Scotty Hopson's Negative Plays Were the Difference.

#1
LawVol13

LawVol13

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#1
1.) At the end of the first half, he absolutely has to pull that out and let us take the last shot. We have the chance to go in the half up 4 or 5; instead, we end up down 1.

2.) On a ball screen in the second half, he performed his signature dribble off of his leg that resulted in a dunk at the other end. This helped fuel the UCONN surge that finished us.

3.) His failure to just catch a simple rebound resulted in an easy three point play for Oriakhi. That ballooned the lead from 5-8 when it should have been our ball down 5.
 
#4
#4
Griffith just started a new column about how this is going to be the catalyst to AA status, multiple banners and lottery status. Boards be powerful.
 
#8
#8
Agree with all. Regarding the size of his hands, I've seen them up close and they're not undersized. Perhaps it's that his hands just don't have that intangible quality called "softness" in football (not sure I've ever seen this well defined physiologically), that they're not strong (perhaps not exercised to make them stronger for fear it'd impact his shooting touch?), or a certain lack of mental concentration.
 
#9
#9
LawVol13 said:
1.) At the end of the first half, he absolutely has to pull that out and let us take the last shot. We have the chance to go in the half up 4 or 5; instead, we end up down 1.

2.) On a ball screen in the second half, he performed his signature dribble off of his leg that resulted in a dunk at the other end. This helped fuel the UCONN surge that finished us.

3.) His failure to just catch a simple rebound resulted in an easy three point play for Oriakhi. That ballooned the lead from 5-8 when it should have been our ball down 5.
Click to expand...

LawVol, notice the pic is Chris Lofton. Would you agree that Chris has been the best all-around basketball player of the Pearl era (not recruited by Bruce, notably), clearly the best shooter (at any range), that many of the attributes that made him so good go far beyond natural gifts, and that therefore he serves as a good example to current and future Vols of what they might be, if only they understand and embrace the same formula?
 
#10
#10
golfballs03 said:
LawVol, notice the pic is Chris Lofton. Would you agree that Chris has been the best all-around basketball player of the Pearl era (not recruited by Bruce, notably), clearly the best shooter (at any range), that many of the attributes that made him so good go far beyond natural gifts, and that therefore he serves as a good example to current and future Vols of what they might be, if only they understand and embrace the same formula?
Click to expand...

I think CJ Watson was probably better all-around than Lofton. But Lofton exemplifies how a player can absolutely maximize his potential. He was an unathletic 6'1 guard that turned himself into an elite offensive player. If we had other players with Lofton's mindset, we'd be a Hell of a lot more mentally tough.
 
#13
#13
As frustrating as Scotty is, I find myself much more upset with Tatum. At this point I'd almost rather Bone start in his place.
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#14
#14
LawVol13 said:
I think CJ Watson was probably better all-around than Lofton. But Lofton exemplifies how a player can absolutely maximize his potential. He was an unathletic 6'1 guard that turned himself into an elite offensive player. If we had other players with Lofton's mindset, we'd be a Hell of a lot more mentally tough.
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Agree. You're correct. Watson's superior ability reflected in his NBA accomplishments. But, as you point out, Watson's superior athletically to Chris. So perhaps it was the spectacle Lofton created through effort and intensity, despite the gap he suffered in athletic ability, that makes him such a super inspiration.

No doubt many UT players since him, including the current bunch, could benefit.
 
#15
#15
Lofton had the desire and drive(intangible qualities) to make himself overcome the problems before him on the court. I just don't see any of that in Hopson. For whatever reason he just will not or cannot lead this team. JMO.
 
#16
#16
LawVol13 said:
1.) At the end of the first half, he absolutely has to pull that out and let us take the last shot. We have the chance to go in the half up 4 or 5; instead, we end up down 1.

2.) On a ball screen in the second half, he performed his signature dribble off of his leg that resulted in a dunk at the other end. This helped fuel the UCONN surge that finished us.

3.) His failure to just catch a simple rebound resulted in an easy three point play for Oriakhi. That ballooned the lead from 5-8 when it should have been our ball down 5.
Click to expand...

correct me if i am wrong, but there was a stretch from about 6:30 to 4:00 where hopson's inept play lead directly to 8 points consecutively... i believe it was:

rebound falls directly into his hands and he fumbles it away to UCONN for a bucket and a foul: -3 vols

turns his back and leaves 3 point shooter on D: -6 vols

fumbles a pass over to UCONN for breakaway: -8 vols.

we mighta scored in between but i think they scored directly off of hopson's mistakes for 8 points in a row during that stretch.
 
#17
#17
Didn't really have any problem with #1 because Fields was open for an easy dunk. But I agree with the criticism of Hopson. Also, Cam Tatum was horrendous. That was one of the worst overall games I've seen from a player. He not only looked lost on offense, but he was terrible on D.
 
#18
#18
tvols75 said:
Didn't really have any problem with #1 because Fields was open for an easy dunk. But I agree with the criticism of Hopson. Also, Cam Tatum was horrendous. That was one of the worst overall games I've seen from a player. He not only looked lost on offense, but he was terrible on D.
Click to expand...

Cam was all NBA by comparison. Hopson didnt board, didn't defend and turned it over roughly 213 times. Cam defended reasonably well throughout.
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#19
#19
BigPapaVol said:
Cam was all NBA by comparison. Hopson didnt board, didn't defend and turned it over roughly 213 times. Cam defended reasonably well throughout.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...

Cam didn't do much offensively, but I thought his effort guarding Walker was commendable.
 
#20
#20
tvols75 said:
Didn't really have any problem with #1 because Fields was open for an easy dunk. But I agree with the criticism of Hopson. Also, Cam Tatum was horrendous. That was one of the worst overall games I've seen from a player. He not only looked lost on offense, but he was terrible on D.
Click to expand...

I think the ball has to be pulled out every single time. I understand Fields was somewhat open, but he's dropped those passes all season. That's absolutely a situation where 100% of the time you take the final shot.
 
#21
#21
LawVol13 said:
Cam didn't do much offensively, but I thought his effort guarding Walker was commendable.
Click to expand...
He has always been hit or miss offensively.

Hopson's tendency to run out and try to get on the break before rebounding just pisses me off. I'd bench him until D and rebounding get better. I don't know what can help his hands or handle.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#22
#22
BigPapaVol said:
He has always been hit or miss offensively.

Hopson's tendency to run out and try to get on the break before rebounding just pisses me off. I'd bench him until D and rebounding get better. I don't know what can help his hands or handle.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...

I agree. His half-ass getting through a screen that let Lamb have an easy jumper late in the second half made me want to puke.
 
#24
#24
Hopson TOs= 5
Rest of team TOs=7

Hopson accounted for 42% of the teams TOs today. That combined with his lack of effort on D just about sums it up.
 
#25
#25
I watched this in my RV today, just like I did the LSU and UNC game. Sorry, should have known better. I'm 0-3 out there.

Scotty Hopson and John Field's 7-8 fumbles were ALONE enough to doom us. Also, UCONN hit almost every open 3 that ewe gave them. Hopson really looked bad today.
 
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