Game Thread: Lady Vols 75 - Ohio State 87

Too much individual play, not enough team play....A lot of hero ball.

...

When you build off the portal this is what you get. Nobody knows their role so those from the portal believe they were brought in to be the one.
 
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Sum this game up one word TURNOVERS... even with a stagnant offense which when players know theyre roles will get better we was kicking their ass in the first before it went to **** in the 3rd....so glad we play thursday if we win we will all forget what happened last night thats beauty of this lol
 
Looking at the new players.

Powell - She is obviously an upgrade for the position, but I thought she took a couple of shots too early and did not look to set up the offense. She also had a couple of unforced turnovers. Easy enough to iron that stuff out.

Hollingshead - Did not see much helpful from her. She can move well and that is about it. No offensive game at all, and really poor defense.

Franklin - undersized post who could probably be productive if she got some minutes, but not as athletic or flashy as the others and has to be utilized a certain way. Doesn't look to move all that well so the injury may be lingering.

Jackson - Obviously a scorer with a scorer's mentality, but plays poor defense and turns the ball over too much. You have to find a way to use her strengths.

A HUGE problem today was running too many players in and out so that we could not have any consistency. When you get a team down you need to keep that lineup out there as much as you can and pile it on. This isn't little league where everyone gets a chance to play.

Ohio State's press isn't all that great. They run it like it should be run, but they don't have a bunch of great athletes out there and it should be very easy to position yourself so that you can beat it. Our small guards couldn't throw over it, and several times passed up opportunities to dribble through it. This is the sort of thing a timeout should have cured early in the game where you point out which presses they are running and what to do in each case. Having the same people on the floor means you don't have 15 different people each seeing the press for the first time so that it is effective for far longer than it should be as each new set of players has to adjust. Knowing who is out there with you and where they are is key to beating a press. A platoon system assures you can never settle down against it. A good coach would know who to put out there to break it and would play that line-up.
And Key seemed so disinterested....her senior season. She should be in beast mode..
 
Looking at the new players.

Powell - She is obviously an upgrade for the position, but I thought she took a couple of shots too early and did not look to set up the offense. She also had a couple of unforced turnovers. Easy enough to iron that stuff out.

Hollingshead - Did not see much helpful from her. She can move well and that is about it. No offensive game at all, and really poor defense.

Franklin - undersized post who could probably be productive if she got some minutes, but not as athletic or flashy as the others and has to be utilized a certain way. Doesn't look to move all that well so the injury may be lingering.

Jackson - Obviously a scorer with a scorer's mentality, but plays poor defense and turns the ball over too much. You have to find a way to use her strengths.

A HUGE problem today was running too many players in and out so that we could not have any consistency. When you get a team down you need to keep that lineup out there as much as you can and pile it on. This isn't little league where everyone gets a chance to play.

Ohio State's press isn't all that great. They run it like it should be run, but they don't have a bunch of great athletes out there and it should be very easy to position yourself so that you can beat it. Our small guards couldn't throw over it, and several times passed up opportunities to dribble through it. This is the sort of thing a timeout should have cured early in the game where you point out which presses they are running and what to do in each case. Having the same people on the floor means you don't have 15 different people each seeing the press for the first time so that it is effective for far longer than it should be as each new set of players has to adjust. Knowing who is out there with you and where they are is key to beating a press. A platoon system assures you can never settle down against it. A good coach would know who to put out there to break it and would play that line-up.
In the few minutes Marta played,she brought nothing....
 
I know Kellie had to be disappointed that the senior leadership didn't step up. Probably why she didn't call time-outs....it would have been better if the team had got it together under all that player leadership. All-in-all, a loss that they can learn from and something that will motivate them.
 
That game was a surprise in the second half. It’s just one game, and the first one at that on the road no less against a ranked opponent. The loss wasn’t lethal.

Like everyone else, I would have thought a timeout or two during those OSU runs would have helped settle things down. OSU is really good at pressing, it’s their thing, UT should have been better prepared for that, they knew it was coming.
 
The stats indicate that if we had matched OSU in TOs and stopped at 15 and shooting at 48% we would have scored another 14-15 points and would’ve won. I don’t think Pat tough her to disregard TOs every team now has the blueprint to beat us. Just stay in front and we will give you the ball.
 
I've slept on it now, and decided to make one more observation about the game:

Ohio State has probably constantly practiced and drilled the ever-living ish out of their press since the moment McGuff and Harper signed the paperwork on officially adding that game to their schedules.

Think about it. If you're McGuff, who has a team already known LAST year for being particularly strong in their press, and then you are fortunate to have the opportunity to be even better at it this year, what better game/season plan could there have been but to spend most of the pre-season run-up getting that press to a level that would likely have overwhelmed ANY other team in the nation last night BECAUSE it was Game One.

The amount of full-on practice time teams have had really hasn't been that much, and McGuff knew 100% that his best chance at getting that all-important Game One home victory against a Top 5 opponent was to spend inordinate amounts of time on working on the speed and efficiency of that press. The Ohio State players were probably ticked at him for making them practice that constantly, but it was a brilliant plan, and now the OSU players understand why -- and their trust in McGuff is now complete.

Since the ink was signed on the game schedule McGuff has known that Kellie would have a difficult time figuring out how to best use her roster, and since press-breaking and turnovers were known issues for us last year, it just made sense for McGuff to get laser-focused on exploiting that THIS year since we have so many new players and wouldn't likely have the luxury of spending extra, Extra, EXTRA amounts of time working on all the various ways to break a strong press.

So while McGuff was preparing his team to get that very important season-setting first home win against a Top 5 opponent by laser-focusing his team on Tennessee's probable weakness, his gamble that Tennessee would NOT have the luxury of spending equal amounts of time on press-breaking, paid off. Bigtime.

My guess is that Kellie knew in her heart we were sunk earlier than it even became obvious to us. McGuff certainly knew it, and it showed. In my mind I can almost hear him in their practices, beginning back in the summer, imploring his players to get serious about getting in condition to crush opponents' spirits with that press. With Tennessee as their opening game, it would be worth all this effort.

Ugh.

All this to say that I feel bad for Tennessee that they were in the game that provided the rest of the nation's coaching staffs the best scouting reports ever, in Game One. Ohio State's greatest strength has been exposed, as well as Tennessee's greatest weakness.

You're welcome, all other coaches going forward! lol

The good news is we won't always, I'm sure, be as weak against pressure as we were last night. Well, not if the staff makes some changes to the practice plans and finds ways to improve there. Kellie just got her tail whipped last night, but I believe she'll learn from it. Also, for the hundredth time, we have got to give this team time to mesh. I honestly feel like they won't ever again face an opponent who had spent as much time preparing JUST FOR THEM AND THEIR PARTICULAR WEAKNESS as they did last night.

One more thing. I feel the need to pile on about the lack of time-outs called in the game, particularly that third quarter. If I see that totally mystifying coaching strategy again in a similar situation, Kellie Harper is likely to lose a longtime supporter in me. I was literally angry over that last night, and it takes a lot to make me angry. Hell, I'm STILL angry about that in particular. Seriously, that was outrageous. Who in the hell ever convinced her that calling time outs to calm a team down was a bad idea?? Was it her beloved dad? Some other coach she loved and respected? (It sure as hell wasn't Pat!) Or is this just her own personal decision based on some philosophy she adheres to? I mean, WHAT. THE. ****, Kellie? Get a grip, girl. lol
 
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[VIDEO=]

Horston forced herself to do everything because she doesn’t trust her teammates! We can’t win with just one player playing well.
[/VIDEO]
I agree, there were multiple times where, not only Jordan, but other guards had the opportunity to kick it to Tess and didn’t. We have to get her as many opportunities to shoot the 3 as possible while she’s on the floor. That’s her sole job and she can’t create herself at the moment and 3 pointers are soul breakers for the other team.
 
Too much individual play, not enough team play....A lot of hero ball.

Coach Kellie, you are beautiful woman, but don't let your team get smacked around for almost a whole quarter without stopping the carnage for a breather and a pep talk to your girls.....They need you to calm them down...Be a better coach, darlin.....


wow
we're up 54-51 Q3 2:40 to go
end of Q3 54-63
start Q4 OSU goes opens it up to 58-72
Kellie then call time out
after the time out we go on a 8-3 run
then OSU goes on a 9-2 run
no timeout called

wow
 
If Harper can't get this team to turn it around this season this very well could be her final year especially with the way recruiting just went and the way this team is performing right now . #KaraLawson shoulda coulda but didnt smh

She is performing almost exactly the way she did at NCSU (and she was fired)! Since she was fired, that program is MUCH better!!
 
Although I was expecting a better outcome of this game , I do think the Lady Vols will be okay this season. Sometimes playing teams outside your conference as well as a top 25 team this early in the season can help expose those weaknesses before the SEC play and tournament time . Gives them time to get it corrected. Hopefully it will be ! I have tickets for the UConn game in January, really excited to make the trip from southeastern Ohio to Knoxville. By the way I am a Buckeye fan , but have been an avid Lady Vol fan since I was 16. I always root for the Lady Vols , no matter who they are playing! 😎🏀🧡
 

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Looked like they havent seen a press before. You know these girls growing up had to play against presses thru AAU ball. If I was playing UT I would practice a press and make them beat it.
 
I've slept on it now, and decided to make one more observation about the game:

Ohio State has probably constantly practiced and drilled the ever-living ish out of their press since the moment McGuff and Harper signed the paperwork on officially adding that game to their schedules.

Think about it. If you're McGuff, who has a team already known LAST year for being particularly strong in their press, and then you are fortunate to have the opportunity to be even better at it this year, what better game/season plan could there have been but to spend most of the pre-season run-up getting that press to a level that would likely have overwhelmed ANY other team in the nation last night BECAUSE it was Game One.

The amount of full-on practice time teams have had really hasn't been that much, and McGuff knew 100% that his best chance at getting that all-important Game One home victory against a Top 5 opponent was to spend inordinate amounts of time on working on the speed and efficiency of that press. The Ohio State players were probably ticked at him for making them practice that constantly, but it was a brilliant plan, and now the OSU players understand why -- and their trust in McGuff is now complete.

Since the ink was signed on the game schedule McGuff has known that Kellie would have a difficult time figuring out how to best use her roster, and since press-breaking and turnovers were known issues for us last year, it just made sense for McGuff to get laser-focused on exploiting that THIS year since we have so many new players and wouldn't likely have the luxury of spending extra, Extra, EXTRA amounts of time working on all the various ways to break a strong press.

So while McGuff was preparing his team to get that very important season-setting first home win against a Top 5 opponent by laser-focusing his team on Tennessee's probable weakness, his gamble that Tennessee would NOT have the luxury of spending equal amounts of time on press-breaking, paid off. Bigtime.

My guess is that Kellie knew in her heart we were sunk earlier than it even became obvious to us. McGuff certainly knew it, and it showed. In my mind I can almost hear him in their practices, beginning back in the summer, imploring his players to get serious about getting in condition to crush opponents' spirits with that press. With Tennessee as their opening game, it would be worth all this effort.

Ugh.

All this to say that I feel bad for Tennessee that they were in the game that provided the rest of the nation's coaching staffs the best scouting reports ever, in Game One. Ohio State's greatest strength has been exposed, as well as Tennessee's greatest weakness.

You're welcome, all other coaches going forward! lol

The good news is we won't always, I'm sure, be as weak against pressure as we were last night. Well, not if the staff makes some changes to the practice plans and finds ways to improve there. Kellie just got her tail whipped last night, but I believe she'll learn from it. Also, for the hundredth time, we have got to give this team time to mesh. I honestly feel like they won't ever again face an opponent who had spent as much time preparing JUST FOR THEM AND THEIR PARTICULAR WEAKNESS as they did last night.

One more thing. I feel the need to pile on about the lack of time-outs called in the game, particularly that third quarter. If I see that totally mystifying coaching strategy again in a similar situation, Kellie Harper is likely to lose a longtime supporter in me. I was literally angry over that last night, and it takes a lot to make me angry. Hell, I'm STILL angry about that in particular. Seriously, that was outrageous. Who in the hell ever convinced her that calling time outs to calm a team down was a bad idea?? Was it her beloved dad? Some other coach she loved and respected? (It sure as hell wasn't Pat!) Or is this just her own personal decision based on some philosophy she adheres to? I mean, WHAT. THE. ****, Kellie? Get a grip, girl. lol

Though I have some minor quibbles, I agree with this post. Kellie had a large number of new players who have come through other system. They have not grown up working together in her system. As you said: "The amount of full-on practice time teams have had really hasn't been that much." . A bit of trouble with the press can be expected early in the season before they have jelled as a team rather than a collection of talented individuals. However, a time out would have settled the panic and set up a counter-scheme even if not perfect. I'm mystified by no timeout. That's why you have them!
 
I've slept on it now, and decided to make one more observation about the game:

Ohio State has probably constantly practiced and drilled the ever-living ish out of their press since the moment McGuff and Harper signed the paperwork on officially adding that game to their schedules.

Think about it. If you're McGuff, who has a team already known LAST year for being particularly strong in their press, and then you are fortunate to have the opportunity to be even better at it this year, what better game/season plan could there have been but to spend most of the pre-season run-up getting that press to a level that would likely have overwhelmed ANY other team in the nation last night BECAUSE it was Game One.

The amount of full-on practice time teams have had really hasn't been that much, and McGuff knew 100% that his best chance at getting that all-important Game One home victory against a Top 5 opponent was to spend inordinate amounts of time on working on the speed and efficiency of that press. The Ohio State players were probably ticked at him for making them practice that constantly, but it was a brilliant plan, and now the OSU players understand why -- and their trust in McGuff is now complete.

Since the ink was signed on the game schedule McGuff has known that Kellie would have a difficult time figuring out how to best use her roster, and since press-breaking and turnovers were known issues for us last year, it just made sense for McGuff to get laser-focused on exploiting that THIS year since we have so many new players and wouldn't likely have the luxury of spending extra, Extra, EXTRA amounts of time working on all the various ways to break a strong press.

So while McGuff was preparing his team to get that very important season-setting first home win against a Top 5 opponent by laser-focusing his team on Tennessee's probable weakness, his gamble that Tennessee would NOT have the luxury of spending equal amounts of time on press-breaking, paid off. Bigtime.

My guess is that Kellie knew in her heart we were sunk earlier than it even became obvious to us. McGuff certainly knew it, and it showed. In my mind I can almost hear him in their practices, beginning back in the summer, imploring his players to get serious about getting in condition to crush opponents' spirits with that press. With Tennessee as their opening game, it would be worth all this effort.

Ugh.

All this to say that I feel bad for Tennessee that they were in the game that provided the rest of the nation's coaching staffs the best scouting reports ever, in Game One. Ohio State's greatest strength has been exposed, as well as Tennessee's greatest weakness.

You're welcome, all other coaches going forward! lol

The good news is we won't always, I'm sure, be as weak against pressure as we were last night. Well, not if the staff makes some changes to the practice plans and finds ways to improve there. Kellie just got her tail whipped last night, but I believe she'll learn from it. Also, for the hundredth time, we have got to give this team time to mesh. I honestly feel like they won't ever again face an opponent who had spent as much time preparing JUST FOR THEM AND THEIR PARTICULAR WEAKNESS as they did last night.

One more thing. I feel the need to pile on about the lack of time-outs called in the game, particularly that third quarter. If I see that totally mystifying coaching strategy again in a similar situation, Kellie Harper is likely to lose a longtime supporter in me. I was literally angry over that last night, and it takes a lot to make me angry. Hell, I'm STILL angry about that in particular. Seriously, that was outrageous. Who in the hell ever convinced her that calling time outs to calm a team down was a bad idea?? Was it her beloved dad? Some other coach she loved and respected? (It sure as hell wasn't Pat!) Or is this just her own personal decision based on some philosophy she adheres to? I mean, WHAT. THE. ****, Kellie? Get a grip, girl. lol

Eh, I know folks want to find ways to feel better about last night, but I think you're reaching with this one. Unless you have insider knowledge of Ohio State's practice and preparations, I don't think it's likely they were "improving" their press beyond what it already was. And I doubt that Tennessee was that special to Ohio State in terms of preparations. They have a 1211 press, they used it, Tennessee could not consistently break it. Once they realized they had Tennessee against the wall, they kept running it. That's it. It's not some big mystery. These players have all seen a press. But Tennessee's couldn't work together to break it. A symptom.

If there's any summary for last night's game, it's this. Ohio State is an established program with senior leadership who executed their plan. Tennessee has a lot of individual pieces who didn't execute whatever plan, if any, they had, and didn't take care of the ball. The 30 turnover stat is ugly, but it's a symptom of where they're at right now. The program has taken on a lot of change and instability and has got its work cut out for it this year. The theme for this season is going to be whether or not Tennessee can meld together their individual players into a team. If they can, they'll have an impressive roster to throw at anyone. If they can't, there'll be more Ohio States ahead.
 
this game brought back memories of MJ/Chicago Bulls
their opponents wanted to see Jordan have a spectacular game, but his team lose

Jordan had a pretty good game, but her team lost
 
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