Roster Construction Doomed This Team

#176
#176
zjcvols said:
I was going to save this for after the season, but I'm pretty annoyed with that loss. The roster construction was really bad this year. Honestly, the historic offensive rebounding & Nate Ament turning into a lottery pick the second half of the season is the only reason they were able to be top 25 and get a top 6 seed in the tourney this year.

I don't understand why after having a small ball/stretch 4 the last two years (JJJ, then Milicic) they went after Jaylen Carey with Okpara, Phillips, and Estrella already on the team. Ament is designed to play the 4 in college. I don't get why they thought having an undersized, non-vertical 4 with zero skills and bad defense would be beneficial to the team. Imaging having a ball mover like JJJ or a stretch 4 like Milicic getting his minutes and that's probably worth 3-4 wins. I'm not blaming Carey completely, this was just a bad fit.

And while we make mistakes in recruiting/transfer portal, I don't know what the staff saw that made them think Abram & Burg would be contributors this year (more specifically Abram). Both are 23 year olds and they gave up on Abram in December. Burg finally looked like he can play competent minutes in late February. If they were freshman, I wouldn't worry about it. But they asked way too much offensively of Boswell & Evans this year. That's pretty bad scouting by the staff. Ament and Gillespie had zero space to work with this year and it really hurt both their games, they were not able to fulfill their potential this year IMO. I'm more annoyed by Carey than Abram/Burg, but it still needs to be pointed out.

I hope that the staff understands the value of having more shooting. I know they were surprised by Cameron Carr leaving in the middle of December last year and that put them behind the 8 ball a little bit (God, it's really a shame it didn't work out with him) in terms of their shooting. I know they were outbid for a couple high end shooters in last year's portal, that will happen. But I honestly do not want to watch another offense like this again. And sure, not having Zakai as a steady hand and Gillespie played way too much on the ball, but they did nothing to help him out this year. I'm not worried about the program long-term, I'm actually really excited about what Boswell, Evans, Estrella and Brown can be next year. But they cannot have as many misses as they did this year. They must focus on getting real shooting answers in the portal.
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#178
#178
zjcvols said:
In my defense I did not know Jayle Carey would turn into Nikola Jokic
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I mean that is what he was brought here and he did it when he was supposed to: the NCAA tournament.

People casting him off after the regular season were idiots. And I mean that in the most respectful way

We have played 5 games now in 3 weeks. It was all about getting thru the regular season healthy and the rest is history.
 
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#181
#181
zjcvols said:
I was going to save this for after the season, but I'm pretty annoyed with that loss. The roster construction was really bad this year. Honestly, the historic offensive rebounding & Nate Ament turning into a lottery pick the second half of the season is the only reason they were able to be top 25 and get a top 6 seed in the tourney this year.

I don't understand why after having a small ball/stretch 4 the last two years (JJJ, then Milicic) they went after Jaylen Carey with Okpara, Phillips, and Estrella already on the team. Ament is designed to play the 4 in college. I don't get why they thought having an undersized, non-vertical 4 with zero skills and bad defense would be beneficial to the team. Imaging having a ball mover like JJJ or a stretch 4 like Milicic getting his minutes and that's probably worth 3-4 wins. I'm not blaming Carey completely, this was just a bad fit.

And while we make mistakes in recruiting/transfer portal, I don't know what the staff saw that made them think Abram & Burg would be contributors this year (more specifically Abram). Both are 23 year olds and they gave up on Abram in December. Burg finally looked like he can play competent minutes in late February. If they were freshman, I wouldn't worry about it. But they asked way too much offensively of Boswell & Evans this year. That's pretty bad scouting by the staff. Ament and Gillespie had zero space to work with this year and it really hurt both their games, they were not able to fulfill their potential this year IMO. I'm more annoyed by Carey than Abram/Burg, but it still needs to be pointed out.

I hope that the staff understands the value of having more shooting. I know they were surprised by Cameron Carr leaving in the middle of December last year and that put them behind the 8 ball a little bit (God, it's really a shame it didn't work out with him) in terms of their shooting. I know they were outbid for a couple high end shooters in last year's portal, that will happen. But I honestly do not want to watch another offense like this again. And sure, not having Zakai as a steady hand and Gillespie played way too much on the ball, but they did nothing to help him out this year. I'm not worried about the program long-term, I'm actually really excited about what Boswell, Evans, Estrella and Brown can be next year. But they cannot have as many misses as they did this year. They must focus on getting real shooting answers in the portal.
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Brilliant analysis…like most on here.

You Nostradamus, Chicken Little types never cease to amaze me.
 
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#183
#183
zjcvols said:
I was going to save this for after the season, but I'm pretty annoyed with that loss. The roster construction was really bad this year. Honestly, the historic offensive rebounding & Nate Ament turning into a lottery pick the second half of the season is the only reason they were able to be top 25 and get a top 6 seed in the tourney this year.

I don't understand why after having a small ball/stretch 4 the last two years (JJJ, then Milicic) they went after Jaylen Carey with Okpara, Phillips, and Estrella already on the team. Ament is designed to play the 4 in college. I don't get why they thought having an undersized, non-vertical 4 with zero skills and bad defense would be beneficial to the team. Imaging having a ball mover like JJJ or a stretch 4 like Milicic getting his minutes and that's probably worth 3-4 wins. I'm not blaming Carey completely, this was just a bad fit.

And while we make mistakes in recruiting/transfer portal, I don't know what the staff saw that made them think Abram & Burg would be contributors this year (more specifically Abram). Both are 23 year olds and they gave up on Abram in December. Burg finally looked like he can play competent minutes in late February. If they were freshman, I wouldn't worry about it. But they asked way too much offensively of Boswell & Evans this year. That's pretty bad scouting by the staff. Ament and Gillespie had zero space to work with this year and it really hurt both their games, they were not able to fulfill their potential this year IMO. I'm more annoyed by Carey than Abram/Burg, but it still needs to be pointed out.

I hope that the staff understands the value of having more shooting. I know they were surprised by Cameron Carr leaving in the middle of December last year and that put them behind the 8 ball a little bit (God, it's really a shame it didn't work out with him) in terms of their shooting. I know they were outbid for a couple high end shooters in last year's portal, that will happen. But I honestly do not want to watch another offense like this again. And sure, not having Zakai as a steady hand and Gillespie played way too much on the ball, but they did nothing to help him out this year. I'm not worried about the program long-term, I'm actually really excited about what Boswell, Evans, Estrella and Brown can be next year. But they cannot have as many misses as they did this year. They must focus on getting real shooting answers in the portal.
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Change of heart now? I would say you were wrong.
 
#184
#184
JMSqb11 said:
I mean that is what he was brought here and he did it when he was supposed to: the NCAA tournament.

People casting him off after the regular season were idiots. And I mean that in the most respectful way

We have played 5 games now in 3 weeks. It was all about getting thru the regular season healthy and the rest is history.
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Then I’m an idiot as his play through the SEC schedule was uninspired and plan bad. Anyone outside of the team and coaching staff who was hanging on to Carey being a huge positive wasn’t doing so based on his body of work. Glad he has stepped up during March Madness and hope he gets 3 more chances to prove why we should bring him back next year.
 
#186
#186
zjcvols said:
I was going to save this for after the season, but I'm pretty annoyed with that loss. The roster construction was really bad this year. Honestly, the historic offensive rebounding & Nate Ament turning into a lottery pick the second half of the season is the only reason they were able to be top 25 and get a top 6 seed in the tourney this year.

I don't understand why after having a small ball/stretch 4 the last two years (JJJ, then Milicic) they went after Jaylen Carey with Okpara, Phillips, and Estrella already on the team. Ament is designed to play the 4 in college. I don't get why they thought having an undersized, non-vertical 4 with zero skills and bad defense would be beneficial to the team. Imaging having a ball mover like JJJ or a stretch 4 like Milicic getting his minutes and that's probably worth 3-4 wins. I'm not blaming Carey completely, this was just a bad fit.

And while we make mistakes in recruiting/transfer portal, I don't know what the staff saw that made them think Abram & Burg would be contributors this year (more specifically Abram). Both are 23 year olds and they gave up on Abram in December. Burg finally looked like he can play competent minutes in late February. If they were freshman, I wouldn't worry about it. But they asked way too much offensively of Boswell & Evans this year. That's pretty bad scouting by the staff. Ament and Gillespie had zero space to work with this year and it really hurt both their games, they were not able to fulfill their potential this year IMO. I'm more annoyed by Carey than Abram/Burg, but it still needs to be pointed out.

I hope that the staff understands the value of having more shooting. I know they were surprised by Cameron Carr leaving in the middle of December last year and that put them behind the 8 ball a little bit (God, it's really a shame it didn't work out with him) in terms of their shooting. I know they were outbid for a couple high end shooters in last year's portal, that will happen. But I honestly do not want to watch another offense like this again. And sure, not having Zakai as a steady hand and Gillespie played way too much on the ball, but they did nothing to help him out this year. I'm not worried about the program long-term, I'm actually really excited about what Boswell, Evans, Estrella and Brown can be next year. But they cannot have as many misses as they did this year. They must focus on getting real shooting answers in the portal.
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This post got 30+ likes 😂 😂

Making it very difficult to poke fun at other fanbases when this is what y’all are putting out there
 
#188
#188
zjcvols said:
In my defense I did not know Jayle Carey would turn into Nikola Jokic
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Would never do a “gotcha” on your take because you boldly crystallized what many of us believed but didn’t encapsulate in an OP. I was frustrated by the lack of cohesiveness and consistency and was down to placing all my hope on Gillespie being that Big Dance reset that appears every postseason. The alpha that everybody responds to and delivers. Barnes had this methodology all along imo and never wavered. SOMETIMES it pays off.
 
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#190
#190
walkenvol said:
Then I’m an idiot as his play through the SEC schedule was uninspired and plan bad. Anyone outside of the team and coaching staff who was hanging on to Carey being a huge positive wasn’t doing so based on his body of work. Glad he has stepped up during March Madness and hope he gets 3 more chances to prove why we should bring him back next year.
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I was very clear that I was thinking Carey would be an impact player come tournament time. All he had to do was just survive the regular season healthy. He was solely brought in to be an impact player in the tourney. And he stayed healthy all season to make it to the tourney.

The only thing I can think of the people dragging him for the regular season play was the thought we would be a bubble team or at risk of not making tourney. That was never in question. Carey was / is getting paid to be a tourney impact player. And that is all he is getting paid to do. Not to be some regular season highlight reel.
 
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#191
#191
butchna said:
Would never do a “gotcha” on your take because you boldly crystallized what many of us believed but didn’t encapsulate in an OP. I was frustrated by the lack of cohesiveness and consistency and was down to placing all my hope on Gillespie being that Big Dance reset that appears every postseason. The alpha that everybody responds to and delivers. Barnes had this methodology all along imo and never wavered. SOMETIMES it pays off.
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That’s the beauty of March. The 18, 19 and 22 teams were significantly better than this team. But I’d rather have this season because of the tournament success
 
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#192
#192
Clad in Big Orange said:
I think every Vol fan was highly frustrated during the season as this team just didn’t equal the sum of its parts. Why drag people’s opinions from weeks ago through the mud after the team has found its’ identity at the best time and made the season a success.
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Is it your mission now to go around and defend everyone’s right to an opinion?
 
#193
#193
We definitely have more balanced team this year compared to the last two elite 8 teams in regards to scoring just glad it showed up at the right time.
 
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#194
#194
GBO18 said:
Is it your mission now to go around and defend everyone’s right to an opinion?
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Not my mission at all. Most people understand that. I just don’t understand the joy from digging up old posts (especially in game threads) to try and make someone “eat their words” - when clearly the post was made relative to that point in time. I bet every poster here made comments about this team throughout the season that now look foolish based on last night. Glass houses.
 
#196
#196
JMSqb11 said:
I was very clear that I was thinking Carey would be an impact player come tournament time. All he had to do was just survive the regular season healthy. He was solely brought in to be an impact player in the tourney. And he stayed healthy all season to make it to the tourney.

The only thing I can think of the people dragging him for the regular season play was the thought we would be a bubble team or at risk of not making tourney. That was never in question. Carey was / is getting paid to be a tourney impact player. And that is all he is getting paid to do. Not to be some regular season highlight reel.
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Lol...nice strawman argument - he was brought in to help this team win period. It was more than fair and reasonable to critique his play (esp when we were losing and he was playing quite a few mpg) based on the stats/results compiled during the regular season because that's how we prepare for the post-season.

The real question is has he really "turned the corner" or did he just benefit from the match-up playing against smaller, less physical players due to Jefferson's injury (which, as we've seen firsthand, only happens every so often)? I def hope it's the former (VA game lends some credence to this thought) and he continues to score very efficiently.
 
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#197
#197
MinisterofDef#92 said:
Lol...nice strawman argument - he was brought in to help this team win period. It was more than fair and reasonable to critique his play (esp when we were losing and he was playing quite a few mpg) based on the stats/results compiled during the regular season because that's how we prepare for the post-season.

The real question is has he really "turned the corner" or did he just benefit from the match-up playing against smaller, less physical players due to Jefferson's injury (which, as we've seen firsthand, only happens every so often)? I def hope it's the former (VA game lends some credence to this thought) and he continues to score very efficiently.
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He didn’t have to “turn the corner”….. he is playing exactly how he was expected to at the most important time of the season, the ncaa tourney. He has shown all season he can be the most physical and very dominant big man when he’s on the court.

That has been the case all season. The people criticizing his play during the regular season were belly aching over nothing or just crying of the sake of crying.

He is playing exactly as he was expected to when we landed him in the portal.
 
#199
#199
volbabyvol said:
It's a lot of Carey haters on here and will tell you Phillips is a better option bs lol.

Keep going young man!
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It's not hating to point out when he's been ineffective. My Goodness. There were several games where he appeared disinterested and useless. He's stepped it up which is great so stop with divisiveness. No one hates him
 
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#200
#200
BernardKingGOAT said:
It's not hating to point out when he's been ineffective. My Goodness. There were several games where he appeared disinterested and useless. He's stepped it up which is great so stop with divisiveness. No one hates him
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A hit dog will holler

1.Most critique player this season when all our bigs have had trouble finishing at the rim.
2.Telling me a another player is a better option that is not even playing or has not showed any signs of such lol
3.In every loss out of all the leads we have blown, it's been the opposing teams guards going crazy having breakout games. The bigs have held there own.
 
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