Senior Brewer leaving UT

[HuskyFan1125]

Im probably gonna catch some slack for this, but I am not a huge fan of Simmons!! She would drive me crazy with her shooting. When she was hot and shots were falling, but she was jacking up shots at times that were a little out of control.

I never count UT out! Ever~~

This year is shaping up to be a good one and it will be interesting to see how the Vols do!! I am a big fan of Glory Johnson but she can be foul prone and Baugh will have to stay healthy.

 

[doggydaddy]

Im probably gonna catch some slack for this, but I am not a huge fan of Simmons!! She would drive me crazy with her shooting. When she was hot and shots were falling, but she was jacking up shots at times that were a little out of control.

I never count UT out! Ever~~

This year is shaping up to be a good one and it will be interesting to see how the Vols do!! I am a big fan of Glory Johnson but she can be foul prone and Baugh will have to stay healthy.

I'll give you some slack and won't give you any flack.

 

[Scotter]

For Burdick to play the 5, that means that Johnson AND Baugh would be on the bench. LOL about Simmons...I have to say you're cracking me up.

Johnson and Baugh both being on the bench will likely happen at times either due to foul trouble, performance, or injury. Burdick at the five flanked by two 6 ft forwards is completely workable. Coaches generally don't play a center just to play a center. Tennesse just has to get 70-80 combined minutes from the three of them in whatever combination works.

Not sure what merits a LOL about Simmons. Unless you took my line about the benefit of the doubt far more seriously than I intended. Everyone saw Pat treat her like the second coming last year.

 

[MikeBraddock]

DD, I see you have doubled the "cuteness" factor on your avatar. We should take in a game.

 

[doggydaddy]

DD, I see you have doubled the "cuteness" factor on your avatar. We should take in a game.

You have the ticket, I have the cash! Let me know. Would love it!

 

[doggydaddy]

Johnson and Baugh both being on the bench will likely happen at times either due to foul trouble, performance, or injury. Burdick at the five flanked by two 6 ft forwards is completely workable. Coaches generally don't play a center just to play a center. Tennesse just has to get 70-80 combined minutes from the three of them in whatever combination works.

Not sure what merits a LOL about Simmons. Unless you took my line about the benefit of the doubt far more seriously than I intended. Everyone saw Pat treat her like the second coming last year.

Burdick can be effective in the middle against some teams. But against most, she will be too small. You also can't just play a player at center. This isn't high school.

The LOL partially for your comment about the benefit of the doubt. But also for you thinking that having someone with the ego of Simmons come off the bench after starting most if not all of the games last year is smart.

 

[MikeBraddock]

You have the ticket, I have the cash! Let me know. Would love it!

 

[MikeBraddock]

Done deal. I will be in touch!

 

[Scotter]

No. Putting a player whose natural instinct is to dominate the ball and try to score without conscience in the role of 6th man is smart. It's the best place to play a player like Simmons who for better or worse immediately impacts games. Maximizes her strengths and more importantly limits her considerable weaknesses. If that's not smart then Geno's just as dumb. And if her ego is as big as you believe I don't see how catering to it by starting her is any smarter. Not if the goal is to win games.

The LOL partially for your comment about the benefit of the doubt. But also for you thinking that having someone with the ego of Simmons come off the bench after starting most if not all of the games last year is smart.

 

[Scotter]

It's also not the pros. About half the teams that make the Final Four don't even have anybody that you need a true center to guard.

You also can't just play a player at center. This isn't high school.

 

[doggydaddy]

No. Putting a player whose natural instinct is to dominate the ball and try to score without conscience in the role of 6th man is smart. It's the best place to play a player like Simmons who for better or worse immediately impacts games. Maximizes her strengths and more importantly limits her considerable weaknesses. If that's not smart then Geno's just as dumb. And if her ego is as big as you believe I don't see how catering to it by starting her is any smarter. Not if the goal is to win games.

Maybe its smart. But since it will never happen, it's just opinion.

 

[Vowelguy]

TN didn't get any JUCO transfers over the summer, did they? After Cain & Avant, PHS had promised that she was going to bring in 1-2 players. (Though I udnerstand she may have been distracted by other things...)

 

[Dman]

why is tennessee losing so many players first kelley cain now alyssia brewer dang there definitely going to need work on there frontcourt this season

 

[tnvolfan65]

a few notes...yes tenn has had its share of players leave over the past few years but few of them are alike.

as of now the situation with brewer is unknown and i don't think it's fair for anyone involved to speculate. as has been mentioned, all that has been clarified is it was not for disciplinary reasons and not for academics.

cain left after dealing with a career full of injuries. she graduated last year and decided her body couldn't handle the rigors of divison 1 basketball anymore. same case as cait m, who had similar knee problems.

amber gray left following complications from her brain surgery. the tennessee medical staff would not clear her to play, and tennessee aired on the cautionary side as they had also done with a male basketball player. xavier, however, did clear her to play so she ended up their in her native state.

avant left because she decided she wanted to focus more on academics then being a division 1 basketball player. she wants to be a doctor and was also coming off multiple years of injuries.

faith dupree left because she came in behind cain, brewer, johnson, and baugh and decided to go to a school where she could be more of the focus. ironically, she would be a huge player for us now, but hindsight is 20/20. it had to be intimidating to come in with those 4 players in the class right ahead of you.

but in terms of our roster this year, yes it would be ideal to have johnson at the four with a post anchoring the paint behind her. she has proven the ability to reak havoc on the perimeter defensively, but if she's stuck guarding the posts, it limits her in that regard. however, if in a tight game, if it comes down to having johnson at the 5 or harrison, i'm sure it will be johnson regardless of who is a more natural center.

baugh will be closely monitored over the course of the season, but believe me. she has a greater will to win than most. she will play when they need her and rest when she needs to.

 

[EricSD]

tnvol - realistically how much do you think can be expected of Baugh? coming off her own host of ACL's and knee injuries, she reminds me in a way of Doty, and if someone told me Doty would be relied on to start and average 30+ minutes per game in big games, i'd be nervous.

 

[tnvolfan65]

the thing with baugh though is that she's had a more than a full year of rest and recovery including last season where she was able to play sparingly...she's had time to rehab. she's had time to test it. and she's had time to shake the cobwebs off. maybe i'm naively optimistic about the reports, but if she's feeling close to 100%, there's no point in not playing her just because she has a history of injuries. unfortunately, they're part of the game, but she can't serve us any good if we don't play her.

if the reports are wrong, and she's not 100% then i think we've got bigger problems. as with last year, we had posts but we had a different one every other game to pair with johnson depending on how each one felt. so i'm just hoping and praying that baugh is back to her old self and can contribute night in and night out. if that's the case, then i expect her to average 20-30 minutes a game. i expect some games to be decided early, and allow the development of burdick and harrison.

but i have to only hope that in our big games, even if we only play 6 or 7 players that baugh is one of them and she's playing extended minutes. this girl is an all-american minus the injuries. (not worth anything but message board fodder, but it's true.)

 

[Tonyc]

tnvolfan Doty had approx a year from high school to college to rehab her knee too and look what happened again. Same thing was said about her being 100%.

Tn will lack height and a presence underneath. They lack depth overall. Opposing teams will kick the ball inside all night with the mismatch.

 

[connboy77]

i'm not trying to downplay this loss, because it is indeed a big loss, but it by no means takes us from contender to pretender.

brewer gave us quality depth at the 5 spot, but baugh and johnson were pretty much set to start in the post. her and baugh were both coming back from traumatic injuries so two semi-healthy posts would've been better than one, but reportedly baugh is looking and feeling better than she has since her freshman year. we'll hope and pray that continues.

harrison's development will be key and burdick will be expected to contribute at the 4 as well, but we still have plenty of talent.

massengale, bass
simmons, spani
stricklen, manning
johnson, burdick
baugh, harrison

this roster gives us a very solid 8 person rotation with simmons' ability to move to the point and johnson's ability to slide to the 5. bass and harrison both have a huge opportunity to earn lots of pt, and they have the full support of all the lady vol nation.

This is true, but the margin of error for Tennessee just got a little smaller. Where as the freshman Harrison could have been brought along more slowly, now she is going to be thrown into the fire immediately. Also Vicky is coming back from a major injury. If Tennessee gets 25 solid minutes from her each game that is good. Another injury to Vicky, and I hope it doesn't happen, could spell the end to Tennessee's title hopes this year.

 

[doggydaddy]

It's also not the pros. About half the teams that make the Final Four don't even have anybody that you need a true center to guard.

We are talking about a specific player in Burdick.

You think she would have been able to guard the senior Ogwumike? or any of the 6'5" centers that they bring in at Stanford? Or Adams at A&M? She would post Burdick up all night? Dolson? please...lol. And Peters? I don't think so. That is all the Final Four teams.

I'd bet anything that you won't see Burdick playing the 5 this year. And if she does, it will be against some of the weaker teams that UT plays.

 

[Enigma64]

In a 12-14 month period five players (Grey, Dupree, Cain, Avant, & Brewer) transfer... That's a huge hit on a program!

 

[AboutWeston]

Contender to Pretender.

It was just fun to type. I certainly don't think a team as talented as Tennessee will be pretenders.

Adding Massingale to the backcourt is a big improvement. And Burdick is a fine player. I don't think Harrison will make a big impact.

They should still be a top 10 team, but it's not just the loss of a post player. It's one more player leaving the program. It's got to impact the remaining players.

I agree with DD

 

[Phil]

Perspective

In terms of raw production, this is not a major deal. It is never a good thing when you lose a piece to a puzzle, no matter how small, but I'll get to that. In terms of stats, Brewer was ninth, in terms of minutes, tenth, in terms of points per game, and tenth in terms of rebounds per game. For comparison, Heather Buck and Lauren Englen are ninth and tenth for those categories. Or to compare to an LV player, Brewer, a post player, pulled down as many rebounds per game as perimeter guard Bjorkland.

I agree it is a slightly bigger deal when you consider the position. Let's remember though, that Brewer is listed as a forward, not a center (as an interesting aside, she is still listed on the roster.) As Kib might like to say, let's not get too focused on 4 versus 5, let's just call her a post. It is true that with the loss of Cain, and the concern about Baugh's medical history (she may be in the best condition ever, but it is understandable that some will worry), plus the usual cautiousness about counting on untested frosh, the post situation at Tennessee has transitioned from an embarrassment of riches to legitimate concern. That said, if Baugh is healthy, if Johnson plays to her abilities, if Burdick's transition to the college game is smooth and Harrison delivers almost anything, added to some post work from Manning and Stricklen, the front court of Tennessee will be one of the best in the country (as someone aptly pointed out, one with a smaller margin of error).

The announcement is a deal, maybe even a big deal, but more so for nonstat reasons. All good programs have players leaving, UConn is not immune. Any situation can be a variety of issues, and in most cases, we don't know the whole story. But when the count mounts, something is going on. We don't know, and the announcement didn't really explain. That combination leads to speculation. Who initiated the decision, Brewer or Summitt? Some don't like speculation but (as long as we steer clear of harmful speculation, which the mods will remove), it is untenable to expect someone to be a fan of a sport, then refuse to even speculate about what is going on in a situation such as this. That said, there are some things we can eliminate. This isn't a decision to open up a roster spot for a transfer. Not only are they not at the limit, the timing is wrong. Any new recruit or transfer could not possibly get a minute of playing time until next season, a year after Brewer graduates. Whatever is going on, it isn't that.

 

[cferraro04]

Phil, I agree with everything you said but, I have to add one thing to the mix. Remember Alyssa Brewer managed about 10 points and about 6 rebounds her sophmore year. It was injuries that prevented her from building on that.

 

[doggydaddy]

Perspective

In terms of raw production, this is not a major deal. It is never a good thing when you lose a piece to a puzzle, no matter how small, but I'll get to that. In terms of stats, Brewer was ninth, in terms of minutes, tenth, in terms of points per game, and tenth in terms of rebounds per game. For comparison, Heather Buck and Lauren Englen are ninth and tenth for those categories. Or to compare to an LV player, Brewer, a post player, pulled down as many rebounds per game as perimeter guard Bjorkland.

I agree it is a slightly bigger deal when you consider the position. Let's remember though, that Brewer is listed as a forward, not a center (as an interesting aside, she is still listed on the roster.) As Kib might like to say, let's not get too focused on 4 versus 5, let's just call her a post. It is true that with the loss of Cain, and the concern about Baugh's medical history (she may be in the best condition ever, but it is understandable that some will worry), plus the usual cautiousness about counting on untested frosh, the post situation at Tennessee has transitioned from an embarrassment of riches to legitimate concern. That said, if Baugh is healthy, if Johnson plays to her abilities, if Burdick's transition to the college game is smooth and Harrison delivers almost anything, added to some post work from Manning and Stricklen, the front court of Tennessee will be one of the best in the country (as someone aptly pointed out, one with a smaller margin of error).

The announcement is a deal, maybe even a big deal, but more so for nonstat reasons. All good programs have players leaving, UConn is not immune. Any situation can be a variety of issues, and in most cases, we don't know the whole story. But when the count mounts, something is going on. We don't know, and the announcement didn't really explain. That combination leads to speculation. Who initiated the decision, Brewer or Summitt? Some don't like speculation but (as long as we steer clear of harmful speculation, which the mods will remove), it is untenable to expect someone to be a fan of a sport, then refuse to even speculate about what is going on in a situation such as this. That said, there are some things we can eliminate. This isn't a decision to open up a roster spot for a transfer. Not only are they not at the limit, the timing is wrong. Any new recruit or transfer could not possibly get a minute of playing time until next season, a year after Brewer graduates. Whatever is going on, it isn't that.

I agree and disagree as well...lol. What a shock.

Everything I've read about this (yes, on The Summitt) says that Brewer is the only true 5. So whatever they list her as, others there don't agree. And they do say that she was struggling this summer still. But that is based on her injury from last ear which caused her stats to be what you described. Buck and Engeln like. But go back to her soph year when she was healthy. 10.2 PPG and 5.5 RPG. And she was MVP of the SEC tourney. I'm sure Pat was hoping she would return to that level. And losing a player like that is HUGE.

If you are talking about the post, I just don't see Burdick making up for the loss of Cain and Brewer. She will be able to play the 4 and that would allow more time at the 5 for Johnson, but defensively, the bigger posts will give them fits.

And the biggest issue might be mental. Losing a senior like this along with Bjorklund graduating, Avant leaving, Williams injured and Cain not coming back has to weight heavily on the seniors this year and all the returning players. Something is going on at Tennessee. I just don't know what that is.

 

[doggydaddy]

Phil, I agree with everything you said but, I have to add one thing to the mix. Remember Alyssa Brewer managed about 10 points and about 6 rebounds her freshman year. It was injuries that prevented her from building on that.

That was her soph year. Her freshman year she was around 6/4.

 

[Phil]

We are in complete agreement that the issue is more mental. On what is lost stats wise, good point that her soph stats were quite solid. So what have they lost? The 10 PPG soph, who might as a senior produce 12-13? Or the junior who wasn't quite producing 3? Hard to say, but fair to point out that a healthy Brewer is probably worth more than 3 ppg.

 

[Icebear]

It will, also, remain to be seen how it impacts the emotional make up of a team that already has a lot on it's plate with the news about Pat. At this point I see the Lady Vols as an Elite Eight team once again. They have much to prove. That was my prediction last year and with what they presently face I do not see them stepping up enough to make the FF.

 

[UConnCat]

Is it possible that the coaches wanted Brewer to redshirt this year and she refused? It sounds like Brewer has not fully recovered from her injury and therefore is not fully conditioned and ready to go at 100% this season. Perhaps Summitt is thinking the team doesn't really need Brewer at 70% this year but could really use Brewer at close to 100% next season (with so many posts graduating). Of course, the hole in my speculation is Summitt's statement about helping her transfer. If Brewer wants to play again and is thinking about transferring, she'd have to sit out a year anyway so why not just stay at Tenn and redshirt.

This one is tough to figure out.

 

[Vowelguy]

Could be addition by subtraction. Some recruiting classes dont have it - for whatever reason - and they end up infecting the whole team. The 2008 class may end up the worst in TN's history. Reducing their numbers may turn out a good thing.

 

[Phil]

Interesting, I was just mulling over the redshirt option. I wondered about the exact opposite. What if Brewer was legitimately concerned about her current health, and suggested that a year off might be the best thing for her. What if the response by Pat is, yes, that helps you, but doesn't help us. Just speculating, but what if Pat is thinking with the loss of Cain, and two frosh bigs, she needs post help this year, but next year she will be fine. What if they both conclude that a year off is good for Brewer, but doesn't do much for the LV's and the only other option is to play the last year elsewhere?