O.T : "The Real Diamond DeShields"" | The Boneyard

O.T : "The Real Diamond DeShields""

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AnotherVolFan said:
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12369231/the-real-diamond-deshields

Pretty good article from ESPN. Still doesn't give the scoop on the exact reason she decided to leave, but sheds a little light.
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Good article and brings up a couple of interesting dots that I had not connected in my head before reading the article. Concerning the timing of the announcement of Pat Summitt’s condition. Kaela Davis de-committed from UT after the announcement, Russell & Tucker either stayed with their commitment or committed after the announcement. Diamond per the article got scared away. Without the announcement UT could have ended up with the 1, 2, 3 & 8 overall recruit in the same class- ’13 . That would have been quite a haul for UT.
 
CocoHusky said:
Good article and brings up a couple of interesting dots that I had not connected in my head before reading the article. Concerning the timing of the announcement of Pat Summitt’s condition. Kaela Davis de-committed from UT after the announcement, Russell & Tucker either stayed with their commitment or committed after the announcement. Diamond per the article got scared away. Without the announcement UT could have ended up with the 1, 2, 3 & 8 overall recruit in the same class- ’13 . That would have been quite a haul for UT.
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I cant see Desheilds and Davis co-existing on the same roster..... no way I can see that.
 
I thought it was a real good article and video. She will be a preseason AA next year.
 
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Well, we know she was unhappy about something at UNC, but I doubt if
we'll ever know what it was. Not about Coach Hatchell apparently.
 
rvwsleep said:
Probably. The question is where she and the Lady Vols will be at the end of the season.
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I think with her and a healthy Russell. The team will have the most talented teams in the history of the program. BTW there was a photo of Russell hand on rim today. She looked like she was dunking with no ball. It was in a tweet today.
 
stwainfan said:
I think with her and a healthy Russell. The team will have the most talented teams in the history of the program. BTW there was a photo of Russell hand on rim today. She looked like she was dunking with no ball. It was in a tweet today.
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Not even close to the most talented in program history. Whatever you're smoking, pass it down.
 
stwainfan said:
I think with her and a healthy Russell. The team will have the most talented teams in the history of the program. BTW there was a photo of Russell hand on rim today. She looked like she was dunking with no ball. It was in a tweet today.
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Of course, you do! I think you might even get a bunch of arguments from staunch TENNESSEE fans on that remark.
 
TN with DD or not is not going anywhere! Stick a fork in the Vols they're done! They'll join the schools such as: GA, LA Tech, Old Dominion, VA, Auburn, SoCal, LSU, TX, Immaculatta, Delta St., etc. that say, "Remember when we used to be great!" If Holly Warlick couldn't get her TN players to follow her directions for 2 years how's she going to get a DD led roster to listen to her? They may make it as far as the Elite 8 but will self-destruct and never make the FF! If you really think a Holly Warlick team will make the FF and even win a NCAA Title you're nuts!
 
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Diamond, why don't you just say, the day Te'a Cooper decommitted from UNC, I became very unhappy.
 
stwainfan said:
I think with her and a healthy Russell. The team will have the most talented teams in the history of the program. BTW there was a photo of Russell hand on rim today. She looked like she was dunking with no ball. It was in a tweet today.
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The question is whether they will be coachable.
 
iri10 said:
I love ya, stwainfan, but I definitely can't agree with this.

The 97-98 Tennessee team would floss with the bones of next year's team. :D
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I ment too say one of the most talented teams. Look at Carter, Jones athletic ability. Guards Cooper, Reynolds, Carter, DeShields. With Russell in the middle Graves can play more mud range in. Tennessee hasn't had a player like this since Parker. If she stays all three years. She can be one of the best ever. She has that type of ability.
 
Yes, we'll see if it is just coach speak or not. She gains nothing at the moment by saying anything different.
 
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stwainfan said:
I think with her and a healthy Russell. The team will have the most talented teams in the history of the program. BTW there was a photo of Russell hand on rim today. She looked like she was dunking with no ball. It was in a tweet today.
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I don't know, from what I've seen of Mercedes Russell I haven't been impressed. Basically, she's just tall. Mobility wise I think she would get eaten up by most other physical post players in the nation even with the height advantage. Obviously, there is a lot more playing for her to do and maybe the foot situation had something to do with it but she doesn't seem like she will be one of the legendary great posts when its all said and done. I could be wrong, but I just don't see it happening.
 
Nuyoika said:
I don't know, from what I've seen of Mercedes Russell I haven't been impressed. Basically, she's just tall. Mobility wise I think she would get eaten up by most other physical post players in the nation even with the height advantage. Obviously, there is a lot more playing for her to do and maybe the foot situation had something to do with it but she doesn't seem like she will be one of the legendary great posts when its all said and done. I could be wrong, but I just don't see it happening.
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Well she was a guard at one point. Before she grew to the height she is now. She was limited by her foot last year. As long as she has no more problems with the feet. She can make a diffrence. So I Will just say let's see how she does this next year.
 
triaddukefan said:
I cant see Desheilds and Davis co-existing on the same roster..... no way I can see that.
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Why not? They played AAU together for years. Davis was committed to UT until Pat's announcement. Per the article Diamond was still considering UT. Do you not believe Diamond? I 'm not saying it would have worked because you have two ball dominant, shoot first wing players-but it's UT consider the entertainment value of watching UT trying to make that work!
 
STw, such a passion to defend something that is completely unknowable. I know Tennesse keeps believing a return to the promise land is only a year away but every year that expectation has less and less meaning. Getting to the FF will probably not happen this year and maybe not even next year. How long until reality sinks in.
 
stwainfan said:
I ment too say one of the most talented teams. Look at Carter, Jones athletic ability. Guards Cooper, Reynolds, Carter, DeShields. With Russell in the middle Graves can play more mud range in. Tennessee hasn't had a player like this since Parker. If she stays all three years. She can be one of the best ever. She has that type of ability.
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OK I can go along with the "potential" of being one of the very best teams in Knoxville..... TN has always had talent...... a lot of it..... they just need to utilize it to best ability...... Here are my worries with next year's team and specifically these 2 players

1. Mercedes..... yes she was the #1 overall recruit...... but we all are guilty of talking of the new sheriff in town, things are going to change now..... etc.... Mercedes didn't show anything her freshman year..... yes i understand she had foot problems that needed surgery...... but especially with the bigs, we always, in my opinion, should be talking about potential, and not fitting them yet for AA status...... I would like to wait and see with Mercedes to see what kind of game she has,..... her talent, her desire, and her value as a teammate..... and also, particularly against the top teams in the country..... how does she run the floor.....???? it will not matter against Mississippi and Alabama, but it sure will matter against UC and ND...... will she have fire in the belly, or will she be content to be a post up and lay up player? Time will tell

2. Diamond...... Well Lady Vol fans have waited longer for this time than almost any other..... Super amount of talent.... again I want to wait and see .... of course she can drop 40 on Presbyterian, but what about the big dogs...... 2 things i am wondering about her.... first is how she will play team ball..... she has such great talent, that when games get tough, she will have to resist the temptation to take too much on herself..... the cast of characters she has to play alongside is strong.... and i hope she plays more team ball than Meghan Simmons ball.... the other thing i wonder about with Diamond is her ability to follow Holly's lead..... I do not think, from the games i saw at UNC her freshman year, that she was all that interested in team ball.... i could be wrong because I am talking about a small sample size (4 games)..... but i think of Ariel M. saying before this season started that the team had realized the error of their ways, and will follow the coaching staff's direction..... and then only a couple of games in you see Holly in the press complaining how the team is not responding to the things she is trying to teach.....

You have a couple of great assets here.... hope for your sake they fit in well when next year starts......
 
I Will say this about Russell. I think she being Gatorade POY. That she is more ready at this level than Harrison was. Harrison had to work to become a real good player. She didn't play much her freshman year. Russell we didn't see her full game because of her foot problem. If that is fully heathly then we can see the player we expected. As far as Diamond I think she will be one of the top ten players in the country. This year's team has improved a lot. Its just the injuries have taken some of the depth and things they can do as a team.
 
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Tennessee will be a much stronger team next year. They are going to beat Chattanooga. Poor Jim Foster.
 
I hope TN plays well every year and gets into the top 5 soon?.............SC will be loaded again.........
 
TN will have at least 7 high school AA's next year. They will continue to be very good (top 5 or 10). They have depth, talent and size most other schools just can't match. The biggest question that face any loaded team is how well they work together as a team. They're adding at least 3 very good players into a already deep team. Then you have to replace 2 starters (3 if you count Izzy and no one player solidify's the spot this year) into the rotation. Holly will need to figure out who take what role and works well with who. Too much talent is always a better problem than not enough, but it presents it's own set of problems for coaches. Uconn will also be at least 10 deep next year, but he has 4 starters back which may make things a little easier . He will also have to figure out a a rotation that leads to a championship.
 
Bayareahusky said:
2. Diamond. Well Lady Vol fans have waited longer for this time than almost any other..... Super amount of talent.... again I want to wait and see .... of course she can drop 40 on Presbyterian, but what about the big dogs.
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DD did pretty good against the ranked teams last year. She put 30 on #3 Duke last year, and 25 in their second meeting. 38 on #10 NC State. So she can score against the good teams too. Now can she lead her team to victory? That's a different question. And we'll have to wait and see.
 
Diamond reminds me a lot of Angel Mccoughtry, she might be a gunner, but with the way most people talk about the current UT players, who else would you want taking shots outside of Graves? hasn't Middleton, Nard, Dumbar, etc been pretty horrific? From what little i saw of Russell last year, she's more like Kelly Cain, then Parker. Even if UT's plan becomes give the ball to Deshields and get out the way, some of the best UT teams have been with a ball dominate Parker or Holdsclaw.
 
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