SEC 25-26 | Page 9 | The Boneyard

SEC 25-26

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Are we going to gloss over the fact that Alabama just lost to Texas A&M?
 
Man, Vic's presser was on fire.

I did not see the game, but that seemed over the top. "Softest team he's ever coached?"

He has more credibility than Caldwell, but seemed maybe a little worse really.

Vandy now with an excellent chance to get at least a share of the title if not more.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
Man, Vic's presser was on fire.

I did not see the game, but that seemed over the top. "Softest team he's ever coached?"

He has more credibility than Caldwell, but seemed maybe a little worse really.

Vandy now with an excellent chance to get at least a share of the title if not more.
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Unlike Caldwell, after TN played punching bag for Dawn & Co., Vic took responsibility for the beating. She just threw her kids under the bus.

 
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Sifaka said:
Unlike Caldwell, after TN played punching bag for Dawn & Co., Vic took responsibility for the beating. She just threw her kids under the bus.

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Well, suggesting your team “has no heart and isn’t tough enough” while also lamenting 100’s of thousands in NIL payments isn’t completely taking responsibility.
 
oldude said:
Well, suggesting your team “has no heart and isn’t tough enough” while also lamenting 100’s of thousands in NIL payments isn’t completely taking responsibility.
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Listen from about three minutes on. He clearly says it's his fault that they played as they did. He also distinguishes between the starters and whoever he put in for the second half.

I am not a fan of Mr. Shaefer, but his comments seem reasonable given the way Tx. played.
 
Sifaka said:
Listen from about three minutes on. He clearly says it's his fault that they played as they did. He also distinguishes between the starters and whoever he put in for the second half.

I am not a fan of Mr. Shaefer, but his comments seem reasonable given the way Tx. played.
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Well, it’s something Geno might have done several years ago. But Geno has learned and it’s my preference as well that any harsh comments about the team be reserved for the locker room and practice.
 
Sifaka said:
Listen from about three minutes on. He clearly says it's his fault that they played as they did. He also distinguishes between the starters and whoever he put in for the second half.

I am not a fan of Mr. Shaefer, but his comments seem reasonable given the way Tx. played.
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i don't think he took personable responsibility for it in a meaningful way. Clearly, it wasn't Vic Schaefer's tactics or preparation of effort that was in question. It was the players not caring and having as much heart as Vic Schaefer.

I will say I do not think it's out of bounds for a coach to do this but let's not pretend that the coach putting a perfunctory "but it's my fault because I'm the coach" on top of it removes the finger pointing.

I think it probably was the players fault and I think it's ok for the coach to to say it. maybe that will work and maybe it won't. Kind of depends on team.

But I really doubt that he has the softest team he's ever coached or a soft team in any respect. I doubt he thinks that or it's his message after next game. Then it will be all the sweetness about how Harmon's the greatest player in history of Texas again.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
i don't think he took personable responsibility for it in a meaningful way. Clearly, it wasn't Vic Schaefer's tactics or preparation of effort that was in question. It was the players not caring and having as much heart as Vic Schaefer.

I will say I do not think it's out of bounds for a coach to do this but let's not pretend that the coach putting a perfunctory "but it's my fault because I'm the coach" on top of it removes the finger pointing.

I think it probably was the players fault and I think it's ok for the coach to to say it. maybe that will work and maybe it won't. Kind of depends on team.

But I really doubt that he has the softest team he's ever coached or a soft team in any respect. I doubt he thinks that or it's his message after next game. Then it will be all the sweetness about how Harmon's the greatest player in history of Texas again.
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That's a fair way to interpret it, but neither of us lives in his head, so we can't know if it was sincere or perfunctory.


IMG_3520.jpeg
 
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Sifaka said:
That's a fair way to interpret it, but neither of us lives in his head, so we can't know if it was sincere or perfunctory.


View attachment 117028
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Someone needs to tell Vic that “while defense is often cited as winning championships” you need some semblance of an offensive game which his teams almost never have. Imagine this team without Madison Booker…
 
DefenseBB said:
Someone needs to tell Vic that “while defense is often cited as winning championships” you need some semblance of an offensive game which his teams almost never have. Imagine this team without Madison Booker…
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One of the most impressive things about Staley is it only took one big loss for her to accept no matter how strong your defense, you can’t win without shooters any more.

Vic has lost many more big games, but he’s still trying to push that boulder up the hill. He’s one of many HOFers on women and men’s side more concerned about trying to win the way he thinks it should be played than the way the game actually is played.
 
JstVisiting said:
One of the most impressive things about Staley is it only took one big loss for her to accept no matter how strong your defense, you can’t win without shooters any more.

Vic has lost many more big games, but he’s still trying to push that boulder up the hill. He’s one of many HOFers on women and men’s side more concerned about trying to win the way he thinks it should be played than the way the game actually is played.
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Not sure if I agree about that regarding Vic. I feel like he plays to the strengths of his teams. At Mississippi State his teams shot a lot of 3s when they were loaded with shooters. Part of recruiting players like Harmon/Booker means less perimeter shooting. With Crump/Lee in the lineup the next few years I anticipate their 3pt attempts will increase quite a bit.
 
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I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk on here about LSU/South Carolina. Might be the game of the season so far, or at least one of the best ones. First half was great basketball all around, 3rd quarter was a grind it out SEC kind of quarter and the 4th featured some great plays and missed opportunities. Incredible crowd on hand and a lot of fight and tenacity on both sides.

Some areas I'll comment on:
1. Tessa Johnson is an absolute stud. She has so many similarities to Azzi Fudd but is lower usage. She's not quite as quick as Fudd but makes up for it in height. She carried South Carolina in the first half and proved once again she is elite.

2. The game changed in the 2nd half when Kim yelled to her bench who can guard Tessa Johnson and Bella Hines raised her hand. Kim subbed her in and Hines completely disrupted Johnson and changed the flow of the game, getting LSU back into it. She also hit several key shots. She ultimately only played 6 minutes (probably should've played more) but her impact was huge for LSU. Wish Kim kept her in longer since she was incredibly impactful.

3. Flaujae Johnson had a really nice game and showed some toughness and grit to play as well as she did against South Carolina. Missed free throws will haunt her though and they ultimately cost LSU the game.

4. Can't say enough good things about Raven Johnson, individually she's had ups and downs throughout her career but is playing her best basketball in her final season. She's become a clutch bucket getter for SC and came through big down the stretch. Probably the player of the game for me.

5. Fulwiley struggled big time tonight. She had some active plays defensively but had costly turnovers in the first half and missed almost all of her shots. She didn't seem to try to overdue it but she couldn't find any rhythm and still hasn't figured out how to put it all together. I'm not convinced LSU is the right fit, she's played poorly in almost every big game this season.

6. Mikaylah Williams was too quiet for LSU and Jada Richard struggled. This really wasn't a great performance from LSU but they still almost won the game.

7. Similarly I didn't think Edwards or Latson played particularly well. Joyce Edwards is averaging 20 ppg this season but has consistently struggled to put the ball in the hoop against better teams. A similar pattern held true her freshman year too. I think if South Carolina has a shot to win the championship she needs to be able to put up 20 on a top team.

8. Really good win overall for South Carolina. They should win out and be well positioned to win the SEC and snag a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, even if they don't win the conference tournament.
 
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bballnut90 said:
1. Tessa Johnson is an absolute stud. She has so many similarities to Azzi Fudd but is lower usage. She's not quite as quick as Fudd but makes up for it in height. She carried South Carolina in the first half and proved once again she is elite.

5. Fulwiley struggled big time tonight. She had some active plays defensively but had costly turnovers in the first half and missed almost all of her shots. She didn't seem to try to overdue it but she couldn't find any rhythm and still hasn't figured out how to put it all together. I'm not convinced LSU is the right fit, she's played poorly in almost every big game this season.

7. Similarly I didn't think Edwards or Latson played particularly well. Joyce Edwards is averaging 20 ppg this season but has consistently struggled to put the ball in the hoop against better teams. A similar pattern held true her freshman year too. I think if South Carolina has a shot to win the championship she needs to be able to put up 20 on a top team.

8. Really good win overall for South Carolina. They should win out and be well positioned to win the SEC and snag a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, even if they don't win the conference tournament.
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Enjoyed your comments.

Something tells me that Tessa will be scoring a lot more in the WNBA. A lot of programs would have more of the offense flowing through her. Look at her three-point efficiency. Can you imagine how many shots she would be getting under Kim Caldwell, for instance? But Tessa is such a team player. During the offseason, if you had asked me if I had to choose between losing Lay or Tessa, that would have been an easy choice. Keep Tessa for sure. For her game and also her willingness to accept coaching and her role.

I see LSU fans saying how Lay is playing more minutes this year. She should be! She is a junior. She would have played a lot of minutes for SC last night. I am sad for Lay. She looks sad. But I don't think she was willing to hear what Dawn was trying to tell her. Maybe the move will ultimately be good for her because Kim is not the type to mince words. Still, it's sad when Dawn called her a generational player, and I would have liked to have seen what Dawn could have done with Lay as she reached her upperclassmen years.

I could not agree more on Edwards. Has she really delivered in a big game yet? Before college, there was actually some debate whether she or Sarah Strong was the better player, and at this point it is no contest that it is Sarah. But Joyce is an incredible talent, and I am looking forward to seeing what she will look like as a senior under Dawn. Latson is not 100 percent, and Tessa was hot last night, so I will ascribe Latson's quieter night to that...
 
Vandy’s time as a #1 seed was short-lived as they go down today at UGA 76-74. UGA was unranked and had lost 3 straight. I thought this just might be a “trap game” for the Commodores after 2 big wins at home over OK & TX.
 
oldude said:
Vandy’s time as a #1 seed was short-lived as they go down today at UGA 76-74. UGA was unranked and had lost 3 straight. I thought this just might be a “trap game” for the Commodores after 2 big wins at home over OK & TX.
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Thre road is looong
With many a winding turn
 
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I hate Vic’s style of play. At both Mississippi State and Texas, he very clearly coached flopping at contact. Critics might say that style of coaching could make players soft.
 
‘Don’t call the foul, but give them the OOB’ is an old ref trick that they need to quit. Even when coaches know that’s what you did, they’ll still call for a review and steal the OOB.

Need to adopt the NBA’s solution - if an OOB review shows a “missed” 😉 foul, the officials can call the foul.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
I don't think Strong vs Edwards has ever been much of a debate going back to high school, but Edwards really has a lot of room to grow.

She just tends to disappear on the boards when she gets tired and struggles when she gets crowded and can't get out and run.
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I was absolutely blasted by South Carolina fans when I said I’d be surprised if Edwards arrived polished because HSL player development is borderline nonexistent.

She’s obviously more developed than Fulwiley and Watkins, but nothing to cause me to reconsider my “SCHSL coaching is a half-step above church league” position.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
I don't think Strong vs Edwards has ever been much of a debate going back to high school, but Edwards really has a lot of room to grow.

She just tends to disappear on the boards when she gets tired and struggles when she gets crowded and can't get out and run.
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Edwards needs to find ways to impact winning when her scoring isn’t on. Fairly one-dimensional right now.

Still much improved from last year with a high ceiling. I look forward to seeing how she coexists with Kitts and hopefully Watkins.
 
Well, I think today's games helped give South Carolina that much needed cushion. Both Tennessee and Vanderbilt lost, meaning that all SEC teams besides South Carolina have three losses or more now.
 
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