TN/Baylor game today......

[Vowelguy]

I was told that despite her HG ranking Burdick is more of a complementary player than an impact player. I haven't seen her play enough to know whether that's an accurate assessment or not. I am surprised that she hasn't played more minutes.

Interesting, since the much lower rated Harrison (#29 vs Burdick's #3) has given them some good minutes.

 

[alexrgct]

Burdick played, but it was only for a few minutes and was not especially effective.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Tn did run a few plays in the 1st half, I was impressed!

 

[VAUConnFan]

that was Tina's signature move

It was, in fact, Tina's signature move. It was rarely called. I actually cannot recall if it ever was.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Massengale: 4 points, 4 assists, 4 PF's, 1 TO. And she did not exactly shine on defense, and she still gives up her dribble too quickly to stop their half court offense. Some of us were saying that Baugh would be far more important to the LV's this year than a frosh point guard, and we were right.

She is freshman point guard playing her fourth collegiate game against the #1 team in the country. Can we cut her a little slack?

 

[alexrgct]

She is freshman point guard playing her fourth collegiate game against the #1 team in the country. Can we cut her a little slack?

Slack as in expecting she can and will get a lot better? Absolutely. But it's fair to say she's nowhere near Tennessee (rather unfairly) expected her to be at this stage...and needs her to be in order to accomplish what they want to accomplish this season.

 

[UConnCat]

I thought Tenn played well. It defended Griner reasonably well and rebounded well enough to give itself 20 extra possessions. But it needed Massengale and/or Simmons to make some plays and some shots and they didn't. That was the difference.

 

[speedoo]

She is freshman point guard playing her fourth collegiate game against the #1 team in the country. Can we cut her a little slack?

Normally, yes, she deserves to be cut a little slack. But Summitt practically anointed her the LV savior (surely you recall all the wonderful things Summitt said about her long before she ever started practicing in Knoxville) so according to her coach the expectations are much higher than for the typical frosh. And I see flaws in her game that will take some time to correct, especially given the track record the LV coaches have with guards.

 

[easttexastrash]

Lobo is making the exact comment I made about Griner needing to be meaner and demanding the ball last week. I was met with soccer-mom-ism from the Baylor fans who post on here.

Not sure which Baylor fan(s?) that was, but it certainly wasn't I. But then again, I'm about as far from a soccer mom as you can get.

I have always wanted to see BG more aggressive. I think the early foul today put her in a very passive mode early on. In the second half I thought she did a much better job of getting position. I think that a lot of people, especially those who are part of the "make her run" club, don't realize what great shape she is in. She was stronger at the end of the game when Tennessee got a bit tired and had trouble slowing her down in the low block. I also think that due to her variety of shots that she sometimes goes away from the strong power moves. In the second half she displayed both her touch and her power.

Sims was money down the stretch. She is some kind of tough.

Baylor should have been required to take a shower at the half with the way that stank it up in the first half. My goodness that was ugly.

 

[EricLA]

Massengale is good, but with all the talent she's surrounded by, i expected much more out of her. certainly not as good as Simms or Schimmel or even Hartley at the start of their respective freshman campaigns. i'm sure she will get better, but for all the great experience she's had coming into college, much more is needed from her. and what on earth has happened to Simmons? goodness - she's averaging 9 PPG after being the leading scorer last year. maybe it's Spani stepping up this year, but Simmons was 1-12 this game...

 

[easttexastrash]

Massengale is good, but with all the talent she's surrounded by, i expected much more out of her. certainly not as good as Simms or Schimmel or even Hartley at the start of their respective freshman campaigns. i'm sure she will get better, but for all the great experience she's had coming into college, much more is needed from her. and what on earth has happened to Simmons? goodness - she's averaging 9 PPG after being the leading scorer last year. maybe it's Spani stepping up this year, but Simmons was 1-12 this game...

Simmons needs to have the ball in her hands. She may turn into an ineffective player this year because she will be so hungry to get her hands on the ball that she jacks up a shot the moment she touches it. Baylor has quick guards with long arms on the wing. That is a lot of length for a shorter player to deal with. I think Pat has a problem on her hands with that.

 

[EricLA]

Simmons needs to have the ball in her hands. She may turn into an ineffective player this year because she will be so hungry to get her hands on the ball that she jacks up a shot the moment she touches it. Baylor has quick guards with long arms on the wing. That is a lot of length for a shorter player to deal with. I think Pat has a problem on her hands with that.

good point - you may be right. that remains to be seen (if pat has a problem there), but with simmons running the point last year, you are right - she had the ball in her hands a lot and therefore could make the decision to shoot. tony was the one who kept beating the drum that massengale would cause problems chemistry-wise for simmons.

no proof of that yet, but simmons' numbers are WAY down as she's not the primary decision maker any longer. it remains to be seen how she and ariel coexist.

 

[ladybears4eva]

good game. madden, sims, and griner were good.

senior guard condrey hit some jump shots that were key.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Pope & Williams didnt impress me at all

 

[speedoo]

Pope & Williams didnt impress me at all

Me neither. Williams supposedly can play much better. Pope has occasionally played well. But Griner was pretty much playing with no help in the post today.

 

[ladybears4eva]

Pope & Williams didnt impress me at all

they had a hard time with the Vols athleticism and rebounding, definitely, but the guards and Griner took over. I think Madden's defense on Spani in the first half and Stricklen on the second half was key to stopping them.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Interesting, since the much lower rated Harrison (#29 vs Burdick's #3) has given them some good minutes.

Tennessee has very little post depth. Harrison has to play out of necessity. Playing time allows for improvement. The leash is shorter with Burdick.