Game Thread: (16/12) Lady Vols 74 - (12/21) Texas 70

[VolBall09]

Need a flopping rule in WCCB Texas in mid-season form phantom flopping for calls. They didn't get many, but they sure were trying hard. We played a terrible third quarter other than that one we were locked in all night. Ten points down not giving up we played even harder and the results was a win.

Twice they flopped after hitting each other and not realizing it was a teammate. As an official if I see that you’re not getting another contact call all night. Kellie got on the officials immediately when they called that foul on Walker in the first half when Warren flopped on that screen. It was a perfect screen with no excess and Warren acted like she got shoved and the official bit. Kellie gave him an earful and I can really only think of 1 flop they got after that.

On the other end we picked up a few legitimate charges again which was great to see. Green does a wonderful job getting in position for the charge.

 

[glv98]

Twice they flopped after hitting each other and not realizing it was a teammate. As an official if I see that you’re not getting another contact call all night.

Can't they call a technical for fake flopping? Do they ever actually do that?

Vic's a good coach, the floparama is beneath him. Especially having your most avid flopper be a multi-concussion player. Not a good look.

 

[VolBall09]

Can't they call a technical for fake flopping? Do they ever actually do that?

Vic's a good coach, the floparama is beneath him. Especially having your most avid flopper be a multi-concussion player. Not a good look.

They can and I have seen it done. More recently I’ve seen officials giving them a block call though. Even if there is minimal to no contact. If they oversell it trying to get the flop call they’re giving them a block.

Watched a couple ladies argue with the officials after getting one this weekend and you could tell the official was telling them not to flop.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

You must be new here
these aren't just fans here
They're people who question, expect and appreciate.
They are also critical,,,just like every facet in the gold ol world
These posters are fast to applaud with their "way to go's" and just as quick with their "Why'd you do that's?"

As I said, I only drive by occasionally on this board so I don't have a history on those throwing out the most judgmental crap, but I will bet the worst offenders don't have a lot of balance in their posting history. I can buy questioning coaches and players, but making snarky pronouncements is a whole different thing. Bet they continue to throw similar stuff out there but I will leave with the ever-popular sin covering "but I hope I am wrong". That should cover it.

 

[VolBall09]

As I said, I only drive by occasionally on this board so I don't have a history on those throwing out the most judgmental crap, but I will bet the worst offenders don't have a lot of balance in their posting history. I can buy questioning coaches and players, but making snarky pronouncements is a whole different thing. Bet they continue to throw similar stuff out there but I will leave with the ever-popular sin covering "but I hope I am wrong". That should cover it.

There are definitely posters that make comments like you mentioned. Usually they are not frequent posters in the WBB forum. They just come to leave a snide comment in the game threads if we play poorly for more than 30 seconds.

This started in the Holly era because as soon as you could see the game heading south you knew it was over. People could come here and post all sorts of negativity and it would come true.

Now, thankfully, that doesn’t happen. Often those posters have egg on their face the last year. Kellie’s teams are tough and won’t go down without a fight.

One thing many a sage poster here have reminded me is that it’s both a blessing and curse to have a fan base. Have to remember a lot of other WBB programs don’t deal with this because they don’t have enough fan interest to even have an active forum. As a recruit I’d find it more attractive to have an active and engaged fan base that cares.

Or you can go live in your happy la la land and play at Vandy in front of 10 people and win 17 games in your entire career.

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

I don’t go to the boneyard often but why are game threads illegal there lol

 

[allen phillips]

yep

I don;t remember a time that Texas stole the ball on the inbound. Maybe I missed some.

 

[VolBall09]

I don;t remember a time that Texas stole the ball on the inbound. Maybe I missed some.

They did get a steal or two but weren’t able to convert.

We had to call at least 2 timeouts because we couldn’t get the ball in. Often when we did inbound it was a dangerous pass. Also made a couple mental errors worrying about the pressure. Like Tamari accidentally stepping over the line and back out. That’s a mental mistake thinking about what to do next instead of what you’re doing right now.

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

I don;t remember a time that Texas stole the ball on the inbound. Maybe I missed some.

Maybe happened like 2-3 times

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Need a flopping rule in WCCB Texas in mid-season form phantom flopping for calls. They didn't get many, but they sure were trying hard. We played a terrible third quarter other than that one we were locked in all night. Ten points down not giving up we played even harder and the results was a win.

I think the TX flops were in desperation trying to get Key out of game on fouls as they had no answer for her and she was killing them.

 

[Amb3096]

I figured that this would be an ugly loss, so I decided to go for a hike with the gf yesterday and missed the game. What a performance by the LVs! Haven't watched the tape, but that's a damn impressive box score: balanced scoring, excellent 3pt shooting, dominated the boards, made life miserable for Texas around the basket, and making their FTs especially in the clutch. Amazing game in particular from Tamari and Jordan. I've said for some time that Tamari will keep Tennessee in a lot of games that that they aren't favored to win because of how disruptive she is on defense. 10 blocks while playing 40 minutes is absolutely incredible control on her part. Job well done by the ladies. I think that they can go far, especially once Rae gets back. There are very few teams that have the right combination of inside and outside play to neutralize Tennessee's defense, and Tennessee should still have enough players capable of getting their points that they can still keep them close. Hopefully, the early jitters from the first 3 games are a thing of the past.

 

[RAVOL]

Not surprised. Most of those accounts are run by UCONN or SC fans .

The game was called tight and Texas never adjusted. They also fouled at very poor times. They continuously fouled on moving screens throughout the game. That ended up getting us several FTs late in the game. The officials made that call all night on off the ball moving screens and Texas never made a change.

They certainly got tagged with a couple questionable calls, but we did as well. Officiating didn’t decide the game. Our ability to defend without fouling did. Texas played great defense but not without fouling excessively.

We also didn’t have an opportunity to foul as much because they were afraid to take the ball in the paint. They shot a ton of jump shots. The only shots they got around the rim were in that third quarter when they beat Tamari down the floor a couple times. We attacked the rim in some way on almost every play so makes sense we got more calls.

Vic knows that officials will only call so many fouls so let's body a team up and hold because we will turn them over and exhaust them. It's worth those fouls called in the game. So as many as they were whistled for they got away with more. Again great victory Lady Vols. Have a BLESSED week everyone. In CHRIST Alone

 

[Peas29]

The finest line in sports is the line between confidence and cockiness.
Very few can keep one foot on each side.
Jordan needs to be set free and watched,,,then controlled and restrained if need be.
COach K is using her wisely right now

I actually agree with you on this 1

 

[Hoosier]

Okay, NOW I am impressed --- great win LVs -- keep it up!

 

[dapeak]

Why didn’t they count Keyen’s shot at the end? I watch the replay and it was out of her hands before the buzzer sounded

 

[madtownvol]

yes lots of bonehead plays are her trying to be like larry bird or magic johnson passing

Bonehead post.

 

[Texas]

Can’t wait for her to get a little more experience. I think she is starting before end of year. Same with Wynn. She just needs playing time!

IMO Wynn could be playing for Darby right now. Better defense. Rebounds better. Had a couple of put backs on the o boards in the last game. There is nothing at this point Darby is doing that Wynn hasn’t been doing better.

 

[Amb3096]

IMO Wynn could be playing for Darby right now. Better defense. Rebounds better. Had a couple of put backs on the o boards in the last game. There is nothing at this point Darby is doing that Wynn hasn’t been doing better.

Why Wynn and not Puckett? I think Sara is playing better than both by a good margin.

 

[Lucy]

IMO Wynn could be playing for Darby right now. Better defense. Rebounds better. Had a couple of put backs on the o boards in the last game. There is nothing at this point Darby is doing that Wynn hasn’t been doing better.

I can say that Darby has been in the program two years so knows the plays, defenses etc. and doesn’t play out of control. Wynn to me, however, has such tremendous upside. She needs to get minutes. Hope to see her a lot this weekend!

 

[madtownvol]

Very good observation. JH mindset has always been a fragile beast, and now it is again, only in a good way for a change. She has to resist forcing play and feeling pressure to "take over". She has to continue to play under that time worn cliche, let the game come to you. She has such a store of natural talent that she can relax and know she can" take over" when the time is right. Continued good play (and lots of time oncourt instead of sidelines) for Key will help JH a ton. So will improvement from Dye.

Didn't want to say it yesterday and rain on the parade, but JH and Walker combined for 14 turnovers. It is true that last year and every year previous, this would have cost us the game. It's also true that Texas D was awesome, but many of these were just the usual, poor decisions and middle school passing. Somehow we were able to overcome in this game, but obviously, this has to change. JH gonna make 3 or 4 t.o. per game, but it can't be 8 or 11. Same for Walker

Yes, the Jordan's could have handled some situations better, as could have Miles. Most the TOs came from over dribbling and getting caught in traffic. But Texas's defense was suffocating and often there just weren't many passing lanes. On the plus side, i remember the one play where Walker was dribbling around the perimeter and it looked liked a shot clock violation in the making, then she switched gears and drove toward the lane, which imbalanced the TX defense, and she found Puckett for a wide open three. Similarly, Horston had some players where she methodically worked the ball until a Texas over committed and then she drove for a lay-up. That dribble till TX shows a cracked proved to be a fairly effective way to break down their pressure but the LVs did get caught in traffic a few times.

I view this game much the way I would have had it been a close loss. It's a November benchmark and the LVs are moving in the right direction.

 

[djtee]

@djtee Tamari Key showed OUT today in what is a HUGE win for Kellie and the LV! The tarheel state must feel proud of how she is coming along.

Huge win for the LV behind huge play from Key and crew!

VOLFAN: Yes it was a huge come and win Tamari and the team. As i said from day one Tamari is very talented just needs to put it all together. When i saw her play in HS i said to my brother sitting next me this girl is incredible on the defensive end. As i said before there is a lot of talent in the two states that i know well NC and SC. VAFAN Virginia Tech Kenny Brooks made a strong push to get the Key sisters i know they offered Tamari first before the TN. And yes as some have posted before HS recruits and there parents read this message board and other teams. I have talked to many parents coaches and most agree there will be disapproval of players and coaces no matter what that comes with game. What i think hurts the most is the spin on this board i just say keep it real, Also mark this down 2022 pg Indya Nivar out of Apex NC will start at Stanford her fr year she is that good. Sorry Stanford

 

[Dak1219]

Look who cracked the top ten....

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

IMO Wynn could be playing for Darby right now. Better defense. Rebounds better. Had a couple of put backs on the o boards in the last game. There is nothing at this point Darby is doing that Wynn hasn’t been doing better.

Yes Darby 10-19 minutes needs to go to Wynn

 

[Texas]

But seriously it did seem a little like they were favoring us. We stayed on 4 team fouls for like the whole quarter. But hey home team gets the calls.

On the flip side. Texas was able to play aggressive hounding defense such as they did in the 3rd quarter and have no team fouls until 2 minutes left in the quarter. Doesn’t seem possible. The NCAA rule changes circa 2012ish said one hand touch when guarding. And a touch, not sustained hold. If you note the last play of regulation defense on Jordan’s included 2 hands on her all the way to the paint. Then a switch with Ebo taking over that included the 2 arm arm bar. The game is not football. It cheapens the entire game of basketball. Furthermore, on the inbounds, when holding like they did, it gives a distinct advantage in reaction time to the response to TN movement.

 

[Rickster]

I view this game much the way I would have had it been a close loss. It's a November benchmark and the LVs are moving in the right direction.

Exactly, just keep getting better. Everything will take care of itself.