Lady Vols - 2012-13

[uconnbaseball]

ND football has every bit as much of tradition as LV BB and 100x the fan support and look where it has landed them. Pat Summitt is and was LV basketball..she is gone now...what is the real appeal of attending UT anymore? They do not have any tradition beyond her so you really have no basis to say it's foolish LV BB won't become ND FB. There will be a lot of teams who will be licking their chops to take a shot and even the score with the LV's now that their leader is gone...if you kill the head, the body will die!

We will see. There are many more traditional powerhouse programs in college football than there are in women's basketball. Tennessee is still a good school with a ton of tradition, quality coaches and good basketball players still on their roster. They may not (and likely will not) match UConn going forward, but to call them Notre Dame is an insult. Notre Dame has lost to the likes of Tulsa and Syracuse the past few years. I mean, in 2009 they turned down a bowl invitation to play a 10 win Rice team because they were afraid they'd lose & took an easier game vs. 7 loss Hawaii!

Tennessee had an embarrassing loss to Ball State a couple of years ago, but apart from that haven't been anywhere as bad as Notre Dame football and I don't expect to sink to that level. I'd love to see it though, and suspect we'll get to nine national championships before they do.

 

[Stray Cat]

We will see. There are many more traditional powerhouse programs in college football than there are in women's basketball. Tennessee is still a good school with a ton of tradition, quality coaches and good basketball players still on their roster. They may not (and likely will not) match UConn going forward, but to call them Notre Dame is an insult. Notre Dame has lost to the likes of Tulsa and Syracuse the past few years. I mean, in 2009 they turned down a bowl invitation to play a 10 win Rice team because they were afraid they'd lose & took an easier game vs. 7 loss Hawaii!

Tennessee had an embarrassing loss to Ball State a couple of years ago, but apart from that haven't been anywhere as bad as Notre Dame football and I don't expect to sink to that level. I'd love to see it though, and suspect we'll get to nine national championships before they do.

Dude, I did not say anything about the current state of LV BB, I said "the LV's are destined to become the ND Football of WCB". Get back with me in 10 years.

P.S. But the LV's are certainly off to a good start as similarly to ND FB losing to Navy several seasons back for the first time in 43 years, the LV's lost to South Carolina at home this past season for the first time in 20 attempts, and having owned a 40-2 overall record against USC previously.

 

[Phil]

Good point about the fan support. This will be a real test of their fandom. It was easy to get behind the team knowing the situation with Pat. It was like a farewell tour and Tennessee fans were wonderful by showing up in droves. I believe they had their highest attendance in several years. Not as high as their heyday, but still a big jump from last year.

I won't be surprised if next year is more of that - people coming out thinking they might not get another chance.

 

[Phil]

Another thought - now that Pat is stepping down as head coach, does that mean current players can transfer without sitting out a year? Incoming recruits can also change their minds without "penalty", correct?

In a word, no.

 

[BigO]

allow me to first say that i am always honored to see LV posts on the UCONN site....very flattering and fun to participate in.

with that being said, next year will be very interesting to see. as for talent....we got it. that's not really at debate. ariel broke the freshman record for assists. her scoring was down a bit but she was riddled with injuries and had hand surgery mid-season. burdick can easily replace stricklen's offensive output from this year. she is a very special player and may be the next big star at TN. spani, if healthy is a 1st team all-sec and possible all-american (many of you may doubt that, but when watching the first few games this year, she was clearly headed there) simmons just needs to play consistently. she could carry a team for a whole season if she puts in the work this summer. she is super explosive. then there's our freshman....graves (2nd ranked forward behind stewart) carter---will be one of the best defensive players to ever wear orange, and jasmine jones (very similar to glory johnson)

i just hope the coaches are willing to move to a more guard oriented line up. we may need another post player but the game has evolved on that front.

holly is a knoxville native, an all-american, and bleeds orange as much as anyone. if you watched the end of the season, she basically took over and did a pretty good job with them. i would argue that we played baylor just as tough, if not tougher actually, than stanford or ND.

there is also a rumor that if TN picked holly, then there is a plan in place for caldwell to come to TN when her LSU contract is up. this would mean that holly is the bridge to nikki caldwell. i gotta tell you i firmly believe that is the case. i predict nikki will take over after two more seasons...UNLESS holly has totally hit the ball WAY out of the park. TN will not wait for results.

lastly, i love my lady vols but there is a sense in K town that the new group of girls are different than the seniors who left. (more like the old brand of LVs) we shall see...

 

[BigO]

In a word, no.

don't say that too loud or ND's McGraw may run to knoxville and seek out girls to recruit.

 

[doggydaddy]

We will see. There are many more traditional powerhouse programs in college football than there are in women's basketball. Tennessee is still a good school with a ton of tradition, quality coaches and good basketball players still on their roster. They may not (and likely will not) match UConn going forward, but to call them Notre Dame is an insult. Notre Dame has lost to the likes of Tulsa and Syracuse the past few years. I mean, in 2009 they turned down a bowl invitation to play a 10 win Rice team because they were afraid they'd lose & took an easier game vs. 7 loss Hawaii!

Tennessee had an embarrassing loss to Ball State a couple of years ago, but apart from that haven't been anywhere as bad as Notre Dame football and I don't expect to sink to that level. I'd love to see it though, and suspect we'll get to nine national championships before they do.

Some good points. The Tennessee fans are crazy in love with their team. And they show incredible support.

But I think we are talking about performance and not relevance. I believe next year will be a struggle. Next years team would lose 12+ games against the teams last years played against. Do other teams lose enough players to mitigate the Tennessee player loses? I don't see it. I haven't seen the 2012-13 schedule yet. It should be interesting to predict wins and losses.

 

[BigO]

Like I said before, the LV's are destined to become the ND Football of WCB. A once proud and elite program who slowly recedes into mediocrity and becomes a "has been".[/quote]

you wish

 

[Stray Cat]

don't say that too loud or ND's McGraw may run to knoxville and seek out girls to recruit.

Where did that come from BigO? No need to take a uncalled for shot at one of our Big East brethren. You must still be hurting from the butt kicking Muffet and her girls gave your team back in January. If you are thinking either ND and UT has poached from each other, it was Pat poaching Michelle Marciniak from Muffet.

 

[BigO]

Where did that come from BigO? No need to take a uncalled for shot at one of our Big East brethren. You must still be hurting from the butt kicking Muffet and her girls gave your team back in January. If you are thinking either ND and UT has poached from each other, it was Pat poaching Michelle Marciniak from Muffet.

(yawns)

 

[Stray Cat]

(yawns)

Get use to yawning BigO, especially around Final Four time cuz I don't think you will be seeing the LV's play there anytime soon.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Some good points. The Tennessee fans are crazy in love with their team. And they show incredible support.

But I think we are talking about performance and not relevance. I believe next year will be a struggle. Next years team would lose 12+ games against the teams last years played against. Do other teams lose enough players to mitigate the Tennessee player loses? I don't see it. I haven't seen the 2012-13 schedule yet. It should be interesting to predict wins and losses.

Oh, I agree that they will struggle next year. There's no question about that. I never thought they were particularly good this year, even with all those seniors. But long term, I still expect their program to consistently rank inside the top 20, if not top 15. They are certainly going to be better than notre Dame has the past 18 years or so.

 

[BigO]

Get use to yawning BigO, especially around Final Four time cuz I don't think you will be seeing the LV's play there anytime soon.

i appreciate your insight.

 

[avolfan]

Warlick is a stopgap coach. She is just average and has never been the recruiting coach. Hope that Tenn will go after Caldwell, but it seems Hart really has no interest in womens sports. So I do not expect a lot out of UT womens sports in the future. Sad, but true i think

 

[Stray Cat]

But long term, I still expect their program to consistently rank inside the top 20, if not top 15.

But given the lack of parity at the top of the women's basketball rankings, being ranked in the top 15-20 in WCB is equivalent to being ranked outside the top 25-30 in CFB...basically you have no realistic shot at winning the NC...just look at the history of the WCB tournament:

The lowest seeds to reach the Championship game is a #4 seed (LaTech in '94 & Rutgers in '07)...and the lowest seed to win it all is a #3 seed (NC in '94 and Tenn in '97).

 

[BigO]

Warlick is a stopgap coach. She is just average and has never been the recruiting coach. Hope that Tenn will go after Caldwell, but it seems Hart really has no interest in womens sports. So I do not expect a lot out of UT womens sports in the future. Sad, but true i think

i tend to agree that holly is temporary. she allows a good transition and it lets pat stay on. i disagree about hart. he will not last that long if that is his position. our womens' teams are solid in just about every sport.....he will be out if that changes

 

[doggydaddy]

allow me to first say that i am always honored to see LV posts on the UCONN site....very flattering and fun to participate in.

with that being said, next year will be very interesting to see. as for talent....we got it. that's not really at debate. ariel broke the freshman record for assists. her scoring was down a bit but she was riddled with injuries and had hand surgery mid-season. burdick can easily replace stricklen's offensive output from this year. she is a very special player and may be the next big star at TN. spani, if healthy is a 1st team all-sec and possible all-american (many of you may doubt that, but when watching the first few games this year, she was clearly headed there) simmons just needs to play consistently. she could carry a team for a whole season if she puts in the work this summer. she is super explosive. then there's our freshman....graves (2nd ranked forward behind stewart) carter---will be one of the best defensive players to ever wear orange, and jasmine jones (very similar to glory johnson)

i just hope the coaches are willing to move to a more guard oriented line up. we may need another post player but the game has evolved on that front.

holly is a knoxville native, an all-american, and bleeds orange as much as anyone. if you watched the end of the season, she basically took over and did a pretty good job with them. i would argue that we played baylor just as tough, if not tougher actually, than stanford or ND.

there is also a rumor that if TN picked holly, then there is a plan in place for caldwell to come to TN when her LSU contract is up. this would mean that holly is the bridge to nikki caldwell. i gotta tell you i firmly believe that is the case. i predict nikki will take over after two more seasons...UNLESS holly has totally hit the ball WAY out of the park. TN will not wait for results.

lastly, i love my lady vols but there is a sense in K town that the new group of girls are different than the seniors who left. (more like the old brand of LVs) we shall see...

It was great to see a thread I started has been so civil in discussing the 2012-13 team. Not many went off topic.

And I'm glad you gave the Lady Vol perspective on next years team. With all the negative posts here, you were able to give the positive side of things.

As you would imagine, there is not much I agree with you on what will happen next year.

Ariel broke the freshman record for assists. her scoring was down a bit but she was riddled with injuries and had hand surgery mid-season.

She injured her non-shooting hand in December. I did not hear that this was a lingering problem with there shooting. And while the assists record is great, she won't have the same targets with her passing that she had last year.

Burdick can easily replace stricklen's offensive output from this year. she is a very special player and may be the next big star at TN.

While she did have the occasional good game, she only played 13 minutes a game and averaged 4.6 points a game. So, she will double her minutes and triple her output? I find that hard to believe.

Spani, if healthy is a 1st team all-sec and possible all-american (many of you may doubt that, but when watching the first few games this year, she was clearly headed there).

She had two very good games to start the season.

11 points in 27 minutes against Pepperdine.
20 points in 30 minutes against Miami.
22 points in 42 minutes against Virigina.
10 points in 31 minutes against Baylor.
8 points in 18 minutes against MTSU.
5 points in 26 minutes against Texas.
8 points in 30 minutes against Depaul.
13 points in 31 minutes against RU.
14 points in 29 minutes against UCLA.
9 points in 25 minutes against Stanford.

12 points a game when relatively healthy. I expect that from her next year.

1st team All SEC? All-american? I don't see it.

Simmons just needs to play consistently. she could carry a team for a whole season if she puts in the work this summer. she is super explosive.

I couldnt' disagree more. Explosive? Yes. But her shot selection has not improved and actually appeared to get worse last year. Just about the most selfish player I've ever seen.

Then there's our freshman....graves (2nd ranked forward behind stewart) carter---will be one of the best defensive players to ever wear orange, and jasmine jones (very similar to glory johnson)

I'm not sure you can count on freshman to make an impact other than a select few. Can Graves to that? Yes, in regards to rebounding and hard play. But a freshman that hasn't played a minute will be one of the best defensive players EVER to play for the Lady Vols? I'm not even sure how you would know that.
I'm like you. I always look at my team in the best light. But TN will struggle IMO.

 

[doggydaddy]

Like I said before, the LV's are destined to become the ND Football of WCB. A once proud and elite program who slowly recedes into mediocrity and becomes a "has been".

you wish [/quote]

Well, we were having a civil thread. Oh well.

 

[Vowelguy]

burdick can easily replace stricklen's offensive output from this year. she is a very special player and may be the next big star at TN.

If she's this good, why didn't she produce more this year? And 'more' may be too generous, since she barely did anything. I don't see it.

 

[Coler]

Tennessee looks like it could lose alot of games next year. CVS confirmed that RU & Tennessee will play next year and I like our chances, but it won't be the same without Pat.

 

[Vowelguy]

and jasmine jones (very similar to glory johnson)

Glory was a top 5 recruit. Jones is not even top 30.

 

[HuskyNan]

Ariel broke the freshman record for assists. her scoring was down a bit but she was riddled with injuries and had hand surgery mid-season.

She injured her non-shooting hand in December. I did not hear that this was a lingering problem with there shooting. And while the assists record is great, she won't have the same targets with her passing that she had last year.

Just curious, because I honestly don't know, who was Tenn's last freshman point guard?

Then there's our freshman....graves (2nd ranked forward behind stewart)

Ranked #2 in which poll? Again, I just don't know. I honestly thought Moriah Jefferson was consensus #2.

 

[doggydaddy]

Then there's our freshman....graves (2nd ranked forward behind stewart)
Ranked #2 in which poll? Again, I just don't know. I honestly thought Moriah Jefferson was consensus #2.

2nd ranked FORWARD, Nan. Not 2nd ranked player. I know...it's something...lol.

 

[HuskyNan]

2nd ranked FORWARD, Nan. Not 2nd ranked player. I know...it's something...lol.

Ah, these old tired eyes. It's been a long day.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Keeping it simple:

Alex is right about all the major questions that need to be answered in the right way. They lost a ton of points and rebounds. And the remaining players lack experience.

If this in Simmons' team, I think that is a problem unless she changes. She shoots first and asks questions later. If their rebounding drops off, they will lose games because of bad shot selection.

Tennessee, like UConn, has 2 standards: (1) NC contender and (2) everything else. I think that a ranking of 10-15 next year is their upside. It could get ugly, as in unranked. They will not be an NC contender for 2 or more seasons. Of the trio of Russell, DeShields, and Davis, if they get all 3, they are in the NC hunt in 2015. If the get only 1, they look like a #10 team for a few years. Their recruiting could be on a slippery slope. If they miss on all 3 of those kids, they could be unranked for multiple seasons. Their 2013 recruiting is vital. And I think they will have a hard time selling their current situation. This is not Pat in her prime.