Game Thread: Lady Vols v ETSU, Home, Fri. Nov 7th, 6:30PM, SECN+

[VolBall09]

I know Kim tends to find the negative details after games, but I do think she genuinely is very upset how the team has responded to the loss in practice and in this game. Despite the 50-point win, I kept feeling more lukewarm than excited. Perhaps it was just watching LSU a couple of days ago and wondering how will, Mya, Mia, and Boyd look against the otherworldly combo of Johnson, Johnson, and Williams. I though my reaction might also be that I was tired but then heard coach and realized that something was missing from the game: We were flat! I am still excited by the collection of newcomers but also getting a more realistic view of their current limitations. Our freshmen class will ultimately be awesome if they choose to finish their careers here, but almost all Freshmen are erratic during their first season and I sense that will be mostly the case here. I realize this is a way too early take after a couple of disappointing performances while also still feeling in my gut that we are still in rebuilding mode and may take another year or two to be at our peak. Coach is also needing time to continue to tweak her system with the data she gets from each game. Despite my bellyaching, I do expect better performances as the season progresses. And, FREE CIVIL!!

Not to mention Fulwiley. LSU backcourt is crazy. I think they win the natty this year.

 

[stlvolsfan]

I know Kim tends to find the negative details after games, but I do think she genuinely is very upset how the team has responded to the loss in practice and in this game. Despite the 50-point win, I kept feeling more lukewarm than excited. Perhaps it was just watching LSU a couple of days ago and wondering how will, Mya, Mia, and Boyd look against the otherworldly combo of Johnson, Johnson, and Williams. I though my reaction might also be that I was tired but then heard coach and realized that something was missing from the game: We were flat! I am still excited by the collection of newcomers but also getting a more realistic view of their current limitations. Our freshmen class will ultimately be awesome if they choose to finish their careers here, but almost all Freshmen are erratic during their first season and I sense that will be mostly the case here. I realize this is a way too early take after a couple of disappointing performances while also still feeling in my gut that we are still in rebuilding mode and may take another year or two to be at our peak. Coach is also needing time to continue to tweak her system with the data she gets from each game. Despite my bellyaching, I do expect better performances as the season progresses. And, FREE CIVIL!!

I feel the exact same way. I did not like this performance.

 

[stlvolsfan]

This team misses Sam and Tess, but particularly Sam.

 

[Volfan2012]

I can definitely see Coaches point were not playing at a high level rebounding the ball boxing out misses. Were fouling all over the place putting teams on the line for free points. Were taking a lot of early threes not trying to get to the basket and we need to develop the inside game. I can definitely see there has to be a higher expectation for every player on this team. Only four or five players are really playing at a decent level everyone else needs to get a lot better fast.

 

[brittannica]

I can definitely see Coaches point were not playing at a high level rebounding the ball boxing out misses. Were fouling all over the place putting teams on the line for free points. Were taking a lot of early threes not trying to get to the basket and we need to develop the inside game. I can definitely see there has to be a higher expectation for every player on this team. Only four or five players are really playing at a decent level everyone else needs to get a lot better fast.

I'm curious who you think is performing at a decent level. No argument, just curiosity lol

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

Some people are expecting things that are unrealistic. The fouls are going to occur if the system is to force turnovers such as steals, 5-second and 10-second violations. CKC should know this and so should even the average fan. It’s why most teams avoid playing full court press defense. It’s the equivalent of having a blitzing and man to man zero coverage defense (bump & run DBs) in football but complaining when there’s offside penalties, pass interference, defensive holding, illegal contact etc.
It’s a give and take system. The coaches can either find an alternative to the pressure defense or just anticipate the disadvantages.
Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it will not. I don’t understand why the fanbase can’t understand that. Again CKC has to know this and it’s her job to work the officials because most of these calls are 50/50. They can decide to blow the whistle or not.

 

[Volfan2012]

I'm curious who you think is performing at a decent level. No argument, just curiosity lol

Cooper, Barker, Spearman in last game, and Mia doing a decent job. I think for her playing time Civil and Latham are playing well.

 

[alexvol]

I disagree. I think, especially in the fourth, we slowed it down and played half court.

Well if you watched the Coaches interview she said the same thing I did so you can disagree all you want ......

 

[Volfan2012]

Some people are expecting things that are unrealistic. The fouls are going to occur if the system is to force turnovers such as steals, 5-second and 10-second violations. CKC should know this and so should even the average fan. It’s why most teams avoid playing full court press defense. It’s the equivalent of having a blitzing and man to man zero coverage defense (bump & run DBs) in football but complaining when there’s offside penalties, pass interference, defensive holding, illegal contact etc.
It’s a give and take system. The coaches can either find an alternative to the pressure defense or just anticipate the disadvantages.
Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it will not. I don’t understand why the fanbase can’t understand that. Again CKC has to know this and it’s her job to work the officials because most of these calls are 50/50. They can decide to blow the whistle or not.

Well your thoughts are totally opposite from Coach Kim who said we need to stop fouling and said that she told team she did not want to see ETSU in the bonus and yet they were there three quarters. We can overcome these mid-major teams no matter how much we foul. Not going to beat the top teams if you put them on the line 25 times in a game.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

And the LSU gloating is comical. That team could very well finish 5th in the SEC.
They absolutely play nobody. It’s in their DNA to beat up on weak teams at the bottom of their D1 and mid-major conferences year in and year out. LSU is not better or more talented than Tennessee right now. The freshman from LSU that just got considered an otherworldly talent in this thread would get dogged off the court in a one on one game against Jaida Civil or Mia Pauldo.
I don’t know what some people are watching.
Saying they will win the championship based on those performances is about as ridiculous as complaining after Tennessee won by 50 points. If LSU played any Top 25 let alone a Top 10 team on the road next week they would lose. That’s why they never challenge themselves in non-conference to start the season until taking a week or two to beat up on cupcakes. Last time they played a solid team to start the season was Colorado, Colorado stumped a mud hole in LSU. People act like it never existed. Tennessee suffers a tough and questionable loss due to poor officiating to NC State by 3 points in a game they could’ve easily won on the road and 85% of the fans on this board repeatedly comes on here romanticizing about LSU, South Carolina, and UCLA for beating cupcakes in every thread.
Lol man it’s a saying “it be your own people.”
Smh GBO solid.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

I don’t care if CKC or your thoughts are different than mine. It doesn’t matter if you watch basketball and understand basketball.
Every system has it pros and cons. That is on the coach not just the players to accept. The players have to accept CKC mass substitution patterns after every 1 minute and 30 second period of 4 quarters, so CKC has to accept their mistakes or working to get in a rhythm in an unorthodox system.
Not just on the court but the sideline. You probably never coached sports as I have so you have to take a coach word for it in every situation. The officials are just as much responsible for the players on Tennessee being called for fouls as the players themselves. Most fouls are 50/50. Just as in football you could call a 50/50 holding plenty every time the QB drops back to pass the football.
You hear fans in the stands yelling holding just about every time there’s a big run.
Why does some teams get called for holding more than others? Think about that.
Again, some of the things these players are being asked and expected to execute is unrealistic.
It bothers me to see how they are being discussed right now trying to perform in this system because of flaws. All teams have flaws.
In this system, no matter how well they are playing it’s going to expose disadvantages night in and night out.
That’s why people are complaining after a 50 point win and 3-point loss in a game against a Top 10 team that could’ve easily been another win on the road.

Well your thoughts are totally opposite from Coach Kim who said we need to stop fouling and said that she told team she did not want to see ETSU in the bonus and yet they were there three quarters. We can overcome these mid-major teams no matter how much we foul. Not going to beat the top teams if you put them on the line 25 times in a game.

 

[volsagain]

One thing we all know is the Lady VOLS have a lot of work to do and that includes the coaches. NCST showed us how much work to become a top level Team. Doesn't matter how much talent you have if you don't play as a team. When these other teams play teams with the same level of talent will let us see how much they lack in becoming a top level Team. Just look how long it took the Cons to get there act together last year. Keep working hard and be humble.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

All the NC State game showed is that if these teams played each other back to back home & away that the home team had the best odds to win. Nothing more than one game in November.

 

[brittannica]

Cooper, Barker, Spearman in last game, and Mia doing a decent job. I think for her playing time Civil and Latham are playing well.

I agree with all of these. I've been very impressed by Coop and Barker. Zee is doing a lot of things right, and I think she will continue to improve as she kind of works through her feelings about losing Ruby as a teammate and just gets in the groove. My standards for first year players are always a bit lower, but I am a big Civil fan. Lyss also looks great for limited minutes. She has really good hands. I also think this is why I am frustrated with the coaching staff, because we have a lot of talented players.

 

[Rickster]

Let's see, this is their second game (3 if one counts the exhibition) and they have a 3 point loss to a top 10 team on their home floor and a 50 point home victory. With 8 new players, it's not surprising that mistakes are occurring as players learn a new system and their new team mates. This team will get better in time.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

This team has great depth like myself as well as 1morevol, crstygray, and knoxvol understand through all the fluff in these threads. Again, people shouldn’t judge player performances without taking into account the system in particular the substitution pattern. That is an adjustment.
Mya Pauldo and Alyssa Latham were outstanding last night.
Mia Pauldo, Talaysia Cooper, Janiah Barker, and Jaida Civil have been very good in both games. Deniya Prawl, Jersey Wolfenberger, and Kaniya Boyd need to get in a rhythm. Once they get in a rhythm this team will be tough to beat.
Nya Robertson and Lazaria Spearman have played a lot of basketball in the ACC and SEC. It is up to the coaches right now to get more out of both players. If Nya Robertson can average 18.5 ppg at SMU then the coaches here has to figure out how to get her to atleast 10-12ppg at Tennessee.
Accountability is the key to success from top to bottom. No team in WBB has more talent than this Top 10 LV roster.

 

[alexvol]

I don’t care if CKC or your thoughts are different than mine. It doesn’t matter if you watch basketball and understand basketball.
Every system has it pros and cons. That is on the coach not just the players to accept. The players have to accept CKC mass substitution patterns after every 1 minute and 30 second period of 4 quarters, so CKC has to accept their mistakes or working to get in a rhythm in an unorthodox system.
Not just on the court but the sideline. You probably never coached sports as I have so you have to take a coach word for it in every situation. The officials are just as much responsible for the players on Tennessee being called for fouls as the players themselves. Most fouls are 50/50. Just as in football you could call a 50/50 holding plenty every time the QB drops back to pass the football.
You hear fans in the stands yelling holding just about every time there’s a big run.
Why does some teams get called for holding more than others? Think about that.
Again, some of the things these players are being asked and expected to execute is unrealistic.
It bothers me to see how they are being discussed right now trying to perform in this system because of flaws. All teams have flaws.
In this system, no matter how well they are playing it’s going to expose disadvantages night in and night out.
That’s why people are complaining after a 50 point win and 3-point loss in a game against a Top 10 team that could’ve easily been another win on the road.

You are the true expert in all things basketball and now that is a fact in your own noggin and that's too bad .

 

[Volfan2012]

I don’t care if CKC or your thoughts are different than mine. It doesn’t matter if you watch basketball and understand basketball.
Every system has it pros and cons. That is on the coach not just the players to accept. The players have to accept CKC mass substitution patterns after every 1 minute and 30 second period of 4 quarters, so CKC has to accept their mistakes or working to get in a rhythm in an unorthodox system.
Not just on the court but the sideline. You probably never coached sports as I have so you have to take a coach word for it in every situation. The officials are just as much responsible for the players on Tennessee being called for fouls as the players themselves. Most fouls are 50/50. Just as in football you could call a 50/50 holding plenty every time the QB drops back to pass the football.
You hear fans in the stands yelling holding just about every time there’s a big run.
Why does some teams get called for holding more than others? Think about that.
Again, some of the things these players are being asked and expected to execute is unrealistic.
It bothers me to see how they are being discussed right now trying to perform in this system because of flaws. All teams have flaws.
In this system, no matter how well they are playing it’s going to expose disadvantages night in and night out.
That’s why people are complaining after a 50 point win and 3-point loss in a game against a Top 10 team that could’ve easily been another win on the road.

You seem to care cause everytime someone makes a post that you don't agree with you ridicule it and post a huge reply. You rant and rave about how everyone on here is posting. So if you don't care what the coach of the team is saying or what any poster is saying or posting why do you have to reply to almost everyone seems like you would like to have control of eveyones thoughts. How is that going for you don't see anyone who is not posting as they see fit evidently your ranting and raving posts are having no effect on the majority.

 

[KnoxLikeUs]

It hasn’t started to show up in the box score, however Jersey is going to help this team as we get deeper into the season.
She has elite ability to run the floor at 6’5 and is coordinated in her ability to handle the basketball.
GBO!

If we had about 5 more minutes #11 for ETSU and #8 would be fighting

 

[m_scott]

It hasn’t started to show up in the box score, however Jersey is going to help this team as we get deeper into the season.
She has elite ability to run the floor at 6’5 and is coordinated in her ability to handle the basketball.
GBO!

No doubt I noticed how quick she got up and down the floor last night. She will start to show up soon enough for sure

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

They've called a lot I didn't observe.

For sure they called a LOT of fouls for acts not foul worthy in 95% of games in my lifetime. Have to wonder why if some of them were score differential mitigation. Running down the court each player has their lane/position/cylinder and offense generating contact on the dribble is not a defensive foul.

 

[RespectAPA]

Don’t think so and Kim didn’t seem to think so in the post game press conference. When you have the talent we have compared to the talent of ETSU, you’re the one that dictates the game. The lesser talented team doesn’t. Let’s just say we disagree and that’s okay.

If your opponent is playing zone, which ETSU was doing, isn't it accurate to say "take what the defense gives you?" I really don't know ball that well, but it seems like if ETSU was playing man-to-man that it woud've been much easier to take advantage of the massiv talent disadvantage at each matchup than the team-oriented defense that the zone defense seems to be, to these eyes. Eyes which still hav a lot to learn about 'ball, granted. (more of a baseball and football guy)

Normally the answer to the zone is to pass the ball into an open three tho, is it not? That shoud be our game. (that and crashing the boards for the 70% of the time the shot doesn't go in)

 

[volsagain]

If your opponent is playing zone, which ETSU was doing, isn't it accurate to say "take what the defense gives you?" I really don't know ball that well, but it seems like if ETSU was playing man-to-man that it woud've been much easier to take advantage of the massiv talent disadvantage at each matchup than the team-oriented defense that the zone defense seems to be, to these eyes. Eyes which still hav a lot to learn about 'ball, granted. (more of a baseball and football guy)

Normally the answer to the zone is to pass the ball into an open three tho, is it not? That shoud be our game. (that and crashing the boards for the 70% of the time the shot doesn't go in)

If you use the right offense against a zone defense you can get layups. It's all about how good they play there zone and if you're shooting the ball well enough from the outside you can make them change. Zone will most likely make the other team work harder to get a good shot. If ETSU had played man to man the whole game the score would have been much wider and higher.

 

[Rickster]

Fast break and bench points were a bit surprising.

 

[madtownvol]

I know Kim tends to find the negative details after games, but I do think she genuinely is very upset how the team has responded to the loss in practice and in this game. Despite the 50-point win, I kept feeling more lukewarm than excited. Perhaps it was just watching LSU a couple of days ago and wondering how will, Mya, Mia, and Boyd look against the otherworldly combo of Johnson, Johnson, and Williams. I though my reaction might also be that I was tired but then heard coach and realized that something was missing from the game: We were flat! I am still excited by the collection of newcomers but also getting a more realistic view of their current limitations. Our freshmen class will ultimately be awesome if they choose to finish their careers here, but almost all Freshmen are erratic during their first season and I sense that will be mostly the case here. I realize this is a way too early take after a couple of disappointing performances while also still feeling in my gut that we are still in rebuilding mode and may take another year or two to be at our peak. Coach is also needing time to continue to tweak her system with the data she gets from each game. Despite my bellyaching, I do expect better performances as the season progresses. And, FREE CIVIL!!

Again, it is only game 2 but something about this game did feel off, despite the massive point gap. I can't quite say exactly what it was) but their execution was sloppy (Per CKC's concerns with fouling, not cutting and so on). This is a young team, now down one senior leader, and It seemed they did not get their heads completely right after the close loss on the road (again that seemed to be the main theme of CKC's presser). Not to be that guy, but people who expected a freshman oriented team to be a juggernaut from the first tip were a little unrealistic in their expectations. I think this team can catch up to the lofty expectations but it will take some time (and it is a long way to March).


I was curious why Coop was out of the rotation in the 4th quarter. Anybody know if she had an issue of some type?