Why we won't make it past the Sweet 16, again...

#28
#28
BigOrangeArsenal said:
This is just my opinion so please TIFWIW... I am a Pearl fan, but I just feel he lacks the fundamental knowledge of the game, as well as, a discipline for his players to get Tennessee to the next level. So here goes...

#1 - Flex Offense is not an offense! We pass the ball back and forth around the arch then look for an opportunity inside. Most of the time there is little movement inside and we run down the shot clock and force a bad 3! We need to have a set offensive system, especially if we are not running and gunning anymore!

#2 - Bad substitutions! We continuously are putting the wrong line-up on the floor or making substitution faux pas. Examples: (1) Chism is subbed in with 1:00 left on the clock at the end of the first half versus Kansas! He picks up his 3rd foul, forcing him to be on the bench a majority of the game! (2) With 5-to-10 minutes left in the game against Vandy (at Vandy) and us being down 20+, not once was the starting line-up inserted in order to cut the lead! Mcbee is continuously over-played! Why is Pearl playing at all? Why are Hall & Maze not getting more minutes?

#3 - Why is Woolridge starting in front of Kenny Hall? Kenny Hall is the team's future and ultimately Chism's replacement down-low! Woolridge has been shooting terribly, lacks rebounding ability, and is essentially a tall guard out there! Conversely, Hall has been playing great in the little minutes he gets out there! Hall is young and a bit raw, but possesses a lot more natural ability than Woolridge.

#4 - Terrible Free Throw Shooting! Again, another fundamental that Pearl is not stressing! Did you see Vandy's free throw performance the other night?! That should be the standard for our team! Take entire practices shooting free throws if that's what it takes!

#5 - Why no press? For a team that boasts the nation's best in-bounding defense, we barely press anymore! We got to play our strengths and we're just not doing that!
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Forgive me, please, I do not know what tifwiw means; however, there are many flaws to your thoughts... to me anyhow:

I'll start by saying unless you can give an alternative, critism alone stands, well, alone.

I'll start with #2 by answering the questions you posted: Why is Pearl playing at all? Well, we had Tyler Smith, our All-SEC PF kicked off the team thinning an already thin front-court line-up. With Chism starting and his immediate sub being Hall (which is why Hall doesn't start, because he must come in and give Chism his first breather, unless you want Pearl or Woolridge first off the bench but then you're right back in the situation which you're complaining about) our next man off the bench is Pearl. Now, judging by your Woolridge comments we do not want him playing either so what we are really left with is Chism and Wall both starting and neither coming out of the game. Well, your theory may work, I just hope we don't get into foul trouble, fatigue, or injury.

Fatigue won't be an issue with your last point, the press. Oh, wait, yes that might not work well if we only play two bigs AND press. See, a little cohesiveness to your comments would make for much easier understanding. Complaints #2, and #5 contradict each other.

You also referred to McBee being over played but as I mentioned in another thread, he was #2 in rebounding Saturday night and he plays strong perimeter defense. I struggle to find an alternative solution for his minutes.

Lastly, as for your comment on the flex offense, I cringe as I do not really know where to start. For one, Maryland won the National Championship with this offense in 2002 and it's often utilized in situations where players are interchangeable between positions. I think this years squad epitomizes interchangeable positions, we have guys playing all over the place. It also allows for us to control the clock, as we did Saturday, and penetrate to the lane, which we did.

On another note, can I ask why we are so amp'd to beat up these guys? We beat #1 Kansas. We competed, well, AT #2 Kentucky. We've had some rough circumstances and fortunately we've had some guys step it up. The tournament is tough. When we were ranked #1 in nation we didn't make it past the Sweet 16.
 
#29
#29
andymuffins said:
Hopson has been our only consensus 5 star. Ramar smith played out of position, he was no PG. Duke Crews would have had significant PT this year and probably would have exploded with his energy.
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Ramar Smith was a helluva lot better than anyone we have suited up since, and they were both exactly what I said they were, trouble. That's bad evaluation no matter how you spin it. Hell, Hopson was supposed to be the messiah, you are seeing how that's going.

And Duke Crews was a 5 star on both Rivals and Scout and top 25 on Hoopmasters. Hopson wasn't the only consensus 5 star.
 
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#31
#31
#2 - Substititions - I agree with most of it, but Maze would only be playing more minutes if you take some from Goins, who played very well against UK. Maze hasn't played as big as he did the first 4 games after the suspensions.

#3 - Woolridge and Hall are playing different positions. Woolridge has been playing the 4 with Pearl as his backup and Hall has been backing up Chism at center (with the exception of the 2 games that Hall started over Woolridge). With BW back, I expect to see Hall coming in some at the 4 with Chism at the 5 and BW backing up Chism.

#4 - FT Shooting - I could not agree more about free throw shooting. It's been horrendous for years. Our best FT shooters (Maze and Chism) are seniors, so don't expect it to improve much next season unless the new guys can knock it down from the stripe. McBee is also a good FT shooter, but he doesn't get to the line much.


- I think the biggest problem in the tourney is our inconsistent guard play. Good guard play is essential for a deep tourney run. Inconsistent teams don't usually last long in the tourney. And closing out games will be difficult without shooting a better FT percentage.
 
#32
#32
LawVol13 said:
#6-- because we don't have the personnel in our current roster.-- Pearl deserves some serious criticism over the Vandy games, USC game, etc. But I'm not sure that anyone could do much better with this current roster. So, I'll give him a pass.
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+1

We're not good enough.

If this team even makes it to the Sweet 16, I'll be happy.
 
#33
#33
jlovevols said:
#2 - Substititions - I agree with most of it, but Maze would only be playing more minutes if you take some from Goins, who played very well against UK. Maze hasn't played as big as he did the first 4 games after the suspensions.

#3 - Woolridge and Hall are playing different positions. Woolridge has been playing the 4 with Pearl as his backup and Hall has been backing up Chism at center (with the exception of the 2 games that Hall started over Woolridge). With BW back, I expect to see Hall coming in some at the 4 with Chism at the 5 and BW backing up Chism.

#4 - FT Shooting - I could not agree more about free throw shooting. It's been horrendous for years. Our best FT shooters (Maze and Chism) are seniors, so don't expect it to improve much next season unless the new guys can knock it down from the stripe. McBee is also a good FT shooter, but he doesn't get to the line much.


- I think the biggest problem in the tourney is our inconsistent guard play. Good guard play is essential for a deep tourney run. Inconsistent teams don't usually last long in the tourney. And closing out games will be difficult without shooting a better FT percentage.
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BW would be an enormous help to the Hall and Chism allowing for a 3 man rotation with Chism, Hall, and BW... Then the debate becomes at what point is BW better than Woolridge and Pearl. Right now, as bad as things seem to be with Woolridge and Pearls unfortunate size they still provide more than BW.
 
#34
#34
TNLawVol said:
BW would be an enormous help to the Hall and Chism allowing for a 3 man rotation with Chism, Hall, and BW... Then the debate becomes at what point is BW better than Woolridge and Pearl. Right now, as bad as things seem to be with Woolridge and Pearls unfortunate size they still provide more than BW.
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Yeah, I think we're better off having Hall & Chism start and getting the majority of minutes.

PF - Hall - 25 minutes, Woolridge 15 (or Woolridge 10 & Pearl 5)
C - Chism - 30 minutes, BW 10
 
#36
#36
bigorangearsenal said:
i forgot to add...

#6 lack of player development! Prince, tyler smith, hopson, tatum are all the players they were in years past or worse! Williams and chism have only improved slightly!
#7 bad evaluation of recruiting talent! How many 5-star busts have we racked up?!? ....enough said!
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are you really saying that?
 
#37
#37
TNLawVol said:
Forgive me, please, I do not know what tifwiw means; however, there are many flaws to your thoughts... to me anyhow:

I'll start by saying unless you can give an alternative, critism alone stands, well, alone.

I'll start with #2 by answering the questions you posted: Why is Pearl playing at all? Well, we had Tyler Smith, our All-SEC PF kicked off the team thinning an already thin front-court line-up. With Chism starting and his immediate sub being Hall (which is why Hall doesn't start, because he must come in and give Chism his first breather, unless you want Pearl or Woolridge first off the bench but then you're right back in the situation which you're complaining about) our next man off the bench is Pearl. Now, judging by your Woolridge comments we do not want him playing either so what we are really left with is Chism and Wall both starting and neither coming out of the game. Well, your theory may work, I just hope we don't get into foul trouble, fatigue, or injury.

Fatigue won't be an issue with your last point, the press. Oh, wait, yes that might not work well if we only play two bigs AND press. See, a little cohesiveness to your comments would make for much easier understanding. Complaints #2, and #5 contradict each other.

You also referred to McBee being over played but as I mentioned in another thread, he was #2 in rebounding Saturday night and he plays strong perimeter defense. I struggle to find an alternative solution for his minutes.

Lastly, as for your comment on the flex offense, I cringe as I do not really know where to start. For one, Maryland won the National Championship with this offense in 2002 and it's often utilized in situations where players are interchangeable between positions. I think this years squad epitomizes interchangeable positions, we have guys playing all over the place. It also allows for us to control the clock, as we did Saturday, and penetrate to the lane, which we did.

On another note, can I ask why we are so amp'd to beat up these guys? We beat #1 Kansas. We competed, well, AT #2 Kentucky. We've had some rough circumstances and fortunately we've had some guys step it up. The tournament is tough. When we were ranked #1 in nation we didn't make it past the Sweet 16.
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First off... #2 and #5 do NOT contradict each other! You can bench your players when they are in foul trouble or having a bad game and still press! They are not mutually exclusive! ...So FAIL on that!

As for solutions to my problems... Ok, let's start with what the starting line-up should be: G Maze G Hopson G Prince F Hall F Chism

I am in favor of small-ball, run and gun, with this team since its the best use of our current talent! Maze should play a majority of the game with Goins playing extensive minutes subbing for both Hopson & Prince. Bone should also help out a Goins subbing for these two as well! Woolridge splits time with Hall. Chism plays a majority of the game with a little help from Williams & Pearl. Also, I am saying this with the mentality that Tatum is out of the rest of year.

I would like to see more guard play, especially with Maze along side of Goins or Bone! This allows us to push the ball up the court, speed up the tempo, and as an added bonus, Hopson doesn't have to dribble (bc he cant!). This also works well with the current flex offense, like back in the Loften/J. Smith days!

Next, your comparing that talent-loaded Maryland team to ours?!?!? They currently have 4 NBA players that were on that roster: Baxter, Blake, Dixon, Wilcox.

Lastly, I am writing this because I refuse for our program to settle for mediocrity! We very well can win a NC in the coming years with the amazing talent coming in, but we cannot succomb to the same mistakes as this team! We have to correct this NOW!
 
#39
#39
BigOrangeArsenal said:
Lastly, I am writing this because I refuse for our program to settle for mediocrity! We very well can win a NC in the coming years with the amazing talent coming in, but we cannot succomb to the same mistakes as this team! We have to correct this NOW!
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I can appreciate this comment for days. Well said, and I think we should all hold our teams to high standards. And yes, this is all assuming we have lost Tatum for the year; his return could help the rotation mightily
 
#41
#41
BigOrangeArsenal said:
This is just my opinion so please TIFWIW... I am a Pearl fan, but I just feel he lacks the fundamental knowledge of the game, as well as, a discipline for his players to get Tennessee to the next level. So here goes...

#1 - Flex Offense is not an offense! We pass the ball back and forth around the arch then look for an opportunity inside. Most of the time there is little movement inside and we run down the shot clock and force a bad 3! We need to have a set offensive system, especially if we are not running and gunning anymore!

#2 - Bad substitutions! We continuously are putting the wrong line-up on the floor or making substitution faux pas. Examples: (1) Chism is subbed in with 1:00 left on the clock at the end of the first half versus Kansas! He picks up his 3rd foul, forcing him to be on the bench a majority of the game! (2) With 5-to-10 minutes left in the game against Vandy (at Vandy) and us being down 20+, not once was the starting line-up inserted in order to cut the lead! Mcbee is continuously over-played! Why is Pearl playing at all? Why are Hall & Maze not getting more minutes?

#3 - Why is Woolridge starting in front of Kenny Hall? Kenny Hall is the team's future and ultimately Chism's replacement down-low! Woolridge has been shooting terribly, lacks rebounding ability, and is essentially a tall guard out there! Conversely, Hall has been playing great in the little minutes he gets out there! Hall is young and a bit raw, but possesses a lot more natural ability than Woolridge.

#4 - Terrible Free Throw Shooting! Again, another fundamental that Pearl is not stressing! Did you see Vandy's free throw performance the other night?! That should be the standard for our team! Take entire practices shooting free throws if that's what it takes!

#5 - Why no press? For a team that boasts the nation's best in-bounding defense, we barely press anymore! We got to play our strengths and we're just not doing that!
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Do not feel bad with your lack of the fundamental knowledge of the game. Learn more and you will understand Pearl better.
 
#42
#42
golf437 said:
Do not feel bad with your lack of the fundamental knowledge of the game. Learn more and you will understand Pearl better.
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Out of everything... that's what you take out of that?!

Is throwing up 3s with 30 seconds left on the shot clock fundamentally sound?

Is shooting .666 from the free throw line fundamentally sound?

Go back to the football forum Golf... actually, head to pub! Maybe someone will listen to you there! :)
 
#44
#44
I couldn't agree more with Arsenal about Pearl not developing talent.
Chism has only slightly improved in the last 2 years.
Seems Hopson is only using the program as a stepping stone. I remember a few years back when there was much debate about a few WR doing the same thing.(Kelly Washington)
I think the next 3 years will tell how good we r gonna get. Like I said in another post, CBP is great at taking 3rd tier talent and overachieving, but before we can make it to the final four, or even the elite 8, he needs to take our 2nd tier talent and overachieve.
I think hes done a great job, and hope he says forever. I'm just questioning some of his decisions. I seem to remember Wild Will saying something a few weeks back that it seems CBP has recruited himself into a corner.
I can't wait to see what he can do with the talent coming in next year.I just don't think Tobias Harris is the answer to our coaching dilema. GO VOLS!!!:rock:
 
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#45
#45
I really hope Pearl has learned from the past few years, and is holding back the reins a bit, and is going to get the team to peak at tourny time. I know this is a stretch, but heres for hoping.
 
#46
#46
lego126 said:
I really hope Pearl has learned from the past few years, and is holding back the reins a bit, and is going to get the team to peak at tourny time. I know this is a stretch, but heres for hoping.
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Well he does have a downhill schedule remaining in the regular season! I think our performance in the SEC tourney will be a true-tell sign of how we do in the NCAAs.
 
#47
#47
Wow another thread about how our basketball team isn't performing to expectations. You'd think these people would just accept it and move on. :boredom:
 
#48
#48
If they play their way or lack of play their way into that 8 seed spot again, they may be one and done. Forget the sweet sixteen if they keep playing like they're playing.
 
#49
#49
Cartervol said:
If they play their way or lack of play their way into that 8 seed spot again, they may be one and done. Forget the sweet sixteen if they keep playing like they're playing.
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i agree i see this team having the exact same result as last year. they are playing about the same so why not expect the same result
 
#50
#50
BigOrangeArsenal said:
This is just my opinion so please TIFWIW... I am a Pearl fan, but I just feel he lacks the fundamental knowledge of the game, as well as, a discipline for his players to get Tennessee to the next level. So here goes...

#1 - Flex Offense is not an offense! We pass the ball back and forth around the arch then look for an opportunity inside. Most of the time there is little movement inside and we run down the shot clock and force a bad 3! We need to have a set offensive system, especially if we are not running and gunning anymore!

#2 - Bad substitutions! We continuously are putting the wrong line-up on the floor or making substitution faux pas. Examples: (1) Chism is subbed in with 1:00 left on the clock at the end of the first half versus Kansas! He picks up his 3rd foul, forcing him to be on the bench a majority of the game! (2) With 5-to-10 minutes left in the game against Vandy (at Vandy) and us being down 20+, not once was the starting line-up inserted in order to cut the lead! Mcbee is continuously over-played! Why is Pearl playing at all? Why are Hall & Maze not getting more minutes?

#3 - Why is Woolridge starting in front of Kenny Hall? Kenny Hall is the team's future and ultimately Chism's replacement down-low! Woolridge has been shooting terribly, lacks rebounding ability, and is essentially a tall guard out there! Conversely, Hall has been playing great in the little minutes he gets out there! Hall is young and a bit raw, but possesses a lot more natural ability than Woolridge.

#4 - Terrible Free Throw Shooting! Again, another fundamental that Pearl is not stressing! Did you see Vandy's free throw performance the other night?! That should be the standard for our team! Take entire practices shooting free throws if that's what it takes!

#5 - Why no press? For a team that boasts the nation's best in-bounding defense, we barely press anymore! We got to play our strengths and we're just not doing that!
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Your lack of basketball knowledge is so glaring I really shouldnt even bother to respond. But when people say dumb things I feel compelled to correct them...it's just the way I am.

1) The Flex is an offense. It is a very good offense at that. It spreads the floor and makes every person on the other team play defense. If you are patient enough you can get a wide open shot whenever you want. The flex IS a set offensive system. In fact it is more of a set offensive system than any single play Pearl could call.

2) Pearl is played because of the suspensions. We don't really have a choice. He actually plays pretty good D and rebounds efficiently. Why are you complaining about decisions made in the Kansas game? We won, sheesh. Maybe Pearl realized in the Vandy game that the team was just not gonna make a run and decided to rest the starters at the end to avoid injury... not many teams come back from 25 down with 5 minutes left.

3) Kenny Hall starting at the 4 in our offense has him playing out of position. He only clogs up the lane and gives Chism less room to work with. We need to have a more mobile 4 man (Woolridge, T. Smith, eventually Tobias). The starting lineup is not the problem. Trust me, I've played the post for 12 years including 3 at the college level.

4) You can't afford to spend 30-45 minutes working on free throws in practice. That puts your game preparation on hold hence affecting our performance on gameday more than missing free throws would. Working on free throws has to be done individually by spending hours in the gym before and after practice.

5) Not pressing IS playing to our strengths. We do not have the depth to be running and gunning all the time. Trying to press with 2 centers (Hall and Chism, which is what you want to see) on the floor at the same time is a recipe for disaster.

Last I checked the Sweet 16 aint bad. Duke hasnt made it past the Sweet 16 in 6 years. Let's not kid ourselves here...we arent even close to the program that Duke is. So making the Sweet 16 would be a good season. Anything above that is overachieving.
 
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