Tennessee Post Game Thread (merged)

[Woof]

UConn is at another level. I’m not sure they can lose. They need to fix what happened when they lost their lead. I am confident Geno can do that. We blew them out with out Blanca. A lot of kids stepped up under pressure and that showed me we’re getting better. This was an awesome game. UConn is explosive and they showed it again today.

2018

 

[Vancat]

Lets say it was out of respect for what Tennessee was.

I like how you worded that

 

[Woof]

Very well stated...

Not to argue here but Alex averages 34 minutes a game. Solo 30 and from there 9 deep less. Geno goes 7 deep with the most heralded bench in many years. Why not let them take on the press the last few minutes? That and avoid an unnecessary injury to a starter. No need for Azzi to play 39 or Strong to play 37 today.

Maybe I just have memories of Paige going down with 38 seconds left in a 19 point win over ND. That and a believer of developing the bench in games that are a blow out with formidable competition. That is a huge moment to step on the floor against a team like Tennessee. It is deer in the headlight moment but what a better time to get them through it. Something that cannot be replicated in practice.
It also may keep a player or two from developing here rather than the portal next year. JMHO.....

I agree, generally, but this season is different because we ARE deeper. The players are not worn down so the chances for an injury are lower. Also, on the flip side, you need to keep your players at peak physical condition. In the worst case scenario, in a close game at the final four, you want your players to be less tired than their players. That requires a balance of building conditioning without wearing them out.

I suspect they will be dialing back the practices. If so, the key players will need more game time.

 

[HuskyNan]

-Azzi has a cooler head than Sarah, for the first time today I saw a few times where Sarah was angry. Her play, no calls missed chances. She allowed it to show a tiny bit.

Sarah was constantly mugged throughout the game with absolutely no calls from the refs. On one play she was shooting a layup surrounded by 3 defenders, one fell on her, and no calls. I was so irate I couldn’t comment on it yesterday

I need to look at it again but Ash’s midrange shot that hit the top of the backboard looked suspicious too. No way a shooter as good as she is going to be that erratic from 5 feet

 

[Bigboote]

As I was watching a highlights reel from the game, after Kayleigh’s second length-of-the-court drive, and the glorious celebration that followed, I couldn’t help wondering if she is the happiest kid in D1 WCBB. She went far afield, all the way to the west coast, and finally she is home. She is well loved by her teammates, and her talents fit really well on this new team in the basketball capital of the world.

Welcome home, Kayleigh! This is where you belong.

I agree. Someone in the discussion of last game pointed out her big smile after a drive-and-score. I think she's smiled some since the beginning of the year, but it was only her mouth smiling. The last couple of weeks it's her whole face.

She said early in the year that she came to UConn to be coached hard. I absolutely think that's the case, but I think that being a two hour drive from home is a psychological boost too.

 

[Centerstream]

Sarah was constantly mugged throughout the game with absolutely no calls from the refs. On one play she was shooting a layup surrounded by 3 defenders, one fell on her, and no calls. I was so irate I couldn’t comment on it yesterday

I need to look at it again but Ash’s midrange shot that hit the top of the backboard looked suspicious too. No way a shooter as good as she is going to be that erratic from 5 feet

As I posted earlier in the thread, and this is an assumption, something may have happened to Sarah that made her go to the bench, and either "up the tunnel" or to the locker room. She bent over and looked to be in considerable discomfort around the 7:04 mark of the first quarter. I think she caught an elbow. She returned to the game very soon after tho.

 

[jcoton56]

Sarah was constantly mugged throughout the game with absolutely no calls from the refs. On one play she was shooting a layup surrounded by 3 defenders, one fell on her, and no calls. I was so irate I couldn’t comment on it yesterday

I need to look at it again but Ash’s midrange shot that hit the top of the backboard looked suspicious too. No way a shooter as good as she is going to be that erratic from 5 feet

They sure did let them play. Lots of refs this year have confused the Huskies tight D with fouls. Makes me scream at the tv that its not their job to keep the other team in the game.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[browns]

UConn is at another level. I’m not sure they can lose. They need to fix what happened when they lost their lead. I am confident Geno can do that. We blew them out with out Blanca. A lot of kids stepped up under pressure and that showed me we’re getting better. This was an awesome game. UConn is explosive and they showed it again today.

UConn is at another level. I’m not sure they can lose. They need to fix what happened when they lost their lead. I am confident Geno can do that. We blew them out with out Blanca. A lot of kids stepped up under pressure and that showed me we’re getting better. This was an awesome game. UConn is explosive and they showed it again today.

Sure they can if they play a whole game like they played the first half. Their vaunted defense gave up 42 pts and looked out of sorts and its a good thing Tenn wasnt hitting their 3's then

 

[donalddoowop]

It’s hard for me to picture refs — folks who have the closest view of hundreds of games a year — wouldn’t favor teams like UConn. I mean if they were going to favor any team. This is why it’s preposterous to assume that the refs are slanted one way or another. They may make mistakes, miss some calls and so on. But biased for or against a particular team? I can’t see it.

It happens. I have witnessed it here in St. Louis.

 

[1974yankees]

Their point guard fouled every time down the floor. Perhaps a byproduct of the homers who ref at Boling.

Tennessee actually thought they could beat Uconn with 40 minutes of trapping. I have no idea what they were thinking.

 

[ucmiami2]

Refs are refs - they miss some, they make some up, and they are overall pretty consistent and unbiased. Every ref has their own 'style' and may have a bias in what fouls they see - touch fouls vs body contact vs travels vs .... - but that bias is generally consistent for both teams and throughout the game. The biggest issue in my mind are:
1. When the three ref are not calling the game the same way.
2. When the crew is not consistent throughout the game.
3. When a ref calls a foul that she/he cannot possibly have seen because they were blocked by player bodies.
4. When the crew becomes the story because they either swallow their whistles or blown them with each breath they take.

It is not an easy job, no fan base is every satisfied, this game is a perfect example of this - VolNation thread is full of complaints about the refs, and we see it here as well - remember, none of are close to being unbiased! And there are crazy fanatics out there that would scare the _____ out of me if I were every stupid enough to take up a whistle.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

In team sports talent and dirty play are inversely proportional.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Reminds of the game(s) play allowed with USC. Physical on both sides

 

[boontonbomber]

It’s hard for me to picture refs — folks who have the closest view of hundreds of games a year — wouldn’t favor teams like UConn. I mean if they were going to favor any team. This is why it’s preposterous to assume that the refs are slanted one way or another. They may make mistakes, miss some calls and so on. But biased for or against a particular team? I can’t see it.

Well, I feel the same way you do about the officiating. I see them missing calls both ways. For example, twice yesterday I saw, in replays, Azzi getting away with shoving a Tennessee player during scrums that led to a jump ball. But the Boneyard, in general, somehow sees UConn as always getting beaten up. Not only has no one come up with reasons why the refs seem to pick on UConn, but even after my post the complaints about the last game continued. Even from the moderator.

 

[boontonbomber]

Sarah was constantly mugged throughout the game with absolutely no calls from the refs. On one play she was shooting a layup surrounded by 3 defenders, one fell on her, and no calls. I was so irate I couldn’t comment on it yesterday

I need to look at it again but Ash’s midrange shot that hit the top of the backboard looked suspicious too. No way a shooter as good as she is going to be that erratic from 5 feet

You might take an unbiased look at what UConn is getting away with at times.

 

[oldude]

Well, I feel the same way you do about the officiating. I see them missing calls both ways. For example, twice yesterday I saw, in replays, Azzi getting away with shoving a Tennessee player during scrums that led to a jump ball. But the Boneyard, in general, somehow sees UConn as always getting beaten up. Not only has no one come up with reasons why the refs seem to pick on UConn, but even after my post the complaints about the last game continued. Even from the moderator.

If you want to take a short trip over to Volnation, you will surprisingly discover quite a few LV fans complaining about how the refs screwed TN yesterday…. 😱

But when you lose by 30, it’s really an enormous stretch to suggest that you lost because of the refs.

 

[jaydee602]

Has any other team in the country been as successful as UCONN in recruiting transfers that have an immediate impact?
The following players have contributed to UCONN's success:
Serah Williams
Kayliegh Heckel
Katelyn Chen
Lou Lopez Senechal
Dorka Juhasz
Evina Westbrook
They quickly adapted to the team's philosophy & they have thoroughly embraced the school's tradition.

 

[Centerstream]

Well, I feel the same way you do about the officiating. I see them missing calls both ways. For example, twice yesterday I saw, in replays, Azzi getting away with shoving a Tennessee player during scrums that led to a jump ball. But the Boneyard, in general, somehow sees UConn as always getting beaten up. Not only has no one come up with reasons why the refs seem to pick on UConn, but even after my post the complaints about the last game continued. Even from the moderator.

By using the term "scrum" during a basketball game infers that multiple players are involved in the "physicality". And seldom during a held ball situation that no fouling is occurring, especially when it is happening with players on the floor.

 

[ucmiami2]

TN coaching - I think Kim is probably the best coach they have had since Pat. She is in year two and is trying to rebuild from a pretty miserable team she inherited. She has 5 freshman of whom three are in the rotation, a sophomore and an injured senior who are the only TN recruits. She has 3 transfers in their second year at TN (2 jr and 1 sr) all in the regular rotation, and 3 transfers in their first and only year as they are seniors with two in the rotation. That makes a main rotation of 8 players, fairly standard with 5 over 20 mpg, and 3 in the 16-18 mpg range - pretty standard for a WBB team - Uconn has 8 in rotation with a 4/4 split.

Kim has a young team with 8 players in their first year at TN and 3 more in their second year. She has a bunch of AAs, but overall the talent is more homogeneous with not that much separation between #1 and #8 in her rotation. She wants up tempo and pressure because she feels it is her best chance - she has a bunch of athletes and length, but not that much pure shooting and no real superstar(s), so chaos is her friend. The frenetic pace requires frequent subbing, and keeping the same players together during subs hopefully promotes better chemistry on the floor. So subbing 2 or 3 players at a time makes sense. And flow of the game, meh - you can't predict when one team or the other will have a run, or when that run will end or reverse, and in a frenetic style, you need to keep fresh legs on the court.

Kim is winning early in her TN career with chaos. She is graduating 5 off her current roster, has 2 freshmen including the #2 ranked Edwards coming in, and she probably goes to the portal again this year for a few more. We will see if her coaching style continues to evolve if she gets more talent, and if her half court offense also evolves with better shooters. The 6-0 SEC start was fools gold for the fan base, with the meat of the schedule coming up. She will be lucky to get out of the season with only 4 more losses. And getting to the semis in the conference tournament, and the E8 would be huge accomplishments - quarters and S16 is probably more realistic. But that is not a bad result in year 2.

And just a note - when was the last time TN recruited a top 5 ranked player? She got 3 top 20 from last year and now a top 5 from this year - something that is rare for TN this decade.

 

[cabbie191]

Not sure throwing players under the bus is a good method to keep them around .. she shouldered zero blame and gave UConn very little credit other than We made mistakes they capitalized..

IMO, that's not even close to accurate when you listen to Caldwell speak. Take the Miss State game where she had every right to throw the players under the bus - she cited players being late to practice, not listening in practice, etc which led to her accurate premonition that they would tank.

Here's a link to her presser: Google Search

At the 3:20 mark, after citing all the issues she saw, she clearly stated: "It's my fault, I'm the coach. I can be as frustrated as I want but it's my job to fix it."

Think about some well known coaches like Belichek who have absolutely no tolerance for players being late. Absolutely none. I can't think of any coach who hasn't at one time or another seriously criticized their team in public, including Geno.

Last, I want to make a comparison between Kim & Geno, knowing this isn't apples to apple, more perhaps like apples to pears.

Their hiring circumstances are different - Geno came to a program with no positive track record, and it was his first head coaching position. Kim comes into a program with a positive history, even though it's been 18 years since their last championship, and she had previous head coaching on her resume.

But, she's not a whole lot older than Geno was when he started - both quite young in their 30's. Both replaced previous coaches who were there 5 years or less.

I by no means am claiming that Kim is anywhere near as good a coach as Geno is. But I think that posters, both here on the Boneyard and on VolNation, are too quick to be negative towards her. She's only in her second year, still has a roster with more than 50% players she didn't recruit. Maybe she'll grow in the job, learn to tweak or get rid of her current hockey line substitution schme, and maybe she won't. And Tennessee might remain on their current plateau - a ranked and decent team, but not a powerhouse. And maybe they won't. Only time will tell.

 

[ucmiami2]

Has any other team in the country been as successful as UCONN in recruiting transfers that have an immediate impact?
The following players have contributed to UCONN's success:
Serah Williams
Kayliegh Heckel
Katelyn Chen
Lou Lopez Senechal
Dorka Juhasz
Evina Westbrook
They quickly adapted to the team's philosophy & they have thoroughly embraced the school's tradition.

I would say LSU and SC are in the same league. I think Dawn can point to transfers being integral to all three of SC's NCs. And has LSU had any HS recruits recently? 😎

 

[WBBZen]

TN coaching - I think Kim is probably the best coach they have had since Pat. She is in year two and is trying to rebuild from a pretty miserable team she inherited. She has 5 freshman of whom three are in the rotation, a sophomore and an injured senior who are the only TN recruits. She has 3 transfers in their second year at TN (2 jr and 1 sr) all in the regular rotation, and 3 transfers in their first and only year as they are seniors with two in the rotation. That makes a main rotation of 8 players, fairly standard with 5 over 20 mpg, and 3 in the 16-18 mpg range - pretty standard for a WBB team - Uconn has 8 in rotation with a 4/4 split.

Kim has a young team with 8 players in their first year at TN and 3 more in their second year. She has a bunch of AAs, but overall the talent is more homogeneous with not that much separation between #1 and #8 in her rotation. She wants up tempo and pressure because she feels it is her best chance - she has a bunch of athletes and length, but not that much pure shooting and no real superstar(s), so chaos is her friend. The frenetic pace requires frequent subbing, and keeping the same players together during subs hopefully promotes better chemistry on the floor. So subbing 2 or 3 players at a time makes sense. And flow of the game, meh - you can't predict when one team or the other will have a run, or when that run will end or reverse, and in a frenetic style, you need to keep fresh legs on the court.

Kim is winning early in her TN career with chaos. She is graduating 5 off her current roster, has 2 freshmen including the #2 ranked Edwards coming in, and she probably goes to the portal again this year for a few more. We will see if her coaching style continues to evolve if she gets more talent, and if her half court offense also evolves with better shooters. The 6-0 SEC start was fools gold for the fan base, with the meat of the schedule coming up. She will be lucky to get out of the season with only 4 more losses. And getting to the semis in the conference tournament, and the E8 would be huge accomplishments - quarters and S16 is probably more realistic. But that is not a bad result in year 2.

Transitioning from an iconic coach who ran a powerhouse program is no easy task. I give Kim a lot of grace as this could be UConn in 5 years

 

[BRS24]

I was at a "broadway" lunch show, so I didn't watch the game live, however forgot to turn off my notifications, so I knew the outcome. When everyone left after our weekly family dinner, I asked the hub if we could watch the game, and he was 100% agreeable. He enjoyed it just as much or even more after seeing it live. 😁 ❤️

I think the game was physical and called loosely for both sides. There was about the same number of fouls called on each team. During the game, posters on Vol Nation were decrying the officiating calling it one-sided. There were voice-of-reason posters, however, that pointed to the 30 pt. MOV and rightly noted that officiating did not cause the loss.

What I read in he box score didn't sync with what I saw last night. I was surprised to see the low # of fouls called on each team - our 9 to their 11. Serah was the only player with 3 fouls.

 

[Bills Fan]

I agree. Someone in the discussion of last game pointed out her big smile after a drive-and-score. I think she's smiled some since the beginning of the year, but it was only her mouth smiling. The last couple of weeks it's her whole face.

She said early in the year that she came to UConn to be coached hard. I absolutely think that's the case, but I think that being a two hour drive from home is a psychological boost too.

Agree with your entire post. I would guess that with both our home courts being so close to her family's home that Mom and Dad are at many of her games, but if they are they have escaped any TV cameras and even the Fudds and the Shades were absent from yesterday's broadcast. Only Sarah's Mom made multiple appearances.

 

[BobbyJ]

I would say LSU and SC are in the same league. I think Dawn can point to transfers being integral to all three of SC's NCs. And has LSU had any HS recruits recently? 😎

Jada Richard SO, Grace Knox FR, and Zakiyah Johnson FR are playing pretty well. And Mikayla Williams JR is obviously the best.

 

[Bills Fan]

If you want to take a short trip over to Volnation, you will surprisingly discover quite a few LV fans complaining about how the refs screwed TN yesterday…. 😱

But when you lose by 30, it’s really an enormous stretch to suggest that you lost because of the refs.

....not to mention that the Vols opponent was missing one of its best players.

 

[boontonbomber]

If you want to take a short trip over to Volnation, you will surprisingly discover quite a few LV fans complaining about how the refs screwed TN yesterday…. 😱

But when you lose by 30, it’s really an enormous stretch to suggest that you lost because of the refs.

C'mon, OD, yesterday's game is not my point. You can't really think that the UConn fans are less biased than, say, the Tennessee fans when it comes to officiating. Do you think that the UConn players generally are picked on by the refs? If so, how come?

 

[Bills Fan]

Refs are refs - they miss some, they make some up, and they are overall pretty consistent and unbiased. Every ref has their own 'style' and may have a bias in what fouls they see - touch fouls vs body contact vs travels vs .... - but that bias is generally consistent for both teams and throughout the game. The biggest issue in my mind are:
1. When the three ref are not calling the game the same way.
2. When the crew is not consistent throughout the game.
3. When a ref calls a foul that she/he cannot possibly have seen because they were blocked by player bodies.
4. When the crew becomes the story because they either swallow their whistles or blown them with each breath they take.

It is not an easy job, no fan base is every satisfied, this game is a perfect example of this - VolNation thread is full of complaints about the refs, and we see it here as well - remember, none of are close to being unbiased! And there are crazy fanatics out there that would scare the _____ out of me if I were every stupid enough to take up a whistle.

While on the discussion of refs, when watching a Uconn game, I often wonder if the refs are starstruck when assigned a game or when chatting with a PB or a or a SS during stops in play. I know if I was reffing a game and saw a play that only could be made by a star player, I would have to be thinking about that and smiling inside. How could you watch Paige last year and Sarah this year and not be thinking, at some point, how lucky they (the ref) are being on the court with the very best there is.

 

[Bills Fan]

While on the discussion of refs, when watching a Uconn game, I often wonder if the refs are starstruck when assigned a game or when chatting with a PB or a or a SS during stops in play. I know if I was reffing a game and saw a play that only could be made by a star player, I would have to be thinking about that and smiling inside. How could you watch Paige last year and Sarah this year and not be thinking, at some point, how lucky they (the ref) are being on the court with the very best there is.

Azzi was dropped when I listed players.