Kortney Dunbar ('14) commits to Tennessee

[EricSD]

I don't post much here anymore, but I will say over a year ago that, without mentioning specific names, the Tennessee coaches said their number one priority in this class was a shooter. Dunbar has been mentioned by Keil Moore, Bret McCormick, and Chris Hansen as being one of the best shooters in the country, with a mythical race between Courtney Ekmark, Jaycee Coe, and Dunbar for the title for the best.

She recently grew to 6'2 which makes her an entriguing prospect and may not be reflected in her ranking on some sites. However, I expect Tennessee wanted for her outside shooting because the strength of our team IMO will be the post game of Graves, Russell, and Izzy. Shooters like Middleton and Dunbar will give them room to operate. My biggest concern for Dunbar is can she become a Division 1 level defender in order to stay on the floor.

Middleton has been a favorite of mine for years, and I do think she is underrated. I've seen her go toe to toe with Canada, McCarty, and Dangerfield. She may lack some of the athleticism they possess, but she makes up with it withheld shooting, flash, and basketball IQ. I think she is a great compliment to our roster.

Our biggest need at this point is post depth IMO, and I'm optimistic that we will land White or Wilson. Either one would give us a great class and Green or Nared would just be gravy after that.

I think losing Tucker hurts, but I'm confident we have a Final 4 caliber team for the next couple of years.

As most UCONN fans have said over and over, we are so happy that Tennessee nation is thrilled with their players. If all those people saw Dunbar, and she's really one of the 3 best shooters in the nation, why have all of them left her ranked north of 70? She must have zero ball handling, zero defense, and play on 1 leg. As for Middleton, same thing. There's a reason why she's rated 25+ if everyone has seen her. Now I could understand it if she played for some random high school and never played AAU ball before, but if she's gone "toe to toe" with some great guards and outplayed them (as folks on your board claim), then that means she's been seen by all the "scouts" and something is woefully wrong with the ranking services.

No one is saying they aren't nice players. But to pretend that you have a top 20 recruiting class at this point is comical. They are probably similar to recent players UCONN has recruited such as Engeln and Gardler and Tahirah Williams. All of those kids were "intriguing" prospects that UCONN landed and Engeln rated as high as 30 by Peach State. Now maybe Dunbar and Middleton will end up being much better than their rating. Maybe they are as terrific as Tennessee fans fantasize about.

As I said in another post, next year you will have starters of Massengale, Carter, Burdick, Graves and Harrison/Russell. You will have solid players off the bench in the other center, Jones, Reynolds, and I'm not sure how much you can expect out of Phillips or Moore. But with the 5 starters i mentioned plus 2 or 3 off the bench, it's not like the freshmen will be needed in big games anyway, so I'm not sure why all the Tennessee fans efforts to convince us that their recruits are world beaters. They are average players who have some nice strengths, and hopefully for Tennessee fans, will develop into very competent role players.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Oh I love hearing from the UT fans, and yes, they serve to stir up the old loyalty index..... I wish them well and hope they have a good year..... Don't see how they will be a factor in Nashville..... maybe if Mercedes has a whale of a frosh yr......

Reading the various comments from UT fans here is always entertaining...... whoever said that the UT coaches have done yeoman work "developing" Meighan Simmons? On Geno's team she would still be riding the bench with her absence of discipline.... just because you got better doesn't mean you have come as far as you need to come...... and yes the comparison between Chong and Dunbar as lower 50 recruits.... as a couple of people pointed out.... Chong was voted HSPOY .... which is pretty incredible for being rated 75 by a couple of services.....

Keep the comments coming UT fans, I sincerely love to see your comments..... and I would love to be playing you and putting the thump on you, but that series was called off as you know.

 

[Phil]

Haters are my motivators

Sad...
and irrelevant.

 

[jscott]

As most UCONN fans have said over and over, we are so happy that Tennessee nation is thrilled with their players. If all those people saw Dunbar, and she's really one of the 3 best shooters in the nation, why have all of them left her ranked north of 70? She must have zero ball handling, zero defense, and play on 1 leg. As for Middleton, same thing. There's a reason why she's rated 25+ if everyone has seen her. Now I could understand it if she played for some random high school and never played AAU ball before, but if she's gone "toe to toe" with some great guards and outplayed them (as folks on your board claim), then that means she's been seen by all the "scouts" and something is woefully wrong with the ranking services.

No one is saying they aren't nice players. But to pretend that you have a top 20 recruiting class at this point is comical. They are probably similar to recent players UCONN has recruited such as Engeln and Gardler and Tahirah Williams. All of those kids were "intriguing" prospects that UCONN landed and Engeln rated as high as 30 by Peach State. Now maybe Dunbar and Middleton will end up being much better than their rating. Maybe they are as terrific as Tennessee fans fantasize about.

As I said in another post, next year you will have starters of Massengale, Carter, Burdick, Graves and Harrison/Russell. You will have solid players off the bench in the other center, Jones, Reynolds, and I'm not sure how much you can expect out of Phillips or Moore. But with the 5 starters i mentioned plus 2 or 3 off the bench, it's not like the freshmen will be needed in big games anyway, so I'm not sure why all the Tennessee fans efforts to convince us that their recruits are world beaters. They are average players who have some nice strengths, and hopefully for Tennessee fans, will develop into very competent role players.

Nobody said that middleton and dunbar are world beaters and that just them alone makes a top 20 class.
Just simply put underrated recruits. Im pretty sure Mercedes Russell was very underrated at first... She went from unranked to top 5 to number 1 real quick. Russell and dunbar have had similar stories written about them online about gaining national attention in a hurry all of a sudden. Russell first gained the national attention from being unknown to number 1. And im not saying dunbar is nearly as good as russell because i have not seen too much on her to know everything. But both of them have had major growth spurts. Russell use to be 5'11 and she sprout up to 6'6 and dunbar went from 5'7 to 5'11 to 6'2 quickly over a short period of time. These girls are still growing in high school sometimes players pop of nowhere. The term UNDER THE RADAR would be a perfect fit. Dunbar just grew to 6'2 and she pretty much just started playing aau basketball and getting out in the national media ESPN does not even have a rating for her yet thats how new she is just like russell was new to the whole national media at first.
And also espn has middleton at #21 overall and i think it is because some players higher than her could be called more athletic or maybe having more potential.... But middleton just had one hell of a summer where they just beat jordin canada and the california girls i believe i read somewhere that she scored on canada a few times during that game and was named mvp of that tournament along with the USA U16 girl from blackman,tn Dangerfield. And jordin candada and alot of those recruits ahead of middleton were in that same tournament that middleton recieved mvp at. Not saying that middleton is better than canada i think # 21 overall is a good spot for her because she might be only 5'9 and some of the girls ahead of her are a little bit taller. But you cannot teach being smart and being a workhorse middleton is a down right workhorse you can tell in her picture on espn how hard she plays on the court and how passionate she is. Perfect fit for what Tennessee is looking for right now, complementing what they already have. And still waiting on WILSON, DRUMMER, GREEN, WHITE, NARED, CUEVAS, CALVERT to name a few. And get maybe 2 more of those 7 recruits considering tennessee that have yet to decide. TOP 5 CLASS RIGHT THERE. That would make 4 years in a row with awesome recruiting classes in the top 5 starting with 2011 burdick massengale harrison.

 

[jscott]

I see Tennessee being right there with uconn in the very near future and years to come going back and fourth for the best of the best. National Championships once again coming soon.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Well, you have to win it on the court, not on The Boneyard.

 

[pinotbear]

http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families...ges/Hearing_Voices_and_Seeing_Things_102.aspx

 

[Icebear]

"These girls are still growing in high school sometimes players pop up out of nowhere"

jscott, 95% of girls are within 1" of their final stature by 15 years old and within 1-2" by 14. Less than 5% grow more than an inch past that age. The odds aren't good for you counting those girl's to continue to grow more after the start of their sophomore year. Some that do never become anything special at their new heights.

LINK

 

[HuskyNan]

Perfect fit for what Tennessee is looking for right now, complementing what they already have. And still waiting on WILSON, DRUMMER, GREEN, WHITE, NARED, CUEVAS, CALVERT to name a few. And get maybe 2 more of those 7 recruits considering tennessee that have yet to decide. TOP 5 CLASS RIGHT THERE. That would make 4 years in a row with awesome recruiting classes in the top 5 starting with 2011 burdick massengale harrison.

With all due respect, it takes more than a highly ranked recruiting class to get a championship. Ask Duke or Rutgers.

 

[Icebear]

Perfect fit for what Tennessee is looking for right now, complementing what they already have. And still waiting on WILSON, DRUMMER, GREEN, WHITE, NARED, CUEVAS, CALVERT to name a few. And get maybe 2 more of those 7 recruits considering tennessee that have yet to decide. TOP 5 CLASS RIGHT THERE. That would make 4 years in a row with awesome recruiting classes in the top 5 starting with 2011 burdick massengale harrison.

With all due respect, it takes more than a highly ranked recruiting class to get a championship. Ask Duke or Rutgers.

Nan, the closing box bracket got chopped after the : 3722"] at the start of your quote causing an HTML malfunction or something similar.

 

[jscott]

"These girls are still growing in high school sometimes players pop of nowhere"

correction OUT OF NOWHERE

Under the Radar Recruits

 

[jscott]

Were talking about Tennessee here you know these girls are going to mature and get even better and better each year. Thats what tennessee does develops its players into even better ones.
Prime example KAMIKO WILLIAMS but the one thing that you cant control is injuries/freak accidents like with BAUGH, CAIN, AND AMBER GRAY THE NUMBER 4 OVERALL RECRUIT. and even Taber Spani had her career injuries over the years.

 

[jscott]

Oh and im not saying that meighan simmons cannot get any better she sure could get better in areas of her game... But look how far she has come in her time at Tennessee she has really come a long way... Still some ways to go but a long way indeed. #24 recruit UNDER RATED. Really a TOP TEN RECRUIT. DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

 

[Icebear]

Were talking about Tennessee here you know these girls are going to mature and get even better and better each year. Thats what tennessee does develops its players into even better ones.
Prime example KAMIKO WILLIAMS but the one thing that you cant control is injuries/freak accidents like with BAUGH, CAIN, AND AMBER GRAY THE NUMBER 4 OVERALL RECRUIT. and even Taber Spani had her career injuries over the years.

Very few players have improved dramatically at Tennessee in over half a decade. Meighan Simmons among them. Nor have they seem to have the right mix of leadership to lead them forward through hardship. Make it back to the FF before you start expecting championships. Til then you are living on old headlines. No one cares its Tennessee. Old news. Passé. Can things change, absolutely, but jawing about them and like Nan said just getting recruits doesn't make it happen.

 

[sarals24]

Yeah, "player development" is not the first thing that comes to mind when one hears Tennessee anymore.

 

[Icebear]

Add to the issues for the TN team the changes in staff including the training staff and the athletic department and it may not be a smooth road ahead for numerous reasons no matter how much someone thinks it has to be.

 

[jscott]

oh ok well thats just my opinion and you all are going to have your own opinions.

 

[jscott]

Still Tennessee and will always be Tennessee
Holly's itching for her first real real soon.

 

[Phil]

Oh and im not saying that meighan simmons cannot get any better she sure could get better in areas of her game... But look how far she has come in her time at Tennessee she has really come a long way...

??

Last year, Simmons was the worst shooter on the team, other than Massengale.

41% isn't terrible, but it was worse than her freshman year.

Her assist to TO ratio was 1.0 as a freshman, dropped to 78% as a junior. Her assist dropped from 104 to 73. She scored more, but only by jacking up more shots.

How does this constitute improvement?

 

[Bestiarius]

??

Last year, Simmons was the worst shooter on the team, other than Massengale.

41% isn't terrible, but it was worse than her freshman year.

Her assist to TO ratio was 1.0 as a freshman, dropped to 78% as a junior. Her assist dropped from 104 to 73. She scored more, but only by jacking up more shots.

How does this constitute improvement?

All this just proves how great the rest of the team is. Right scotty?

 

[Alydar]

Actually I saw improvement in Simmons last year, not on offense but on defense, where she made up for her lack of size and strength with effort. Offensively, I think she would have been more suited to being a sparkplug off the bench, ala Vinnie 'microwave' Johnson. Simmons can carry an offense for short bursts but she also can stifle an offense when her shots don't fall.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Yes, Meighan Simmons,.... I am the 1st one to say that she has improved A LOT.... and it shows..... it really does..... but from where she started from....wow.... she didn't belong on a WCBB court, let alone Tennessee..... She still needs to improve her game to bring UT a trip to Nashville next spring

But ironically, I think, the only chance UT has of competing with the big gals now is for MS to start gunning, and hoping for an insane LVille-like percentage of shots to fall.

Having said this.... I wish her well and hope she enjoys a good senior season. She has endured a lot of criticism and deserves to reap rewards from the improvements she has made.

 

[Icebear]

As Phil posted Simmons statistics, at least offensively, would suggest you are wrong .

 

[Justavisitor]

??

Last year, Simmons was the worst shooter on the team, other than Massengale.

41% isn't terrible, but it was worse than her freshman year.

Her assist to TO ratio was 1.0 as a freshman, dropped to 78% as a junior. Her assist dropped from 104 to 73. She scored more, but only by jacking up more shots.

How does this constitute improvement?

As a freshman, Simmons had one responsibility and that was to shoot the ball. She was asked to provide a scoring punch, while her defense was known to be something she would learn over time. As a sophomore, defense became a much bigger priority. Perhaps, you should ask others who have played the game, but when focusing efforts on defending, it's extremely common for the offense to struggle. Her sophomore year was the first year in which she was asked to be a complete player. It's also common for many sophomores to slump a bit, if for no other reason than the fact that their responsibilities on the court have increased. For freshmen, coaches typically like to keep it simple. As sophomores, they are asked to do more.


Scoring % - Sophomore .375 / Junior .412
3 pt. % - Sophomore .311 / Junior .365
FT % - Sophomore .735 / Junior .851
Assists - Sophomore 47 / Junior 73
Assist to Turnover Ratio - Sophomore .65 / Junior .78 (needs alot more improvement but is trending upward)
Steals - Sophomore 30 / Junior 50
Rebs - Sophomore 2.2 / Junior 3.6


There isn't a category that Simmons did not improve in. She also garnered much more attention from the opposing teams as a Junior than she did as sophomore. So here's a player that has received more attention from the opponents, but statistically improved. Yes, the proof is in the numbers.

Last, Simmons was voted co-SEC POY. The votes were from the opposing coaches. Coaches are the ones that break down film and study the opponent. If Simmons value was a little as some of you seem to think here on this board, there's no way those coaches would vote her into that spot, unless they're all a bunch of morons. Frankly, I have a bit more respect for their opinions than some of the others that I've read. Odd how a thread about a new recruit for TN turned into more bashing of Simmons, a player that has received rave reviews from experts around the country and has been touted as someone who's game has improved immensely. Is there room for growth? Of course there is. Who doesn't need to improve?

 

[Icebear]

Just what we need here is apologists for other programs 24/7.

 

[Justavisitor]

Just what we need here is apologists for other programs 24/7.

Yes, the attention being placed on other programs, specifically one other program, is quite mind boggling, especially when said team is irrelevant and headed the way of La Tech. The reality is they aren't going any where. There was a mass exodus of seniors that won a title that was followed up by a group that could never get their footing with all the injuries sustained to key players. There was the health issue of their coach and none of us will ever know the impact her illness had on those players. I can only imagine the mental and emotional impact on the ladies and assistants in the Husky program if they had to witness Geno going through the same. They finished last season higher than most expected. I recall all the same here that are saying no way to a final four being the same ones saying no way to top 10 just this past season. We all see how that turned out. At the end of the day, the games will be played on the court and no amount of hoping or wishing from either fan base is going to change their destiny, what ever it may be.

As for Dunbar, she's excited about being a Lady Vol. The staff is just as excited to have her. She had offers from 2 other final 4 teams in Baylor and Louisville. There were 30 offers, but it's unknown from who. Not that rankings matter, but she had a very late growth spurt that made her stock rise quite a bit. Regardless of rankings, there's a 6'6" highly skilled center in the middle with a high intellect for this game that just so happens to be the #1 recruit in her class and she will love having one of the best pure shooters in the country spotted up behind the arc. Based on the latest evaluations, this 6'2" player is also no 1 trick pony. She does more than shoot the 3 ball and eventually, we will all see it play out on the court.

 

[Icebear]

Yes, the attention being placed on other programs, specifically one other program, is quite mind boggling, especially when said team is irrelevant and headed the way of La Tech. The reality is they aren't going any where. There was a mass exodus of seniors that won a title that was followed up by a group that could never get their footing with all the injuries sustained to key players. There was the health issue of their coach and none of us will ever know the impact her illness had on those players. I can only imagine the mental and emotional impact on the ladies and assistants in the Husky program if they had to witness Geno going through the same. They finished last season higher than most expected. I recall all the same here that are saying no way to a final four being the same ones saying no way to top 10 just this past season. We all see how that turned out. At the end of the day, the games will be played on the court and no amount of hoping or wishing from either fan base is going to change their destiny, what ever it may be.

As for Dunbar, she's excited about being a Lady Vol. The staff is just as excited to have her. She had offers from 2 other final 4 teams in Baylor and Louisville. There were 30 offers, but it's unknown from who. Not that rankings matter, but she had a very late growth spurt that made her stock rise quite a bit. Regardless of rankings, there's a 6'6" highly skilled center in the middle with a high intellect for this game that just so happens to be the #1 recruit in her class and she will love having one of the best pure shooters in the country spotted up behind the arc. Based on the latest evaluations, this 6'2" player is also no 1 trick pony. She does more than shoot the 3 ball and eventually, we will all see it play out on the court.

We are all sympathetic to Pat's situation. Alzheimer's has touched many of our families.

However, most of us could care less about the excuses, imagined or real, various fans have for this or that about the numerous issues with which other programs are dealing. Great to know the highlights but the continual apologetics not so much.

TN is the worse since they went dark on the Summitt and ESPN shutdown there is a steady parade here. Seems that those unmoored fans thinkthe Boneyard and UCONN fans are supposed to be interested in every detail of their program and why we're wrong about this or that when really most of us are just UCONN fans who are following our favorite team and enjoying exchanges about the game we love not the latest reason TN is about to be the greatest again, sort of, may, someday. Call us when.

 

[Justavisitor]

The best way to show that you have no interest is to stop having the threads. So far, I've seen zero proof of that.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Wow! So Meighan had just one responsibility as a freshman and that was to shoot the ball..... For some reason I cannot see the coaches say to anyone "your only responsibility is to shoot the ball" and if that is what they said..... I can easily see why she is reluctant to distribute the ball and be a playmaker from the guard position..... that is overall a very low bar..... especially at an upper tier program....

I enjoy defending our program vs. the sometimes-incredible boasts of others coming onto the Boneyard..... have never started a TN thread ever..... just enjoy responding and citing the achievements of the UC program.

 

[doggydaddy]

As a freshman, Simmons had one responsibility and that was to shoot the ball. She was asked to provide a scoring punch, while her defense was known to be something she would learn over time. As a sophomore, defense became a much bigger priority. Perhaps, you should ask others who have played the game, but when focusing efforts on defending, it's extremely common for the offense to struggle. Her sophomore year was the first year in which she was asked to be a complete player. It's also common for many sophomores to slump a bit, if for no other reason than the fact that their responsibilities on the court have increased. For freshmen, coaches typically like to keep it simple. As sophomores, they are asked to do more.


Scoring % - Sophomore .375 / Junior .412
3 pt. % - Sophomore .311 / Junior .365
FT % - Sophomore .735 / Junior .851
Assists - Sophomore 47 / Junior 73
Assist to Turnover Ratio - Sophomore .65 / Junior .78 (needs alot more improvement but is trending upward)
Steals - Sophomore 30 / Junior 50
Rebs - Sophomore 2.2 / Junior 3.6


There isn't a category that Simmons did not improve in. She also garnered much more attention from the opposing teams as a Junior than she did as sophomore. So here's a player that has received more attention from the opponents, but statistically improved. Yes, the proof is in the numbers.

Last, Simmons was voted co-SEC POY. The votes were from the opposing coaches. Coaches are the ones that break down film and study the opponent. If Simmons value was a little as some of you seem to think here on this board, there's no way those coaches would vote her into that spot, unless they're all a bunch of morons. Frankly, I have a bit more respect for their opinions than some of the others that I've read. Odd how a thread about a new recruit for TN turned into more bashing of Simmons, a player that has received rave reviews from experts around the country and has been touted as someone who's game has improved immensely. Is there room for growth? Of course there is. Who doesn't need to improve?

You are always such a pleasant visitor.

Simmons sophomore season was so bad that it made a mediocre junior year look good to you. Go on watch espn and look for the final regular season game against Kentucky and the LOSS in the semi's of the SEC tourney against Texas A&M and their season ending loss to UL and tell me how much Simmons improved.

Against Kentucky, she had 17 points, leading the team. But she was 4-15, 0-4 on 3's and had 6 TO's.

Against A&M she was 4-12, 0-2 on 3's and 4 TO's.

Against UL she was 4-16, 4-12 on 3's (3-6 in the last 3 minutes, 1-6 when they needed her) and 4 TO's.

12-43, 4-18 on 3's, 3 assists and 14 TO's.

Great improvement, huh.

Five straight years of no final four? Injuries and illness. Blah blah blah.

Congrats on your top ten finish. Losing to UL in the NCAA and losing in the SEC semi's, 8 losses.

No, I'd say they underachieved based on the talent.

Until they beat a top ten team on the road, it's hard to take all this blue sky bull seriously.