Louisville Crushes Tennessee

[EricSD]

Tennessee has the better athletes with exception to a few players on Louisville's side. On paper this should have been a Tennessee win. I think this really shows the maturity of Walz's system. Coach Caldwell is so young in her career and she hasn't had her system challenged like this at lower levels. On the other hand, Coach Walz has had more press heavy teams in the past, and he still likes to, but his approach just feels more well thought out. This kind of felt like a rookie system vs. a vetted system of similar caliber.

That's actually a really good point IMHO (the part I bolded). There isn't a single team in the top 25 (possibly not in the top 50) that uses the platoon system of substitution. There's a reason top teams play the way they do - it works. There's a reason NONE of the top teams use the platoon system - it doesn't work.

Arizona State, under Charlie Thorne, used the platoon system. Her teams were often in the NCAA's, but they best they ever did was the elite 8 twice. I'm just not sure it's a viable coaching strategy for elite teams.

 

[ucbart]

Um. There is a lot going on here, but can I throw in the fact that any coach who willingly takes Janiah Barker for her senior season at her 3rd school, is clearly just gathering players and not building a program. I'm sure that with Tennessee going back to Adidas and with the history of the program that the Lady Vols will have the most NIL $ in the country to give out, but if they keep getting the wrong players and playing that system, I don't think it'll go anywhere.

As for Walz, he's just an elite coach and always has been.