I think the issue with Holly Warlick as the head coach is that she has yet to leave her own definitive mark on the program. Replacing a legendary coach is always difficult. Replacing a true icon of the sport who is even famous and renown in the non-sports world is that much tougher.
But after two years, I have yet to see what Coach Warlick's trademarks and signature styles are. For example, does she prefer an offense predicated on the pick-and-roll? Does she use a lot of backscreening to make lanes open for cutters? Is she implementing a four-out, one-in motion offense, with a lot of freedom for her forwards on the perimeter? Does she employ box-and-one sets on defense or have a modified zone, or does she always play man-to-man?
Admittedly, I have only seen Tennessee play nine or ten times over the past two seasons. But it looks as if Coach Warlick's "style" is simply a rehashing of Pat Summitt's style in her later years:
- Give the ball to the star player (or designated star player)
- Let that star player (or designated star player) attempt to create
- If she creates for herself or others and it works, great
- If not, the post players need to hit the glass
To this casual observer, it seems as if Coach Warlick's best play is the offensive rebound.
Also, it seems as if the post players (Harrison and Graves) do not have any range on their shots. They are both extremely effective around the basket, but they do not have consistent mid-range/foul line jumpers. This makes it difficult for the two to play together, in that it limits offensive movement. It would be good to see one of the two developing range more so they can work a high-low, be the recipient in the pick-and-pop, etc.
Against elite teams that can match TN's size or switch players quickly, it becomes a problem, as TN is not a good three-point shooting team. Don't get me wrong, the percentages are really good (36.0 percent last season). But Tennessee only made 4.6 three point shots per game last year - that ranked
232nd in the country. And while TN got to the line a lot, its 71 percent from the charity stripe (108th in the country) left a good amount of points at the line. Tennessee went 29-6 last year in large part because of its rebounding margin, which ranked 3rd in the country; for the points it was not getting from beyond the arc or at the foul line, it was able to garner through putbacks and extra possessions.
To be honest, I think a lot of this could be corrected/improved with a healthy Ariel Massengale. She is a true playmaker, not a stand and pass point guard. She averaged 12.5 points and 5.8 assists last year, but only played in 19 games. She shot over 38 percent from three (and nearly half of her shot attempts from the floor were from three) and, in only 19 games, made more three point baskets than any other player on the team outside of Meighan Simmons. If Coach Warlick "lets her loose" and allows her to be a true playmaker, with Massengale understanding the principles of what schemes Warlick wants to run, Tennessee will definitely be an improved team.
