Alabama @ Tennessee - 2/15/18

[stwainfan]

Where does Russell rank among Tennessee greats?

 

[JS]

Reading this I just had one of those whole body shiver shakes in glorious anticipation. Does that make me a bad person?

It makes you a reasonable UConn fan with a memory.

In other words, somewhere in between those who haven't been around long enough and those who've been around too long.

 

[dtbtbtb]

I have to admit that the second most enjoyable thing for me in WBB is TN losing a game

 

[Bayareahusky]

Russell needs more "dog" in her. Can you imagine Russell with the temperament of Taurasi. Or if the arguable GOAT is too strong a comparison, imagine her with the temperament of Marina Mabrey. Some fire, some edge, some "over my dead body are you going to win"

There was an episode of Saved by the Bell where it turned out Screech was an excellent football kicker if *and only if* he got angry before the game. So they resorted to spraying him with ketchup before the big game. Maybe try that. Couldn't hurt.

Hah! Yes totally agreed..... I remember she has played one game that I have seen when her best was really on display... I think it was Notre Dame game last season.... Most of the time she is pretty pedestrian.... not hustling... or doing the fundamentals on a consistent basis.... like boxing out.... leads to some embarrassing highlights..... she is a good player.... but has always performed less than her potential, IMHO

When I saw your post, I thought of Wile E. Coyote..... and when he had a picture of the Roadrunner put in front of his face, then his motor got super revved up..... that is what Mercedes needs!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

It makes you a reasonable UConn fan with a memory.

In other words, somewhere in between those who haven't been around long enough and those who've been around too long.

Belly laugh! Good medicine.

 

[Shades]

would you waste a pick, any pick, on her?

You don’t want to judge too much on one game. She’s usually not spectacular but she’s been fairly consistent. She’s only one of three Lady Vols to ever accumulate over 40 career double doubles.

I thought she looked great offensively against the likes of 6’7 Teaira McCowan of Mississippi St. Nice face up game. Can shoot from distance. She could use some work defensively. I don’t think she’s hopeless in that regard. Get a good coach to work with her. She seems to conserve energy, probably because Tennessee relies on her for heavy minutes. I think she played 40 last night? In the WNBA, she can expend more energy in shorter bench minutes.

My WNBA team picks #12, so if no one clearly better was available at that pick, I wouldn’t be mad if they chose Russell. That would be pretty good value for her. By comparison, I think she’ll be better than Imani Stafford-McGee, who went #10 in a recent draft.

 

[EricLA]

I have to admit that the second most enjoyable thing for me in WBB is TN losing a game

 

[j66kicker]

I was definitely febrile when I did your quiz the other day; if I'd been fully healthy, I would have gotten 25 right and not made out-of-bounds remarks.

Dang - I learned another new word on the Boneyard! I already have the three people I'm going to say it to tomorrow picked out. (Glad [hope?] you're no longer febrile.)

 

[Charliebball]

Alabama celebration in the locker room after the game:

 

[DefenseBB]

Alabama celebration in the locker room after the game:

Why not just say, "Hey Tennessee: wound, salt, rub vigorously..." Ouch. I love it!

 

[Shades]

 

[Shades]

 

[Shades]

 

[Shades]

 

[JS]

Well, that was painful.

She seemed lost. On the verge of crying.

Kind of wish I hadn't watched. Schadenfreude may be [and is] alive and well, but the misery of that particular individual isn't part of it.

Pat's methodologies on the court are (perhaps unfortunately, being outdated even in Pat's time) on full display.

The stark contrast is in personality. Pat's ability to inspire huge effort by fear of her icy glare and excoriating tongue, versus "Gosh, they just won't put out the effort, and I don't understand why not."

SMH, one averts one's eyes from the roadside spectacle. For the moment, I'd rather just think Go UConn!!

 

[Alydar]

The way Tenn runs hot & cold I wouldn't be shocked to see them beat Missouri. They remind me of the Hare in its race with the Tortoise. Imbued with superior talent the Hate raced out to a commanding lead and then stopped to admire itself. Watch Tenn when they have had a very good run and their opponent calls a time out. They celebrate like they just won a FF game. And more often than not they come back out on the court and lose whatever lead they had.

 

[eebmg]

Why not just say, "Hey Tennessee: wound, salt, rub vigorously..." Ouch. I love it!

2 4 6 8. Who do we appreciate. Vols Vols Heyyyyy Vols

 

[eebmg]

Well, that was painful.

She seemed lost. On the verge of crying.

Kind of wish I hadn't watched. Schadenfreude may be [and is] alive and well, but the misery of that particular individual isn't part of it.

Pat's methodologies on the court are (perhaps unfortunately, being outdated even in Pat's time) on full display.

The stark contrast is in personality. Pat's ability to inspire huge effort by fear of her icy glare and excoriating tongue, versus "Gosh, they just won't put out the effort, and I don't understand why not."

SMH, one averts one's eyes from the roadside spectacle. For the moment, I'd rather just think Go UConn!!

Seems very familiar to the LSU comments. Cut and Paste?

 

[Phil]

Dang - I learned another new word on the Boneyard! I already have the three people I'm going to say it to tomorrow picked out. (Glad [hope?] you're no longer febrile.)

I'm glad I'm not going to see you tomorrow.

 

[cabbie191]

Reading this I just had one of those whole body shiver shakes in glorious anticipation. Does that make me a bad person?

Well, not "bad" maybe but perhaps less than gracious vis a vis our Lady Vol friendly posters! I suspect you are far from alone in this.

 

[cabbie191]

Seems very familiar to the LSU comments. Cut and Paste?

Actually, you could throw in a whole host of LV losses over the past few years. CHW pressers are almost always hard to watch then, I think, even for those who are happy about the game result.

And that's the thing that I don't really understand. I get that on the surface, she looks to be a successful coach if you look at the win-loss record. But man, it's hard to believe this is a woman who is really enjoying her job. Why she is sticking this out is a mystery to me.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Well, not "bad" maybe but perhaps less than gracious vis a vis our Lady Vol friendly posters! I suspect you are far from alone in this.

I will atone for this by cheering on the Lady Vols next time they play ... next time they play ...hmmm, next time they play. ... Nope, stumped.

 

[cabbie191]

Well, I see that Tennessee won this part of the game, kind of how Louisville won one part of the game against UConn!

 

[Woof 101]

Well, that was painful.

She seemed lost. On the verge of crying.

Kind of wish I hadn't watched. Schadenfreude may be [and is] alive and well, but the misery of that particular individual isn't part of it.

Pat's methodologies on the court are (perhaps unfortunately, being outdated even in Pat's time) on full display.

The stark contrast is in personality. Pat's ability to inspire huge effort by fear of her icy glare and excoriating tongue, versus "Gosh, they just won't put out the effort, and I don't understand why not."

SMH, one averts one's eyes from the roadside spectacle. For the moment, I'd rather just think Go UConn!!

Every thing you say here could apply to our men's team, not word for word but damn close....

 

[ocoandasoc]

The Tenn/Mizzou game could go either way. The LV's are a tough match-up for Missouri. They'd probably rather play South Carolina or Mississippi State again.

If Mizzou can handle Tenn's ball pressure and not turn the ball over, and hit seven or eight threes, they can win. They're at home and there will be a big crowd. Mizzou's defense has been solid all year. Not sure if Pingeton will let Tenn shoot from outside and pack in the middle, or play them straight up. They'll be showing a lot of switching on defense and Tenn will be looking at a lot of zone.

I suspect TN will try to penetrate and get the ball in to Russell. How the game is called could be a factor as Mizzou runs out of bigs real quickly. I expect TN to press a lot since it's always an issue with Mizzou, though not as much overall this year thanks to Auldridge. (But the Auburn press forced a lot of turnovers in their last game.)

Tenn has more talent, for sure. But Missouri has more discipline and better coaching.

Miss St will win the SEC -- but could get beat in the SEC Tournament. Missouri and Tenn will each place somewhere between 2nd and 7th based on their last three games. With Georgia, South Carolina, LSU and Texas A&M also still all in the mix for hosting NCAA games depending on their finish and wins in the SEC Tournament. (The SEC has five teams at 9 and 4, and one at 10 and 3 with numerous match-ups between the teams still to play.) Alabama could even make the Big Dance if they win a few more games. Injuries, illness, home court, SEC Tourney pairings, bench depth, and lower ranked teams with nothing to lose, all could play a factor in how the conference plays out.

I root for UConn unless they're playing Missouri, but you have to admit the SEC is lot more interesting than the AAC.