Lady Vols vs Stanford: ESPN2 Gamethread Wed. 12/3, 9:15 ET

[volsagain]

Talent isn’t talent as long as it only exists on paper. Until it’s proven on the floor it’s just potential.

And I never said what we’re seeing now is a finished product. God I hope not. But the path so far has been way bumpier than anyone expected.

Sometimes people confuse talent with athleticism . Playing basketball is not all about athleticism, the corn feed girls at UCLA just get there feet set under them and go up strong with confidence and without rushing. Talent

 

[1morevol]

Certainly not. The posters are on their own. The players? I try to allow them grace as best as possible. You never know who will show up to evaluate the fanbase. I wonder if we affected Teonni’s destination…

That's the way I see it also. There were lots of hurtful remarks said about Tamari. Could have had an effect on Teonni.

 

[vols90]

Certainly not. The posters are on their own. The players? I try to allow them grace as best as possible. You never know who will show up to evaluate the fanbase. I wonder if we affected Teonni’s destination…

I think Teonni would’ve transferred here if Kellie had stayed. She didn’t come because of the coaching change and the Key family loved Kellie. I also think Tamari would’ve used her additional year to play with her sister.

 

[VolBall09]

I think more than anything else right now the offense is really shocking. If you have to turn a team over 30 times to win a game it is going to bite you a few times. 34 percent from the field. Stanford shot 46 percent.

I really thought we would be a team that shot around 45 percent from the field and with an 8 to 10 turnover advantage and at least even free throws would make the opponent have to shoot 50 percent to beat us. Getting down in the 30's and only 40 percent for the entire season is where we need to change the most.

I was hoping 34% would be closer to our average for three not from two lol.

Pre-season I was really hoping for 45-35-80 out of this team. If we could do that we’d be really hard to beat.

A lot of it right now comes down to shot selection and personnel selection. Just not getting the right players the ball in a position to be successful.

 

[LV renaissance]

I see that many of us, including myself, are concerned about whether we are going to make the marked progress that we need in order to do at least fairly well in the SEC. We are very fortunate this year that we have for the next 7 weeks with lots of time for practice and probably only one game in which we are the underdogs - the Louisville game. We start out with a mild portion of the SEC, with all of the first 5 SEC games being against unrated teams. This doesn't mean we will win them all, but we don't need to be even close to our peak to be competitive these the games. It will give us more time to figure things out before the gauntlet comes.
Here is the rest of our schedule till the first SEC game against a ranked opponent.
-10 days of practice and Finals
-12/14 Winthrop
-12/20 Louisville in Brooklyn
-12/22 South Indiana
-9 days of practice and holidays
-1/1 Florida (glad it is at home)
-1/4 @ Auburn
-1/8 @ Mississippi State
-1/11 Arkansas
-week of practice
-1/18 @ Alabama
So, this seems like we really can ease into the SEC schedule, and even with a little improvement, be 5-0 or 4-1 moving into a huge game at TBA against Kentucky on 1/22.

 

[spojo13]

The "system" is not some sacred entity that Moses personally gave her upon descending from the Mount.

Not gonna lie, this part made me chuckle. Appreciate the laugh, mad.

 

[vols90]

I see that many of us, including myself, are concerned about whether we are going to make the marked progress that we need in order to do at least fairly well in the SEC. We are very fortunate this year that we have for the next 7 weeks with lots of time for practice and probably only one game in which we are the underdogs - the Louisville game. We start out with a mild portion of the SEC, with none of the first 5 SEC games being against unrated teams. This doesn't mean we will win them all, but we don't need to be even close to our peak to be competitive these the games. It will give us more time to figure things out before the gauntlet comes.
Here is the rest of our schedule till the first SEC game against a ranked opponent.
-10 days of practice and Finals
-12/14 Winthrop
-12/20 Louisville in Brooklyn
-12/22 South Indiana
-9 days of practice and holidays
-1/1 Florida (glad it is at home)
-1/4 @ Auburn
-1/8 @ Mississippi State
-1/11 Arkansas
-week of practice
-1/18 @ Alabama
So, this seems like we really can ease to the SEC schedule, and even with a little improvement, be 5-0 or 4-1 moving into a huge game at TBA against Kentucky on 1/22.

I think we can beat Florida but they scare me. It will definitely be close

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

The same team Florida team that just lost to Virgina Tech lol…. good thing nobody on the team is going to worry about a fans fear.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

Unfortunately, the up-tempo spread offense was the best thing about CKC's system last season. Lacking three consistent point shooters, defenses are going to sag in the paint and make driving to the rim a challenge. In effect, this team is going to face the same offensive challenges that Kellie’s team struggled with (and there is no Rickea caliber offensive hero to save the day).

 

[Sudden Impact]

A plus last night was interior passing inside or near the Lane. On the outside perimeter sloppy.

 

[th2421]

A plus last night was interior passing inside or near the Lane. On the outside perimeter sloppy.

I agree, some nice pick and rolls with Cooper/Spearman and finally seeing some really nice penetration and passing by Mia, which I've been waiting for all season. Hope that means she's figuring it out.

 

[chuckiepoo]

I agree, some nice pick and rolls with Cooper/Spearman and finally seeing some really nice penetration and passing by Mia, which I've been waiting for all season. Hope that means she's figuring it out.

I noticed while watching the replay that Nya flashed on a pnr to Zee too!

 

[Rocky Top T]

Robertson and Wolfenbarger can't play!!!!!

 

[DeerPark12]

I think more than anything else right now the offense is really shocking. If you have to turn a team over 30 times to win a game it is going to bite you a few times. 34 percent from the field. Stanford shot 46 percent.

I really thought we would be a team that shot around 45 percent from the field and with an 8 to 10 turnover advantage and at least even free throws would make the opponent have to shoot 50 percent to beat us. Getting down in the 30's and only 40 percent for the entire season is where we need to change the most.

I think it's silly to assume that what you see the forst week of December is the final product.

I would also add that 34 percent from the field was exactly the average Stanford has surrendered to this point this season. That was a good defense Tennessee faced last night.

 

[chuckiepoo]

I think it's silly to assume that what you see the forst week of December is the final product.

I would also add that 34 percent from the field was exactly the average Stanford has surrendered to this point this season. That was a good defense Tennessee faced last night.

There ya go with the facts again…

 

[DeerPark12]

Robertson and Wolfenbarger can't play!!!!!

Tennessee's third-leading scorer can't play? That's a curious take.

 

[DeerPark12]

The amount of excuses that continue to be made for this coaching staff is extremely alarming. With the amount of talent that was purchased, the level of play recently is inexcusable as well as some of the antics that have taken place both on and off the court. There once was a time where being a Lady Vol and carrying yourself as one meant something.

It seems none of that matters. Nobody is expecting her to be Pat (let me correct that some of you were comparing some of the things she was doing last year as Pat like), but one thing that should be honored is the way Pat expected the ladies within the program to carry themselves and represent the Lady Vols brand both on and off the court and I don't see that happening and it is something that is greatly missed.

I guess NIL $ gives and also takes away.

What are you talking about? Can you give us examples of them not carrying themselves the way you think they should?

 

[DeerPark12]

She is really a turnover machine. She sometimes and it has been seldom gets on a roll and did so big time against Coppin State. Overall she is a terrible passer, very inconsistent defender, and inconsistent offensive player for most of the games.

A "turnover machine" that averages fewer turnovers per minute than Cooper, Pauldo, Barker and Civil? I get that you don't like her for whatever reason, but you can just give us your actual reason for that rather than saying things that the stats clearly don't support.

 

[Orange007]

the team is getting better. that's obvious. i expect them to continue to improve. lots of talent, youngins, and transfers, but you can tell they are developing their roles.

 

[Volfan2012]

I think it's silly to assume that what you see the forst week of December is the final product.

I would also add that 34 percent from the field was exactly the average Stanford has surrendered to this point this season. That was a good defense Tennessee faced last night.

Well you have to consider their schedule up to this point and why should their defense be giving up more than 34 percent. Their defense had nothing to do with some of the poor shot selection that Tennessee took and several of their three point attempts didn't even draw iron. I think your going to find that even though they are playing in the weak ACC this Stanford team is a middle of the pack team in that league and some huge losses are coming for them. Really not sold on their defense until they play several more teams much better than the ones they have played to this point. Other than Tennessee they lost to a team ranked number 104.

 

[Volfan2012]

A "turnover machine" that averages fewer turnovers per minute than Cooper, Pauldo, Barker and Civil? I get that you don't like her for whatever reason, but you can just give us your actual reason for that rather than saying things that the stats clearly don't support.

Who said I didn't like her and she has the advantage that she did not get into turnover mode until the last three games where she has a total of ten and seven in the last two versus UCLA and Stanford. So her 2.1 overall average has jumped up to 3.5 in the last two games so 7 for about 40 minutes of playing time. I'm hoping it was just a bad couple games for her, but she did in the last two games throw the ball five feet over the person she was passing to five times. That definitely stood out as careless turnovers. Hoping we don't see it going forward cause the last two games have been a huge problem not just for her the entire team.
Really shouldn't try to put words in a persons mouth about not liking a person comment was totally based on performance. I want her to play well she is a senior and needs to play better. I could also find fault with several other players play thus far maybe it will all come together into where it was expected to be a long way from being there right now.

 

[spojo13]

Who said I didn't like her and she has the advantage that she did not get into turnover mode until the last three games where she has a total of ten and seven in the last two versus UCLA and Stanford. So her 2.1 overall average has jumped up to 3.5 in the last two games so 7 for about 40 minutes of playing time. I'm hoping it was just a bad couple games for her, but she did in the last two games throw the ball five feet over the person she was passing to five times. That definitely stood out as careless turnovers. Hoping we don't see it going forward cause the last two games have been a huge problem not just for her the entire team.
Really shouldn't try to put words in a persons mouth about not liking a person comment was totally based on performance. I want her to play well she is a senior and needs to play better. I could also find fault with several other players play thus far maybe it will all come together into where it was expected to be a long way from being there right now.

Agreed. For someone who is a lawyer to come in here and say things that you have never said to try to get a point across isn’t a good look. You are one of the more reasonable posters on this board and for him to come in and make up a falsehood about you just because you made an observation in real time in a game is uncalled for. I get it’s his whole schtick to take up for the Athletic Department bc of his previous work with them, but personal attacks are supposed to be a no-no on this board.

 

[spojo13]

Well you have to consider their schedule up to this point and why should their defense be giving up more than 34 percent. Their defense had nothing to do with some of the poor shot selection that Tennessee took and several of their three point attempts didn't even draw iron. I think your going to find that even though they are playing in the weak ACC this Stanford team is a middle of the pack team in that league and some huge losses are coming for them. Really not sold on their defense until they play several more teams much better than the ones they have played to this point. Other than Tennessee they lost to a team ranked number 104.

More to your point, the highest rated NET team they have played, until us, was Santa Clara at 65 and at home. They’re not playing a LSU schedule, but it’s not like they have played some juggernaut of a schedule, and they have lost to the 166 team in the NET. Our offense wasn’t good no matter how people want to slice it or excuse it.

 

[LV renaissance]

It was an early December game against an opponent who might not deserved to be rated but likely will end up in the NCAA tournament. Despite horrible shooting by the LVs, the LVS prevail due to forced turnovers and points off of turnover. The ugly performance causes worry among the faithful about how this will translate to the SEC.
I am talking about the Iowa game last year. The scenario was eerily similar to this year's Standford game.
Let's look at the comparative stats.
Iowa/UT Stanford/UT
Forced Turnovers 9/30 16/30
Points off of turnovers 42/10 25/10
Shooting percent 46/39 46/35
Offensive Rebounds 10/12 19/11
Total Rebounds 48/33 41/40

Overall, very similar results with opponent shooting percent and turnovers being exactly the same in each game. The LVs were more effective in converting turnovers to point in the Iowa game, perhaps due to a slightly higher shooting percentage and were also better about not having turnovers. On the other hand, the team this year did significantly better in the important offensive rebound stat as well as overall rebounds compared to last year. Overall, the games were quite similar and worrisome due to their ugliness despite the wins. It was good to see last year how much better we were by the early January games against LSU and OU.

Note: This is the 2nd of a two-part series to try to reduce worry of this poster (the first post was about the relatively easy early SEC schedule)

 

[mcdoug]

I think it's silly to assume that what you see the forst week of December is the final product.

I would also add that 34 percent from the field was exactly the average Stanford has surrendered to this point this season. That was a good defense Tennessee faced last night.

LV's won a rock fight on the road against a team that likes to play that way. Certainly the offense could be more polished, but this group seems more capable of adapting to an opponent's style than last year at this time.