Game Thread: #11 Lady Vols at #18 Fla St; Thurs Nov 9, 6PM

[Lucy]

I like your optimism but you’ll come around after the Indiana, Notre Dame and Ohio State games.

Do I remember you recently saying that you are not negative? If you can’t stick with a team that loses by a point in the second game of the season. Away game, opponent shooting 60% from 3 3rd game in six days you will not find any team you can support.

 

[glv98]

A lot of discussion tonight concerning Coach Harper's decision not to use her last time out with 24.6 seconds remaining. The consensus is that was a mistake. Maybe. Playing the devil's advocate, here is another perspective.
Harper clearly indicated no when players asked if they should call time out. So, it was not a mistake of indecision. We knew what we were doing.
Flordia State's players like ours were exhausted. Calling time out would have given FSU time to rest, hydrate and regroup. I hope our plan was to go quickly and take advantage of FSU's fatigue. Unfortunately, Powell got stalled above the nail and we settled for a last shot.
After our last time out with 50 + seconds we struggled to get the ball in from that side inbounds. Close to a 5 second call.
Our offense was as efficient as any game in recent memory. We scored 91. No need for a special" play. Malpractice would have been claimed if any player other than Jackson got the last shot. Jackson got a good shot; it just didn't drop.
If we had made the shot, and FSU had countered. Now you need a time out to advance the ball with under 10 seconds.

You can go either way but not using a time out at 24.6 to advance the ball is not a bad decision.

Great post. Everyone in the world knew that play was going to Rickea. The hitch was the play developed way too late. IMO almost all teams, male and female, wait too long to initiate. It caused Rickea's shot to be a bit more rushed, tho we've seen her drain that shot many, many times.

She's already tweeted saying the loss is on her. Which of course it wasn't, but you knew she'd feel that way. Damn.

I wonder why Wynn never went back in when we were struggling on D so much.

How about Sara Puckett? She has played very, very well. They weren't blowing smoke when they said she had a great summer.

 

[Dak1219]

Why do u keep being her up I literally haven’t once. Ur more of a hater than anything and mad at my perspective. If u watched any of our games we literally just look for our own shot. We haven’t had a 20+ assist game yet. We’re saved by offensive rebounding. And yes defense is a TEAM effort. We need some to fall back and focus more on it.

The season opener was 21 assists on 34 shots

 

[glv98]

Post game pressor, very short and not so sweet. They had a plane to catch. Thank goodness they didn't drag Rickea in.

The secret, coach, is to not LET a team shoot 59% fm 3. You're right, if you do they're awfully hard to beat.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Do I remember you recently saying that you are not negative? If you can’t stick with a team that loses by a point in the second game of the season. Away game, opponent shooting 60% from 3 3rd game in six days you will not find any team you can support.

Did u read every post, I said I’ll still be here to support them, I just have no expectations for this season, because I know our limits and won’t get upset if we lose to good teams anymore. But I’ll be here cheering on the Indiana game to start since that’s the next good team we play.

 

[Rooster1]

I doubt any team will go undefeated this season, likely every team has 2 or more losses…..Tough loss, but it was early and on the road, offense is really good so far, just need to tighten up the D, that Is something the team can improve on and likely will. Lot of games left…..it’s November.

Puckett has made big strides, she is clutch shooting. Jewell is finding her game, she is really good obviously. I don’t know what to think of Wells at this level yet, but Powell looks pretty good to me and Jill should come around soon.

Rikea is playing at a new level, one of the best WCBB players in the nation, top 3 WNBA pick. She is amazing, maybe the best pure shooter in the game tbh.

 

[Volfan1000]

That was a very exciting game to watch and the three balls were falling for each squad.

Paul Westhead would have enjoyed watching this game.

Tennessee needs to improve their three point defense or it will be a long season when SEC play begins.

 

[Govols922]

lady Vols played well. Team defense and free throws made this a close game. I really wish we would have seen more of Darby in the fourth. She was a difference maker in the third. She was tough. This team has to play with a chip on their shoulder. They lost on national television! Recruits saw this.

 

[GameTime]

Free throw shooting was atrocious.....No excuse for that.
Darby needs to control herself.... She killed the momentum she started with her mouth.
The last time out may have been the difference.....The last shot would not have been so rushed....

The girls gave 100% effort...A gallant attempt that fell one point short...In any event, on to the next game.

 

[Lucy]

So who had “and then Tess Darby got T’d up for taunting” on their bingo card?
Strange times…..

 

[Volfan2012]

I think part of the reason why Wynn did not get back in was in the first quarter she was standing under the goal when she was supposed to be out guarding Latson who made a uncontested three. Puckett was talking to her as they went to the bench. Tess should have celebrated with her team not taunt one of their players was a big point in the game. We had all the momentum and lost it right there. Good news is this team can really score. We need better post and point guard play think that will come along as the season progresses. The play at the 2, 3, and 4 was outstanding on offense. I can't say that any position excelled on defense. I'm looking forward to playing some of the ranked teams we have at home it will be a different atmosphere. Florida State is really good at home going 14 and 1 last season in which they beat every ACC opponent there except losing a close game to Louisville. Looks like they again will be a tough team to take on at their place. Tough loss . but I think it is going to be a really good season much better than last year.

 

[Memvol44]

Key is done, don’t count on her at all this year, she won’t help. I just hope we can get an elite player from the portal since Rickea will be gone.

She looks no where near ready to contribute.

 

[Memvol44]

So who had “and then Tess Darby got T’d up for taunting” on their bingo card?
Strange times…..

Looked like she took a head shot on that layup. She stood up for herself...proud.

 

[Majors]

Do I remember you recently saying that you are not negative? If you can’t stick with a team that loses by a point in the second game of the season. Away game, opponent shooting 60% from 3 3rd game in six days you will not find any team you can support.

Win the games you’re supposed to win. Compete in the benchmark games. If we are going to use the 3 games in 6 days excuse then we need to go ahead and decline the NCAA Tournament. And for many it’s not the team, it’s the staff.

 

[KTrain]

If you as a coach can’t trust your team enough to go down and run a play in those situations then you don’t have a Championship team. Nobody on here know what’s being taught in practice for that exact scenario. Just a bunch of speculation and complaining as usual.

I agree, they had a timeout before halftime last shot, and FSU blanketed Richea and the whole play went for naught.

 

[Volfan2012]

This game tells you how important free throw shooting is to winning against good teams. If we hit 70 percent we win. You don't expect to make them all, but 70 percent is very reasonable to expect. We go 56 percent lose the game by one.

 

[glv98]

Well hard to imagine it could get worse.

I think part of the reason why Wynn did not get back in was in the first quarter she was standing under the goal when she was supposed to be out guarding Latson who made a uncontested three

This is why I say this is a system issue, not a player issue. Wynn is a vet player whose main role is D and was inserted only to stop the open 3. How does this happen? Also, and Lord knows I appreciate the career game RJ had, she did the same thing on the 3 Bonner hit to tie the game at 91. How are they so out of position?

KJH said before the practice we watched it would focus on D since she was displeased with their D in the NC St scrimmage. And indeed it did, for over 2 hrs. And yet . . .

Either the scheme is off or their teaching of it is off.

 

[knoxvol52]

Got til Nov.23 to get defense straightened out...Indiana 5 times better than FSU...

 

[VolBall09]

Idk how we get them for her, but Kaiya needs more minutes. She has potential to be the best and ONLY lock down defender on this team in my opinion.

I think she should get some of Pucketts minutes, some offense/defense action. Sarah looks way more comfortable and is a super talented offensive player. She’s still a step slow on defense and it just isn’t natural to her.

Wells is a better defender than Powell, their minutes should be more even. 28 for Powell and 17 for Wells against FSU. I’d rather see that about 22 a piece. Wells has quick hands and puts more pressure in their primary ball handler. I also think the offense looks even better when she runs it. Just has a super high bball IQ. Needs to be a little more aggressive but that will come.

 

[turbovol]

Looked like she took a head shot on that layup. She stood up for herself...proud.

She didn't get hit on the head--just fouled on her hand/arm.

 

[RAVOL]

Darby had 10 points and 9 rebounds. 2-2 from three. Had she gotten more looks from the 3pt line, she probably would have made those too. I don't know what more people want from her.

I wish she had been out there more at the end of the game, I know that much.

I believe Tess new role will help her because it takes pressure off her as having to be the 1 player who can stretch D . I believe this teams Depth will be what helps them the most in long grueling season. I know they can fix some of the shortcomings on D but we will not be great at it. Go Lady Vols. In CHRIST Alone

 

[turbovol]

Idk how we get them for her, but Kaiya needs more minutes. She has potential to be the best and ONLY lock down defender on this team in my opinion.

I think she should get some of Pucketts minutes, some offense/defense action. Sarah looks way more comfortable and is a super talented offensive player. She’s still a step slow on defense and it just isn’t natural to her.

Wells is a better defender than Powell, their minutes should be more even. 28 for Powell and 17 for Wells against FSU. I’d rather see that about 22 a piece. Wells has quick hands and puts more pressure in their primary ball handler. I also think the offense looks even better when she runs it. Just has a super high bball IQ. Needs to be a little more aggressive but that will come.

I didn't like the way Powell ran the team in the fourth quarter. You have to get everyone moving. We were slow getting our sets started, standing around and being a bit too passive, which further enabled fsu's defense to bother us. I didn't see the first almost three quarters of the game--but watching our half-court offense in the 4th I wondered how we were able to score so many points, because our ball/player movement late was poor.

Yes, there is the offense/defense dilemma with Puckett and Darby. We need three-point shooters in the game or we will end up being even more dependent on Jackson--and while Iowa seems to find ways to win being highly dependent on Clark, we find ways to lose being dependent on Jackson. Go figure and welcome to Tennessee basketball. IMO Jackson should have been looking a bit more for Puckett in the latter stages of the game. If you don't have Puckett/Darby in the game, defenses will just sag more on Jackson and we'll have problems. But neither is good as a man defender, and so there's the dilemma. We'll simply have to be better at our zone and matchup zone defenses, IMO. FSU broke our zone down pretty easily in the 4th--they attacked it smartly and aggressively.

You can't beat good opponents when you have a bad quarter--and we always seem to have at least one bad quarter in the first half that puts us behind by double digits and makes winning more difficult.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I didn't like the way Powell ran the team in the fourth quarter. You have to get everyone moving. We were slow getting our sets started, standing around and being a bit too passive, which further enabled fsu's defense to bother us. I didn't see the first almost three quarters of the game--but watching our half-court offense in the 4th I wondered how we were able to score so many points, because our ball/player movement late was poor.

Yes, there is the offense/defense dilemma with Puckett and Darby. We need three-point shooters in the game or we will end up being even more dependent on Jackson--and while Iowa seems to find ways to win being highly dependent on Clark, we find ways to lose being dependent on Jackson. Go figure and welcome to Tennessee basketball. IMO Jackson should have been looking a bit more for Puckett in the latter stages of the game. If you don't have Puckett/Darby in the game, defenses will just sag more on Jackson and we'll have problems. But neither is good as a man defender, and so there's the dilemma. We'll simply have to be better at our zone and matchup zone defenses, IMO. FSU broke our zone down pretty easily in the 4th--they attacked it smartly and aggressively.

You can't beat good opponents when you have a bad quarter--and we always seem to have at least one bad quarter in the first half that puts us behind by double digits and makes winning more difficult.

We didn’t lose because we are dependent on Rickea, we loss because we didn’t close out on 3 point shooters, couldn’t stop dribble penetration and missing easy free throws. Rickea needs to be this aggressive every single game, that’s our only hope.

 

[SGMVols]

Darby had 10 points and 9 rebounds. 2-2 from three. Had she gotten more looks from the 3pt line, she probably would have made those too. I don't know what more people want from her.

I wish she had been out there more at the end of the game, I know that much.

I just wish Kellie could recruit anybody who can both shoot AND guard. Darby is our best shooter but is a total liability defensively. Wynn may be our best perimeter defender but she can’t throw the ball in the ocean.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Seems Kellie's MO for that last shot at the end of a qtr is run the clock down to 10 seconds then make a move. They had 3 attempts I believe, maybe it was 2, for the end of qtr shot and didn't make any. FL St had one and made a 3. Understand the reason is not to give the other team a chance to score, but is 10 seconds enough time to execute??? Maybe not for this team.