Diamond Deshields officially to Tennessee

[Tonyc]

The UConn Tenn rivalry is DEAD. Pat Killed it and you cant resurrect the dead. For some Tenn fans the chance to meet UConn again and knock them off is a dream. To knock off UConn is a dream that wont come true. The reality is UConn will destroy and embarrass Tenn if they were to meet in the NCAAs. Tenns record in the NCAAs has not been very good over the past few years. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and thinking things will change. Tenns thinking needs to change if they expect to get to the FF. Getting the best players is only part of it. Getting those kids to play as a team and share the ball it most of it.

LV fans are excited and dreaming again of a NC. DD is their savior just like Russell was and at 6'6 she didnt start. DD has given LV fans hope of a NC again, however by the time DD starts most of the current roster will have graduated or be on their way out so a new team will have to be recruited. Nared Cooper and DD are a good start but where is the chemistry, the nucleus, the leadership on a team that still needs to surround them with post players??? To many times over the past few years Tenn has had the talent and struggled. Why? Continuation of the same mistakes. Lack of teaching and lack of discipline when the kids continue to make the same mistakes. Look at the box scores for Tenn and look at turnovers, traveling, and assists. Thats where the problem is and it hasnt changed. I dont see that changing with a couple of good players either. To build chemistry you need a nucleus, you need discipline, you need to teach and drill players on what to do.

Nared Cooper and DD are a start but you need to surround them with top players and top players want to score so sharing the ball is a big deal. Thats one of the reasons that teams like Stanford, LVille ND and UConn continue to get top players. Thats also one of the reasons imo why when Tenn got the 6 pack most of them left when Parker came.

The posts in this thread are very good reading. I think most fans have brought up some very good points. Tenn is rebuilding and Nared Cooper and DeShields are a good start and Tenn needs to build around them. In the old days when it was just UConn and Tenn they both pretty much competed for most of the top kids. Now there are a lot of very good teams and some of those teams have made the FF over the years. So the competition for top players is spread out over many teams not just UConn and Tenn. In any event UConn looks like they are position to go to the FF over the next 6 years, we will see who else joins them.

 

[meyers7]

Congrats to TN. They really need some talent down there. As for the future, well DD isn't playing 14-15 and they haven't even shown they can get to a FF yet, let alone a NC game. Let them first put in a FF appearance before we start mentioning them for NC's.

The next year they will have DD, 15-16. But lose Burdick, Harrison and Massengale. Still should have a very good team, (DD, Cooper, Russell??, Graves, Tucker, Carter, Nared) although not much height. However, that's Stewart/Jefferson's senior year. Add in Tuck, Williams, KLS, Nurse, Collier, Boykin, Butler, that's pretty formidable. And did I mention that UCONN still has Stewart as a senior?

After Stewart/Jefferson graduate, well that's 3 seasons down the road. Lot's of things can/will change by then. '15 recruiting isn't even done and '16 is just starting. So who knows what any of the teams will look like in 16/17 or beyond.

I'm not really gonna worry about TN for a least a couple years.

 

[Boxerpups4me]

Very interesting thread here, as are most on the boneyard. As a vol fan, I think we are building a team talented enough to compete with uconn again and make any future tournament games interesting, maybe not on the same level as it used to be, obviously because the pat-geno element won't be there, but there will still be that nostalgic value to any future games. But you can see that there is still an intense fan interest in a potential uconn tenn matchup, especially if both teams have elite talent. I think where Tennessee will be at a disadvantage is coaching. holly is a good coach, but she hasn't yet proven herself to even be near the level of coaching that geno possesses. I also see geno keeping uconn title contenders until be retires.

 

[stwainfan]

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...star-diamond-deshields-transferring-tennessee
A few comments from Antonelli.
I see the backcourt of Cooper, DeShields, Carter, Reynolds, and Middleton as a very talented group.

 

[msf22b]

In a theoretical matchup in the next two years.

Geno would exploit UTenn's lumbering interior defense
which can be best characterized as "never help."
Stewie, Kiah and KML would run wild with their hi-ho.
And the slashers would have a field day.

Notre Dame didn't have ample interior defense, overwhelmed by size, agility and talent.
But at least they tried.
Understood what the problem was.
Just didn't have the size or ability to compete effectively.

Against UTenn it would be mayhem.
Their interior D is clueless; and DD's strengths will have no impact there.
Make last night's Spurs dissection of the Heat resemble even competition.

I've always advocated for a renewal of the series.
And I believe that Holly will think that she now has the horses;
that a regular-season win over UConn
will result in a life-time contract, big bucks and a nomination for sainthood.
Just watch her push for a renewal for next season

But she will rue the day that she ever dreamed that one up.

Diamond will get her points on volume shooting
And UConn wins by 40.

 

[BooRadley]

As far as, recapturing the magic of the old rivalry goes, I agree with Tony, those days are happily gone and live on only in the night terrors of those who lived them.

One of the few positives, springs from the choice to place the “Summitt” behind bars…. [Good lord, for the sake of the children, I do hope that it remains forever shackled in its inglorious pit of doom and despair, its denizens shuttering under the grotesque thumbs of their overlords.]

Unfortunately, I suppose it is inevitable that UConn and UTenn will meet in the tourney someday, but for the sake of all that is good and holy, I hope that day holds off for as long as possible.

The truth is that the fanbases just don’t do well together… the typical Utenn fan may be a civilized human being outside of his/her/its world of WCBB fandom, but he/she/it is most definitely a barbarian inside that world. Fandom is a war to them. Not a fun, playful, normal kind of war typical of normal, emotionally healthy, semi-rational sports fans that can be found from north to south and coast to coast, but a dark, dank, dismal kind of war dripping with delusion, demonization & despair. Think typical fandom and magnify the devolution effect of fandom by several orders of magnitude… then add the equivalent of conversational brass knuckles, all manner of shanks, shivs & saliva. For them, outsiders must be stripped of their dignity & humanity and paraded naked in front of the little folk as a warning. Other teams coaches and players must be discredited on a personal level. Disagreement must be destructive and completely disagreeable.

Obviously, those few UTenn fans that are closer in fan temperament to LV9 and AVF are engaging and easy to deal with in a forum like the BY. BUT, be advised…. this is a Pandoric box that will be opened… the phantasmagoria, ghosts, grotesque sprites, malicious, mischievous and malevolent goblins will once again be set upon WCBB fandom. The question is::: Are you ready for them?

So, for me, there is little else to be said other than BOO, hiss, bah to a Uconn – Utenn game.

Old-timers will see my post for what it is, a true softening of my long held opinion on the topic…. For the more recent members of our BY community, believe me.., I’ve mellowed.

Have a nice day
Boooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[LadyVols9]

Notre Dame was missing their senior center and arguably their most important piece when UCONN exploited their interior defense. that changed everything. you can't leave that part out of the story.

In a theoretical matchup in the next two years.


Notre Dame didn't have ample interior defense, overwhelmed by size, agility and talent.
But at least they tried.
Understood what the problem was.
Just didn't have the size or ability to compete effectively.

 

[LadyVols9]

Who wins national POY when Diamond starts playing again and Stewart is a senior?

 

[Icebear]

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...star-diamond-deshields-transferring-tennessee
A few comments from Antonelli.
I see the backcourt of Cooper, DeShields, Carter, Reynolds, and Middleton as a very talented group.

Ugh, most of us simply don't care. Notice that the responses are mostly expressions of disinterest. It is not a Tennessee board. It would be nice to have an executable filter to not even see any post involving Tennessee. Not reading it simply is not enough. It is simply irritating.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Diamond is a true difference maker and there's no reason why she won't lead the Lady Vols back to the Final Four during her playing days at Tenn. Diamond has the ability to takeover games like Parker did and the Lady Vols will win games they are now losing. Projecting the Lady Vols future roster, IMHO Diamond will play with more talent then Parker did and Parker did win two National Championships. Have to think Diamond will win at least one National Championship while she plays for the Lady Vols. Geno and UConn can't win them all.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Who wins national POY when Diamond starts playing again and Stewart is a senior?

That's an easy one. Stewart, of course, and the voting won't even be close. Stewart will pretty much sweep every POY award possible the next two years in my opinion.

 

[Bestiarius]

Diamond is a true difference maker and there's no reason why she won't lead the Lady Vols back to the Final Four during her playing days at Tenn. Diamond has the ability to takeover games like Parker did and the Lady Vols will win games they are now losing. Projecting the Lady Vols future roster, IMHO Diamond will play with more talent then Parker did and Parker did win two National Championships. Have to think Diamond will win at least one National Championship while she plays for the Lady Vols. Geno and UConn can't win them all.

Parker had plenty of support. For instance, I seem to recall the year Parker came in TN got the Blue Star #1, 2, 4, and 5 players plus #16 Anosike.

 

[LadyVols9]

Parker had plenty of support. For instance, I seem to recall the year Parker came in TN got the Blue Star #1, 2, 4, and 5 players plus #16 Anosike.

True but the projected roster at TN will have WAY more depth and athleticism than Parker's teams.

 

[JoePgh]

Ugh, most of us simply don't care. Notice that the responses are mostly expressions of disinterest. It is not a Tennessee board. It would be nice to have an executable filter to not even see any post involving Tennessee. Not reading it simply is not enough. It is simply irritating.

Hmmm, 114 posts on a thread that nobody cares about? All these people who don't care enough to post expressions of disinterest?

It reminds me of the adolescent males on ESPN boards who regularly post messages about how boring and useless women's basketball is (posting on a WBB forum, of course).

This is not a Tennessee board -- no one is confused about that. But, especially now that the Orange Ones are assembling a level of talent that could present some serious competition, it is of interest to see how people would handicap a potential future match-up between the two teams.

It would be even better if that match-up actually were to occur, particularly in the regular season when it is not forced by NCAA pairings.

 

[Tonyc]

Notre Dame was missing their senior center and arguably their most important piece when UCONN exploited their interior defense. that changed everything. you can't leave that part out of the story.

So what UConn lost to ND how many times with injured players and I dont hear you talking about UConns injuries. You win as a team with what youve got and you lose as a team with what youve got. UConn beat Stanford ND Ohio St PennSt Duke MD without a healthy KML and Tuck and won most of those games on the road. UConn beat ND by 20+ with poor outside shooting or it might have been by more. Why not bring that up. ND lost period. Injuries are part of the game. Clock Work Orange against Rutgers was part of the game wasnt it. How bout .0002 against Baylor was part of the game too. Not bring up that are we?

Dont mean to be so mean but Im tired of hearing excuses why ND lost. Now for Tenn. DD will make a difference however with a new roster of players to surround her Nared and Cooper. They will have to almost start from scratch with post players and rebounders. I dont see Tenn getting it done with a small lineup. It is critical for Holly to get some bigs who can play for Tenn to make the elite 8 and FF.

 

[RadyLady]

Well UConn does have that Geno guy running their team. I hear he's a very good coach.

Wasn't my post actually, I was commenting on the post previous where we had 2 sub par and futuristicly untried teams noted as going to be 'great' and UConn with simply was and is going to be 'very good', the greatness yet to be determined, that's all.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that seriously.

Believe me, the fact that we have Geno is part of the irony of that post.

 

[LadyVols9]

I was simply responding to the post. ND losing her at that point in the season did change everything for them. the same way UCONN looked better when KML was back on the court. every news commentator at ESPN noted the problem for ND being their lack of post defense with NA out with an injury. seems like you are going off on a rant for no reason. it was just a thought.

So what UConn lost to ND how many times with injured players and I dont hear you talking about UConns injuries. You win as a team with what youve got and you lose as a team with what youve got. UConn beat Stanford ND Ohio St PennSt Duke MD without a healthy KML and Tuck and won most of those games on the road. UConn beat ND by 20+ with poor outside shooting or it might have been by more. Why not bring that up. ND lost period. Injuries are part of the game. Clock Work Orange against Rutgers was part of the game wasnt it. How bout .0002 against Baylor was part of the game too. Not bring up that are we?

Dont mean to be so mean but Im tired of hearing excuses why ND lost. Now for Tenn. DD will make a difference however with a new roster of players to surround her Nared and Cooper. They will have to almost start from scratch with post players and rebounders. I dont see Tenn getting it done with a small lineup. It is critical for Holly to get some bigs who can play for Tenn to make the elite 8 and FF.

 

[DaddyChoc]

You mean an irrelevant few days to WCBB and the Boneyard.

come on Ice, we know its relevant... you're bigger than that bro

 

[Icebear]

Hmmm, 114 posts on a thread that nobody cares about? All these people who don't care enough to post expressions of disinterest?

It reminds me of the adolescent males on ESPN boards who regularly post messages about how boring and useless women's basketball is (posting on a WBB forum, of course).

This is not a Tennessee board -- no one is confused about that. But, especially now that the Orange Ones are assembling a level of talent that could present some serious competition, it is of interest to see how people would handicap a potential future match-up between the two teams.

It would be even better if that match-up actually were to occur, particularly in the regular season when it is not forced by NCAA pairings.

Responding negatively is the measure I used as not caring because it was obvious someone would make your suggestion.

 

[Icebear]

come on Ice, we know its relevant... you're bigger than that bro

No, DC, I truly tired of the perpetual LV posts and presence. As I said I would love a way to filter it out because they aren't relevant until they prove they can make the FF.

 

[geneticrex]

Notre Dame was missing their senior center and arguably their most important piece when UCONN exploited their interior defense. that changed everything. you can't leave that part out of the story.

As unfortunate as it was for ND to lose their center, I have no problem playing that game again with a 100% KML, Tuck and Banks, with ND's center on the floor.

ND had their center in last years FF against UCONN, while UCONN's center was playing on 2 injured wheels. ND's center made zero difference in that game and she would have made little difference in this years game and if UCONN was at 100%, the outcome would have been worse, but these games aren't played with "if's". Except for injuries to multiple 1st team All-Americans and the transfer of EDD, UCONN may have been playing for title 15, or 16 last year, but that's just all speculation.

UCONN was better at all 5 starting positions and has the match-up nightmare of the century playing the 4. As soon as Stewart came into her own in last year's tournament, ND chances of pulling out one of their last second, or overtime miracles was relegated to the dustbin of history.

 

[LadyVols9]

As unfortunate as it was for ND to lose their center, I have no problem playing that game again with a 100% KML, Tuck and Banks, with ND's center on the floor.

ND had their center in last years FF against UCONN, while UCONN's center was playing on 2 injured wheels. ND's center made zero difference in that game and she would have made little difference in this years game and if UCONN was at 100%, the outcome would have been worse, but these games aren't played with "if's". Except for injuries to multiple 1st team All-Americans and the transfer of EDD, UCONN may have been playing for title 15, or 16 last year, but that's just all speculation.

UCONN was better at all 5 starting positions and has the match-up nightmare of the century playing the 4. As soon as Stewart came into her own in last year's tournament, ND chances of pulling out one of their last second, or overtime miracles was relegated to the dustbin of history.

I am not ND fan but I would still give ND's backcourt the edge. JL and KM were the best backcourt in the country last year.

 

[BooRadley]

I am not ND fan but I would still give ND's backcourt the edge. JL and KM were the best backcourt in the country last year.

So, I take it that you live in Colorado.

Boo

 

[LadyVols9]

So, I take it that you live in Colorado.

Boo

Nah, the great state of Tennessee! lol I was just very impressed with their guard play last year.

 

[Boxerpups4me]

No, DC, I truly tired of the perpetual LV posts and presence. As I said I would love a way to filter it out because they aren't relevant until they prove they can make the FF.

Hey ice, it's like one thread on a superstar player who choose her school. trust me, I look over these threads all the time and there are scant threads concerning lady vol basketball. At volnation I enjoy keeping up with threads concerning uconn. It's sometimes nice to get a diff prospective. If the uconn tenn rivalry wasn't such a huge moment in wcbb, then I doubt one would hardly take notice of a lady vol thread.