes if it works. If not, she could make her change then. Emily has put her time in and should get a chance. As always go Lady Vol's.
 
As long as the back court is scoring enough, let Emily push Staiti around for a half. Emily inevitably fouls at least twice in 4 minutes, so might as well foul Staiti. Emily is a good player, but she hasn’t adjusted to the college game yet.
Emily is more than halfway through her junior year. How much more time does she need to adjust? If she's not part of the regular rotation now, it's highly unrealistic that she ever will be. If it's so easy for her to come in and guard an All-SEC player, why hasn't she been playing more minutes to date? It seems that Kellie isn't confident that she should be on the court if she's not playing her.
 
Emily is more than halfway through her junior year. How much more time does she need to adjust? If she's not part of the regular rotation now, it's highly unrealistic that she ever will be. If it's so easy for her to come in and guard an All-SEC player, why hasn't she been playing more minutes to date? It seems that Kellie isn't confident that she should be on the court if she's not playing her.

So, is Keyen out too? {I know the answer]. It is hard to understand why the clamoring for Emily when our number 2 center is coming off her best game. Yes, she is giving up 3 inches but Keyen is the classic "wide body post," with good post moves, who can get draw fouls on a player like Staiti.
 
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So, is Keyen out too? {I know the answer]. It is hard to understand why the clamoring for Emily when our number 2 center is coming off her best game. Yes, she is giving up 3 inches but Keyen is the classic wide post, with good post moves, who can get draw fouls on a player like Staiti.
That's what I say. Keyen or even Striplin would be better options than Emily. I get that people probably want to see her get some PT, but if she had something to offer in live games, we would have seen it by now.
 
Emily is more than halfway through her junior year. How much more time does she need to adjust? If she's not part of the regular rotation now, it's highly unrealistic that she ever will be. If it's so easy for her to come in and guard an All-SEC player, why hasn't she been playing more minutes to date? It seems that Kellie isn't confident that she should be on the court if she's not playing her.
I think she would be good on a mid-major team. I’m not convinced she can compete at this level. But she’s not a bad player.
 
Emily is more than halfway through her junior year. How much more time does she need to adjust? If she's not part of the regular rotation now, it's highly unrealistic that she ever will be. If it's so easy for her to come in and guard an All-SEC player, why hasn't she been playing more minutes to date? It seems that Kellie isn't confident that she should be on the court if she's not playing her.

The fans here know what Kellie doesn't -- Emily is a baller! Kellie has just been holding her back for two and a half seasons, she doesn't know what the hell she's doing!

All she needs is a chance... START EMILY!
 
Staiti is playing better this year than ever. I am not convinced that Tamari won’t have her hands full if she can go with a sore ankle. Healthy it’s advantage Tamari. Key and Horston gotta stay out of foul trouble. I don’t have a clue how this one is gonna go. With Key reasonably close to 100% we win. With her out we probably lose.
 
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The fans here know what Kellie doesn't -- Emily is a baller! Kellie has just been holding her back for two and a half seasons, she doesn't know what the hell she's doing!

All she needs is a chance... START EMILY!
Obviously Louisville is winning. Dirth’s heart strings going zing, zing,zing!
 
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GA went up by 27 points tonight at Mississippi State but then allowed state to come all the way back and take the lead with under a minute to go. Get ahead early and GA will fold easily. Get down early, we can still fight back. I feel really good about this one. Lady Vols will be 18-1 Sunday night.
 
That's what I say. Keyen or even Striplin would be better options than Emily. I get that people probably want to see her get some PT, but if she had something to offer in live games, we would have seen it by now.


So, with the Covid extensions, Emily could have 2 more seasons as a LV, if she wanted. She reminds me a bit of Kamara Harris who had a similar role of playing mainly in 4th quarter blow outs. As a senior, her game, mobility, and skill set developed enough that she got some quality minutes in the rotation. Like Harris, Emily is a project player whose game still needs some work to hold her own against power 5 competition but she could still develop into a competent role player.
 

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