The Carter Connundrum

[armchair]

Dray Carter might be the best athlete on the team, she's our best perimeter defense, she has got a pretty jump shot--much better technique than Reynolds or Mass--yet she seems to have no offensive identity. This is a problem for us. She take threes occasionally when the ball is kicked out to her, and occasionally she gets loose for a layup--but on the whole she is too quiet offensively for a person with her athleticism and her shot.

I think the problem with both Carter--and it applies to Massengale has well--is that she doesn't seem to have a mid-range game. She ought to be able to drive past a defender and stop at the 12-14 mark and pop a jumper. But she doesn't, and so she seems mostly an afterthought in our offense. She's not big but she's not tiny either, at 5'9. Mass has the same problem--she can't do much other than take the three. Thank goodness for Burdick--who does have a classically good mid-range jumper, and who has saved this team since Harrison's injury.

It's obvious that the three-point line has made the mid-range jumper less appealing to teams: Everybody either tries to get the ball inside or jacks up threes--but teams know to guard down low and on the three-point line, and so the 12-14 mid-range jumper is important--see Burdick. We need somebody else besides her to hit them, and I think Carter is too athletic not to be a bigger contributor.

 

[Special Ed]

Try conundrum.

 

[Undercovervol]

Dray Carter might be the best athlete on the team, she's our best perimeter defense, she has got a pretty jump shot--much better technique than Reynolds or Mass--yet she seems to have no offensive identity. This is a problem for us. She take threes occasionally when the ball is kicked out to her, and occasionally she gets loose for a layup--but on the whole she is too quiet offensively for a person with her athleticism and her shot.

I think the problem with both Carter--and it applies to Massengale has well--is that she doesn't seem to have a mid-range game. She ought to be able to drive past a defender and stop at the 12-14 mark and pop a jumper. But she doesn't, and so she seems mostly an afterthought in our offense. She's not big but she's not tiny either, at 5'9. Mass has the same problem--she can't do much other than take the three. Thank goodness for Burdick--who does have a classically good mid-range jumper, and who has saved this team since Harrison's injury.

It's obvious that the three-point line has made the mid-range jumper less appealing to teams: Everybody either tries to get the ball inside or jacks up threes--but teams know to guard down low and on the three-point line, and so the 12-14 mid-range jumper is important--see Burdick. We need somebody else besides her to hit them, and I think Carter is too athletic not to be a bigger contributor.

I agree; Carter seems reluctant to shoot in general, though I believe she has a pretty good shot. One thing that may hinder her from a midrange game is her height, as you noted, but I think it would be a nice asset to her game. Just in general I want her 3point % to increase, especially after Massengale graduates. Thinking about next year, who will be our three point shooter? Carter? Middleton? Reynolds? (Oh my). I think Middleton has the most potential of all of those options.

One player who REALLY needs a midrange game is Jaime Nared. She continues to get better and better. After a putrid first half, she came back and scored in double figures, including hitting a three. I think she could be our next Burdick. She would be a tough match up for any team because of her size at the wing, though it seems like the coaching staff wants to put her on the block. I think Nared has the most potential of any of the freshman to be a dynamic offensive player...right now though she looks tentative.

 

[Ladyvol777]

I love Dray Carter game, she has two more years, just had a bad night shooting the ball, but she is coming around.

 

[Vol4Real]

her offense will get there. She struggled really bad to start the year, then got better but recently her offense fell off a bit again lately. As long as she drives the ball and play solid defense Shes good. Here offensive will come around next year.

 

[madtownvol]

Dray Carter might be the best athlete on the team, she's our best perimeter defense, she has got a pretty jump shot--much better technique than Reynolds or Mass--yet she seems to have no offensive identity. This is a problem for us. She take threes occasionally when the ball is kicked out to her, and occasionally she gets loose for a layup--but on the whole she is too quiet offensively for a person with her athleticism and her shot.

I think the problem with both Carter--and it applies to Massengale has well--is that she doesn't seem to have a mid-range game. She ought to be able to drive past a defender and stop at the 12-14 mark and pop a jumper. But she doesn't, and so she seems mostly an afterthought in our offense. She's not big but she's not tiny either, at 5'9. Mass has the same problem--she can't do much other than take the three. Thank goodness for Burdick--who does have a classically good mid-range jumper, and who has saved this team since Harrison's injury.

It's obvious that the three-point line has made the mid-range jumper less appealing to teams: Everybody either tries to get the ball inside or jacks up threes--but teams know to guard down low and on the three-point line, and so the 12-14 mid-range jumper is important--see Burdick. We need somebody else besides her to hit them, and I think Carter is too athletic not to be a bigger contributor.

The LVs just made a monumental comeback with Carter's defense being key to the turnaround. So, yeah what a perfect time to start a, "Oh my, what shall we do about Carter" thread.

Answer, play her.

Maybe we need a fan conundrum thread. When other fan bases would be ecstatic, why do some choose to wallow in negativity?

 

[Sandvol]

Dray Carter might be the best athlete on the team, she's our best perimeter defense, she has got a pretty jump shot--much better technique than Reynolds or Mass--yet she seems to have no offensive identity. This is a problem for us. She take threes occasionally when the ball is kicked out to her, and occasionally she gets loose for a layup--but on the whole she is too quiet offensively for a person with her athleticism and her shot.

I think the problem with both Carter--and it applies to Massengale has well--is that she doesn't seem to have a mid-range game. She ought to be able to drive past a defender and stop at the 12-14 mark and pop a jumper. But she doesn't, and so she seems mostly an afterthought in our offense. She's not big but she's not tiny either, at 5'9. Mass has the same problem--she can't do much other than take the three. Thank goodness for Burdick--who does have a classically good mid-range jumper, and who has saved this team since Harrison's injury.

It's obvious that the three-point line has made the mid-range jumper less appealing to teams: Everybody either tries to get the ball inside or jacks up threes--but teams know to guard down low and on the three-point line, and so the 12-14 mid-range jumper is important--see Burdick. We need somebody else besides her to hit them, and I think Carter is too athletic not to be a bigger contributor.

She does have an identity. She is best when she is sneaking around and zipping around and getting back doors and layups on steals and an occasional three. The three point line has negated a lot of midrange shots for many. They figure if I have to shoot from that far back might as well get behind the three line.

 

[Orange_Mamba]

The LVs just made a monumental comeback with Carter's defense being key to the turnaround. So, yeah what a perfect time to start a, "Oh my, what shall we do about Carter" thread.

Answer, play her.

Maybe we need a fan conundrum thread. When other fan bases would be ecstatic, why do some choose to wallow in negativity?

No it wasn't. We started making a comeback when she was out of the game. When she went out that's when the sequence of and 1's happened with Graves, Burdick, and Nared. Then Amass hit the three, Draya came in during the span of under 6 mins for like 1:30 when Graves got hurt. Then went back out at about 4:30 mins to play, because she picked up her 4th foul. I don't recall seeing her in OT either. Her defense was NOT the difference in the game. But Carter just had a bad game and never recovered from those two early fouls, she started getting down on herself.

 

[LVJeff]

"The Carter Connundrum" (sic)

Sounds like the title of a Robert Ludlum book.

 

[madtownvol]

No it wasn't. We started making a comeback when she was out of the game. When she went out that's when the sequence of and 1's happened with Graves, Burdick, and Nared. Then Amass hit the three, Draya came in during the span of under 6 mins for like 1:30 when Graves got hurt. Then went back out at about 4:30 mins to play, because she picked up her 4th foul. I don't recall seeing her in OT either. Her defense was NOT the difference in the game. But Carter just had a bad game and never recovered from those two early fouls, she started getting down on herself.

You are right. My comeback euphoria got the better of me.

Carter did not have a very good game, particularly on the offensive end. She actually did have a decent defensive game. Even though the Zags built a lead of 17, they weren't scoring tha much. The Lvs only scored 4 pts. in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. Carter helped disrupt the entry passes into the post that the the Zags were using so effectively in the first half. Otherwise, the Lvs might have had a 30 pt mountain to climb,

 

[Volfan2012]

She along with others on the team coming back next season need a lot of work on their offense. I would say Jordan Reynolds has to be more effective making that six footer after she gets in the lane like she is capable of doing. She also missed a couple of wide open layups when she rebounded and drove the entire court. I think both players give great effort and play terrific defense. I hope they both will make this next summer a time to improve their offensive game.

 

[1985Vols]

She along with others on the team coming back next season need a lot of work on their offense. I would say Jordan Reynolds has to be more effective making that six footer after she gets in the lane like she is capable of doing. She also missed a couple of wide open layups when she rebounded and drove the entire court. I think both players give great effort and play terrific defense. I hope they both will make this next summer a time to improve their offensive game.

Diamond De' Shields will take over offensively next year. Best offensive player LV's have had since Candace Parker. Watch Tia Cooper make an immediate impact as well. Carter is a role player and does not need to be counted on offensively.

 

[Amb3096]

You are right. My comeback euphoria got the better of me.

Carter did not have a very good game, particularly on the offensive end. She actually did have a decent defensive game. Even though the Zags built a lead of 17, they weren't scoring tha much. The Lvs only scored 4 pts. in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. Carter helped disrupt the entry passes into the post that the the Zags were using so effectively in the first half. Otherwise, the Lvs might have had a 30 pt mountain to climb,

Carter was bad on both ends of the floor. Albanez was able to shoot the long ball or drive past her to score/get to the FT line all night. Nared was the better option tonight because her height helped hindered some of the post entry passes and she was more aggressive on offense. Holly was smart to make the switch because Carter did not have a good game tonight.

I still think Carter/Reynolds should not be on the floor for extended periods of time together because neither of them is aggressive on offense. If they play the same next year, and Nared or Middleton improve their overall games, it would be hard not to promote at least one of them to the starting backcourt rotation.

 

[Orange Maniac]

I love Draya but the frustrating thing with her is she will begin driving the ball and have her person beat and will reverse out of the drive. Drives me crazy. Keep driving and dish inside or kick it out for a three. The constant dribbling drives me nuts and that's usually when we have to take a bad shot with the shot clock running down. Keep driving and put the pressure on the other team to make a play. with that being said, she is still one of my favorites. She plays hard all the time. This team as a whole dribbles too much. Pass the damn ball, don't dribble the night away!

 

[Amb3096]

I love Draya but the frustrating thing with her is she will begin driving the ball and have her person beat and will reverse out of the drive. Drives me crazy. Keep driving and dish inside or kick it out for a three. The constant dribbling drives me nuts and that's usually when we have to take a bad shot with the shot clock running down. Keep driving and put the pressure on the other team to make a play. with that being said, she is still one of my favorites. She plays hard all the time. This team as a whole dribbles too much. Pass the damn ball, don't dribble the night away!

She's not looking to score, and that's a problem when your shooting guard does not have a scoring mentality. On a team like Tennessee where they need to have balanced scoring across all 5 positions, that's a situation.

Like others have said, she is athletic and has decent size as a SG. She needs to retool her mindset about offense over the summer and have more consistent and reliable offensive game. If she's not averaging double digit points by the time SEC play begins, then she should not be starting.

 

[gule]

Playing with DD will make Carter's game so much better next year.

 

[Amb3096]

Playing with DD will make Carter's game so much better next year.

Actually, it has the potential to be the opposite. With such a dynamic scorer as Diamond, and a strong post tandem of Graves/Russell, it would be very easy for Carter to defer to them on offense and find herself standing around hoping they score. If she's not looking to exploit the defense, Tennessee will have a repeat of earlier this year where they kept trying to force the ball inside to Harrison and other players were bystanders.

A shooting guard needs to have a scoring mindset. Otherwise, opposing defenses will not have to work very hard when defending Tennessee if they only have to worry about 3.5 players.

 

[gule]

uh, sorry but with DD on the court, Carter won't be the shooting guard and can do what she does best. Apply tough defense on the ball, run give & goes, and be the next senior leader in chief!

 

[Amb3096]

uh, sorry but with DD on the court, Carter won't be the shooting guard and can do what she does best. Apply tough defense on the ball, run give & goes, and be the next senior leader in chief!

If DD is the shooting guard, then that means Carter will be coming off the bench, which is probably better for the rotation.

 

[teacherdean]

She does have an identity. She is best when she is sneaking around and zipping around and getting back doors and layups on steals and an occasional three. The three point line has negated a lot of midrange shots for many. They figure if I have to shoot from that far back might as well get behind the three line.

I agree, in high school Carter was a dribble drive nightmare. She can also jump out of the gym. There is so much athleticism in that girl. I wonder some times if we are taking advantage of her offensive possibilities. If you really compare some of our 5 star recruits' high school Utube clips with their play today there are quite a bit of difference. Maybe it is an adjustment situation, who knows.

On another point, Middleton played great yesterday. I think that fans' statements that she should be playing D2 ball is insane. She has the ability to be a potential great contributor for the Lady Vols. To be honest, the only problem I can see with the future of this team, is what type of a recruiting job will they do for the class of 2016. The 2015 class is good when you add Diamond D. to the mix, but we need at least two bigs in the 2016 class. It would not hurt to recruit that one top JUCO player we are after. Florida State has that one JUCO center who has been a major contributor this year.

 

[Pat4life]

The LVs just made a monumental comeback with Carter's defense being key to the turnaround. So, yeah what a perfect time to start a, "Oh my, what shall we do about Carter" thread.

Answer, play her.

Maybe we need a fan conundrum thread. When other fan bases would be ecstatic, why do some choose to wallow in negativity?

Carter defense wasn't the key. She was on the bench, during that comeback. We went with Reynolds, Mass, Burdick, Nared, and Graves. Carter is not an all around guard yet and that's fine but if she plays that way against Maryland we lose. Carter was horrible last night and that not being negative, she was, but so was Brown for MD, hopefully she bounce back against MD. We cant sing the praise of individual players who don't or didn't play well. Nice win tho, Lady Vols.

Carter, just looked out of it last night and that happens, but we don't need to make excuses as to why she didn't play well, cos I think Carter would say, she had a bad game bounce back Carter. Graves need to play better too, get to the rim ladies.

 

[Amb3096]

I agree, in high school Carter was a dribble drive nightmare. She can also jump out of the gym. There is so much athleticism in that girl. I wonder some times if we are taking advantage of her offensive possibilities. If you really compare some of our 5 star recruits' high school Utube clips with their play today there are quite a bit of difference. Maybe it is an adjustment situation, who knows.

On another point, Middleton played great yesterday. I think that fans' statements that she should be playing D2 ball is insane. She has the ability to be a potential great contributor for the Lady Vols. To be honest, the only problem I can see with the future of this team, is what type of a recruiting job will they do for the class of 2016. The 2015 class is good when you add Diamond D. to the mix, but we need at least two bigs in the 2016 class. It would not hurt to recruit that one top JUCO player we are after. Florida State has that one JUCO center who has been a major contributor this year.

It's not that Tennessee is not taking advantage of her offensive capabilities as it is Andraya not taking advantage of her offensive capabilities. She's too passive on offense, and that limits her effectiveness.

She has the tools, but not the mindset. If she commits herself to the fact that with her size and athleticism, she can be an excellent shooting guard, then the results will follow.

I agree that last night was one of Alexa's best games. She looked comfortable on the court. That bodes well for her role on the team next year.

If Jones and Russell are healthy next year, then Tennessee will be in good shape with their post game next year. I hope they do get a pair of solid posts in one of the next two recruiting cycles.

 

[Orange_Mamba]

Carter will still be the starting two. If you move Diamond from the wing to the two, then that means Kortney or Jannah gets the starting 3 spot. Which is wait and see how Jannah rebounds from her knee and does Kortney conditioning and defense get better over the summer. But I don't see why you would move Diamond from her natural position.

 

[LadyVol1908]

Yep no way Carter doesn't start at the 2 spot next year unless Jannah is ready to go full speed, which honestly I hope so. Like Amb said....we need Carter on the floor defensively but she HAS to change her mindset and become an option on offense as well. She can easily blow by any defender and pull up
For a jumper or take it all the way for a lay-up, whatever the defense gives her.

Jordan I hope works on that pull up jumper in the lane. She gets that SO easily and misses it way too much! If she works on consistently making that, she'll be hard to stop!

 

[Amb3096]

Carter will still be the starting two. If you move Diamond from the wing to the two, then that means Kortney or Jannah gets the starting 3 spot. Which is wait and see how Jannah rebounds from her knee and does Kortney conditioning and defense get better over the summer. But I don't see why you would move Diamond from her natural position.

Jaime and Diamond are interchangeable in terms of their ability to play either SG or SF. If Jaime comes in next year with a more consistent jump shot, I'd like to see her start along with Diamond and Jordan in the backcourt. If Te'a is as good as advertised, I would hope that she has the lion's share of minutes at PG by the middle of SEC season.

Carter has tremendous potential, but that's two years gone by where she is too content to be a bystander on offense. If she doesn't commit to improving that and is content to be a defensive specialist, then she should be in games only when they need a critical stop, not for 30+ minutes a game.

She has a lot of potential, and just needs to start playing up to it.