I miss Jordan Howell, too, but......

#1
DowntownVol

DowntownVol

Stylin' and Profilin'
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#1
Ramar Smith vs. Texas:

38 minutes, 16 points, 9 assists, 0 (!!!) turnovers.

What an incredible turnaround from where he started from. You really have to hand it to CBP: the guy can flat-out coach.

Only 8 turnovers for the entire TEAM, by the way, in an OVERTIME game.

We're way ahead of schedule, gang. I had thought, after the Butler and UNC losses, that this team might get it together and be rather dangerous by March.

I was wrong.

This team is dangerous right now.
 
#2
#2
Everyone is coming along very, very nicely... a lot farther ahead, like you said, than I thought they'd be as well.

I'm sure there will still be a few hiccups here and there, but overall.. wow, just so fun to watch the continued improvement.
 
#3
#3
When Ramar starts taking controlled shots on his drives to the basket, he's going to be scary good for us. Solid 2nd half by all our Vols today though. I'm proud of them.
 
#4
#4
Ramar's turnaround has been an outstanding surprise. I was fairly low on him after the preseason NIT, but he has really stepped up his game quickly. The 0 turnovers is flat out amazing, the assists were a mild surprise, and the points were a pure bonus. I was hoping he would just play within himself and not commit more than a few turnovers. Boy, did he exceed my expectations. Way to go Ramar!
 
#5
#5
I didn't know that he didn't turn the ball over until I read this thread. That's great. He was scaring me with those foul shots a little though..

He's definitely coming along as is Crews and Chism.
 
#6
#6
I wouldn't say all of the players are coming along. Marques Johnson and Tony Passley obviously aren't where we want them yet.
 
#7
#7
Ryan Childress needs to be poked with a cattle prod if he jacks up another 3 all year.
 
#8
#8
For real, this team is great when they play their roles, when they go outside of their roles, that's when things get a little messy.

In the second half of the Texas game, all the players did what they were supposed to do for the most part and we all know what happened.
 
#9
#9
I think Pearl wants him to shoot 3s if he is open. That is our style and Pearl likes Childress' 3 point shooting. The only player on our roster(not counting walkons) that shouldn't shoot 3s is Duke.
 
#10
#10
they are going to be so much better by the end of the year though.
its very noticable how quickly players improve under pearl
 
#12
#12
Yeah, I'm pretty sure we have 2 of the best DL coaches in the nation. We had very little experience and lots of injuries.
 
#13
#13
He also shot FT's really well today. I know that you are probably thinking "well he missed that one at the end and then they sent it into OT." But if Ramar would hvae missed them both, Texas would have won. He also hit some clutch ones in OT. Great game for Ramar and all the other players.
 
#15
#15
We should have depth, but Johnson hasn't panned out yet. If Passley could get right, we could play Duke and Wayne together alot more.
 
#16
#16
Passley seems to have gotten lost on the bench since his technical foul exhibition in a couple of games. Isn't Johnson being redshirted or not just getting playing time due to not being ready?
 
#17
#17
every team in the country, seemingly, is playing mostly freshmen and sophs. So everyone will get better--and the Vols won't get 41 free throws on a neutral floor. This is one of the most amazing classes of freshmen, across the country, in the history of the sport.
 
#19
#19
hvwarrior58 said:
They are trying to redshirt Johnson. Passley needs to surface with SEC play coming up.
Click to expand...

Very true; especially with Howell possibly gone for the year, Dane clearly nowhere near 100%, and Marques Johnson redshirting (???)... Pearl's down to an 8-man rotation now (Lofton, R. Smith, J. Smith, Crews, Chism, Tabb, Bradshaw, Childress), and I know he'd like to have at least one more guy contributing significant minutes. By process of elimination, it HAS to be Passley - there's nobody else left other than the walk-ons.

Passley showed some definite potential in the early going, when he wasn't getting T'd up every 3 minutes.
 
#20
#20
Howell is out until mid to late February, not the whole year. Dane is suffering tendinitis. A couple weeks of rest and he will be alot better.
 
#21
#21
I was very low on Ramar on this board a few weeks ago. The guy played a great game today. If he can maintain his play at today's level then I will buy a R.Smith jersey at the end of the season.
 
#22
#22
DowntownVol said:
Ramar Smith vs. Texas:

38 minutes, 16 points, 9 assists, 0 (!!!) turnovers.

What an incredible turnaround from where he started from. You really have to hand it to CBP: the guy can flat-out coach.

Only 8 turnovers for the entire TEAM, by the way, in an OVERTIME game.

We're way ahead of schedule, gang. I had thought, after the Butler and UNC losses, that this team might get it together and be rather dangerous by March.

I was wrong.

This team is dangerous right now.
Click to expand...

Ramar seems to be improving alot. He isn't so out-of-control like he seemed to be earlier in the year. Zero turnovers in 38 minutes is definitely outstanding - I was just hoping that he could keep them down, maybe 3-4, or so. Also, 8 total team turnovers in an overtime game is almost unthinkable - especially with the fast style of play that we like.

One point that people aren't talking about, or maybe some people have forgotten - Ramar didn't get in until the last minute, literally! With the issues concerning whether or not he would be eligible, Ramar wasn't on campus until the last day that he was able to sign up for classes. So he has had less time in the Pearl system than any of these newcomers. Maybe that also was a contributing factor to his early season, not-so-great play. Maybe now he is just getting more comfortable with the Pearl system and what is expected of him.
 
#23
#23
Hopefully the team will continue to improve over the next two games, Tenn. Tech & ETSU, without having a let-down. Then, ready or not, here comes the TOSU and the SEC.
 
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