Non-Lady Vol Basketball News 2023-24

[LasVegasBill23]

Dawn is a good recruiter. Not a great coach and has not been.

wonder how long her reign atop wcbb will last

 

[Rons1989]

Yall i think south carolina just gifted lsu a championship smh i cant see clark mustering up enough to do it again which she is goin to need to do...another thing when the last time no number 1 seeds didnt get to the championship game we literally on the women side have to 2 programs that hve never won a championship tlk about parity

 

[dlhx]

Yall i think south carolina just gifted lsu a championship smh i cant see clark mustering up enough to do it again which she is goin to need to do...another thing when the last time no number 1 seeds didnt get to the championship game we literally on the women side have to 2 programs that hve never won a championship tlk about parity

She did it in the Big Ten tourney, can easily do it again with an extra day of rest.

 

[creekdipper]

wonder how long her reign atop wcbb will last

Probably until Mar. 31, 2023.

 

[irish1485]

All this Pat talk needs to stop. Geno beat her every time in the finals. Dawn like Pat lost with the best team. It happens! Dawn is still an elite coach.

This.. it's ok to give Dawn credit. No coach in history has been able to win them all... Caitlin Clark is the best womens scorer I've ever seen, she knows when to give it up to her teamates too

 

[glv98]

It’s interesting to see some of the takes on here re Dawn and SC when they lose.

Meanwhile, we’re sitting at home and celebrating back-to-back S16 appearances and finishing 3rd in SEC play (behind SC). Will likely be the the case again next year.

That said, in this game, I do think Dawn was out-coached big time. Caitlin Clark is unreal. Congrats to Iowa!

Do you mean to imply that sport forum posters should only comment on teams who finished under us? That's sort of silly.

Your last sentence says it all. After a whole season of sanctification of everything Dawn and So Car, the emperoress turedn out to have no clothes in the big game. Confirmed the long held suspicion that DS is a better assembler or talent than an in-game coach. That's going to get comment from everyone, no matter the record.

It wasn't just the inability to contain Clark, which was a given, but how throughly they got beat by "everyone else." Iowa had a far superior game plan and players who executed it to a tee. Iowa was the far better team this night.

I feel awful for Zia, a player I really like. She absolutely kept them in the game for 3 3/4 quarters, but made 2 terrible turnovers late that cost them any chance. Also give it up for Raven Johnson stepping up hitting those 3s. I was glad to see it, especially after the spicy Clark gave her that dismissive wave of non-guarding.

What a great game for WBB! I bet Sunday on ABC breaks all kinds of records.

 

[JCP201]

Clark played a really amazing game. I think they will clobber LSU and win the National championship.

I haven't seen her play till last night, and she is a pleasure to watch.

I loved the Iowa's coach game plan when her girls got in foul trouble (they didn't have a stable like SC) I was so impressed.

 

[VolBalls33]

I can't wait to see the ratings, what a game to watch unfold. Watched at a sports bar in Nashville and every male and female were into the game like an NFL or college football game. Never have witnessed that before.

 

[Raebo]

A couple observations.
1. Compared to the teams in the final 4, UT is VERY stagnant on offense. I hope we don’t just pass the ball to RJ 10 feet from the basket and then stand around until she shoots or passes back out.
2. The polls were right and I was wrong about LSU. For most of the season I thought LSU was overrated because of their easy schedule. I have changed my mind, they are/were one of the top 6 or 7 teams.
3. Each game had a great story, best player vs best team, Kim Mulkey/LSU vs Virginia Tech tha had a great year.
4. So far, best final 4 I can remember. I have no Idea who will win Sunday but it should be a great game.

 

[glv98]

A couple observations.
1. Compared to the teams in the final 4, UT is VERY stagnant on offense. I hope we don’t just pass the ball to RK 10 feet from the basket and then stand around until she shoots or passes back out.
2. The polls were right and I was wrong about LSU. For most of the season I thought LSU was overrated because of their easy schedule. I have changed my mind, they are/were one of the top 6 or 7 teams.
3. Each game had a great story, best play vs best team, Kim Mulkey/LSU vs Virginia Tech tha had a great year.
4. So far, best final 4 I can remember. I have no Idea how will win Sunday but it should be a great game.

Who is RK? Do you mean RJ? I definitely hope we're less stagnant, have hoped that for years. Maybe having better guards will help. We need a good two guard toward that end.

However, KJH has to find a balance here. RJ is a very elite one on one player, so we have to use that. Need good plays and good movement to get her the ball in her spots. She'll take care of the rest.

Really agree on point 2. I hope we can lay to rest the ragged old trope that you have to kill yourself in preseason to have a late season payoff. Look where LSU is and look where we are this weekend. That said, as a season ticket holder, I don't want to sit thru an extreme cupcake preseason like Kim throws out there. Find a middle ground. Challenge us, but don't kill us.

Agree, the best Final Four I remember in a long time, and it ain't over yet.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Dawn pulled a Kellie last night in going with an ineffective lineup to start the 3rd, when she should’ve known better.

Beal, Saxton, and Fletcher gave you nothing in the 1st half and you go with them to start the 3rd?!

Amihere, Cardosa, Hall, and Johnson should’ve ate all of their minutes in that second half. Dawn lost that game for them last night.

 

[glv98]

Dawn pulled a Kellie last night in going with an ineffective lineup to start the 3rd, when she should’ve known better.

Beal, Saxton, and Fletcher gave you nothing in the 1st half and you go with them to start the 3rd?!

Amihere, Cardosa, Hall, and Johnson should’ve ate all of their minutes in that second half. Dawn lost that game for them last night.

Lol good point. Maybe Dawn doesn't like change either. Maybe she agrees w Kellie that starting the game and starting the 3rd qtr don't really matter. Hope both learned a lesson last night.

 

[glv98]

It is getting messyyyyyy!
View attachment 544242

What a mess. I want us to stay far, far away from this player, no matter how good she is. I think our program has painfully learned that once the parents are publically involved, it's way too toxic to touch.

Kenny comes across so soft spoken and sweet. Could he really be so insensitive to his team that he only talks to 7? Is this new or did the Owusus not do their homework before choosing a new team? Either way, this is to be avoided at all costs.

One thing Kellie who hates change is welcome to never change is the culture she's built. Not easy to do, and she's been stellar.

 

[T_Vol376]

Lol good point. Maybe Dawn doesn't like change either. Maybe she agrees w Kellie that starting the game and starting the 3rd qtr don't really matter. Hope both learned a lesson last night.

Dawn seemed off the whole night to me. It seemed she rarely came off the bench. Meanwhile, I never saw Lisa sit down.

 

[Volfan2012]

Going to be an interesting championship game. If anyone can design a plan to guard Clark it is probably Mulkey. She may try to blind her with one her her array of costumes.

 

[T_Vol376]

Going to be an interesting championship game. If anyone can design a plan to guard Clark it is probably Mulkey. She may try to blind her with one her her array of costumes.

I love Mulkey, but this cracked me up! I am not sure LSU can pull off the win against Iowa, but I’ll never count anyone out. I didn’t think LSU would beat VT.

 

[Volfan2012]

I love Mulkey, but this cracked me up! I am not sure LSU can pull off the win against Iowa, but I’ll never count anyone out. I didn’t think LSU would beat VT.

Never know who thought Iowa could beat SC no matter how many points Clark scored. You had to think they would shut everybody else down even if she scored 40.

 

[Max Roguespierre]

What a mess. I want us to stay far, far away from this player, no matter how good she is. I think our program has painfully learned that once the parents are publically involved, it's way too toxic to touch.

Kenny comes across so soft spoken and sweet. Could he really be so insensitive to his team that he only talks to 7? Is this new or did the Owusus not do their homework before choosing a new team? Either way, this is to be avoided at all costs.

One thing Kellie who hates change is welcome to never change is the culture she's built. Not easy to do, and she's been stellar.

Ashley Owusu has not played well this year. She was in a new system, so getting used to that was certainly an issue. But her conditioning appeared worse than when she was at Maryland. She was tentative, slow and she was not getting any lift on her go-to step back jumper. After her injury her play became even worse.

Kenny Brooks used a 7 player rotation WITH Owusu and a 6 player rotation once she had been excluded from play with Taylor Geiman an emergency, foul trouble, substitute. I don't believe the tweet from Owusu's relative because if that was actually the case Virginia Tech's locker room would have been toxic enough that other players would have complained. Given his 6 or 7 player rotation, Brooks spends more time with those players preparing for late season and tournament games than unused substitutes. There is nothing untoward in that. Obviously something went amiss between Brooks and Owusu for him to decide to not use her at all (even in garbage time).

In any case, Owusu has said that she won't use her COVID year and will turn pro instead (presumably overseas since no WNBA team is likely to take a chance on her at the moment). She could, of course, change her mind and possibly grad transfer. I am far from certain whether any major programs are going to take a chance on her.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I think LSU/Iowa could go either way. No one is going to roll over the other.

LSU is much better than many give credit for, even with their flaws. Iowa has the best player in college basketball with a team for of seniors. It will be somewhat refreshing to me that we see someone different this year.

The disrespect for Lsu is real, I’ve said all season I could see them winning it all, and now I’ll root for them to win.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I can’t imagine Clark anywhere else either. Love that she’s at Iowa. Awesome to see a generational talent forge her own path rather than going with the status quo and playing for one of the big name schools.

Iowa is a big name school

 

[VolBall09]

Iowa is a big name school

Bluder is a good coach but they have never been to a Final Four. They are not a big name women’s basketball school.

 

[VolBall09]

The disrespect for Lsu is real, I’ve said all season I could see them winning it all, and now I’ll root for them to win.

Can never count out Kimmy

 

[DarkPhoenix]

How many National Championships do you think Geno and Pat would have won if they had Boston for four years? At least her first three years. She was so-so this year.

I would rather have Reese for 4 years.

 

[lvocd]

I was rooting for South Carolina but wasn't terribly upset when Iowa won. They played a whale of a game and were definitely the better overall basketball team on the floor last night.

I agree with those who say there were missed calls on both sides, and since both teams' terrific low posts were benched with foul trouble for significant lengths of time it felt like it evened out.

The most surprising thing to me was that the Gamecocks' size wasn't a bigger factor than it was in the end. It felt to me that what actually beat them -- well, besides another other-worldly performance by Clark -- was that they ended up experiencing fear and doubt about the outcome for the first time all year and it just happened to be the worst time ever to finally have that happen. Both the SC players and staff realized they were beatable not long after IOWA realized SC was beatable, and that was that.

What a game! As a looooongtime supporter of women's college basketball it was a thrill to get to see it. Sure, I'm envious and long for Tennessee players to get to experience that type of win again, but it was still a lot of fun.

Did y'all see Angel Reese's comment that "LSU, by itself, has put women's basketball on the map ..." ? lol Bless her heart. I mean, I had already decided to overlook any future immature things she might say or do because I suspect she is overcompensating for some kind of painful inner struggle, but ohhhhhhh myyyyyy. She is going to get slammed for that one. I hope people will realize the girl is just kinda childish and ignore it.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Bluder is a good coach but they have never been to a Final Four. They are not a big name women’s basketball school.

Ok I agree with that, I was just saying it’s a power 5 school.