Game Thread: Lady Vols v NC State, Away, Wed., 4PM, ESPN2, Tues Nov 4th

[ETNVolunteer1]

Jersey and Zee are going to have to play tougher down low. The big girl for NC State outhustled both of them the entire game.

 

[VolBall09]

I thought the press would be better this year but there was no evidence in this game .....maybe later in the year .The same applies to half court offense .....thought there would be some plays called and a half court offense would improve but no evidence of that in this game ...it was strictly one -on -one offense....maybe later in the year.

It’s game one with a freshman PG and just dimissing one of our best, veteran players. All things will improve but there will be growing pains.

We scheduled much tougher this season. It is predicted that by seasons end we will have the #1 SOS in the country. An award UConn usually takes home.

UCLA and Stanford will both present lots of challenges for us and lots of opportunity to improve from this game. Belmont and MTSU are going to be great warmups hopefully we will see big improvements over the next 5 games before we head out west.

 

[VolBall09]

I do recall that. It was a great moment. Since that win it hasn’t gone quite as well…

That win changed the trajectory of both teams last season. It was the wake up call Geno’s team needed and we got a big head.

Still ended the season strong in the tournament but that win set us back.

 

[volsagain]

Jersey and Zee are going to have to play tougher down low. The big girl for NC State outhustled both of them the entire game.

Zee didn't have a very good game last time out. Maybe the long hard summer has taken a toll on her. She needs a lot fewer minutes the next couple of weeks. She's pressing and getting little out of control. She will definitely get better when she settles in.

 

[VolBall09]

I’m sure someone’s said it somewhere already, but it was glaring how much we could have used Ruby in this game. She was a versatile defender, athletic on the boards and our most consistent attacker at the rim. She was one of the better players at drawing contact and getting to the line.

Makes me sick honestly. Gotta let it go but, damn.

 

[ETNVolunteer1]

I’m sure someone’s said it somewhere already, but it was glaring how much we could have used Ruby in this game. She was a versatile defender, athletic on the boards and our most consistent attacker at the rim. She was one of the better players at drawing contact and getting to the line.

Makes me sick honestly. Gotta let it go but, damn.

Definitely a big loss, especially for it happen just a few days before our first game. The timing could not have been much worse. As the season goes on and players get more experience it won’t hurt as bad but it definitely stings bad right now.

 

[VolBall09]

Zee didn't have a very good game last time out. Maybe the long hard summer has taken a toll on her. She needs a lot fewer minutes the next couple of weeks. She's pressing and getting little out of control. She will definitely get better when she settles in.

I feel like three on three makes you play at a frenetic pace. I’m not sure I would want my players playing that much half court 3x3. I’m glad she got the USA basketball experience but I’m not certain it was really good for her game. She will come along, I’m certain.

 

[glv98]

I’m so glad we played this game early because we can take a lot of lessons from this game. There were a lot of bright spots!

I will say this, and I’ve said this from the very beginning. The Pauldo family concerns me. Yelling orders at players (Zee, Prawl, etc) from their sideline seats is not a good look and generally only ends up poorly. Not an attack on their character by any means because I don’t know them, it just seems like a situation that may not end well. Time will tell!

This has long been a concern.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

This has long been a concern.

I’ve kept quiet about that but I’ve felt a certain way the whole time. I’m hearing it was a big problem during the game today.

 

[volfan__18]

I’ve kept quiet about that but I’ve felt a certain way the whole time. I’m hearing it was a big problem during the game today.

I wouldn’t put much stock into that. I’m sure if it becomes a problem, it’ll be stopped. Until then why worry

 

[RespectAPA]

I do recall that. It was a great moment. Since that win it hasn’t gone quite as well…

It hasn't been terrible either, though. We're 7-6 in that stretch filled with 12 power conference opponents, including wins against Alabama, Ole Miss, and @Ohio State to make the Sweet Sixteen, and the wins against Auburn, A&M, and USF were all in blowout fashion. [And this ignores the UConn win that is the fencepost of that stretch, and the best win of the Caldwell era so far]

There's really only two games in that 13 stretch where we played terrible, and it's Kentucky and Georgia, which were at the end of an admitted mismanagement of the team's legs mid-season that coach says she's learned from. (which they bounced back from quite well when they got a break going into the tournament, if we don't choose to ignore the quality of play in the tournament just because it ended in a loss)

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I wouldn’t put much stock into that. I’m sure if it becomes a problem, it’ll be stopped. Until then why worry

3 people I’ve talked to that were at the game, mentioned it to me and said it was a problem. But I get your point. I’ll be the judge when I watch them live for myself.

 

[volforlife15]

Zee didn't have a very good game last time out. Maybe the long hard summer has taken a toll on her. She needs a lot fewer minutes the next couple of weeks. She's pressing and getting little out of control. She will definitely get better when she settles in.

It’s game 1 and this is clearly an overreaction but I’m just not sure I see it. She looks the exact same as last year. Completely out of control and doesn’t play very smart. She’s too experienced to be still having the same issues

 

[glv98]

It's the basketball version of a lineman going down after an extra point

I know but it should be the opponents trying to slow the game down not us.

3 people I’ve talked to that were at the game, mentioned it to me and said it was a problem. But I get your point. I’ll be the judge when I watch them live for myself.

In general, I hate those courtside seats. No one needs to be that close to the players. It caused a lot of trouble in the W last season.

 

[Volfan1017]

I’ve kept quiet about that but I’ve felt a certain way the whole time. I’m hearing it was a big problem during the game today.

As someone who sat a few rows behind them, I can confirm it was. At halftime he was also up by the bathrooms talking on the phone (very loudly) giving his opinions about the game. Not good. I said I was concerned literally the day they signed and most of you all called me negative but here we are

 

[alexvol]

I do recall that. It was a great moment. Since that win it hasn’t gone quite as well…

They did go to Sweet 16 ....that is competing against the level of competition pretty well imo

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

I watched the Overtime Select series and the guy has always had that personality when it comes to basketball. If people get offended by it IMO it’s kinda weak. You can’t control what someone else says. I’m halfway across the US and whenever I attend a sporting event there’s always fans doing the exact same thing whether they’re a parent or not.
I think the coaching staff needs to really re-evaluate their teams identity and develop a coaching strategy that raising the level standard as well as brand on the court.
I think Coach Caldwell was a great hire. So was Coach Lazo. The other coaches got to show some progress. Something does seem off. This game may have exposed a setback and it has nothing to do with the dismissal situation.

As someone who sat a few rows behind them, I can confirm it was. At halftime he was also up by the bathrooms talking on the phone (very loudly) giving his opinions about the game. Not good. I said I was concerned literally the day they signed and most of you all called me negative but here we are

 

[DarkPhoenix]

As someone who sat a few rows behind them, I can confirm it was. At halftime he was also up by the bathrooms talking on the phone (very loudly) giving his opinions about the game. Not good. I said I was concerned literally the day they signed and most of you all called me negative but here we are

That’s the reason I didn’t say anything in the beginning, I just let it play out.

 

[VolBall09]

I watched the Overtime Select series and the guy has always had that personality when it comes to basketball. If people get offended by it IMO it’s kinda weak. You can’t control what someone else says. I’m halfway across the US and whenever I attend a sporting event there’s always fans doing the exact same thing whether they’re a parent or not.
I think the coaching staff needs to really re-evaluate their teams identity and develop a coaching strategy that raising the level standard as well as brand on the court.
I think Coach Caldwell was a great hire. So was Coach Lazo. The other coaches got to show some progress. Something does seem off. This game may have exposed a setback and it has nothing to do with the dismissal situation.

I was with you until the last sentence. The dismissal is exactly what is off. Asinine take to flippantly express that it has nothing to do with the on court play today.

 

[volnationnj]

Which one of our fans agreed that the loss of Whitehorn would not have a negative effect on the LV's this game ?
Hint. The same one who predicted a 35 point LV win.

 

[Voluble2]

Early in the season, and we’ll get better. Losing Ruby hurts a lot in this game when Zee gives you next to nothing and the freshmen are freshmen. I’ll say that seeing the troubling trend of close but no cigar against top teams(outside of UConn) continuing into this year does give me pause. At some point, it’s not just bad luck or refs….

End of games are usually half court set pieces for various reasons, and that is where this system is weakest so it is not surprising at all that we have a terrible record when it comes down to the wire in close games.

Hopefully Mia will help a lot with this as the season progresses because a good point guard should flourish in those situations and find the open man.

 

[Volfan1017]

I watched the Overtime Select series and the guy has always had that personality when it comes to basketball. If people get offended by it IMO it’s kinda weak. You can’t control what someone else says. I’m halfway across the US and whenever I attend a sporting event there’s always fans doing the exact same thing whether they’re a parent or not.
I think the coaching staff needs to really re-evaluate their teams identity and develop a coaching strategy that raising the level standard as well as brand on the court.
I think Coach Caldwell was a great hire. So was Coach Lazo. The other coaches got to show some progress. Something does seem off. This game may have exposed a setback and it has nothing to do with the dismissal situation.

I am not offended by it in the slightest. If you read my original post I said that typically situations like this don’t end well (I also say this as someone who has coached at the college level). I think Mia and Mya are great. I’m not offended at all. I just said it’s something to be aware of.

 

[volforlife10]

i know this is beating a dead horse, but i think all things considered, we played okay. we lost one of our star players 2 days ago and that had to hurt the girls. this was their friend. they also had to learn their new roles in 2 days. i think like someone said, this might be one of our worst games this season, and if it is that’s a great sign. just continue to improve.

 

[volfan__18]

i know this is beating a dead horse, but i think all things considered, we played okay. we lost one of our star players 2 days ago and that had to hurt the girls. this was their friend. they also had to learn their new roles in 2 days. i think like someone said, this might be one of our worst games this season, and if it is that’s a great sign. just continue to improve.

perfectly said!!

 

[ron1989]

I would’ve love for them to pull this out and then learn from their mistakes…all that’s about to happen now is we about to blow thru these teams be 5-1 before UCLA and still won’t know anything about the team progress