Tennessee Postgame thread | Page 14 | The Boneyard

Tennessee Postgame thread

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CocoHusky

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Horston is not eligible for the draft till 2023. She was born in May, 2001..
Correct:
 
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This group continues to fight and scrap their way into being a winning team. They started out the season just standing around with their hands in their pockets watching Paige do it all. When she went down, they had no idea what to do. Evina and CW seemed dazed. But as time has passed, one by one, these players are fighting to win. It all started with Ducharmes. Now we have Fudd.

Now we know that we have a serious team with talented and dependable scrappers in Fudd, Ducharmes, Williams, Juhasz, and most recently Edwards. Westbrook picks up the slack as best she can, and fights hard, as does Muhl. Each has evolved over the course of the season. Whether we get Paige back is yet to be seen. But this group is becoming an actual team that fights together, and isn't waiting for Paige to do it for them. Amazing evolution!!!
Pithy comment on a season so different it's difficult to draw comparisons. Gone are the seasons of Maya and Stewie, et. al. as the Harlem Globetrotters and everybody else as the Washington Generals JV squad wannabes. [Quick aside: Do colleges even have junior varsity teams anymore? Is there such a thing as "the varsity" these days?] Seasons where most games were over before the first timeout and average margins of victory for the season approached 40 points. Seasons where any AP voter audacious enough to label the Huskies so much as the second best team in the land would be hunted down, doxed, and subjected to a good-old-fashioned public shaming. Seasons where Selection Sunday, for Husky fans, had all the excitement of watching granite erode and the only topic seriously debated was who UConn would likely face in the Final Four.

Well, Ms. Excitement has returned to Storrs. Welcome back, stranger. We've missed you.
 

eebmg

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I watched a replay of the game & the first thing they showed was Caroline on the bench depressed & on the verge of tears because she wasn't playing. By the end of the first half, Paige had her laughing in convulsions. Caroline must have thought, "If Paige can find humor after she was was dealt such a serious injury, I can't complain about missing one game". Kudos to Paige for being a leader & role model on and off the court.
Geno did say that Caroline was very very upset she could not play in this game. So happy she got to enjoy the show.
 

psconn

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I know someone posted her + - but great kudos to Ono, who had a very pedestrian game statistically but none the less had an enormous affect on the game with her defense and presence in the lane. Offense always gets headlines, but defense wins.
Liv really had a really impactful game. She was a problem for Tenn as major as Azzi was in her own way. When she was in the game she affected Tenn's approach at both ends. I just looked at the box score for the first and I'm really surprised... looks like a mediocre night. As Geno said in the presser... "meh". I thought that during the game UConn was way better with Liv in the court.
 
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Sorry, all due respect, you still don’t understand the value and importance of Nika. A basketball TEAM is about chemistry and cohesiveness. She could be the glue.
She may be even more valuable when everybody comes back. Scoring is a part of the game. She checks the intangible boxes.
Tangible boxes too. Rebounding. Out of this world. She doesn’t outlet pass, she takes it up the court and facilitates. She’s a stone wall out there. IMO she manhandled Tennessee’s point. She needs to be on the court. They’ll have 3 players that can score 20 any given night- Azzi Fudd, CW, and CD and E.
On really good teams, the best 5 on the floor is never the 5 best scorers. Like a really good stew, takes different ingredients to attain perfection.

I don't care what sport you're talking about, you need players like Nika on your team. Somehow, some way they make the team better when they're in the lineup even if & especially if it doesn't show up in the statistics. The only time you notice players like that is when they're not in the lineup and the team does not play as well it does with them in the lineup. Strange but true.
 
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Its interesting to read the expectations of the various fan bases. For UConn, its Final 4/NCAA Championship or bust. For the Lady Vols, its all over the place. I would think having a Top20 team with a chance at another 20+ game winning team next year (with one All American recruit, adding a strong transfer and Horston potentially coming back could make this a Top 10-15 team), would demonstrate progress. Amazing how long the Lady Vol fan's memories are - seems like all 50%+ of their fans compare everything to on their Board is Pat Summit - that is getting to be a LONG time ago.
Not sure who the transfer you're talking about is, or if it's hypothetical.

They lose Burrell, Green (who's already done), and Dye after this season. Maybe they lose Walker too. So ignoring the portal, that means there's no backup PG and they have the same thin depth in the frontcourt that they have now. Justine Pissott will not fix all of that. It's not a matter of living the Pat days, but looking forward to next season and thinking how good will they be relative to the rest of the SEC and the national picture. Certainly not a top 10-15 team, unless Pissott comes out and she's ready to play on day 1...a lot to ask of a freshman who isn't a top 5 player. Even then, all that does is make up for the loss of Burrell.

I'd like to see Tennessee get back to contender status, but it seems that they will continue to be in "Challenger" mode for the next few seasons until recruiting picks up.
 

Plebe

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They lose Burrell, Green (who's already done), and Dye after this season. Maybe they lose Walker too. So ignoring the portal, that means there's no backup PG and they have the same thin depth in the frontcourt that they have now. Justine Pissott will not fix all of that. It's not a matter of living the Pat days, but looking forward to next season and thinking how good will they be relative to the rest of the SEC and the national picture. Certainly not a top 10-15 team, unless Pissott comes out and she's ready to play on day 1...a lot to ask of a freshman who isn't a top 5 player. Even then, all that does is make up for the loss of Burrell.
I get the concerns, but the portal is a complete game-changer in the modern recruiting landscape and its signficance cannot be ignored.

What success Tennessee has had this season has been in no small part due to contributions from transfers. Dye had a bad game yesterday but has been a big part of many wins.
 
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Charisma is tricky........do you really think Coach K's charisma comes from his startling personality or the fact that he's won so many games? How about Tara at Stanford.........she's got the charisma of a librarian, yet the recruits keep on coming because she's at a great school and they win.......
Good job,
I have met Coach K. I worked his camp back in '83, his early days at Duke. He also recruited a kid from a Northern Virginia private school, where I was an assistant, so I met him then too.
He wows you with his attention to detail, obvious superior competence, and this granite hard integrity. I bet Tara is similar.
Maybe, Wooden-like.
 

CL82

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Check out Mechelle Voepel‘s article on the game. She essentially gives Tennessee a pass because they were devastated by injuries.
Oh Yeah Reaction GIF by NBA
 

eebmg

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Agreed. I am by no means as familiar with the LV program as their fans, but this has been prevalent in the games I've watched. Burrell was the 2nd option behind Davis last season, and looked to be the go to player entering her senior season. Horston took that spot when Burrell was injured, but I've been saying all season long that she is rather selfish. She is the epitome of a volume scorer, and if you look at her season stats, she shoots the ball really poorly. But she's the only true elite level athlete/talent playing alongside a lot of nice role players, so she's had to force it. With Burrell back, there's another really solid option on the floor, but they don't seem to have any chemistry to utilize each other's talents.

I couldn't understand how they weren't a better team last season when they had Burrell, Horston, and Davis. Shows the value of chemistry.
Horston was not the player she is this year
 
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Check out Mechelle Voepel‘s article on the game. She essentially gives Tennessee a pass because they were devastated by injuries.
Oh Yeah Reaction GIF by NBA
Who said, "He who laughs last, laughs best".
 

psconn

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Check out Mechelle Voepel‘s article on the game. She essentially gives Tennessee a pass because they were devastated by injuries.
Oh Yeah Reaction GIF by NBA

Geez. Green wasn't even starting. Attention all those VolNation posters talking about ESPN's UConn bias...

Hey Mechelle, see that skinny blonde kid on the UConn bench? Yeah, the one with the knee brace. That's the reigning National Player of the Year, Wooden Award winner, ESPY honoree Paige Bueckers. Yeah, she started and was pretty good. Go introduce yourself.​
Right next to her? Oh, that's Caroline, starting 2-guard and our leading scorer since the blonde kid went out. She won't be playing either. CL82 says she's pretty good, too. [ ;) ]​
OBTW, we lost Aubrey Griffin also. She tore out Tennessee's heart in Knoxville, if you recall. Yeah, she's pretty good too. Which team do you think has had more to overcome? Maybe put Tennessee's pity-party on hold.​

Reminder: UConn races past rival Tennessee behind Aubrey Griffin
 
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CL82

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Geez. Green wasn't even starting. Attention all those VolNation posters talking about ESPN's UConn bias...

Hey Mechelle, see that skinny blonde kid on the UConn bench? Yeah, the one with the knee brace. That's the reigning National Player of the Year, Wooden Award winner, ESPY honoree Paige Bueckers. Yeah, she started and was pretty good. Go introduce yourself.​
OBTW, we lost Aubrey Griffin also. She tore out Tennessee's heart in Knoxville, if you recall. Yeah, she's pretty good too. Which team do you think has had more to overcome? Maybe put Tennessee's pity-party on hold.​

Reminder: UConn races past rival Tennessee behind Aubrey Griffin
And I hear that Caroline Ducharme is not too bad either.
 

psconn

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I have to confess I did not watch the game live by choice. I was so afraid that UConn would come out like they did in the 1st quarter against Creighton and I wanted the option of fast forwarding through the non-game time if it got out of hand to reduce the pain-time.

And I hear that Caroline Ducharme is not too bad either.
Oh, crap. Thanks. :confused:
 

Argonaut

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Check out Mechelle Voepel‘s article on the game. She essentially gives Tennessee a pass because they were devastated by injuries.
Oh Yeah Reaction GIF by NBA

This bit got me:

Injuries are a part of sports, and most teams -- including UConn -- have dealt with them or are currently dealing with them. But some injuries take a bigger toll than just the loss of the player's production. They affect a team's psyche.

I didn't see her worrying about UConn's psyche at Georgia Tech -- without Paige...without Nika... without Azzi. She was just fanning the flames of Geno's doom and gloom post game presser.

But the whole network is one big UConn bootlicker, right? Right. :rolleyes:
 

Plebe

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Check out Mechelle Voepel‘s article on the game. She essentially gives Tennessee a pass because they were devastated by injuries.
Oh Yeah Reaction GIF by NBA
I don't know that she's giving them "a pass". She's correct to point out that TN's slump began after Green's injury. Sometimes the impact of a personnel loss cannot be fully measured in stats. As it was, TN was long overdue for a "market correction" with all their narrow escapes, and they could ill afford any upset to the components propping up their house of cards.

Voepel also quotes Harper as giving UConn credit:

Harper praised the Huskies, who had 18 assists to the Lady Vols' seven.​
"They're such great passers," she said. "So if you do have a breakdown, they capitalize on it. Don't take anything away from UConn. Everyone knows one of the best things they do is run an efficient offense. They did a great job. But I think that's where we have to be a little more focused, a little more precise. We gave up too many easy opportunities for them."​

 
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Two points not mentioned:
-For anyone who watches replays, focus on Edwards under the basket. Some big Vol bodies were being moved out. Nice game - played to her strengths.
-ONO drove to the basket several times against a taller/bigger player. Not the smoothest moves, but for those of us that have waited 4 years for her to make this move in big game, I was thrilled. For the most part, she also did not slap down on her many blocks either.
Not sure why the shot fake is so rarely used by todays young players?
 
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Charisma is tricky........do you really think Coach K's charisma comes from his startling personality or the fact that he's won so many games? How about Tara at Stanford.........she's got the charisma of a librarian, yet the recruits keep on coming because she's at a great school and they win.......
I’m a librarian, I think I’m insulted!
 
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I get the concerns, but the portal is a complete game-changer in the modern recruiting landscape and its signficance cannot be ignored.

What success Tennessee has had this season has been in no small part due to contributions from transfers. Dye had a bad game yesterday but has been a big part of many wins.
That's true. But it's hard to speculate beyond what is the known roster. Maybe Kellie lands a Rickea Jackson type player, or maybe she lands no one.
 

Gus Mahler

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Since what seems like forever UConn has a GOOD DAY.

What a joy. The best part was seeing Azzi smile so much! And Evina. And the bench.

Seven of nine was nice to look at and so was Azzi's three-point shooting (ka-boom kooshhh). But what I really liked about Azzi was early in the game when she dribbled past the right elbow, put on a quick juke move and then floated to the right for a nine-footer (which missed, but still). Then, toward the end of the third, from the left wing she faked a pass and with two hard dribbles she was in the lane and splashed a 13-footer. The mid-range! So fine from inside the line.
 

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Charisma is tricky........do you really think Coach K's charisma comes from his startling personality or the fact that he's won so many games? How about Tara at Stanford.........she's got the charisma of a librarian, yet the recruits keep on coming because she's at a great school and they win.......
I'm quite the charismatic librarian, tyvm.
 
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