Orange_Mamba
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To me, she is Super-Duper Cooper!I almost wonder if there is discussion of shelving Wells for another year and letting her rehab. Could she redshirt again? I’m not sure she would want to of course, but I do wonder.
Just seems like she has recovered slowly from her injury and clearly isn’t conditioned to play at this pace at all.
What about Spearman?A little of what I have learned after only three games is that, so far, Talaysia Cooper is, by far, our most dynamic player. She doesn't think she fouls, but she'll clean that up. I am nutty for this kid's energy and overall contribution. And she's SO YOUNG! Kim is probably thanking her lucky stars to have that one. Cooper is already blowing my mind, and she's still probably got another gear. Just ... WOW!
Secondly, from my eye testing, Samara Spencer is ALREADY shaping up to be the overall best point guard we've had since Shannon Bobbitt. She is a steady leader on the court, doesn't constantly turn it over, and can make threes consistently. It speaks volumes about her mental toughness that, even if most everyone else is struggling to hit shots and appear to be discombobulated, Spencer cooly plays well. Having Samara on the floor makes us at least twice as good as those times she's resting on the bench. What a great addition to Tennessee!
Ruby Whitehorn kinda got in her own way last night for some reason, and you could see she looked like she felt somehow smaller and less confident. Not sure what's going on there, and I hope she snaps out of it quickly because a regular trio of Cooper-Spencer-Whitehorn, if they're all "on," will be a problem for ANY opponent we face all season. With Spearman/Latham plus Boyd, that group, as they continue to gel, is going to be a serious problem for everyone else.
I'm hoping Jewel Spear gets back on track. Right now she is, to my eye, on the high end of the second tier as far as how I see it when I extrapolate all the way to the NCAA Tournament and whose quickness, ballhandling, defensive trapping proficiency AND scoring ability will be tops at the end.
From what my eye sees, Spencer, Puckett and Darby are all three quite a bit slower than any of the players I mentioned above, and as the season progresses and, hopefully, those above continue to perfect their defense and build stamina, I'm not sure Spear, Puckett or Darby will have been genetically capable of matching the improvements I hope to see players make in areas that require a higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Favor Ayodele hustles and is very physically strong, so I have hope she'll continue to improve and, eventually, earn a few more minutes.
The jury is still out on the team enigma, AKA Jillian Hollingshead. She's just a teeny bit slower than is ideal, and I have to think that is her primary issue. She's NOT a glacier, but is just enough slower that she's not getting the calls, and that is messing with her confidence.
Avery Strickland has tons of energy and, I think, can definitely carve out a role for herself if she keeps working super hard and doesn't get down. When she's on the floor I can see how much she loves and appreciates being on the floor wearing a Tennessee Lady Vols uniform. Don't count this kid out as she continues to grow in this program. She could make some timely good plays for us as a player not likely to be on anyone's radar. Sometimes even ONE play at the right time can make the difference between a win and a loss.
Destinee Wells is simply way behind and not physically ready to compete for serious minutes. I feel bad for her because she has the potential, as we all saw pre-injury, to be a player who could help us. She just hasn't gotten all her health back yet, and won't be physically able to meet the demands of this new system, until she has. If she buckles down, makes up her mind that she WILL contribute this season, who knows? Maybe by the end of the year she can be a secret weapon for Kim!
To sum up, I realize some of what I've said may go over like a lead balloon because, in my opinion, consistent quickness is extremely important and some of our fans' personal favorite players are simply not among our quickest players.
I'm certainly not stupid enough to give up on ANYone, for ANY reason, after only three dang games. lol Just giving my very FIRST, earlyearlyEARLY impressions.
I'm loving this team so far, and can see them getting much better as things start truly clicking for them. They have only scratched the surface of their potential!
Yup..same ole Rick. He mad and looks like crappolo. But, he may be right about SEC thing.He said his team missed matchups several times because of our substituting. The game is all about matchups, but MTSU doesn’t have the talent to consistently match up against us. He’s trying to save face.
Ha ha. I’m hoping we win all of our SEC games, but I think that’s unrealistic. Any games we do lose, I want them to be close.Yup..same ole Rick. He mad and looks like crappolo. But, he may be right about SEC thing.
In a roundabout way, Coach Kim was perhaps treating MTSU as another practice game. And that makes him furious...lol!
It's got to be good coaches. It's not like all of our transfers were star players from other programs. CKC is doing a great job getting this kind of production out of these players this early. I know the competition hasn't been that strong but the scores have shown that. Can't ask for anything thing better at this stage of her program. GBO LADY VOLS.Well this team done something last years team couldn't accomplish. They didn't falter in the 4th Quarter..
It's got to be good coaches. It's not like all of our transfers were star players from other programs. CKC is doing a great job getting this kind of production out of these players this early. I know the competition hasn't been that strong but the scores have shown that. Can't ask for anything thing better at this stage of her program. GBO LADY VOLS.
My pick was 97-49 not 111-53.UT-Martin
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Such great points. Until I read this I'd been so wrapped up in this season I almost forgot how dismal the outlook was at the end of last season. No Rickea, no signees, I remember just thinking this is going to be BAD...and to turn that vibe around so quickly and sharply, it really is remarkable.I remember after we lost in the tournament last year and knowing we were losing Rickea that I had never been more pessimistic about an upcoming year than this one. I will keep that in mind as a comparison point during this season, as I know at times I get so excited about having Kim being our coach that it glosses over the reality that this year is a bit of an experiment.
What I am confident about is that her system will work tremendously better next year as all the returning players will have a year of experience in it and the Freshmen and the transfers will fit her system so much better than the holdovers from the Kelly era.
This is exactly why I've said here a couple of times now that Caldwell is ALREADY a success. The turnaround in the outlook is actually astounding.Such great points. Until I read this I'd been so wrapped up in this season I almost forgot how dismal the outlook was at the end of last season. No Rickea, no signees, I remember just thinking this is going to be BAD...and to turn that vibe around so quickly and sharply, it really is remarkable.
I think Kellie was going to get about the same portal haul (in fact they were already in on several) and probably fought to about mid-pack SEC. Probably just make the tourney and have a disappointing ouster.This is exactly why I've said here a couple of times now that Caldwell is ALREADY a success. The turnaround in the outlook is actually astounding.
Such great points. Until I read this I'd been so wrapped up in this season I almost forgot how dismal the outlook was at the end of last season. No Rickea, no signees, I remember just thinking this is going to be BAD...and to turn that vibe around so quickly and sharply, it really is remarkable.
Kim is smart, steadfast, and she is a winner...and I think one of those winners who WILL find a way to win. If we just had a bigger athletic big or 2 I'd feel really great, but hopefully that will come in future recruiting cycles. Long term I'm super optimistic at this point!
I love it!
Verruh nice work! We gonna get one of these after every game? Hmm?
Yeah probably.
UT-Martin
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