Sources Say: Marta Could be Much Better Than Expected

#1

Grahamland

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#1
Take this as you may, but from what I'm hearing from sources close to the program Marta Suarez could be an up and coming star in the making. Kellie recently corroborated this by saying that Marta has some "baller" in her with a grin on her face. It's starting to become clear why we weren't the only power 5 school after her. Looks like at this time they are mainly practicing her at the 3 to be Rennia's backup for rest and foul trouble, but according to the people I've talked to she has also practiced at the 4 and the 2 and has shown to be better than expected in all areas specifically the 3 and the 4. Sounding more and more like she has a much higher upside that we as fans originally thought.

According to these same sources, she also is gelling and meshing REALLY well with the players and has fit in perfectly in regards to chemistry. The returnees seem to really like playing with her.

Do not be surprised if she gets more minutes than people expect out of the gate. Would not be surprised to have her be a steady part of the rotation if she shows well under the lights. I also would not be surprised to see her and Rennia on the court at the same time in certain sets.

I've got a lot of confidence in our backcourt.

P.S. Same people have also said that Jessie has taken a big step forward in terms of confidence, defense, and ball handling. Keyen is also more than likely going to be the starting 4, and from what I'm hearing she is a bully in the paint even against size and length. Completely different player than Lou in terms of style. Her biggest concern could be the ability to step out and hit the short to midrange jumper. She doesn't do it often. I don't think it's because of incapability, but she's never had to. This could/should be alleviated by the fact that Key has practiced a lot of midrange and feels really comfortable shooting and hitting the midrange jumper.
 
#2
#2
Take this as you may, but from what I'm hearing from sources close to the program Marta Suarez could be an up and coming star in the making. Kellie recently corroborated this by saying that Marta has some "baller" in her with a grin on her face. It's starting to become clear why we weren't the only power 5 school after her. Looks like at this time they are mainly practicing her at the 3 to be Rennia's backup for rest and foul trouble, but according to the people I've talked to she has also practiced at the 4 and the 2 and has shown to be better than expected in all areas specifically the 3 and the 4. Sounding more and more like she has a much higher upside that we as fans originally thought.

According to these same sources, she also is gelling and meshing REALLY well with the players and has fit in perfectly in regards to chemistry. The returnees seem to really like playing with her.

Do not be surprised if she gets more minutes than people expect out of the gate. Would not be surprised to have her be a steady part of the rotation if she shows well under the lights. I also would not be surprised to see her and Rennia on the court at the same time in certain sets.

I've got a lot of confidence in our backcourt.

P.S. Same people have also said that Jessie has taken a big step forward in terms of confidence, defense, and ball handling. Keyen is also more than likely going to be the starting 4, and from what I'm hearing she is a bully in the paint even against size and length. Completely different player than Lou in terms of style. Her biggest concern could be the ability to step out and hit the short to midrange jumper. She doesn't do it often. I don't think it's because of incapability, but she's never had to. This could/should be alleviated by the fact that Key has practiced a lot of midrange and feels really comfortable shooting and hitting the midrange jumper.
thank you for making my day 10X better!!!
 
#4
#4
Keyen is also more than likely going to be the starting 4, and from what I'm hearing she is a bully in the paint even against size and length. Completely different player than Lou in terms of style. Her biggest concern could be the ability to step out and hit the short to midrange jumper. She doesn't do it often. I don't think it's because of incapability, but she's never had to. This could/should be alleviated by the fact that Key has practiced a lot of midrange and feels really comfortable shooting and hitting the midrange jumper.

Good to see Tamari working on her offense. She was a beast defensively, but her lack of offense held her back. If she can consistently score with different looks, Tennessee will be a much, much improved team.
 
#5
#5
Good to see Tamari working on her offense. She was a beast defensively, but her lack of offense held her back. If she can consistently score with different looks, Tennessee will be a much, much improved team.

There is also a chance Kasi could step in as the starting 5. I don't see that happening just strictly for future progress for Key as she is our future in terms of a starting center, but Kasi has been giving Key a huge run for her money. Her conditioning has been extraordinary, and wouldn't surprise me in the least to have them be interchangeable in terms of minutes or at least see a big jump in minutes for Kasi even if Key is still getting the most minutes of the two.
 
#6
#6
The good news is we'll find out soon as we play in two weeks. I like everything I have seen about Marta and others. She is still a freshman that hasn't played in anything like the SEC but at least she has some high level experience and I really like how she shoots the ball.
 
#7
#7
There is also a chance Kasi could step in as the starting 5. I don't see that happening just strictly for future progress for Key as she is our future in terms of a starting center, but Kasi has been giving Key a huge run for her money. Her conditioning has been extraordinary, and wouldn't surprise me in the least to have them be interchangeable in terms of minutes or at least see a big jump in minutes for Kasi even if Key is still getting the most minutes of the two.
Kasi's bigger problem more than her conditioning was her hands. None of the posts had particularly good hands from what I recall...not like Harrison who was remarkable in being able to corral the ball if it was thrown anywhere near her.
 
#8
#8
Kasi's bigger problem more than her conditioning was her hands. None of the posts had particularly good hands from what I recall...not like Harrison who was remarkable in being able to corral the ball if it was thrown anywhere near her.

I agree completely. Kasi had to be in perfect position. It was almost mapped out in her head. Dead on throw, Catch, Power dripple, Layup. Tamari I believe was better in that area and could catch the ball even if it was a little outside her area. Harrison, on the other hand, could catch the ball from anywhere inside the arena. Didn't matter where she was it was like her hands just gravitated towards it. I'm not sure if those instincts can be taught, but they can definitely improve in that area.
 
#9
#9
I agree completely. Kasi had to be in perfect position. It was almost mapped out in her head. Dead on throw, Catch, Power dripple, Layup. Tamari I believe was better in that area and could catch the ball even if it was a little outside her area. Harrison, on the other hand, could catch the ball from anywhere inside the arena. Didn't matter where she was it was like her hands just gravitated towards it. I'm not sure if those instincts can be taught, but they can definitely improve in that area.
Yeah...that power dribble drove me crazy. She could be unguarded, and she'd still take one dribble before going up for the layup. It was like, "Hi, I'm here if you wanna come triple team me and cause me to cough up the ball!"
 
#10
#10
Kasi's bigger problem more than her conditioning was her hands. None of the posts had particularly good hands from what I recall...not like Harrison who was remarkable in being able to corral the ball if it was thrown anywhere near her.

I think it was more not anticipating the pass
 
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#15
#15
Good to see Tamari working on her offense. She was a beast defensively, but her lack of offense held her back. If she can consistently score with different looks, Tennessee will be a much, much improved team.

Also with her offense lacking last season her defense kept TN in a lot of games. So to me it`s clear without Key on the back end, We are going to get hurt in the low post. Don`t get me wrong KK is in better shape and that`s good to see. But when it comes to defend the post blocking shots changing shots she not that type of player.
 
#17
#17
Marta is going to be fabulous....
By her own words, she is use to playing team ball, not individual ball...This will only help our girls practice the art of the give and go, and the screen game...

Teamwork baby...
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#18
#18
I agree completely. Kasi had to be in perfect position. It was almost mapped out in her head. Dead on throw, Catch, Power dripple, Layup. Tamari I believe was better in that area and could catch the ball even if it was a little outside her area. Harrison, on the other hand, could catch the ball from anywhere inside the arena. Didn't matter where she was it was like her hands just gravitated towards it. I'm not sure if those instincts can be taught, but they can definitely improve in that area.

She has a lot of room for improvement, but I agree that she will be improved if she is finally in good physical condition.
 
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#23
#23
kellie knows what it takes...she just needs time....Hopefully Pruitt will get it together by end of next year!

A wise coach, coming into a new environment/team,, has to make their own analysis before making changes...if they come in and start bashing heads and sending players away, they do not do diligence in their pre-homework...

Last year Coach K did it right,,,yes she made some decisions in-game I second guessed, as does ANY coach, right up to the Evil Genius II, himself (I often wonder why he only goes 6-8 (deep in blowouts instead of giving his deep bench some time to shine).

It is this year where I w ill look to coach K for improvements and upturns, not last year...and it is the next recruiting class that I will look for a top 10er, not this one....this one she had holes to fill and needs to fill and she has done that...backup PG, a POWERFUL PF,,,shooters,,,higher IQ's
...all addressed

I watched Kellie in 1995-96 at the SEC women's tournament and sat with Coach Summitt on two occasions....I back Coach K fully and will till she gives me reason not to!
 
#25
#25

I wonder how many minutes qualify as "solid" ?
If it's 8-10 minutes a game, then our starters won't be on the court for very long.
You can't have a roster of 13, play the end of the bench even 8 minutes a game, and have the starters play more than 25 minutes a game. There just aren't enough minutes in a game to do that. I would be surprised if that trio got that much playing time this year.
 
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