GAME THREAD: @ LSU, Thursday, 6 pm EST, ESPN

[CannonVol80]

Our D allows WAY too many easy layups and point blank shots. We get beat off the dribble almost every play. We’re a turnover machine and we miss way too many layups and inside shots. They have major problems.

I have to admit that I have yet to figure out what defense this team plays. It seems, to me, at least, that it is a switching man-to-man. Unfortunately, that, too often, results in a defensive mismatch like Mia Pauldo on a 6'5" interior player. But, what I too frequently see is the Lady Vol player losing her assignment, resulting in an uncontested lay-up. Also, it too frequently seems that our players are chasing the opposing player from behind. I don't claim to know all the intricacies of coaching, but it seems to me that if you are going to play a man-to-man defense, your players need to be able to keep the opposing player in front of them and not be chasing them to the basket.

Jim

 

[Golfteacher]

I hate everything about this team! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever not liked a roster as much as this one in Lady Vol history.

We have good players but the coach’s system is simply not working. It is up to the coaching staff to find out what works with the players they have. Instead of them wearing out their opponents the Lady Vols are the ones who are tired out. Past throwing up a bunch of threes I can't really figure out their offense.

 

[Shortydoowop10]

Civil is the main one I want to keep

And that’s the name I heard might be gone..but can’t do anything but wait til the season ends

 

[glv98]

In terms of attitude and effort, I like what I see from all our freshmen. I think each of them has show indications of a competitive ceiling for SEC competition.

You just have to hope none of them get infected by whatever the hell bug is up the butts of the upperclassmen. That's where we should be able to depend on the coaching staff, but they just don't seem to have much control over the environment.

AD Danny White and Coach Caldwell should not blamed for the LVs mediocre performance this year. Coach Caldwell had an excellent won-loss record in D2/D3 basketball. That is why AD White selected her for the LVs head coaching position. Neither he nor her knew her coaching system would not work as well in D1 basketball. I believe she should be give one more year to rectify this performance situation. I believe Kara Lawson would be a good candidate to replace CKC if she fails to improve the LVs performance next year.

Wait. He hired her to do a job and the only tool she brought to do it is a disaster and isn't working. And you think she needs to be replaced. But neither of them should be blamed? Interesting

Do you believe all 5 Freshman will be back? Just wondering.

I didn't ask about the other freshmen. I didn't want to push things too far, she could get in very big trouble.

 

[JCP201]

AD Danny White and Coach Caldwell should not blamed for the LVs mediocre performance this year. Coach Caldwell had an excellent won-loss record in D2/D3 basketball. That is why AD White selected her for the LVs head coaching position. Neither he nor her knew her coaching system would not work as well in D1 basketball. I believe she should be give one more year to rectify this performance situation. I believe Kara Lawson would be a good candidate to replace CKC if she fails to improve the LVs performance next year.

I'm no expert, but unless we dont make the tournament, I think she gets another year. I wonder if Kara would come to VOLS? She seems to have it made at Duke.

 

[cricks12]

And that’s the name I heard might be gone..but can’t do anything but wait til the season ends

Is this fr? I pray she is not she seems so happy and always in a good mood when she is on the floor.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

lol I said that several weeks ago smh.

I also heard this from someone who should know. In fact, this person said the twins are the bright spot in an otherwise miserable environment.

 

[I4Vols]

In terms of attitude and effort, I like what I see from all our freshmen. I think each of them has show indications of a competitive ceiling for SEC competition.

My fav post of the day. The energy, flashes of what they want to be, desire, character, etc.
Ah, to be young again. But I also often wish to be just a wee bit taller... that's the one concern I have for our twin "not tower" point guards in the SEC. I think there is real leadership there and I envision a Zig on the LV's.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

Stay off Skim smh. Ain’t no might to that.. it’s false.

And that’s the name I heard might be gone..but can’t do anything but wait til the season ends

 

[glv98]

Our best wins thus have come from forced turnovers Aand offensive rebounding. Thlast 6 geometric we are not getting as many turnovers,

Because the last six opponents have been much better. Depending on t.o.s and putbacks doesn't substitute for actual offense against good teams. Never has. Even Pat found that out painfully in the early 2000s.

I don’t think you quite understand how college athletics work right now… you aren’t getting a better experience anywhere else in WBB from the NIL, facilities, alumni, college campus experience than Tennessee

Boy howdy, that TN experience is a blast right now isn't it? Who wouldn't want to come participate in breaking every negative record for a once storied program?

I have to admit that I have yet to figure out what defense this team plays. It seems, to me, at least, that it is a switching man-to-man. Unfortunately, that, too often, results in a defensive mismatch like Mia Pauldo on a 6'5" interior player. But, what I too frequently see is the Lady Vol player losing her assignment, resulting in an uncontested lay-up. Also, it too frequently seems that our players are chasing the opposing player from behind. I don't claim to know all the intricacies of coaching, but it seems to me that if you are going to play a man-to-man defense, your players need to be able to keep the opposing player in front of them and not be chasing them to the basket.

Jim

The half court D is awful, no one can keep anyone in front of them. This has been a problem for the LVs for years. But even worse, our interior defense is completely nonexistent. I wonder if they're giving up those easy lanes to the rim because they're trying not to foul. They do foul too much, and CKC has put an emphasis on that. Whatever the problem it's awful and has completely negated the fact that we're shooting much better. As my dad would say if it ain't p*ss ants it's spiders

We have good players but the coach’s system is simply not workin

Not sure how much we can blame the system and not just the coach and her players. She has dialed the system so far back that she barely trapped at all tonight and pressed appropriately. Of course she does still hang on to the Willey Nilly subbing and that's hurting the cause.

The bad news is playing more "normal" is getting us closer then the 30,40 point blowouts, but we're still not winning. I think it's simply that neither our coaches nor our players are as talented as the teams were now playing. Simple as that

 

[LVol]

I have to admit that I have yet to figure out what defense this team plays. It seems, to me, at least, that it is a switching man-to-man. Unfortunately, that, too often, results in a defensive mismatch like Mia Pauldo on a 6'5" interior player. But, what I too frequently see is the Lady Vol player losing her assignment, resulting in an uncontested lay-up. Also, it too frequently seems that our players are chasing the opposing player from behind. I don't claim to know all the intricacies of coaching, but it seems to me that if you are going to play a man-to-man defense, your players need to be able to keep the opposing player in front of them and not be chasing them to the basket.

Jim

I agree

 

[Rooster1]

Wow, a double horse crap call.

There may have been a foul…, a kick out into a defender and a coach on the floor, but they called a foul on 55. Replay it and show me a foul on 55!

Just an unnecessary yielding to a loud coach! Should be career limiting. One of 6 plays I got to watch. This one late and the other was NO CALL …., how do 3 refs miss this nobrainer?

Have I seen this movie before?

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

College athletes aren’t that goofy. They don’t live in that extreme realm of utter fanatical framing.
They were just a Top 15-16 team around the time they beat both Kentucky and Alabama… hit a drought and are now struggling but will use this experience moving forward.
You have to think that way because that’s what an over sensitive fan does.
These student athletes will continue to compete this year… reflect on their shortcomings and absolutely go into the offseason focused on improving at one of the only two major WBB brands in the sport. It’s a reason not but one other team has 8 or more championships… no such thing as once storied.. unless again it’s coming from a fanatic who never won 1 possibly on any level.

Boy howdy, that TN experience is a blast right now isn't it? Who wouldn't want to come participate in breaking every negative record for a once stored program?

 

[LadyVolsDiehard]

Tonight, in the third and fourth quarters, I saw a number of our players, mostly, out bigger players, jogging slowly up the court on defense and , sometimes, on offense. Their lack of interest in playing the game to try to win the ball game was livery obvious. Those players need to stay on the bench and their NIL should not be continued. Cooper can. Be the best player on the court one night, and one of the worst the next game. She hurts us tonight , especially in the second half. Our Freshmen seem to be the nucleus of the team, and I do believe our two incoming Freshmen will be able to contribute as much or more as this year’s Freshmen have done this year. That means we will have to find 2-4 portal players to ad depth to the team. maybe with more talented players, we will be able to play a more controlled game. Our best wins thus have come from forced turnovers Aand offensive rebounding. Thlast 6 geometric we are not getting as many turnovers, and have seen a reduction in points score off of offensive rebounds. Point is, we have to impro our talent depth and inside offense and defense. Otherwise, we will see more seasons similar to this season. You have to have experienced TALENT to win

You summed this up beautifully.

If we lose Coop because of the draft or portal, I like her, but I think we need to turn the page from her. She's talented but boy tonight was why fans scream at their screens watch her. Just selfish play all around tonight and she knows better or at least she should since played in this system last year. The amount of shots she took tonight jacking them 3-5 seconds into the shot clock without waiting on her teammates and helping LSU in transition with every miss KILLED US. We just got get away from these selfish, me-first level players.

 

[VolBalls33]

UT moved up a spot in the NET even with the loss. Finishing 7th and .500 in the SEC gets UT in. Maybe a bad seed, but UT isnt missing the tourney. Thank goodness UT beat Bama, UGA, and UK, all ranked right now and holds the tiebreaker for 7th. Only way UT doesnt get the 7th seed is if UK knocks of South Carolina Sunday.

 

[chuckiepoo]

It would be embarrassing to have someone that dresses like a clown like Mulkey representing your university pure sleaze.

In his day, rivals pointed at Ray Mears with the exact sentiments.

Clown show, circus and worse.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Bottom line....

We ain't all that and a bag of chips.

 

[VolFan_stuck_in_the_901]

Over/Under 37.5 points for Blakes on Sunday?

 

[glv98]

You summed this up beautifully.

If we lose Coop because of the draft or portal, I like her, but I think we need to turn the page from her. She's talented but boy tonight was why fans scream at their screens watch her. Just selfish play all around tonight and she knows better or at least she should since played in this system last year. The amount of shots she took tonight jacking them 3-5 seconds into the shot clock without waiting on her teammates and helping LSU in transition with every miss KILLED US. We just got get away from these selfish, me-first level players.

How this can go on over and over and over is just mystifying. Coop, Zee and Barker cannot possibly be unaware of the narrative surrounding them. And yet they're still perfectly capable of pulling out lifeless stinkeroos like tonight. They have so much at stake with WNBA draft talk around all three coming into this season. Which they have completely tanked. I can't understand how they operate against their own self interests so often. And

it's also very disheartening that their coaches seem to have so little control over any of this, and so little ability to steer those players in the right direction.

 

[glv98]

In his day, rivals pointed at Ray Mears with the exact sentiments.

Clown show, circus and worse.

Did you know they actually rode unicycles in warmups at one point under Mears? At the Old Stokely Athletic Center barn.

 

[montbb47]

She looks like a Mardi Gras float. They probably love it down there.

They ate it up at Baylor too. More of her jackets flew into the stands at Baylor than anywhere else. She competed with Liberace and Elton John in the Gold Lamme category.

 

[vols90]

Over/Under 37.5 points for Blakes on Sunday?

Vandy is going to demolish us on Sunday. Blakes will probably get 60 with 50 of those points from free throws. And Pissott will probably hit 8 threes

 

[glv98]

Vandy is going to demolish us on Sunday. Blakes will probably get 60 with 50 of those points from free throws. And Pissott will probably hit 8 threes

Yes! Because apparently we deserve the trials of Job, Justine about to light us the F up

 

[vols90]

So what’s CKC’s selling point for the portal and future high school recruits? After a 2nd year in the system, it no longer looks fun or free and we’re getting blown out by good teams. I guess her selling point is “how many zeros do you want on your check?” ‍However I would think donor funds will start to grow sparse

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

Are opponent coaches starting to not want a coaching change????

she has stated she liked caldwell so she probably took it easier on her they eased up a bit. Caldwell can take a page out of that book instead of running of the score on inferior opponents