Game Thread: Lady Vols 77 vs Florida Gators 67

[xtpsrh08123]

Anything Rickea has done in the past needs to be wiped clean. She served her punishment , clearly last night showed we need her shes a gamer and a game changer for our team. Jordy and Rickea need to play together more and have the most shots every night from here on out. Would love for kellie to draw up more plays involving the two together in pick and roll scenarios though.

 

[glv98]

Yes, against that kind of line-up you are going to have some TOs. What the LVs need to clean up (and which they had in last few games) are the unforced ones and those that come from ill-advised passes. Of their 23 TOs, I would estimate around 10 were the kind that should not have happened.

A big chunk of those happened in the first quarter and then it did get better.

Those kind of t.o.s, the pass as if the defender is not there, are contagious for us. JH made one first play of the game, Walker shortly after and we were off to the t.o. races. Not sharp or focused early at all. Which is why I'm kind of mystified by everyone saying that starting lineup is working so well.

 

[glv98]

Anything Rickea has done in the past needs to be wiped clean. She served her punishment , clearly last night showed we need her shes a gamer and a game changer for our team. Jordy and Rickea need to play together more and have the most shots every night from here on out. Would love for kellie to draw up more plays involving the two together in pick and roll scenarios though.

Absolutely JH/RJ should play together, especially in hard games at crucial time.And get most of the shots. But we don't want to get over dependent on them. We need to keep kicking out to our 3 pt shooters - Tess, Sara, Justine. If we develop that part of our game it will make life much easier on RJ/JH. Also keep scoring in the post. We do not need to get one, or two, dimensional.

 

[Majors]

Aren’t you supposed to be drinking or fishing or both?!? Do you trash Heupel when he loses to say SC?

Chop wasn’t too kind yesterday 3-6 feet pounding all day. Having another Cuban sandwich in your honor in South Beach.

But no, in year two for CJH does not warrant same energy with the equity of wins of Bama, Florida and LSU in the same year.

 

[madtownvol]

We don't want to get over dependent on them though. We need to keep kicking out to our 3 pt shooters - Tess, Sara, Justine. If we develop that part of our game it will make life much easier on RJ/JH. Also keep scoring in the post. We do not need to get one, or two, dimensional.

Spot on. Rickea does not like shooting from outside. She wants to get to the rim or shoot a midrange. If teams can pack the paint, they can neutralize here. So, having shooting on the floor that keeps defenses honest is crucial to keep opponents spread out more in their defensive schemes.

 

[Majors]

I think to much is being placed on Jackson plate and that`s something you don`t want to do. The other players need to play big not just when Jackson is on the court but when she is not on the court or unavailable.

Yep…. If she feels she’s coming in to save the game as her role it wont end well
I fear.

 

[Volfan2012]

Spot on. Rickea does not like shooting from outside. She wants to get to the rim or shoot a midrange. If teams can pack the paint, they can neutralize here. So, having shooting on the floor that keeps defenses is crucial to keep opponents spread out more in their defensive schemes.

That is why Darby plays so much she doesn't turn it over and you can't pack the paint against Tennessee. I haven't really even seen teams trying that against Tennessee anymore maybe Wofford a little and they got scalded. We got the shooters for anyone that wants to pack it in.

 

[VolBall09]

That is why Darby plays so much she doesn't turn it over and you can't pack the paint against Tennessee. I haven't really even seen teams trying that against Tennessee anymore maybe Wofford a little and they got scalded. We got the shooters for anyone that wants to pack it in.

Yes, Tess and Justine are forcing them even a couple steps further out than normal. Really opens up the floor for us. Tess’ 3 pointer in the second quarter was a thing of beauty. She may not have scored a lot but that was the turning point of the game.

 

[Amb3096]

Not hyperbole at all. In the post-Candace era, there has been another transfer Diamond DeShields. On her best day, Diamond would be a close match but her mid range game was not nearly as consistent as RJ, so edge Rickea. Meghan Simmons, an incredible talent. Decent shooter and could blow by anyone. I think she may have been one of the most poorly utilized talents in LV history. Coaching staff tried to turn her into a PG, which simply did not work.

Shekinna Stricklen is also pretty close. She had better handles than Rickea (who does get picked a fair amount), had a better post up game but not the dead-eye shooting touch of Rickea. I think that one might be a toss-up. Last but not least, Rae Burrell in her junior year is a candidate. Had she not had the knee injury in her senior year, I think she might be standard bearer but Rickea probably edges Rae (as a junior) on her offensive efficiency.

No love for Rennia Davis?

 

[Amb3096]

That may be true, but I think the Lady Vols also have a couple of players who are not playing. I enjoyed the game last night , except for the over 20 turnovers.

Tennessee has so much more talent on their roster that they can afford to lose players more than a team like Florida. If anything, Florida did a good job keeping it as close as they did with so many of their offensive weapons missing.

A win is a win, but that was a largely uninspiring effort. It was a lot of great one-on-one and offensive rebound work by Rickea, but there was way too much standing around from the other players.

 

[movinonup]

My view on Rickea last night - she looked like she was having fun. I did not see that at the first of the year. I am going to give Coach some props - the tough love may be EXACTLY what Rickea needed. Years from now, my bet is she looks back at the time at Tennessee and the "adjustment period" as a turning point in her life - and not just on the court.
(And I am over 60 and remember and THANK my high school coach for much the same tough love - he taught me much that I still use to this day).

I think the Lady Vols are on track for a very good remainder of the year - I was very encouraged last night !

 

[madtownvol]

No love for Rennia Davis?

Oh my, major oversight!! She is a contender for sure.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

Anything Rickea has done in the past needs to be wiped clean. She served her punishment , clearly last night showed we need her shes a gamer and a game changer for our team. Jordy and Rickea need to play together more and have the most shots every night from here on out. Would love for kellie to draw up more plays involving the two together in pick and roll scenarios though.

Beginning to think this was more about Kellie wanting to keep ten players (two teams) in game ready shape. So, each team needed an offensive leader, and that is why Rickea and Horston were split. As long as we can win, doing that, it means we have more game ready players available through the SEC grind, tournaments, or in case of injuries. At some point though, we’ll need better than two good teams, we’ll need one great team, and that is when Rickea and Horston will play together, and yes, they need to get used to playing together now. The time is now for one great team to play together.

 

[rogatl]

I see all these posts...Whatever Rickea has done it's time to move on...none of use know what she did or what kind of effect she has had on the team in practice or in the locker room. Nor should we. That for the team and the coaching staff to sort out. Yes Rickea had a lot of talent and can score 20 points a game but honestly a lot of the offensive stagnation happens when she is in the game (and Powell and sometimes Walker) because she hold the ball and dribbles and tries to go 1 on 5. Horston used to do the same thing but has gotten better. I have not been the biggest Jordan Waker fan but have to give props the last few games she has been the grittiest defensive player. She always tried to fight around the screens (which i noticed many times Powell and Jackson did not last night). think Harper is a fantastic person and a good fundaments coach. I think is an ok to average in-game coach and definitely needs to channel more Pat in game. She needs to call time out more quickly, light up her team and get them back on track before other teams go on long runs because of turnovers or lack of effort.

Happy New Year All

 

[Jax_Vol]

Yes, against that kind of line-up you are going to have some TOs. What the LVs need to clean up (and which they had in last few games) are the unforced ones and those that come from ill-advised passes. Of their 23 TOs, I would estimate around 10 were the kind that should not have happened.

A big chunk of those happened in the first quarter and then it did get better.

Opening night in SEC. Both teams came out a bit tight. Stuff happens. We showed good grit.

 

[sechamp2012]

It doesn't really matter if Jackson starts or not. It's not unusual for coaches to bring one of their best players off the bench; sometimes, it happens when the good player has not played in a while, for whatever reason, and the coach opts to ease the player back into shape by bringing him or her off the bench--and sometimes the team seems to click with the new rotation, the good player coming in after a few minutes and the team responding with better overall play than it had demonstrated when the player was starting. And so the coach will stick with the idea because it's working. So long as the player is getting the minutes s/he needs to impact the game, that's all that matters.

Yep, after Colorado loss Barnes started bringing ZZ off the bench and it’s paid dividends. Not the same situation but I believe ZZ is the player that stirs the pot for the men’s team.

 

[Voltopia]

Tennessee has so much more talent on their roster that they can afford to lose players more than a team like Florida. If anything, Florida did a good job keeping it as close as they did with so many of their offensive weapons missing.

A win is a win, but that was a largely uninspiring effort. It was a lot of great one-on-one and offensive rebound work by Rickea, but there was way too much standing around from the other players.

I recall seeing a few pretty good ideas for action where the passes were made or at least attempted, but Tennessee couldn't gather or finish. Striplin had a couple I'm sure she'd love back - but at least she knew what to do in order to get a look at those layups. I admit that's not great, but I'm hopeful that they can build on some of that business. They definitely also had some standing around, though, I won't deny it. I just saw some things that made me feel marginally optimistic. Some good ideas, but they're still putting it together. Not ideal to be doing that now, but, it worked out this time.

Maybe Jackson and Horston being a dynamic duo can boost the team's investment and momentum. Sometimes being around great players can push other players on a team to go harder too. Here's hoping.

 

[Lucy]

Chop wasn’t too kind yesterday 3-6 feet pounding all day. Having another Cuban sandwich in your honor in South Beach.

But no, in year two for CJH does not warrant same energy with the equity of wins of Bama, Florida and LSU in the same year.

Yummm!!!

 

[Darth_Vol]

A win is a win, but that was a largely uninspiring effort. It was a lot of great one-on-one and offensive rebound work by Rickea, but there was way too much standing around from the other players.

As usual, Amb's take is the correct one. Only 8 assists, 23 turnovers (led by the usual culprit). It's almost as if bringing your top scorer off the bench isn't helping to establish chemistry...

 

[Darth_Vol]

If basketball lasted three quarters we would have a lot better record. We have given up the lead in a game at least twice in the fourth quarter.

That doesn't speak well of our coach...

 

[Majors]

That doesn't speak well of our coach...

Very Butch Jones like mentality

 

[teacherdean]

However, when she Let them get within 5 without a time out, I was ready to crawl through my TV... She simply has to manage her time out better

Coach I do not understand KJH’s use of her timeouts, it make me think of Holly all over again.

 

[Fatoldman]

I believe the +- numbers refer to how the rest of the team did, while you were in the game. So, if a player is a high scorer, as Rickea is, that number can be low, because the rest of the team is not scoring as much. Useful when evaluating how each player effects the rest of the team play.

+- numbers are very simple A +- of 3 means that during the time you were in game your team outscored the opponent by 3 points. A+- of-5 means that while you were in game theoppinent outscored your team by 5points. If a player plays the entire game then the +- will be whatever the game was won or lost by. Jackson and Horston only had +- of 3 each. This is thought provoking because many players had much higher ÷- . When a team wins by 10 and you had a -5 efficiency rating that is not good. The efficiency rating reflects how all 5 players on the floor are doing as a unit while you are in the game. not just the other 4 players. It can be an eye opening stat which must be considered.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

That doesn't speak well of our coach...

She isn’t Vandy’s Coach.

 

[chuckiepoo]

+- numbers are very simple A +- of 3 means that during the time you were in game your team outscored the opponent by 3 points. A+- of-5 means that while you were in game theoppinent outscored your team by 5points. If a player plays the entire game then the +- will be whatever the game was won or lost by. Jackson and Horston only had +- of 3 each. This is thought provoking because many players had much higher ÷- . When a team wins by 10 and you had a -5 efficiency rating that is not good. The efficiency rating reflects how all 5 players on the floor are doing as a unit while you are in the game. not just the other 4 players. It can be an eye opening stat which must be considered.

Thank you for a more complete explanation.