Lady Vols vs Texas

[HoopsFan21]

Not a bad game for early in season.Everyone need to remember.Geno is a Outstanding Coach.Tennessee is not well coach.I like that Texas was able to go into Tennessee and get a W. Both teams will improve as the season goes along.Remember UConn fan's.Everybody are not able to play, the way UConn play.I look forward to seeing Tennessee and Texas improve.Women's Basketball is not fun.With 1 team beating everybody by 30 and 40 point's.All that do, is make the viewer ratings on TV go down.I would love to see at least 7 to 8 team's challenge UConn. If not it's not really fun to watch.

There needs to be more good coaches before the women's game becomes even remotely competitive like the men's game. UConn does not get all the top players, or even most of the top recruits. They certainly get their fair share of great players over the long haul, but so do other programs. Geno has figured out which players are the ones that will work in his system, recruiting service stars be damned. Perhaps instead of coaches thinking that if only they get this hyped recruit or that one they will finally be able to compete with UConn, maybe they need to rethink their long term strategy and vision for their program the way Geno did three decades ago.

 

[LadyVols9]

I was there. Absolutely pathetic game. Holly better step up or step out. That's just being real. We have NO offensive scheme and that seems to be just fine with the coaching staff.

Diamond is CLEARLY not even close to 100%. I commend her for trying her best to win. Other than that, the Lady Vols have a long way to go.

 

[Nuyoika]

I would love to see what they are doing during offensive drills in practice. It has to be pretty complex for them to literally forget every single tiny bit of it during games.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I was there. Absolutely pathetic game. Holly better step up or step out. That's just being real. We have NO offensive scheme and that seems to be just fine with the coaching staff.

Diamond is CLEARLY not even close to 100%. I commend her for trying her best to win. Other than that, the Lady Vols have a long way to go.

The players need to step up as well. They need to be held accountable for missing point blank shots. If you can't make a lay up, you should not be playing/starting for a top college team. Warlick cannot go out there and shoot for them. Tennessee could have won today. Down six with three to play is a winnable scenario. Of course if Texas could hit foul shots the game would not have been as close as it was.

 

[Bestiarius]

Not a bad game for early in season.Everyone need to remember.Geno is a Outstanding Coach.Tennessee is not well coach.I like that Texas was able to go into Tennessee and get a W. Both teams will improve as the season goes along.Remember UConn fan's.Everybody are not able to play, the way UConn play.I look forward to seeing Tennessee and Texas improve.Women's Basketball is not fun.With 1 team beating everybody by 30 and 40 point's.All that do, is make the viewer ratings on TV go down.I would love to see at least 7 to 8 team's challenge UConn. If not it's not really fun to watch.

Most of us here are ecstatic about how the season is going. I too look forward to seeing TN, Texas and everyone else improve.

Of course, you can expect UConn to improve too. I'm certain Geno thinks the Huskies need to improve more than any other team. So, encourage your team to get busy if your goal is to increase TV viewership.

 

[DobbsRover2]

The list of Holly's comments about the game posted on VN is just jaw dropping. And not sure there will be any more posts about Cooper being FOY or Graves being the Beast again anytime soon after today's unimpressive stats in the first game against minimally top level competition.

And one of the all-time classics. A VN poster who says he has been out of the country chastises his fellow posters two hours ago for being so negative and calling for HW's resignation after the Texas game and says, "After seeing this thread I checked thinking they would have 3 or 4 losses already. They haven't even lost 1 game yet. What is the uproar about so early in the season?" Just priceless, and even the Vol fans are shaking their heads about it.

 

[msf22b]

Margo....Margo...Margo
I want Margo

 

[dtbtbtb]

This game was absolute mess with 2 teams who were trying hard to lose the game....TN was sucssesful
I would say that as UConn fans we are so so spoiled and lucky to see the beautiful basketball that Geno (and his coaching staff) and his kids produce practically every season....

 

[trb123]

Sometimes Karl Marx is right. From each according to her ability - Geno is no Marxist but he demands it from his players. Without it, Deshields and her teammates shone like cubic zirconia in Boling-Thomson arena this afternoon. In spite of her glorious Jim Crow tradition, Tennessee would do well to practice a little Marxism at home.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Reading you guys today piqued my interest and I watched a little of this game, ten minutes I wish I had back. The most interesting thing was Holly's pre-game pep talk. The body language of the players seemed less than ideal. DD sat with her head down, rubbing her head as though with a bad headache. Most interesting was Holly's voice, her inflection. It sounded almost pleading, as in "Come on, guys, go out and play hard. We need you." I'm sure she's frustrated.

 

[MilfordHusky]

It seemed like a game where both teams were trying their best to lose. I have not seen Notre Dame yet, but all the top rated teams look pretty weak to me.

Well, almost all the top teams. There is one obvious exception.

 

[Kibitzer]

This is why, apologies to Kib, it's hard for me to feel too sorry for Holly. True, it's hard to succeed a legend, but Tenn is simply not well-coached.

Permit me to invite your attention to several factors (that I mentioned without emphasis). Holly had n say about her assistants -- she was stuck with Pat's old crew. Wonder why the offense remains stagnant?

The new AD has caused an upheaval in the department, to the detriment of wbb.

And Pat's continuous presence surely is a hindrance to Holly.

Q. for you. Would Jeff Walz take that job under those conditions?

 

[HuskyNan]

From the LV presser:

On close games for several top teams)

"I think the talent is better. I think the four-quarters to me has a lot to do with it. After ten minutes you get to go and kind of regroup. If you are having a bad half, you can get it back together after ten minutes. So I think that play has something to do with it.


OK, wow.



.

 

[DobbsRover2]

After 6 games the savior of the Lady Vols basketball program is shooting 34.6% on the year. That's not 3-pt shooting, just regular FG%. No UConn player who has taken more than 1 shot is shooting under 40.9% on year.

It's time for UConn to bury the hatchet and loan the Vols a player who can give them some scoring boost and save their fans from life-ending thoughts. Maybe someone from the Connecticut Agricultural College (UConn) unbeaten team of 1902 could help out.

 

[LadyVols9]

Holly is NEVER going to say anything but nice things in the presser. She's not going to dog the players no matter what. That's just not her style, for better or worse. She pretty much says the same thing every presser. I am more concerned about the on court decisions than what she says to a reporter. But, to be fair, TN is very injured AS ALWAYS. our bench has 5 players who can't play b/c of injury. not an excuse but just a stubborn fact.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Holly has struggled in the head coaching position over the course of her tenure…. And Jeez Louise, this is her 5th year as HC, if you count Pat’s last year, when she had full reign… how long will Tenn athletics allow this?
I have been of the mind from the beginning that Holly has been in over her head…. Many at the start disagreed with me, but now it seems others think the same….. it just does not seem like she has had control of the program…. Either on x’s and o’s or on an overarching level. She loves coaching defense, and is OK there, but largely ignores the offense…. She needs to have a comprehensive handle on all aspects of the game…. I get the feeling from watching today that the plan for this year in crunch time is to have Diamond create something. Much like Meighan did…. Diamond is a wonderful talent, but without total team involvement, you cannot beat the better teams….
Holly has recruited good players to Tennessee. Her roster is better than almost any other team she plays…. But she does not have one signature win in all her time there over a team that is ranked higher than her’s. None! (to my recollection at least)…. Fans always have put forth statements like… they had a bad shooting night, they are learning to play as a team, they have had injuries….. whatever the reason put forth, I think they are false excuses….
The excuse I really love to hear is that all this is the player’s fault, as they are the ones on the court. But I have always said that if a team has problems, it is always 100% the fault of the coach. She is the one who has total control to make decisions for the team, for the practices and games, for the program.
Holly has recruited some gifted athletes to Kville, and they have obvious talent. I hope for the sake of the Vol fans that they get some quick relief at the HC position. At the very least, an offensive minded assistant would be a big plus, at least IMHO.

 

[JoePgh]

Let's be honest and acknowledge that while UConn doesn't "hoover up" all the best recruits every year, in this particular year they have two seniors who are THE two most talented WCBB players in the country. With a more than capable supporting cast, and the experience of playing together in the same offensive and defensive systems for three years, that makes the success (actual and anticipated) rather predictable.

All of WCBB will get more interesting next year when those two transcendent talents are removed from the picture. UConn (not very sadly) will be "left" with a number of very good players, none of whom may be WNBA lottery picks in the year of their graduation. Those returning players will also have played together under the same offensive and defensive systems for multiple years (in most cases). They may actually win games by single digits, or possibly even lose a few by single digits.

Will 2016-17 be a repetition of 2004-2005, when UConn lost eight games and went out in the Sweet 16? Personally, I think that is unlikely. The problem in 2004-2005 was poor guard play and no one handling the ball who really understood the offense. With Kia, Saniya, and Gabby around next year, that should not be a problem, and that should allow the good-but-not-great talent on the rest of the team to prevail, at least to the Final Four and perhaps to the National Championship. At that point, it will be of greater importance that the UConn coaching is better than that of other teams. That may be necessary to win against teams which (unlike this year) may actually have more talented rosters than UConn has.

 

[Bayareahusky]

I was there. Absolutely pathetic game. Holly better step up or step out. That's just being real. We have NO offensive scheme and that seems to be just fine with the coaching staff.

Diamond is CLEARLY not even close to 100%. I commend her for trying her best to win. Other than that, the Lady Vols have a long way to go.

I feel 4 u LV9....... no fun watching game like today.... where can you get a blue chip offensive guru coach??! Would put a spike in ur results I think

 

[Monte]

Sagarin has UTenn ranked no. 32!! In more than 15 years I can't recall UTenn being ranked outside the top 15-20 teams by him. I wonder how far they fall in the polls. Surely outside the top 10.

So does this settle the UT argument. UT=Texas now that UTenn has been horned again?

Except for Uconn, I really don't see much in the top 10.

 

[blaqtech]

Someone requested my girl...so here she is...
MARGOOOOO....!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/K_JJ8cWKVsE

 

[Bayareahusky]

TN is very injured AS ALWAYS. our bench has 5 players who can't play b/c of injury. not an excuse but just a stubborn fact.

Well I didnt know you had 5 injured..... I may have to retract that part of what i said.... "get well soon" as they say

 

[HuskyNan]

Let's be honest and acknowledge that while UConn doesn't "hoover up" all the best recruits every year, in this particular year they have two seniors who are THE two most talented WCBB players in the country. With a more than capable supporting cast, and the experience of playing together in the same offensive and defensive systems for three years, that makes the success (actual and anticipated) rather predictable.

All of WCBB will get more interesting next year when those two transcendent talents are removed from the picture. UConn (not very sadly) will be "left" with a number of very good players, none of whom may be WNBA lottery picks in the year of their graduation. Those returning players will also have played together under the same offensive and defensive systems for multiple years (in most cases). They may actually win games by single digits, or possibly even lose a few by single digits.

Will 2016-17 be a repetition of 2004-2005, when UConn lost eight games and went out in the Sweet 16? Personally, I think that is unlikely. The problem in 2004-2005 was poor guard play and no one handling the ball who really understood the offense. With Kia, Saniya, and Gabby around next year, that should not be a problem, and that should allow the good-but-not-great talent on the rest of the team to prevail, at least to the Final Four and perhaps to the National Championship. At that point, it will be of greater importance that the UConn coaching is better than that of other teams. That may be necessary to win against teams which (unlike this year) may actually have more talented rosters than UConn has.

The last 4 recruiting classes, with UConn's highest rated recruits in each. Tenn is doing OK.

2012
1. Breanna Stewart
2. Moriah Jefferson
3. Alexis Jones - Duke
4. Jewel Loyd - ND
5. Bashaara Graves - Tenn

2013
1. Mercedes Russell - Tenn
2. Kaela Davis - GA Tech
3. Diamond DeSheilds - Tenn
4. Taya Reimer - ND
5. Linnae Harper - KY
75. Saniya Chong

2014
1. A'Ja Wilson - So. Carolina
2. Brianna Turner - ND
3. Ariel Atkins - Texas
4. Jordin Canada - UCLA
5. Kelsey Mitchell - Ohio State
14. Gabby Williams

2015
1. Katie Lou Samuelson
2. Asia Durr - Louisville
3. Jessica Shepard - Nebraska
4. Cecilia Zandalasini - no college, playing in Europe
5. Angela Salvadores - Duke

 

[HoopsFan21]

UConn's going to be OK next year. We may lose Stewie and Mo, but will still have Kia at the 1, Gabby at the 2, KLS at the 3, Tuck at the 4, and Butler at the 5. A more traditional look. One that Geno prefers. Off the bench we will have CD, Collier, DJB, and TLaw.

 

[msf22b]

Thank you tech.
But before I watch Margo (or the game)
I checked out the press conference and listened closely to what the young ladies had to say.

Andraya Carter spoke of working harder in practice...as if it was in her hands completely whether to work hard or not
Diamond looked very depressed until it was mentioned how many points and boards she had, then she lit up like a Christmas tree.
She also mentioned that it might have been a good idea to stick to the game plan (dribble-penetration).

Holly for her part said the team had to be more disciplined 15 times.
That if getting the ball into the paint to the posts was difficult, the guards had to make shots.

Margo said (Albany game) that the switching defense was poor, that if Mercedes double-teamed a post, there was no help-side.

 

[Yukon]

Margo for Head Coach!