Lady Vols tied up in overtime with Middle Tennessee 73 -73

[HuskyNan]

Is name-calling really necessary? Please. Most of us have been out of middle school for a long time - let's act like it.

 

[tennparker3]

They are the 20th youngest team in the nation. They have one junior and two seniors. Massengale, Spani, and Simmons have had significant minutes with Burdick and Williams in limited roles in both their respected amounts of time in Knoxville (so far at least). Spani has battled turf toe and other nagging issues since freshman year and has been held out every year for significant amounts of time.

With that said, this team is very young but is showing a heck of a lot more promise than last years seniors did when they arrrived as freshman. I think that is why the positive attitudes are flowing out of Knoxville. It is so fresh in our minds as fans as to how a very young LV squad played four seasons ago versus this very young team and the difference is noticeable. We are nowhere near as good as the UConn's and Baylor's of the WCBB world but I think we will be in the years to come. That positive outlook comes from having a team with great potential and from three outstanding players coming in next year to add to the talent in place.

Sorry, I know this is a UConn board so I'll shut up now but thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

For Christmas how about you guys send Stewart gift wrapped wearing an orange jersey to Thomson-Boling Arena... thank you and good day.

 

[HuskyNan]

Sorry, I know this is a UConn board so I'll shut up now but thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

It's OK, we understand believing in your team. We only get cranky when people say things like, "Our Janie is a freshman and maybe she turns the ball over a lot but she's much more talented than Moriah Jefferson". That kind of stuff annoys us but there was nothing like that in your post.

 

[Phil]

I'll echo what HuskyNan said and add that I like to hear from fans of other teams. Cardfan, CamrnCrz1974, Triaddukesomething or other, ETT and many others give us a perspective that is valuable. As long as you understand that we are likely to be biased about our team, and will react strongly if challenged, everything will be fine.

 

[Bestiarius]

I love this team but nobody in their right mind thinks they're an elite team... yet. MTSU is very good team and if you get the chance to watch them for a full game I don't think you would have a different opinion. We beat them by 40 last year but also beat Miami by 16 versus 12 this year... It is crazy to gauge a team on scores from different seasons IMO. Zero post depth is correct but Burdick, Jones, Spani, and Moore are all bodies that can be thrown into the paint if needed due to foul trouble (and surprisingly Spani is more effective scoring in the paint so far this year ). We may not have a top 5 team right now but we have a team that fights for 40 minutes to help overcome to abundance of youth and it is fun to watch for me.

MTSU is a good team as is Chattanooga - seems to be Vol fan mantra regarding any team that causes TN to struggle.

There is no doubt that the Vols have good players based on their ranking coming in to college. But, for some reason, it seems like they constantly under perform. The question is, why is that happening?

As I see it, the first problem is conditioning not being that good. Kamiko, for one, admitted her conditioning is not up to par. The jr's & sr's development is sub-par. The big question is, will the underclassmen break the trend and fulfill their promise?

In listening to Holly's pressers, to me, she doesn't exude confidence or control of her team. Her game management seems lacking. Takes her too long to react to situations. Until the coaching improves, I don't see the Vols living up to their promise.

 

[Tonyc]

Tenn has for the past few years had the talent, had top recruits, but lacks consistency, and underachieves. Instead of getting better and improving they are very inconsistent. I said for years they lacked a good point guard. Since Bobbit they really havent had a point guard to lead the team and make plays. In the ole days Pat would get the best players and rebound rebound rebound. Those days are gone. I mentioned I thought there were disipline problems with the LVs because of their lack of consistency, because they seem not to all be on the same page and because theyre stuggleing in games where they should blow out opponets. I dont know the answer but I do know it should all start with disipline and commitment to the team not to one scorer. .

 

[wallman]

Heck I find myself being biased, but usually toward you guys, go figure, maybe I just like good basketball!

Anyway IMO I think it is a combination of problems with LV, not 1 is to blame, I think the players they have recruited have been somewhat hyped and don't really fit the puzzle, so with the situation over the last few years with Pat it has been exaggerated and has exposed weaknesses.

 

[doggydaddy]

They are the 20th youngest team in the nation. They have one junior and two seniors. Massengale, Spani, and Simmons have had significant minutes with Burdick and Williams in limited roles in both their respected amounts of time in Knoxville (so far at least). Spani has battled turf toe and other nagging issues since freshman year and has been held out every year for significant amounts of time.

Sorry, but that youth excuse is only good onces every 10 years and you used it up with the "baby vols" excuse for the last class. Heck, Uconn has 3 freshman and 3 sophs in the regular lineup. Spani is supposedly healthy this year so what is reason for her poor start?

With that said, this team is very young but is showing a heck of a lot more promise than last years seniors did when they arrrived as freshman. I think that is why the positive attitudes are flowing out of Knoxville. It is so fresh in our minds as fans as to how a very young LV squad played four seasons ago versus this very young team and the difference is noticeable. We are nowhere near as good as the UConn's and Baylor's of the WCBB world but I think we will be in the years to come. That positive outlook comes from having a team with great potential and from three outstanding players coming in next year to add to the talent in place.

Sorry, but the bolded areas above are just selective memory.

The first 6 games of the season, the Stricklen/Johnson freshman team was the same 5-1. The mood :was incredibly positive blaming the sole loss to Virginia to the incredible 35 point point effort by Monica Wright. Tennessee fans had visions of NC's dancing in their heads. Showed more promise? I don't think so.

In the first 6 games:

Johnson 18.3/11 - Stats better than Graves
Stricklen 11.2/5.7 - Stats better than anyone on this years team other than Simmons and Graves
Brewer 8.1/5.7 - Similar to Harrison
Baugh 7/8 with 2 double doubles

Bjorklund and Cain hadn't even conributed yet. I remember the "wait until they play" posts.

Even players like Bass, who had a couple of double digit scoring games and Gray, who had good early games as well brought great confidence.

I don't see any difference in how the Tennessee fans are responding to this team compared to that team. You might feel that way, but the public postings that I see don't portray that as being true for the general message board fans.

TN fans were nuts about this team early on. Same as this years.

Sorry, I know this is a UConn board so I'll shut up now but thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

For Christmas how about you guys send Stewart gift wrapped wearing an orange jersey to Thomson-Boling Arena... thank you and good day.

Don't feel the need to shut up. Most don't mind debating or discussing Tennessee. As long as you can handle differing opinions.

Stewart would look disgusting in orange. No deal.

 

[Bestiarius]

Sorry, but that youth excuse is only good onces every 10 years and you used it up with the "baby vols" excuse for the last class. Heck, Uconn has 3 freshman and 3 sophs in the regular lineup. Spani is supposedly healthy this year so what is reason for her poor start?



Sorry, but the bolded areas above are just selective memory.

The first 6 games of the season, the Stricklen/Johnson freshman team was the same 5-1. The mood :was incredibly positive blaming the sole loss to Virginia to the incredible 35 point point effort by Monica Wright. Tennessee fans had visions of NC's dancing in their heads. Showed more promise? I don't think so.

In the first 6 games:

Johnson 18.3/11 - Stats better than Graves
Stricklen 11.2/5.7 - Stats better than anyone on this years team other than Simmons and Graves
Brewer 8.1/5.7 - Similar to Harrison
Baugh 7/8 with 2 double doubles

Bjorklund and Cain hadn't even conributed yet. I remember the "wait until they play" posts.

Even players like Bass, who had a couple of double digit scoring games and Gray, who had good early games as well brought great confidence.

I don't see any difference in how the Tennessee fans are responding to this team compared to that team. You might feel that way, but the public postings that I see don't portray that as being true for the general message board fans.

TN fans were nuts about this team early on. Same as this years.



Don't feel the need to shut up. Most don't mind debating or discussing Tennessee. As long as you can handle differing opinions.

Stewart would look disgusting in orange. No deal.

There you go again, doggydaddy, inserting reason and facts into the discussion.

 

[HuskyNan]

Sorry, but that youth excuse is only good onces every 10 years and you used it up with the "baby vols" excuse for the last class. Heck, Uconn has 3 freshman and 3 sophs in the regular lineup. Spani is supposedly healthy this year so what is reason for her poor start?
Sorry, but the bolded areas above are just selective memory.

As a Red Sox fan, I resemble that remark. Goes with being a fan, IMO.

 

[doggydaddy]

As a Red Sox fan, I resemble that remark. Goes with being a fan, IMO.

I agree. Just pointing out how off this poster was in regards to this years team vs the 2008 team.

 

[HuskyNan]

I agree. Just pointing out how off this poster was in regards to this years team vs the 2008 team.

I know, but tennparker seems a bit down. I don't like taking pokes at a person that's already hurting.

 

[doggydaddy]

I know, but tennparker seems a bit down. I don't like taking pokes at a person that's already hurting.

I don't think a UConn message board is the place for a Tennessee fan to look for sympathy.

Tennessee fans have been trashing the 2008-11 class since they graduated. I was just putting a little reality in the discussion.

 

[HuskyNan]

I don't think a UConn message board is the place for a Tennessee fan to look for sympathy.

Tennessee fans have been trashing the 2008-11 class since they graduated. I was just putting a little reality in the discussion.

tennparker did that? I never knew. Anyway, I get no pleasure from her being down.

 

[stwainfan]

A couple of ponts I'd like to make.
1 the 08-09 team didn't have a true point guard. That left Stricklen to play out of position. This years team has 2.
2 the 08-09 season would have ended differently had Baugh not got injured.

 

[doggydaddy]

tennparker did that? I never knew. Anyway, I get no pleasure from her being down.

No, actually, you did. Or at least it felt like you were looking for me to sympathize with her. I don't get pleasure from TennParker being down. But I do when Tennessee loses or underperforms. Nice people feeling bad are a byproduct of that. Collateral damage?

 

[doggydaddy]

A couple of ponts I'd like to make.
1 the 08-09 team didn't have a true point guard. That left Stricklen to play out of position. This years team has 2.
2 the 08-09 season would have ended differently had Baugh not got injured.

I was specifically comaring how the teams were doing after 6 games. They did have a point guard for that timeframe. McMahon was playing and actually started 6 of the first 9 games.

Every team can play the injury game.

 

[stwainfan]

I was specifically comaring how the teams were doing after 6 games. They did have a point guard for that timeframe. McMahon was playing and actually started 6 of the first 9 games.

Every team can play the injury game.

Yes I know. There are some differences between the teams. The 08-09 team had no back up point guard. I think this years team has more speed. Jasmine Jones is a athlete.

 

[Bestiarius]

I know, but tennparker seems a bit down. I don't like taking pokes at a person that's already hurting.

What tennnparker needs to make him/her feel better is a nice Philly Cheese Steak.