Penn State (Brianna Banks) On TV Tonight

[Intpseeker]

Take a good look at Tennessee because that will be us in 5-10 years when Geno is gone.

 

[pinotbear]

Take a good look at Tennessee because that will be us in 5-10 years when Geno is gone.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I just went back and replayed Holly "the wonder coach's" pregame talk and her theme was RELENTLESS! TN was so psyched after the speech that they went out and fell asleep standing up! RELENTLESS my butt! How can you work in the presence of Pat Head Summitt for close to 30 years and have absolutely NO CLUE how to coach a WCBB team!
Please God, PLEASE make TN keep Holly Warlick for the next 20 years!
TN has to improve (you would hope so anyways) and UCONN gets back Ms. Boykin & Ms. Butler, and have CT & TN meet in the NCAA Tournament, UCONN would win by at least 50 points!
There isn't one TN player I would take over our roster including Lawlor & Polido! Our team has more spirit, hustle, & heart than ANYONE on TN's present roster IMHO! CT puts out more effort in 1 minute than TN puts out in the whole 40 minutes!

 

[bballnut90]

Not a great showing for Tennessee, but i think there is definitely final four potential on this team.

I think UT's rotation will end up being:
Russell
Graves
Deshields
Carter
Cooper

Reynolds
Nared when healthy
Jones

Middleton didn't look very good and Dunbar could develop into a Sidney Spencer type of player but has a long way to go. The defense looked pretty bad but everyone is getting adjusted to new players and new roles so it's to be expected early on. Tennessee historically plays outstanding defense so I have high hopes it will improve.

Offensively there is also a lot of promise even if it didn't show last night. Russell looked light years better than she did as a freshman, she's big, mobile and finishes around the basket. Graves was terrific and looked like her freshman form when she was the top freshman in the nation. Deshields looked rusty but was very much focused on feeding the posts which resulted in some turnovers but also some easy layups. She shot poorly but she'll end up being a top scorer again.

Tennessee's offense as a team looked poor. The typical throw the ball around on the perimeter to find an angle for the post and if that doesn't work, go one on one or jack up a tough shot. It isn't a championship offense, but a player like deshields can bail them out of tough spots and appears to be a better post passer than anyone Tennessee had a year ago.

I think the Final Four is a realistic and good goal for Tennessee. They have their best roster to take them there since 2008 and have a nice combination of size, experience and talent. They aren't touching UCONN but no one is this year. I think they can compete with and beat the likes of anyone outside of UCONN, ND and Baylor.

 

[Rixxx]

I agree with everyone stating UT has talented players. What I have seen over the past couple of games is the B1G will give any team a game. OSU and PSU fouled excessively and probably cost both of them the game IMHO.
DD is DD. I am most impressed with Cooper, similar to how I feel about Collier.

 

[JoePgh]

More specifically about Tennessee's talent level, I think if you (hypothetically) removed Stewie and Moriah from the picture but restored Natalie / Dejenae / Saniya, the average talent level of the remainder of UConn's roster would be at best equal, and perhaps a bit inferior, to the average talent level of the Orange Ones.

BUT, if a (sadly hypothetical) game were to be played on a neutral court between the de-Moriah-ed, de-Stewie-d Huskies and the actual Lady Vols, I think UConn would win by 10-15 points at least. That would be because of better team defense, better ball control, and smoother offense with better decision-making about where the ball should go on the next pass. The Vols are the canonical case of a team being far less than the sum of its parts (i.e., players).

Having said that, I saw a few plays last night the showed some really good passing by those in orange. Diamond made a backdoor feed to Russell, who was cutting to the basket, for a score. On another play, one of their guards found Russell who had encamped behind Penn State's zone, and she made an easy layup. The pass had to go over the hands of the defenders but be within Russell's reach, and it was.

I am guessing that these were designed plays that they practiced in just the way that they executed them in the game. It's when they have to go off-script because of a disruptive or surprising defensive approach that they go astray -- at least that is my speculation.

 

[Rocket009]

I just went back and replayed Holly "the wonder coach's" pregame talk and her theme was RELENTLESS! TN was so psyched after the speech that they went out and fell asleep standing up! RELENTLESS my butt! How can you work in the presence of Pat Head Summitt for close to 30 years and have absolutely NO CLUE how to coach a WCBB team!
Please God, PLEASE make TN keep Holly Warlick for the next 20 years!
TN has to improve (you would hope so anyways) and UCONN gets back Ms. Boykin & Ms. Butler, and have CT & TN meet in the NCAA Tournament, UCONN would win by at least 50 points!
There isn't one TN player I would take over our roster including Lawlor & Polido! Our team has more spirit, hustle, & heart than ANYONE on TN's present roster IMHO! CT puts out more effort in 1 minute than TN puts out in the whole 40 minutes!

Is it just me, or did it look like the team was asleep through Holly's Relentless pre-game talk. It did not look like the team was buying into it.

 

[j66kicker]

More specifically about Tennessee's talent level, I think if you (hypothetically) removed Stewie and Moriah from the picture but restored Natalie / Dejenae / Saniya, the average talent level of the remainder of UConn's roster would be at best equal, and perhaps a bit inferior, to the average talent level of the Orange Ones.

Not hypothetical - that's us next year (plus Bent, Irwin and The Real Danger)

 

[meyers7]

Please God, PLEASE make TN keep Holly Warlick for the next 20 years!

I agree, not sure why lot's of folks around here want her fired. I think she's doing a bang up job. If she can keep getting them to the Sweet 16 year after year after year, I'm all for her.

 

[VA Huskie]

I looked thru the comments on volnation. Best one I saw was "if PSU were playing UCONN they'd be losing by 70". Then someone else responded: "If we were playing UCONN we'd be losing by 70!". A bit of an exaggeration, but interesting that a LV fan would say that.

 

[j66kicker]

I looked thru the comments on volnation. Best one I saw was "if PSU were playing UCONN they'd be losing by 70". Then someone else responded: "If we were playing UCONN we'd be losing by 70!". A bit of an exaggeration, but interesting that a LV fan would say that.

Not necessarily an exaggeration. If they played UCONN, UCONN might want to win by 70, leave the starters in, set a few records, etc., rather than take the foot off the gas in the second half.

 

[easttexastrash]

Looking at the box score I see that both Jasmine Jones and Diamond DeShields came off the bench to shoot 11 shots each in only 18 minutes of play each. And they went a combined 5 of 22.

 

[easttexastrash]

I looked thru the comments on volnation. Best one I saw was "if PSU were playing UCONN they'd be losing by 70". Then someone else responded: "If we were playing UCONN we'd be losing by 70!". A bit of an exaggeration, but interesting that a LV fan would say that.

I think that if UCONN wanted to they could beat most teams by 70. The OSU score could have been much worse than it was.

 

[CocoHusky]

I think if you (hypothetically) removed Stewie and Moriah from the picture but restored Natalie / Dejenae / Saniya, the average talent level of the remainder of UConn's roster would be at best equal, and perhaps a bit inferior, to the average talent level of the Orange Ones.

I strongly disagree. For starters Kia > DD right now and even a healthy DD may still not close that gap.
Morgan > Anyone On Lady Vols roster
Gabby> Anyone On Lady Vols roster
Mercedes = Butler best Case.
Collier would be the most talented player on Lady Vols roster.
KLS has potential to be best player on Lady Vols roster.
Boykin & Chong could crack the Lady Vols starting line.
Name a player on Lady Vols than would start over UCONN starting line up of Butler, Nurse, Tuck, Collier, & Gabby.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I think that if UCONN wanted to they could beat most teams by 70. The OSU score could have been much worse than it was.

Yes, tOSU could have been so much worse, but why use your best up and not give the young 'uns time to play? I know you aren't suggesting that. Plus, if the Huskies were to do that, how long before someone got seriously hurt. The problem with this game was it was so early in the season that Geno had to let the big dogs run quite a bit, and Stewie had to play late to get her minutes in after a couple of dubious foul calls sat her down for so long.

Late in the game Mitchell was on the bench. Players around her were animated, looking at the Jumbotron, yet she stared straight ahead. It was the 100 yard stare. A bubble burst. bereft of hope. Yeah, your team ain't going where you've been dreaming about ... this year at least.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Take a good look at Tennessee because that will be us in 5-10 years when Geno is gone.

Take your meds.

 

[Bonpland]

Penn State looks better than Duke... at least tonight they did. If only every fan was blessed with a team playing at an all world level from the get go. South Carolina struggled with a Clemson team that is easily one of the worst teams in WCBB and Notre Dame was sluggish versus Toledo. Peyton Whitted, Spann and Teniya Page all hit big shots and attacked. Bash and Russell handled the interior. Perimeter defense and fouls were horrendous... something that will improve. DeShields will be better as the season goes on and we still have Nared, Moore and Jackson to integrate into the rotation. The look of this team is a far cry from what we will see come conference time.

We may not have a UConn level team but we are one of the "best of the rest" based on what I've seen.

From The Big Chill;

"Rationalizations are more important than sex. When was the last time you went a week without a rationalization?"

Tennessee will get much better but a Vol fan would need to have very powerful vision to find the silver lining in last night's storm cloud. They played a team with a limited number of options that's comiong off a seven win '14-'15 season.

There is much work to be done. Good luck with it.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Anybody hear any more about Banks's injury?

 

[HoopsFan21]

Lot of crying about the new rules by Lady Vol fans. They can't deal with quarters and all the foul shots.

 

[meyers7]

From The Big Chill;

"Rationalizations are more important than sex. When was the last time you went a week without a rationalization?"

One of my favorite lines from any movie. And one of my favorite movies. Jeff Goldblum.

 

[EricLA]

Lot of crying about the new rules by Lady Vol fans. They can't deal with quarters and all the foul shots.

Seriously? Well new surprise - you aren't allowed to maul or mug players any more. You have to play defense by actually moving your feet...

 

[Zorro]

I just went back and replayed Holly "the wonder coach's" pregame talk and her theme was RELENTLESS! TN was so psyched after the speech that they went out and fell asleep standing up! RELENTLESS my butt! How can you work in the presence of Pat Head Summitt for close to 30 years and have absolutely NO CLUE how to coach a WCBB team!
Please God, PLEASE make TN keep Holly Warlick for the next 20 years!
TN has to improve (you would hope so anyways) and UCONN gets back Ms. Boykin & Ms. Butler, and have CT & TN meet in the NCAA Tournament, UCONN would win by at least 50 points!
There isn't one TN player I would take over our roster including Lawlor & Polido! Our team has more spirit, hustle, & heart than ANYONE on TN's present roster IMHO! CT puts out more effort in 1 minute than TN puts out in the whole 40 minutes!

Eschew hyperbole!

 

[HoopsFan21]

Seriously? Well new surprise - you aren't allowed to maul or mug players any more. You have to play defense by actually moving your feet...

Was thinking the same thing. Can't stand all the foul shots? Teach your team to stop fouling. UConn figured out how to play tough defense without fouling. I'm not a fan of SEC basketball and all their 57-46 type games.

 

[pinotbear]

Was thinking the same thing. Can't stand all the foul shots? Teach your team to stop fouling. UConn figured out how to play tough defense without fouling. I'm not a fan of SEC basketball and all their 57-46 type games.

.. and, that's not the score, that's the number of ace bandages, ice packs and band-aids required by each team afterwards. It's not a pretty nor elegant brand of ball, and, if the game is called correctly, not a successful one either.

 

[delawarehusky]

Anybody hear any more about Banks's injury?

From Q and A with Coach W after game with Central Conn today:

Q: Do you have any updates on Brianna Banks status?A: Yeah, I mean, she’s day to day. It’s just a bad ankle sprain so hopefully she’ll be able to play for us when we get to California, but she will be day to day.

Q: I saw her sitting there on the bench and she was a little active, it looked like it was killing her to be sitting out there.A: Yeah, we could have used her twenty points, but hopefully like I said she’ll be ready to play when we get to California, but it just depends on this week and how she heals.