Game Thread: (5/6) Lady Vols 65 - Vanderbilt 51

[Darth_Vol]

Please tell me Kentucky will not press us on Sunday

Maybe Jaloni was at the game to see how badly they need someone who can actually bring the ball up the court. That was brutal...

 

[Darth_Vol]

No disrespect to Coach Joy, she’s done a great job…but I would like to see some more versatility in TK’s offensive game. She doesnt have to do it all the time, once or twice will be sufficient.

This. TK has significantly improved her defense and rebounding. The only thing keeping her from being an All-American is her offensive skill set...

 

[Voluble2]

I guess people see what they want to see or something. I didn't get a feeling Emily was disengaged. It looked to me like they were discussing her role on the floor when she went into the game. Business like. That's how I saw it.

It wasn't just when she was talking to Kellie before she came in. She was definitely displeased with something in several shots before then. It was somewhere on the pouty---pissed spectrum. Could have been any reason, but she was not best pleased.

 

[creekdipper]

Maybe Jaloni was at the game to see how badly they need someone who can actually bring the ball up the court. That was brutal...

Not a bad strategy. Worked for CONN when they coudn't handle late-game pressure against mighty Creighton and blew a big lead to only win by eight. A prized guard recruit at the game committed the next day.

Evina's turnovers are still reaping dividends for CONN to this day! Now we see the method behing Auriemma's madness.

 

[mlindsay]

Maybe Jaloni was at the game to see how badly they need someone who can actually bring the ball up the court. That was brutal...

Oh you finally watched a game!

 

[creekdipper]

Jordan's passing has really improved. She is delivering the ball in the right place and at the right velocity tailored for the teammate.

One area in which she and others need to improve is always not trying to pass over the top when closely defended. Opponents who can jump are reading those passes and know our tendencies. Both Jordy and Keyen committed turnovers that way last night. They're too smart and experienced for that.

Even though we got dribbled into traps a lot, a positive was that we didn't seem to panic when doubled most of the night. We seemed to be able to pass out of the trap when, as others have said, we recognized it early enough to react and could find teammates.

 

[Volfan2012]

Great game last night our first against their new coach.

 

[Texas]

I knew Kellie's teams have been improving since she started but this year you can really see it, Aggressive defense, great rebounding the offense isn't just run and gun like previous teams. You can see the offense is way more under control and they utilize the fast break when it's right. They make better passes. You can see she has already had a positive effect on the freshman. They play " smarter basketball" .....

The only thing I noticed last night was they missed a wide open Darby multiple times. A few of the times the result were some bad shots or much lower % shots..

I believe the way to combat the press is to score layups. The ladies didn’t really attempt that last night. They were contented to get the ball over half court and set up the offense. When have the LVs ever played to set up half court offense? They did quite well with it. Jordan in particular had limited TOs against the assault &battery press of Vandy. The stats say 3 TOs, but one was that horrible charge that should have been a bucket and a free throw. Also, Puckett in the middle of the press break was effective too. They could use her more.

I’d still like to see them attack some on the press break. Set a good screen when they get numbers on the press break at the free throw line will teach opposing ladies.

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

View attachment 428279Great game last night our first against their new coach.

Awww Momma Kellie and her daughter Shea

 

[Darth_Vol]

Oh you finally watched a game!

Well I was there so I figured I might as well. Where were you mikey?

 

[37620VOL]

No disrespect to Coach Joy, she’s done a great job…but I would like to see some more versatility in TK’s offensive game. She doesnt have to do it all the time, once or twice will be sufficient.

Key does a ton of subtle things out there in addition to all the obvious. Probably our Co-MVP to this point. I don't think I'd mess with anything Coach is doing with Key right now.

 

[Bakers1]

I thought they might have quit throwing to her on purpose after she missed three wide open threes early. I definitely saw a couple times they looked her way, but decided on another play. Not being mean to her but she got five wide open looks and only made one. You have to make more of those if you are the three point shooter.

I thought that too. But she's the type of shooter who has to be in rhythm it's hard for he to do that if they are passing on her. Who knows once she was literally 6 ft from basket though nobody near her..

 

[Darth_Vol]

Awww Momma Kellie and her daughter Shea

Kellie 1-0 vs Shea as players, 1-0 vs Shea as coaches...

 

[VolBall09]

Tamari still has untapped potential but it may take her getting into the WNBA to complete her game. Not uncommon for players to do that where it's BB full time 24-7 then. And your getting paid to get better. Not a shot at TN coaches but college has a lot of distractions and you also have to go to class.

Sometimes it’s just your body too. I didn’t physically mature until I was about 22. If I had the frame and muscle mass I developed then when I was in high school I would have been a problem lol.

 

[VolBall09]

It wasn't just when she was talking to Kellie before she came in. She was definitely displeased with something in several shots before then. It was somewhere on the pouty---pissed spectrum. Could have been any reason, but she was not best pleased.

Yes, we don’t know the reason but several times this season you can see that all over her face. I had never seen that from Emily until this season. This isn’t the first game I’ve noticed it too. She’s one of my favorites so I tend to key in on her when they show the bench. She’s been in a funk.

After one of our wins recently where she didn’t play but the last .50 seconds or so she was visibly upset after the horn. Tamari ran up to her with a smile trying to be positive and said “hey at least you got to play.” Emily just kinda rolled her eyes and frowned. She was not pleased with the her PT for sure in that instance. I think it was the Bama game.

It always seems to be toward the end of the game or in the middle when we have built a big lead. Which is why I would presume she’s hoping for more playing time. Her poor attitude about it may be making it worse and not better though. If she is complaining/pouting on the bench she isn’t gonna get very far.

Also only seems to be after other players who don’t get a lot of time have been subbed in. In our closer/bigger games where several players didn’t enter the game I never noticed any attitude issue. She was up cheering like usual.

I know Emily reads this board, or has in the past. I have not been pointing out that she is upset as a dig to her. But more so to let her know we see her, we love her and believe in her. She’s got to stay positive during games though. Negative energy like that on the bench is a distraction for everyone. Including the coaches and fans.

If Kellie did have to talk with her about her playing time/attitude during the game that is a problem. That’s not a good use of the head coach’s time during a live game.

 

[lvocd]

I think Vanderbilt made a terrific hire in Ralph. She's a first-year head coach and has already made improvements.

As time goes on it will be interesting to hear whatever scuttlebutt comes out of Nashville regarding her recruiting tactics -- whether she'll run an ethical program or not. I hope she does, but considering who her mentor has been ...

 

[UT Challenger]

I knew Kellie's teams have been improving since she started but this year you can really see it, Aggressive defense, great rebounding the offense isn't just run and gun like previous teams. You can see the offense is way more under control and they utilize the fast break when it's right. They make better passes. You can see she has already had a positive effect on the freshman. They play " smarter basketball" .....

The only thing I noticed last night was they missed a wide open Darby multiple times. A few of the times the result were some bad shots or much lower % shots..

I think the 2 new assistant coaches have made a big difference. Players are actually getting coached up now.

 

[madtownvol]

Yes, we don’t know the reason but several times this season you can see that all over her face. I had never seen that from Emily until this season. This isn’t the first game I’ve noticed it too. She’s one of my favorites so I tend to key in on her when they show the bench. She’s been in a funk.

After one of our wins recently where she didn’t play but the last .50 seconds or so she was visibly upset after the horn. Tamari ran up to her with a smile trying to be positive and said “hey at least you got to play.” Emily just kinda rolled her eyes and frowned. She was not pleased with the her PT for sure in that instance. I think it was the Bama game.

It always seems to be toward the end of the game or in the middle when we have built a big lead. Which is why I would presume she’s hoping for more playing time. Her poor attitude about it may be making it worse and not better though. If she is complaining/pouting on the bench she isn’t gonna get very far.

Also only seems to be after other players who don’t get a lot of time have been subbed in. In our closer/bigger games where several players didn’t enter the game I never noticed any attitude issue. She was up cheering like usual.

I know Emily reads this board, or has in the past. I have not been pointing out that she is upset as a dig to her. But more so to let her know we see her, we love her and believe in her. She’s got to stay positive during games though. Negative energy like that on the bench is a distraction for everyone. Including the coaches and fans.

If Kellie did have to talk with her about her playing time/attitude during the game that is a problem. That’s not a good use of the head coach’s time during a live game.

I think Emily has a demeanor that is hard to read and in general, it is way too easy to (erroneously) infer what it is going on in a players head during a game. In the visual where Kellie was talking to Emily, they could have been discussing some tactical matter, "see where X was on the court, then....." and Emily may have just been looking really focused. I have been around high-level college sports enough to know a head coach is not going entertain discussions about playing time during a game. That just ain't happening.

Of course, players want to play and so, we can be confident that Emily, Jess, Kaiya, and Karoline would love to be on the court more. But players in those positions also have to accept their role and making contribution in other ways (and being ready for when their chance comes) or else the situation becomes a lose-lose for everybody.

I don't think it is helpful to invent drama on a message board based on some posters reading of a player's body language.

 

[lvocd]

Sometimes it’s just your body too. I didn’t physically mature until I was about 22. If I had the frame and muscle mass I developed then when I was in high school I would have been a problem lol.

I have mentioned here many times ohow often kids don't come into their own physically and mentally until their college playing days are over -- sometimes WELL after.

Over the years I've watched quite a few really good players at Tennessee graduate without ever reaching "great" status, and I could usually spot the ones who would probably become great players with more physical and mental/emotional maturity.

I say this with personal knowledge of how that happens. I was what people would label as a "natural athlete" who could accurately mimic just about any kind of super-athletic skill or sporting movement I ever saw. Even though I was strong and athletically-built, I was so far behind the curve mental-maturity-wise that I didn't get into the gym like I should have. Everything had come so easy to me that I thought all that "you have to work hard" thing was for OTHER people. Needless to say, I never reached my potential in college.

But by the time I was 24, 25, though, I was the full package. Too late! That's why I'm always hoping that some of our former Lady Vols who don't get drafted find ways to stay focused and working on their games after they graduate, because you never know -- maybe some of them would become "great" in their mid-20s.

 

[madtownvol]

No disrespect to Coach Joy, she’s done a great job…but I would like to see some more versatility in TK’s offensive game. She doesnt have to do it all the time, once or twice will be sufficient.

No argument but let's acknowledge how far her offensive game has come from last season. Her finishing around the rim last season was "no better than chance" and she really did not have any post moves. Now she finishes more often than not and has a few go to moves. Development takes time.

To another poster who said, TK should try to take more people off the dribble (AAAHHHHHH!!!!!). When a 6-6 maybe 6-7 player puts the ball on the floor, bad things tend to happen.

 

[stlvolsfan]

No argument but let's acknowledge how far her offensive game has come from last season. Her finishing around the rim last season was "no better than chance" and she really did not have any post moves. Now she finishes more often than not and has a few go to moves. Development takes time.

To another poster who said, TK should try to take more people off the dribble (AAAHHHHHH!!!!!). When a 6-6 maybe 6-7 player puts the ball on the floor, bad things tend to happen.

I get it, totally do and she is head and shoulders above where she was last year. She’s confident and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
I was one of the posters to say she could take someone off the dribble…I’m not asking her to run the offense, but a shot fake from the elbow and a drive (which would be like 1 maybe 2 dribbles) would be nice to add to her game.

 

[madtownvol]

I get it, totally do and she is head and shoulders above where she was last year. She’s confident and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
I was one of the posters to say she could take someone off the dribble…I’m not asking her to run the offense, but a shot fake from the elbow and a drive (which would be like 1 maybe 2 dribbles) would be nice to add to her game.

I agree it would be great for TK to be able to do that but that skill is a long way off (if attainable at all). TK is not a particularly agile athlete, nor does she have a particularly quick first step. We can compare her to Ole Miss's Austin who is around the same height but has an entirely different body type and can take people off the dribble.

The reality is that Tamari needs to keep getting better at what she can do well (which is a lot) but no point trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

 

[VolBall09]

I agree it would be great for TK to be able to do that but that skill is a long way off (if attainable at all). TK is not a particularly agile athlete, nor does she have a particularly quick first step. We can compare her to Ole Miss's Austin who around the same type but has an entirely different body type and can take people off the dribble.

The reality is that Tamari needs to keep getting better at what she can do well (which is a lot) but no point trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Yep, Tamari is a solid 3 inches taller than Shakira as well. TK is listed at 6’6” but she’s got to be closer to 6’8” this season. She’s matched up against a couple other 6’6” players and either they are over listed or she is under.

 

[lvocd]

As for Tamari, we can all see she has made tremendous strides since she came to Knoxville. But yes, she can still get better. Maybe even much better.

From what I've seen so far she HAD been developing at a consistent pace from the start, but in small increments -- until this year. My hope is that the light bulb is flickering and will soon come on ALL the way. If and when that happens, opponents may as well just forget about trying to guard her with fewer than three people.

Obviously I'd love for there to be a huge leap for her before this season ends, but oh my goodness. I'm already getting excited about next season and Tamari version 4.0.

 

[teacherdean]

While I appreciate

I don't disagree with what you are saying. However, I think it needs a little nuisance. With 3:30 ( there abouts) left in the third quarter, Tennessee was up by 20 points and the game was over. Coach Harper began to liberally substitute as she should have. The rythm and flow of the game changed and Vanderbilt's young ladies began to have more success as a result of Coach Harper trying to build depth.[/QUOTE

While I appreciate KJH giving the bench reps and experience when we were up by 20 points, however, we were really ragged in our play. We looked disorganized and basically looked unsettled. We had reduced our turnovers in the second half, however, Vanderbilt broke our subs down and we began to make mistakes one after another. I would have liked to see KJH call a timeout and settle the troops down. There was enough time remaining for the game to go really South. In retrospect, it didn’t so all went well, that might not be the case next time. If KJH is as good as she appears to be, and I am a KJH supporter, I believe that she realizes the team breakdown and she will take appropriate action.