Sierra Calhoun Down to 4 Schools

[meyers7]

No doubt Tenn will be competitive next year...they were competitive this year. And considering the effects of the net players they are gaining, will getting bigger and better. However, at the end of the day, the Lady Vols simply do not have what it takes to win it all next year starting with 1) mental toughness, 2) Final Four experience and 3) the ability to play elite level defense.

I'm thinking elite level offense might be more of a liability for them.

 

[Stray Cat]

I'm thinking elite level offense might be more of a liability for them.

Come on meyers7, aren't you forgetting they have the most fabulous, speediest, quick shot offensive artist of all-time, Meighan Simmons? I'm not sure if that is a net positive or negative to the Lady Vols.

 

[easttexastrash]

Russell and Graves are going to be quite a tandem in the paint. Those are two very highly ranked players that may work very well together. UT is perched to become a major force again in WCBB. If recruits see that happening they may want to be part of that.

 

[meyers7]

Russell and Graves are going to be quite a tandem in the paint. Those are two very highly ranked players that may work very well together. UT is perched to become a major force again in WCBB. If recruits see that happening they may want to be part of that.

Well personally, I'm not gonna hold my breath.

 

[easttexastrash]

Well personally, I'm not gonna hold my breath.

They are on the list of a lot of highly ranked recruits. And if UCONN doesn't land a big to replace Dolson UT will have a big advantage in the paint.

 

[Stray Cat]

They are on the list of a lot of highly ranked recruits. And if UCONN doesn't land a big to replace Dolson UT will have a big advantage in the paint.

"IF" this and "IF" that easttexastrash. The bottom line is at the end of the day Tenn cannot overcome the advantage UConn has in the coaching and player development department. And once again, winning championships is all about playing elite level defense. Not included in this definition is allowing your opponent to score 82 points on you in the Regional Championship game. Oh, and be sure to give my regards and condolences when you see her to the "best PG in the nation, who has only made one FF in three years while playing with one of the most dominant players of all-time" .

 

[doggydaddy]

They are on the list of a lot of highly ranked recruits. And if UCONN doesn't land a big to replace Dolson UT will have a big advantage in the paint.

They will have Stokes for a year after Dolson. And a bigger and stronger Stewart can man the post along with Tuck.

I really don't think Tennessee will have a big advantage anywhere anytime soon. And fans can underestimate opponents all they want as long as the team doesn't.

 

[alexrgct]

Never underestimate your opponent. If you feel certain that UT cannot compete you are thinking along the same lines of almost every person who thought Louisville had no chance of competing with Baylor. UT is going to have lots of talent and Warlick will have a second year to mold her team.

I don't think any of us plays for or coaches for Uconn. If we underestimate, we're probably ok.

 

[meyers7]

They are on the list of a lot of highly ranked recruits. And if UCONN doesn't land a big to replace Dolson UT will have a big advantage in the paint.

So is UCONN. Still not gonna hold my breath waiting for "The South to rise again."

 

[ndmb]

I hope Sierra comes to UConn as well. But kids that age don't necessarily rely on logic alone for their decisions, as Nan has posted more than once. During her college search my daughter visited Smith College. She liked it and applied there. I couldn't get her to even visit Mount Holyoke which is pretty close the Smith, also all-female and has an academic reputation that's at least in the same range as Smith. Logic would seem to dictate that she would check out similar schools, but no. She could never even verbalize why she wouldn't visit. Just shrugged and said she didn't want to visit.

Who knows?

She made the right call. Having taken classes at both, Smith is several notches more rigorous than MoHo.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Smith was the "fictional" road house visit in Animal House, a story spawned by Dartmouth Grads. Just sayin...

And...some of us were very adept at intimate pyrotechnic gymnastics, even with one lower appendage placed fairly firmly on the floor.

 

[pinotbear]

Smith was the "fictional" road house visit in Animal House, a story spawned by Dartmouth Grads. Just sayin...

And...some of us were very adept at intimate pyrotechnic gymnastics, even with one lower appendage placed fairly firmly on the floor.

Ah, yes: home of the late Fern Lebowitz

 

[alexrgct]

Well, this thread has gone to the end and back. Good job, one and all.

 

[Bayareahusky]

At the risk of duplicating opinion here..... on the last few postings..... yes, I think Tennessee is making strides toward a return to WCBB prominence...... they have a ways to go though...... it is like Missouri..... you have to "show me"..... and prove that they belong in the echelon of the best...... crem de la crem..... As I have said before, I think Holly has made a good start..... 12-13 certainly was an improvement over 11-12...... it must be hard with Pat looking over your shoulder..... and I am sorry...... all the chatter about what an inspiration she is to be there every day.....etc.... I still think that is a distraction to the atmosphere..... though that is mere opinion.... I am not there.... Imagine John Wooden taking an office and attending practices when Gene Bartow took over..... it is very hard to disassociate the monarch from the program......

On the roster, Mercedes has to prove herself..... ranking means very little when you transfer to the college environment..... we have seen examples at our program of top-5 players coming in and dominating not to the extent that they were billed coming in...... She may turn into a superstar..... but still she is unproven..... same with Diamond at UNC or anyone else..... I am of the opinion that they have untapped talent..... on the front line and at guard spot as well..... that they need to develop..... Meaghan S (love to harp on her) needs to still be developed..... and it better be this year because she is graduating..... just as Moriah needed to learn to not always go on one speed and take in the pace of the game..... MS needs to playmake more than shoot .... it will help her team..... she is better than she was last year, but Geno would have her on the bench until she learned how to play team ball......

One last thing on UT..... Holdsclaw..... I wonder where her court case stands..... she has had some demons..... God Bless her! I hope that she is doing OK and that she is on the road to a productive life...... she was truly one of the great ones at UT.....

And, on WCBB in general..... despite the Louisville surge late this past year in the tournament..... WCBB is STILL very top heavy, so I am not that impressed when a team is talked about as "Top 10" or Top 25..... IF you are not UC, Duke, Stanford, or maybe ND, UT, and UNC if they develop, you can shut the door on the national title game..... it is changing, the landscape, but ever so slowly..... Even though I am not in favor of resuming the UT rivalry, because it wouldn't help our program...... it would, nonetheless, help elevate the image of our overall WCBB game, and hype the interest of the mainstream as it did initially in the late 90s....... WCBB is such a great game..... and I hope it continues to grow..

 

[easttexastrash]

"IF" this and "IF" that easttexastrash. The bottom line is at the end of the day Tenn cannot overcome the advantage UConn has in the coaching and player development department. And once again, winning championships is all about playing elite level defense. Not included in this definition is allowing your opponent to score 82 points on you in the Regional Championship game. Oh, and be sure to give my regards and condolences when you see her to the "best PG in the nation, who has only made one FF in three years while playing with one of the most dominant players of all-time" .

"IF" this and "IF" that easttexastrash. The bottom line is at the end of the day Tenn cannot overcome the advantage UConn has in the coaching and player development department. And once again, winning championships is all about playing elite level defense. Not included in this definition is allowing your opponent to score 82 points on you in the Regional Championship game. Oh, and be sure to give my regards and condolences when you see her to the "best PG in the nation, who has only made one FF in three years while playing with one of the most dominant players of all-time" .

Meeeooowwww. Stray Cat is pretty accurate...Stray Cats always have the claws out. Not sure why you need to be such a jerk, but whatever works for you. I find your pettiness amusing.

 

[doggydaddy]

Meeeooowwww. Stray Cat is pretty accurate...Stray Cats always have the claws out. Not sure why you need to be such a jerk, but whatever works for you. I find your pettiness amusing.

It was so amusing you quoted it twice.

You felt the need to post several times how good you think TN will be and on top of that made a couple of negative posts about Uconn. And on top of that, two times you felt the need to tell Uconn fans not to underestimate Tennessee.

I kinda think Stray Cat went easy on you and never called you a name as you did to him.

 

[jplotinus]

Well, it seems this thread is morphing away from discussion of chances of UCONN winning the recruitment battle for Sierra Calhoun, and that's fine. But, for my part, I'd like to say I am very impressed with you, Sierra. Of course, I'm biased. I have a granddaughter named Sierra, so I'm naturally in favor of you ;-p

I see you are rated #10 by Hoopgurlz and I see you made all metro 1st team this year, averaging 22pts/game. That is impressive. I suspect you'll do even more in your senior season, which I look forward to monitoring. Based on video I've seen, you are agile and strong. Even as a junior, you were easily the most confident player and you were in command of your game, as I see it.

Here's a link with an example:

http://www.msgvarsity.com/brooklyn-bronx/2012-13-all-metro-first-team-sierra-calhoun-1.1436111

UCONN fans are very interested in you. We support our team strongly, follow it closely and we take pride in getting to know our players both as basketballers and as excellent student/athletes. You will fit in wonderfully here should you decide on UCONN, as we all hope you will.

 

[UCONNfan1]

They are on the list of a lot of highly ranked recruits. And if UCONN doesn't land a big to replace Dolson UT will have a big advantage in the paint.

Seriously? Do you know who played the 5 much of the year when Dolson was on the bench? It was Stewie. Now i'm sure Russell is a very nice player, but she isn't the consensus #1, nor has she ever been dominant on any USA national teams he's played on.

Stewie on the other hand has dominated most every team she's ever been on. I'd pit Stewie head to head with Russell for the next 3 years if it were possible and Stewie would blow her away every single time. Breanna Stewart will be mentioned in the same breath as Diana and Maya. Russell has lots of potential. So did Angie Bjorkland, Kelsey Bone, April Sykes and Natasha Howard. All of them were ranked either #1 or #2 in their classes, and never achieved the personal successes that lower ranked players such as Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Odyssey Sims, or Chelsey Gray have.

I think it's cute that Tennessee fans think they are anywhere near the level UCONN is. Let's see if the NCAA finally puts them in a bracket they could possibly meet UCONN in. In the past, Tennessee hasn't gone far enough in the NCAA's to get the chance.

 

[easttexastrash]

They will be in the FF next season so the chances are increasing.

 

[sarals24]

They will be in the FF next season so the chances are increasing.

Oh, they will? Just like the past five years? Oh wait...that was UConn...

Their best chance to make the FF recently was this year. They lost to a L'Ville team that UConn beat by 30.

 

[UCONNfan1]

Oh, they will? Just like the past five years? Oh wait...that was UConn...

Their best chance to make the FF recently was this year. They lost to a L'Ville team that UConn beat by 30.

Yes but you forget they will have a roster full of AA's next year so it should be different... Oh wait, they have that every year... I don't deny they should be in the top 8. But I see them behind UCONN, Duke, ND, and maybe Maryland and Stanford. They won so many close games last year against teams they should have dominated and lost to teams like Chattanooga, Missouri, and Texas AM.

 

[easttexastrash]

Oh, they will? Just like the past five years? Oh wait...that was UConn...

Their best chance to make the FF recently was this year. They lost to a L'Ville team that UConn beat by 30.

IMO, they are on the verge of being a great team. But I don't have the same hatred for UT that you do so I could be guilty of being more objective.

 

[Bayareahusky]

On Sierra I have the feeling that she can be a "glue" player who can coalesce the team and fill in whatever gap is needed.....

Yes, this thread has drifted away from its initial focus..... and I have hopped on the UT chatter bandwagon..... can't resist though.... I like to think I am objective on their chances.... but it is out there for them to prove they belong with the big girls..... I follow them closely..... I was thinking about one facet of their team I am unsure of..... their newer assistant coaches.... does anyone know how they are performing? Also, on UT.... sort of.... by association.... I saw that Tyler Summitt was interviewing at UTC.... interesting

 

[DaddyChoc]

dang I wish Baylor would have won it all this season, ETT is too grouchy these days

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Ah, yes: home of the late Fern Lebowitz

I thought it was Fawn Lebowitz. And for those of you unfamiliar with the classics, Pinot's adjective results from a kiln explosion and not some penchant for tardiness on Ms. Lebowitz's part.

 

[connboy77]

They will be in the FF next season so the chances are increasing.

I wouldn't bet my house on it! They are talented, but so are a lot of other teams in the country. They have a chance just like UCONN, Louisville, Duke, Maryland, Stanford, Kentucky, Notre Dame, and your Baylor.

 

[pinotbear]

I thought it was Fawn Lebowitz. And for those of you unfamiliar with the classics, Pinot's adjective results from a kiln explosion and not some penchant for tardiness on Ms. Lebowitz's part.

yup. Fawn it is: damn those ceramics classes!

 

[Phil]

IMO, they are on the verge of being a great team. But I don't have the same hatred for UT that you do so I could be guilty of being more objective.

I can understand why you might hate Texas, but I don't know wht anyone else here would.

 

[Tonyc]

Tenn has had the talent forever. I think before we look at this season we need to look at why last season Tenn failed to make the FF. IMO poor perimeter defense. Tenn had Graves and Harrison underneath. It was lack of defense. So first of all Tenn needs to fix that and lower the amount of losses and close games against teams that weren't as talented as Tenn.

Putting all your hopes on Russell a freshman is silly. She cant carry the team. Shes a freshman who needs to be developed, and gain experience. She has potential to be great but then again so do a lot of other teams. Duke is loaded, MD is loaded, Stanford brings back Chiney, UNC has a good freshman class.

The question is why does Tenn with all that talent and top players struggle against lesser teams? Russell wont fix that, the coaches have to fix that and they haven't. Losing to LVille was a big blow imo. Tenn and Baylor should've never lost to LVille but Lville found both opponets weaknesses and exposed them and won. Neither Baylor or Tenn who had the bigs underneath exposed LVilles weaknesses. UConn did. That's a big big difference in Tenn getting back to the top.

Can Tenn make the FF. Yeah but highly unlikely without the right bracket. Yes UConn is in a class all their own this upcoming season. Next season depending on how Stokes and Tuck develop UConn could be on top for the next 3 seasons and be almost untouchable.

Tenn has a long way to go to reach the development that UConn has attained. Talent alone will not get it done. Too many teams have talent. Some have coaches who can develop and discipline their teams. Theres a lot of work to be done and this season we will see what happens.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Fawn's dead? She was going to make a pot for me!