BTO’s Louisiana postgame report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. The offense once again looked pretty impressive tonight, 27 assists on 34 made field goals, this team has so many weapons and is very unselfish...it should only get better with the return of Lamonte Turner. It’s only 2 games but definitely looks like the offense could be better this year than last, which if the defense is even just as good will bode well for this season.

2. Grant Williams pretty clearly has worked on his body, but he’s also worked on his perimeter game too. He knocked down a 3 ball in the first game and then hit 3 more tonight, him being a weapon from 3 is a new element to his game which should benefit him and us as a team.

2. Pons once again looking the part, struggled a bit to get going in the 2nd half but still had 4pt and 7rbds in just 18 minutes, our defense was much better when he was in the game imo, brings a different level of energy.

3. I thought Bone once again looked pretty good, 10pts 8ast tonight, came out very aggressive. Probably took some shots he shouldn’t have but his game inside of 15’ continues to impress me and he has definitely improved his feel for the. game.

4. Thanks to a sloppy last couple of minutes Tennessee held Louisiana under 40%fg which was the benchmark number last year, with that said the defense definitely could have been better. Louisiana got a lot of really good looks down low, granted that is their strength and they’re a quality team, but it’s definitely something Tennessee needs to work on.

5. Rebounding was once again disappointing, a much smaller team just like Tusculum in which we should dominate on the boards but we don’t, neee to get that corrected ASAP before it costs us against a better opponent.

6. This was not a bad Louisiana team at all, they’ve got some high major players and they run a style that definitely challengers your defense. Tennessee definitely could have been better but it was still a 20+ point win against a decent team in what many expected to be a ~15pt game, and to Tennessee’s credit the outcome was never really in doubt, was just a matter of how much they would win by.

7. Well we are 2-0 as expected, so obviously not much to take from these 2 games...Georgia Tech comes to town on Tuesday which should be another step up in competition and help prepare Tennessee for their trip to NYC where they will face Louisville and then either Marquette or Kansas.

GBO!!!

 

[calban]

Were they practicing running clock in the last 5 minutes? Only reason I could see for starters still playing.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Were they practicing running clock in the last 5 minutes? Only reason I could see for starters still playing.

My guess was that Barnes wasn’t happy with the defense and felt Louisiana was exposing some things so he wanted to continue to get them looks.

 

[calban]

FT % much better, but the bench only took 2 this time. Starters are averaging around 85% in 2 games. 5 guys in double figures again. I'm impressed.

 

[StrangeVol]

This was a good test for us at this point in the season. We looked pretty good but there are several things that still need work, chief among them rebounding. Boxing out is lacking although both boxing out and grabbing boards got better in the second half.

Progress...and we move on 2 & 0.

 

[vols 30]

I think we went on a 20 - 2 run when Pons and Fulk entered the game.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Versatility and balance on the roster is impressive, no Turner even in the mix....Walker didn’t get much PT because Louisiana goes smaller Barnes said so they went Fulk, played Williams some at the 3...lots of options depending on the matchup.

 

[Knox-a-rue]

2. Grant Williams pretty clearly has worked on his body,

Awkward... Quit reading right there.

Just kidding. Williams is impressive so far. Pons too has looked great. Not a lot of points but very aggressive. Like to watch him play.

Main thing - need to rebound better as a team. We just looked lazy on offensive rebounds tonight. Too many uncontested rebounds went to the Cajuns.

Thanks for the write-up.

GBO!

 

[Vol Kilmer]

I dunno what's wrong with Lamonte, but hopefully he's ready to go soon. Need another scorer to show up. We aren't quite there yet, imo.

This Auburn squad looks damn hard to beat right now.

 

[edyeary]

I dunno what's wrong with Lamonte, but hopefully he's ready to go soon. Need another scorer to show up. We aren't quite there yet, imo.

This Auburn squad looks damn hard to beat right now.

I know an exhibition game is different but that makes the 14pt. loss to them make LMU pretty good.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I dunno what's wrong with Lamonte, but hopefully he's ready to go soon. Need another scorer to show up. We aren't quite there yet, imo.

This Auburn squad looks damn hard to beat right now.

I read or heard that Lamonte had shoulder surgery that he's not fully recovered from yet. I don't know if it's a recent, minor procedure that's he's not quite had enough time to heal or if it was a while ago and needs a lot of time to get to 100%. Weird because he played in the Tusculum game iirc.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Were they practicing running clock in the last 5 minutes? Only reason I could see for starters still playing.

I think that that was part of it. With a 15 point lead and 6 or 7 minutes to go you want to burn clock, but not at the expense of failing to score baskets. LA was also in a full court press so it was good to scrimmage against that as well.

One other thing that I've noticed is that Pons doesn't sit as quickly as he picks up fouls. That tells me that he may not factor into the final few minutes in close games. Walker can't play late either when the other team fouls on purpose. JJ might be a player that Barnes is trying to developed to close out games. Turner is certainly a guy that will be on the court at the end of close games. TBD if TN can afford to have Fulkerson in late... his free throws are still wangy-wangy. Kyle used to get pulled late, but he looks like he can now close out games. Schofield and Williams were often in foul trouble late in games last year. So late in games we probably have a 6 man rotation (Bone, Bowden, Turner, Williams, Schofield, Alexander) with the possibility of using Fulkerson and Johnson while Pons and Walker sit down.

 

[walkenvol]

Pons' fouls were mostly from being over aggressive. Looks like he's really trying too hard to earn more minutes. Hopefully when he establishes himself firmly in the rotation he should be able to eliminate some of those cheap fouls without losing his aggressiveness. Hope so as he brings an excitement with a couple of wow plays every game

 

[Captain Mitch]

Were they practicing running clock in the last 5 minutes? Only reason I could see for starters still playing.

It seemed like, to me at least, they kept the starters in to work on their zone. They switched to zone around I believe 6 minutes left and that’s when the starters began to come back into the game.

Also, any reason for Schofield’s glasses?

 

[sport3500]

Pons and Fulkerson bring rebounding and an intense energy level that the team seems to feed off of when they enter the game.

 

[zjcvols]

I think that that was part of it. With a 15 point lead and 6 or 7 minutes to go you want to burn clock, but not at the expense of failing to score baskets. LA was also in a full court press so it was good to scrimmage against that as well.

One other thing that I've noticed is that Pons doesn't sit as quickly as he picks up fouls. That tells me that he may not factor into the final few minutes in close games. Walker can't play late either when the other team fouls on purpose. JJ might be a player that Barnes is trying to developed to close out games. Turner is certainly a guy that will be on the court at the end of close games. TBD if TN can afford to have Fulkerson in late... his free throws are still wangy-wangy. Kyle used to get pulled late, but he looks like he can now close out games. Schofield and Williams were often in foul trouble late in games last year. So late in games we probably have a 6 man rotation (Bone, Bowden, Turner, Williams, Schofield, Alexander) with the possibility of using Fulkerson and Johnson while Pons and Walker sit down.

Jalen Johnson isn’t playing over Pons late. That’s ridiculous and makes no sense. Pons is clearly above JJ

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Jalen Johnson isn’t playing over Pons late. That’s ridiculous and makes no sense. Pons is clearly above JJ

It's hardly ridiculous that CRB would go with JJ over Pons late in games that TN is protecting a lead. Johnson has been in the system for one more year. Pons isn't always under control... JJ is. Pons doesn't communicate as well. Johnson shoots better and would do better at the FT line. Makes a lot of sense.

If TN is behind then Pons might be preferred over JJ... if he's not already fouled out. He puts on more pressure defensively. He's more aggressive.

 

[tmac5469]

Barnes said Turner still has a sore shoulder and is not going to bring him back until he is 100%. Rob Lewis said he should be back next week.

 

[SmokyRiverDog]

It seemed like, to me at least, they kept the starters in to work on their zone. They switched to zone around I believe 6 minutes left and that’s when the starters began to come back into the game.

Also, any reason for Schofield’s glasses?

Vision enhancement and protection.

 

[calban]

It seemed like, to me at least, they kept the starters in to work on their zone. They switched to zone around I believe 6 minutes left and that’s when the starters began to come back into the game.

Also, any reason for Schofield’s glasses?

Astigmatism.

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this team plays against a team that 1.) Plays stellar defense and/or 2.) Matches up well with them.

 

[jarnol32]

Jalen Johnson isn’t playing over Pons late. That’s ridiculous and makes no sense. Pons is clearly above JJ

I believe he was referring to free throw shooting to close out the game. Jj is a better free throw shooter.

 

[IPleadInsanity]

I can't remember a UT team where everyone on that team could contribute. They have depth, depth, depth.

 

[RollerVol]

yep, we won, but Coach Barnes has got to keep the boys humble with "there's room for improvement"...coaches always coach...dang good team performance...

GO VOLS!

 

[therealitytheory]

Fulky and Pons came in at 10-13 and everything LA had done successfully on offense came to an screeching halt. 6-8 guy with a high motor, freak athlete with a 7-foot wingspan...the next 6 minutes LA was dazed, confused and sniping at each other. And our offense didn't suffer - obviously, as our 20-2 run showed.

Barnes wasn't happy with our defense overall though - some were out of position or late with help D. He joked about our brief use of a zone - "we've worked on it about 15 minutes" - but he is dead set on getting maximum performance on the defensive end every time out.