Tennessee Post Game Thread (merged)

[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.

 

[Zarathustra]

Some thoughts on the TN game:

• TN is the most athletic team on UConn’s schedule this year. They are long, quick, pressure for 40 minutes and employ hockey line substututions.
• UConn started the game off like they would blow TN out of the gym. But some head-scratching turnovers and defensive breakdowns by the Huskies left the game tied at the half.
• The 2nd half started much the same as the first. But this time the Huskies kept their foot on the gas.
• Azzi came to play today. She not only lit it up scoring, but was probably UConn’s best defender.
• Sarah with another NPOY game….Ho, hum.
• Serah Williams played her best game at UConn today. Against a big and active TN frontline, Serah battled relentlessly, doing a lot of the dirty work in the paint.
• How about Kayleigh’s end-to-end drive. Reminded some of us old timers of Jen’s drive vs TN back in ’95. Then Kayleigh did it a 2nd Time. 🤩
• Really nice effort from Ash and Allie. Allie’s 3-pt shot at the end of the 3rd qtr blew the roof off PeoplesBank Arena.
• UConn’s win over TN today pretty much assures the Huskies of the #1 overall seed in the Big Dance. That’s not to say that no BE team will beat the Huskies this season…….Actually, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Take it to the Bank!!! 😎

Kudos to all the big scorers for the Huskies. But the two
end to end drives by K9 and Allie's killer strokes from beyond
the arc were "JUMP OUT OF YOUR SEAT" events!

 

[hoophuskee]

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.

I don't agree in the context you speak. Yes this year is different but the main concern is that we have little-to-no-competion so we have been forced to play our bench too much. As we saw last year vs Tenn, the chemistry of the team was lacking. That should be our worst fear. And what we saw late in the game even in those last 2 minutes the lazy pass from Sarah and the poor decision bounce pass from Ashlynn need to be worked on. Not the non-core players getting minutes that won't help an already very-well rested team. There is a reason why Geno said in this past potsgame that he didn't want to see a 30 point blowout at halftime. He needs his players to challenged. Them not being challenged enough which hinders their chemistry, just like last year that we saw vs Tenn, is the wrost case scenario.

 

[boontonbomber]

Sorry, what

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.

Agree, that many grabbing fouls occur in those situations. What Azzi did was basically push Pauldo down to the floor. Easy call, but they didn't see it. Happens all the time, for both teams. If you're one of those who see UConn not getting calls, why do you think that's happening,?

 

[oldude]

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?

You miss my point. It is simply that fans believe their team is the only one getting screwed by the refs. I don’t support that belief.

More importantly, Geno doesn’t buy it either. I think if you asked Geno about the refereeing in the game against TN, he would be perfectly happy with the way the game was called.

Both teams play agressive, physical defense. There were just 20 total fouls called: 11 on TN & 9 on UConn. UConn won the rebounding battle as well as the turnover battle. The refs let them play which, if you’re the better team, is exactly what you want.

The only time I will complain about the refs is if there is a continuous procession to the FT line, where the refs call every ticky-tack foul on both teams, turning the game into a foul shooting contest.

 

[fireford]

For those who can't get enough of Kayleigh's coast-to-coast x 2

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Condensed game if you're still Jonesing on it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

For those who can't get enough of Kayleigh's coast-to-coast x 2

I couldn't believe they'd get burned 2 in a row. Those trees essentially never moved.

 

[DefenseBB]

I’m with @Cuango on this one, totally. And especially about Kim. She took over an impossible job — a very difficult fan base, an AD that cut the funding for WCBB after Pat retired, and the patchwork of Portal players she’d inherited from Kellie. She had a very good recruiting class this season. A couple more decent classes and she can free herself from the portal.

As for her pressing game style, even Geno said about it, that’s what you do when you don’t have a good roster. He says he did something similar in the early years. But the point is to escape the need for it. And I’d also say that she’s already backed off partially from the ‘hockey line’ business. You can see it in the boxscore clear as day. She only plays 8 really, and mostly it’s Cooper Spearman Barker and Pauldo. The problem for her is that the press is physically and mentally tiring for her own team as much as for her opponents. In this game, Tennessee looked spent from mid-3rd quarter on. By mid-4th they were toast.

I like Kim as a coach, plus I feel for her. Tennessee has become a toxic job to be a WBB coach. She needs to show success quickly to hold onto that job, and for all the flaws with her team, if she can hang on for three more years, I have a feeling she’ll have built something. And how can you not root for someone who takes over this job very pregnant and somehow keeps it all together. She is a very formidable person.

As Sun Tzu so famously said, "keep your friends close but your enemies closer", I keep a keen eye on Tennessee and I strongly disagree with both @Cuango and @Bone Dog on their assessments.

#1. This freshman class is ALL Caldwell and was highly touted.
#2. The advent of the "portal" now makes every year an opportunity for a coach to bring in "her players" and she did with Barker ($600-800K), Wolfenbarger ($100K) and Robertson ($100-200K) and last year with Spearman, Cooper, Latham and Whitehorn. So how are these NOT her players???
#3. The "system" only works with discipline that while initially it looks like mass chaos, there is supposed to be process behind all the efforts including quick thinking, passing, shooting or drives to the basket and/or kick outs to the open perimeter shooter. Tennessee is NOT adept at that last part of the "system". Because they only hear "hoist more 3 point shots" and "have more shots than your opponent", they neglect getting "good shots" by passing or dribble/drive penetration and kicking the ball out to an open shooter.
#4. The roster is littered with poor shooters that was known before the season. I am leaving the Freshman out of this discussion as they were largely unknown shooters at this next level of competition but as I had written, Robertson did two years at GW in the A-10, moved onto SMU and woeful team in the ACC. She led SMU in scoring last year at 18.5 pts per game but this came on .325 and .312 shooting percentages, which is ATROCIOUS. Only our most positive LV fan @stwainfan felt her shooting would get better in a tougher conference which surprisingly it has but only to .335 and .318. Wolfenbarger was put at the end of the bench at LSU and has now been put at the end of the LV bench. Barker is at .457 and .324 which are mediocre as the teams star player. But the team as a whole is only .410 and .301 which is not good. The philosophy isn't terrible but better understanding on taking "better shots" vs. "any shot" needs to be understood. Their paltry assists of 274 vs. an uncanny 292 turnovers also belies the problem.

Mostly those on VolNation (a harsh cesspool of fans) despise this system and "hockey style line changes" as it prevents chemistry from developing. Caldwell also does not sit players for poor play.

By and large, I am not against the "system" but she needs to incorporate within a more structured approach. This team has a lot of great athletes but who are not knowledgeable team concept players as evidenced by their one on one play. That is solely on the coach and her staff.

Lastly, her post game pressers are atrocious. She never really accepts any blame on the loss and constantly criticizes the player. She has shown no ability to make adjustments in game or at half time. I do not think she will ever be successful to the standard that the Tennessee fans expect or what the University is implicitly asking by giving her all the NIL money and other AD support.

But as correctly pointed out, despite the VolNation protestations, Caldwell is only in year 2 of her contract, so barring a complete collapse and not making the NCAAT, she will be given more time. She better hope to retain this freshman class and bring in portal reinforcements.

 

[DefenseBB]

They proudly call that SEC tough defense. But, I think we adjusted and we got our licks in too. They let both sides play and I thought it was a fairly EVENLY called game.

There, fixed it for you.... 😂

 

[DefenseBB]

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?

Let me say this-I think the "lack of calls" benefits a physical opponent vs. UConn as Geno and staff have been regularly citing to NOT FOUL, be in position, move your feet, communicate etc. whereas other opponents, whack, block, hack, push and grab sometimes so much so, the officials simply stop blowing the whistle. UConn then adjusts their game by doing the same thing.

Did UConn adjust yesterday? Yes but if this was a "fairly called game" which Tennessee normally commits 18.4 fouls per game and more against better opponents, Tennessee would have been in serious foul trouble and we would have run away from the game much earlier.

There were some really atrocious calls yesterday particularly by the male ref when he was out of position to make a call. I was at the game and the amount sound some the "hacking" created without a foul was astounding. So yeah 20 total foul calls while even, was atrocious.