Tenn-Miami -- great start!

[Vowelguy]

OMG, I want to see Miami-UNC. That's gotta be a krazy track meet.

 

[triaddukefan]

OMG, I want to see Miami-UNC. That's gotta be a krazy track meet.

I saw that game in person in the acc semis last season. Miami was a bit off, plus unc had way way too much inside strength for them in the game. This year it will be different

 

[triaddukefan]

Glory Johnson swings her elbows way to much. She should be called on it alot.

They need to eject her behind for that last incident

 

[Vowelguy]

Isn't there a limit on the number of people on the sideline that can be standing? All 4 TN coaches are up and yelling.

 

[Vowelguy]

TN running away 84-68. Spani has been huge.

 

[JS]

Just looking at the game tracker, Miami needed to get out on those three-point shooters better.

Fifty percent from 3-pt. range for TN looks to be the major difference.

 

[uconnbaseball]

UT is good, but flawed. We have more athleticism and better defense. Tenn has better outside shooting. Coming from someone who was down on them all year, they are very good right now.

 

[Vowelguy]

Vols win 92-76.

Miami was my preseason #3 - I'd probably drop them to at least #6 or 7. They've definitely got some talent, but sloppy and erratic.

Vols had a good game and have a lot of weapons. And that was despite some struggles at PG.

 

[UConnCat]

And that was despite some struggles at PG.

I wasn't able to watch most of the 2nd half. Did Massengale struggle a bit? I thought she looked very good in the 1st half. She'll have some ups and downs but her talent is obvious.

 

[speedoo]

Vols win 92-76.

Miami was my preseason #3 - I'd probably drop them to at least #6 or 7. They've definitely got some talent, but sloppy and erratic.

Vols had a good game and have a lot of weapons. And that was despite some struggles at PG.

Agree 100%. Miami is basically UNC but with excellent guards and not much inside. They made TN look much better than they really are.

 

[speedoo]

I wasn't able to watch most of the 2nd half. Did Massengale struggle a bit? I thought she looked very good in the 1st half. She'll have some ups and downs but her talent is obvious.

I thought she was OK, but hardly the savior she is supposed to be. What impressed you about her?

 

[UConnCat]

What impressed you about her?

Mostly her ability to run the break and make the right pass. I think her shooting will be inconsistent but she knows who needs to get the ball a lot better than Simmons (I know, not saying much). I really didn't see much of Tenn in the half court in the 2nd half so I'll be interested to see how she does.

 

[speedoo]

Mostly her ability to run the break and make the right pass. I think her shooting will be inconsistent but she knows who needs to get the ball a lot better than Simmons (I know, not saying much). I really didn't see much of Tenn in the half court in the 2nd half so I'll be interested to see how she does.

Of course she is a huge improvement over what they had in recent years, but as you said that's not saying much. She picks up her dribble too early too often and she has no length so double teams really bother her. I think teams will have success putting bigger guards on her.

 

[DaddyChoc]

her 2nd college game, bigger guard like who.... Miami's squad wasnt chopped liver

 

[speedoo]

her 2nd college game, bigger guard like who.... Miami's squad wasnt chopped liver

Bigger guard like anyone say 5-10 or bigger. Plenty of them around, particularly on TAMU, ND and the other teams they will have to beat to get to the Final Four. Massengale is only 5-7 or so and like it or not that will limit her effectiveness.

 

[Justavisitor]

Shenise Johnson is 5'11". That's a pretty big guard and Riquna Williams is 5'8". Who's bigger? Those 2 guards are both being sought after by the WNBA as top guards in the upcoming draft and one of them was mentioned pre-game as a contender for the Wade trophy. Ariel had 9 assists against one of the best guard combos in the college game.

 

[VAUConnFan]

How tall was/is Renee Montgomery? Ketia Swanier? Jennifer Rizzotti? Rita Williams?

 

[speedoo]

Shenise Johnson is 5'11". That's a pretty big guard and Riquna Williams is 5'8". Who's bigger? Those 2 guards are both being sought after by the WNBA as top guards in the upcoming draft and one of them was mentioned pre-game as a contender for the Wade trophy. Ariel had 9 assists against one of the best guard combos in the college game.

I thought her 9 assists had more to do with Spani's shooting than anything great by Massengale. Throw the ball to an open Spani, get an assist. Easy. It wasn't like Massengale was constantly penetrating and dishing.

And it seemed like every time Miami pressured her with a double team, they got a turnover. TN's future opponents will notice that and set their defenses accordingly.

 

[Justavisitor]

So Spani had 9 threes?

 

[speedoo]

So Spani had 9 threes?

I said nothing about how many threes she had. Do you disagree that she was shooting very well and that Massengale's assist total benefitted from that?

 

[tnvolfan65]

It doesn't surprise me that y'all found something to critique, but Massengale? Really? She was fantastic in this game. She has absolute control over this offense. Yes Massengale got assists from people shooting well, but that's the point of an assist. She got the ball to Spani or Strick or Glory in a position to score, they scored, and she got a tally in the box score. That's how it's always been, but this is the first time I've seen someone try to belittle the assister.

 

[VAMike23]

I watched most of the game and it looked to me like Ariel brought a lot more cohesiveness to the LVs than they had in the few times I watched them the last 2 yrs. Simmons looked much more comfortable off the ball (not surprising). Ariel is going to be a huge boost

 

[DaddyChoc]

It doesn't surprise me that y'all found something to critique, but Massengale? Really? She was fantastic in this game. She has absolute control over this offense. Yes Massengale got assists from people shooting well, but that's the point of an assist. She got the ball to Spani or Strick or Glory in a position to score, they scored, and she got a tally in the box score. That's how it's always been, but this is the first time I've seen someone try to belittle the assister.

well said... I totally agree

totally incredible... 9 frickin assist

 

[tnvolfan65]

Thanks Choc.

With Cait and Avant's injuries, we haven't had a true point guard in so long...it's definitely a nice change of pace! She's exactly what we needed this year.

 

[cardfan]

I said nothing about how many threes she had. Do you disagree that she was shooting very well and that Massengale's assist total benefitted from that?

I tivoed it but haven't watched it yet. Where was the D on Spani?