Game thread: #15/13 Lady Vols at Florida. Sunday, Feb. 23, 1pm ET, SECN

#402
#402
KnoxLikeUs said:
This is 100% true.
It’s just desperation at this point to try to control a narrative that has long been dead.
That narrative was killed when Tennessee beat UCONN a top-5 team in year 1 of the Coach Caldwell era.
They call things like beating a top 5 team, elite recruiting in 10 months including an elite transfer portal and #1/#2 HS recruiting class sunshine pumping.
Every game these posters take any moment they can no matter how silly it might be to throw out the most asinine comments they can think of and post ridiculous videos from local media to try to critique the head coach, style of play, players etc.
This program in one year has had one of the greatest turnarounds of all-time in the sport and what makes this truly remarkable is it has been done at the greatest WBB of all-time that was built by a legend Coach Pat Summitt.
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So in your opinion Lady Vols played a perfect game for all 4 quarters today? I understand you and a few others consider yourselves as so called SUPER FANS but two things can be true today. Yes Lady Vols are on the rise and going in right direction under CKC and the other is they played a horrible 1st half today.
 
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#404
#404
Deebowbear said:
Wished Spear and Spencer had another year
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This is it for the senior and graduate players.
They are part of an amazing group that’s laying a great foundation for the future.
I’m very encouraged they’ll end their career with a highly successful year.
I think the chances are good for a SEC and NCAA title.
This team is one of the most athletic in WBB.
Florida just like most teams this season pretty much played four quarters of their best basketball and it wasn’t good enough for two quarters of LVs best basketball.
Florida didn’t lose this game the LVs took it down the stretch.
This team played its best game of the season against Top 5 UConn and won that game.
Tennessee hasn’t reached its ceiling and that’s what is scary about this team heading into the SEC and NCAA tourney.
 
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#405
#405
Think we got caught looking ahead in the first half, that along with Coop foul trouble didn't help at all. Showed some maturity in the second half turning things around. Still have to get better, got plenty of opportunity for improvement. To beat Kentucky we will need to out rebound them, run the court, and make threes. Ole Miss showed how to do it but it isnt going to be easy.
 
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#407
#407
My explanation has always been on the concept of half empty, half full. If you focus on the worse then your teams win all is good; if the team loses, well that person can based on comments "I told you so." However if you are an optimistic, and your team loses you are a polly-anna, open for possible ridicule.

remember is it the person - not the team who practices that philosophy. (I'll close this stupid, ignorant post and perhaps sulk)
 
#408
#408
Coach Jumper said:
The incoming class, with the returners will make it a little easier to miss them.
Plus I see us shopping the portal for at least one athletic post

Not to take away from what they've done,,,they have both saved our bacon many times this year
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Spear and Spencer will be missed until the freshman get their feet wet. That's a lot of leadership to lose. GLV 💥
 
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#409
#409
volsagain said:
Spear and Spencer will be missed until the freshman get their feet wet. That's a lot of leadership to lose. GLV 💥
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No fear,,,Boyd and the wonder twins will be awesome

Boyd is on par with asst/TO ratio of 2.0 (38 assists 17 turnovers) in 17 mins per game
excellent ratio
 
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#414
#414
We have seen that teams who can match the LVs in terms of speed and athleticism (and more specifically press them) tends to throw the team off. Its like they have "wait, this is not supposed to be happening to us!!" reaction and they just get out of kilter and start forcing things and doing to much one on one. Then that problem gets compounded by Coop having to sit most of the first half and the team having a dismal shooting first half (30% overall). Given all that, it is an accomplishment that they kept the score as close as they did.

I think in the 2nd, the team actually played with more patience. In the first half, it was like they were trying to outpace and outquick FL and that was creating TOs and fouls. They actually played basketball in the 3rd quarter and most importantly, caught fire.

But FL is an "almost there" team and playing them on the road, where a victory would be a season defining moment was going to make for a tough game.

It is a fan trap to start taking conference road wins for granted and complaining that the team did not play well enough to blow out the opponent. Appreciate the wins, appreciate the adaptations, and appreciate that absolutely dominant 3rd quarter.
 
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#416
#416
volfanecs said:
Puckett looks bored
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Oh stop it! In her 14 minutes, Sara made a big 3pt shot and few timely and important plays via rebounding and defense. Her role has been greatly reduced, as a senior no less, but she is doing a splendid job of being ready when needed. She is a team first player and deserves no criticism about her attitude.
 
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#417
#417
I know a lot of people think how games like this one are officiated is irrelevant, but I see players shaking their heads and hesitating to act too often to not believe that it's affecting them mentally, which naturally affects them physically.

That said, I'm actually glad this game played out like it did today, especially since it came right before the team goes on the road to Lexington. For an unranked but athletic team to have come that close to knocking them off is a timely example of exactly what can happen if you're not focused from the start. Tennessee has the good fortune to have that fresh lesson result in a win instead of a loss, 'cause it could have gone the other way for sure.

Officiating is just one factor in every game, so they can't allow themselves to dwell on that aspect if they can help it, and it felt to me like that third quarter comeback happened because they focused on the right things for a long stretch.

In the end, Tennessee did what they needed to do to wear Florida down to the point they started making mental mistakes, and that's a good thing. The Lady Vols continue to see how effectively their pressure messes with the legs AND minds of opponents toward the end of games. We won, they lost, NEXT.
 
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#418
#418
P.S. It was nice, in the end, to see Coach KR Finley's slightly annoying "We're crushing it today!" smile wiped off her face. And yes, I know it's her job as a head coach to motivate her team and show them she's confident, but for some reason I didn't like that for our team today. 👹
 
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#419
#419
lvocd said:
I know a lot of people think how games like this one are officiated is irrelevant, but I see players shaking their heads and hesitating to act too often to not believe that it's affecting them mentally, which naturally affects them physically.

That said, I'm actually glad this game played out like it did today, especially since it came right before the team goes on the road to Lexington. For an unranked but athletic team to have come that close to knocking them off is a timely example of exactly what can happen if you're not focused from the start. Tennessee has the good fortune to have that fresh lesson result in a win instead of a loss, 'cause it could have gone the other way for sure.

Officiating is just one factor in every game, so they can't allow themselves to dwell on that aspect if they can help it, and it felt to me like that third quarter comeback happened because they focused on the right things for a long stretch.

In the end, Tennessee did what they needed to do to wear Florida down to the point they started making mental mistakes, and that's a good thing. The Lady Vols continue to see how effectively their pressure messes with the legs AND minds of opponents toward the end of games. We won, they lost, NEXT.
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3 mins before halftime it was 15-3 ( in fouls ) 8-2 in Q1
 
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#421
#421
So much for Florida....On to lexington...
79856080007-20250223-wb-florida-kl-002.JPG
 
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#422
#422
volsagain said:
Spear and Spencer will be missed until the freshman get their feet wet. That's a lot of leadership to lose. GLV 💥
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I get your point. But I wouldn’t put a cap on a player entering college as a McDonald’s AA or Top 50 recruit.
We don’t know what these freshmen will need but until you watch the film and see it from an unbiased perspective saying they need to get their feet wet is not credible.
These players have the potential to play from Day 1.
Spencer and Spear have only played 1 and 2 seasons at Tennessee. They had to go through adjustments just as the freshmen will so that’s expected.
Neither player arrived at Tennessee from Arkansas and Wake Forest having been part of a successful team that was highly ranked during their career.
It’s safe to say that this is the best team either Spencer or Spear has played on and yes they’re a big part of the success although chances are high that next season’s team could be better.
That’s not a knock or taking credit away from either player but if you factor in the coaches, players, and recruiting class you come away with a very strong roster.
 
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#424
#424
KnoxLikeUs said:
This is 100% true.
It’s just desperation at this point to try to control a narrative that has long been dead.
That narrative was killed when Tennessee beat UCONN a top-5 team in year 1 of the Coach Caldwell era.
They call things like beating a top 5 team, elite recruiting in 10 months including an elite transfer portal and #1/#2 HS recruiting class sunshine pumping.
Every game these posters take any moment they can no matter how silly it might be to throw out the most asinine comments they can think of and post ridiculous videos from local media to try to critique the head coach, style of play, players etc.
This program in one year has had one of the greatest turnarounds of all-time in the sport and what makes this truly remarkable is it has been done at the greatest WBB program of all-time that was built by a legend Coach Pat Summitt.
Click to expand...

I just took it as long as I could on all the boards. The most frustrating thing about the darker side is that they take exception to adverse reactions to their and their like minded buddies snarky shots at fact sets that usually speak for themselves and DO NOT require embellishment. Individual shortcomings are bad enough, when there are enough to collectively yield a loss it is the pits.

Identifying the facts with the purpose of improvement is of course fine. When there is no value add, other than emotional release for the poster, en mass it makes bad things worse. I only hope shining a light on the practice reduces the number of times the post reply button is hit. Might, might not, but it is all I got.

The biggest offenders are the ones that think ANY such response is sunshine pumping. They are not honest enough to acknowledge that there is a huge gulf of rational positions between the the two groups on each extreme.
 
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#425
#425
madtownvol said:
No doubt but I think Cooper, Spearman, and Whitehorn will be ready to fill the void.
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This 1000%. The potential returnees in addition to three you named with Boyd and Latham are an excellent core to build around with the top incoming recruiting class.
I think we’ll see one or two post players add through the portal and an international player that can play multiple positions.
The greatest thing about all of this is the present is as bright as the future for our current seniors.
 
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