Playing To A Program Standard

[LwrcasefaN]

There is no doubt that talent matters. But you can have top recruits and you may not get the outcome you expected. There's the reverse where you recruit a bunch of "role" players and find yourself nationally competitive, like an Arizona. In sports there are a lot of terms and cliches that mean very little to nothing if you don't have "standards" for all your players. My favorite gem is the term...Power 5 conference. A team's inclusion does not afford them success, stiff competition, but revenue. That's the only guarantee.

Watching the TN/UCONN game and reading all the "reasons" why TN faltered reminded me of what makes a team successful. It's adherence to fundamentals and adhering to "program" standards and being held accountable when you don't. It's also valuing all members of the TEAM even if you have "stars". TN won a lot of games this year while still turning the ball over, shooting poorly and generally struggling with offensive flow for stretches. But, they were beating "ranked" teams, many who are no longer "ranked", so I don't think they focused enough attention on improving deficiencies. It's to the benefit of the team to not just ignore shortcomings and simply wrap itself in ESPN highlights, local headlines, the rose-colored comments from fans or just because you "won". Being "honest" regarding where you can improve is a must. Keyen Green's lost is not why TN has struggled lately. It's not. It can't be when Paige, Aubrey and Ducharme are absent...and you still can't beat UCONN. Heck, Paige shot poorly last year in Tenn and you still lost.

Teams are marketed usually utilizing the face of the highest scorer. One person is not a team. And while UCONN has had its share of "stars", they emphasize team play and adherence to sound basics from all players. The secret sauce is team play. How do you prepare for a team that attacks from all 5 positions and runs an offense (read and react ...Princeton) that's a concept...and not an actual play?!

I stopped counting all the different combinations UCONN put on the floor yesterday to address real-time needs. Amazing piece of coaching considering all the hurdles this year. UCONN fans have shown their frustration in posts because that's what fans do. Hopefully, the greatest reward wasn't just the "win", but the joy and relief on all the player's faces. National championship or not...this group just made a giant leap.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think Tennessee's coaches have done a good job of getting them to play defense and rebound.

In the end though if you're not deep and have big holes in your offense the grit can only take you so far.

Not sure why they are playing this badly though.

They are better than getting blown out.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I think Tennessee's coaches have done a good job of getting them to play defense and rebound.

In the end though if you're not deep and have big holes in your offense the grit can only take you so far.

Not sure why they are playing this badly though.

They are better than getting blown out.

I agree to an extent. They haven't gotten them to trust one another, especially when it gets tough. Rae and Horston need to realize they are better working together...not one on one against the other team or even worse..against one another. And I think the coaches haven't done enough to diversify the offensive game of Key. If she can hit free throws, then she doesn't need to live under the basket an entire game...and would be a nice pick for a driver outside the lane. There have been multiple games where Key has had 5 shot attempts or less and she is 6' 6" and a wide body! Hit some freethrow line jumpers.

They are too one-dimensional in their offense. You can almost predict what will happen depending on who gets the ball...especially, late in the clock. And I get that Dye isn't the best defender, but they should have left her in the game. She wasn't the only one that Azzi torched and she'll get you more points and rebounds than Darby who is pretty much a one-dimensional offensive threat. Rae could hit the shots that Darby does and would pick up fewer offensive fouls bullying her way into the lane.

And of course, I'm not an insider, but if you can play Saunders, in the 2nd quarter no less against UCONN. it's a head-scratcher how Striplin plays so little. Pucket needs the greenlight. She seems to be deferring like a lot of freshmen, but they need her. She's solid.