Who will be better next year?

[JordyG]

And add Boothe, who at least physically appears to have the most college-ready body of all the recruits. 2 senior guards is a nice foundation.

One of the problems with Boothe is she has many of Holmes' qualities without her athleticism. One thing she has in common with Holmes is her poor conditioning. Aston realized she needed Holmes last year in the NCAA's to win yet because of her poor conditioning Holmes couldn't stay on the floor for more than 5 min without getting gassed. Watching Boothe live at the Jordan Classic she seemed in even worse condition. For Aston to have a chance in the Big 12 next year she needs to crack down on their conditioning now and continue during the season, or else it'll be more of the same.

 

[JordyG]

Yes she has also had key injuries Harrison, Russell and others.

Yeah. Injuries. That must be the reason her teams looked leaderless, rudderless and uninspired. It must also be the reason her offense is antiquated and ineffective while her players skills seem to regress instead of improve. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of the UT haters that post here. To me the reason for their failure solely rests with Holly.

 

[stwainfan]

Yeah. Injuries. That must be the reason her teams looked leaderless, rudderless and uninspired. It must also be the reason her offense is antiquated and ineffective while her players skills seem to regress instead of improve.

So Nared, Harrison, Russell and others haven't improved. In their time at Tennessee.

 

[Alydar]

One of the problems with Boothe is she has many of Holmes' qualities without her athleticism. One thing she has in common with Holmes is her poor conditioning. Aston realized she needed Holmes last year in the NCAA's to win yet because of her poor conditioning Holmes couldn't stay on the floor for more than 5 min without getting gassed. Watching Boothe live at the Jordan Classic she seemed in even worse condition. For Aston to have a chance in the Big 12 next year she needs to crack down on their conditioning now and continue during the season, or else it'll be more of the same.

I didn't see the conditioning issue with respect to Holmes. And as far as Boothe only what I have read and her play in the Jordan Classic. She seems to be an extraordinary talent but what I read hints at unspoken problems. But in any case I think Texas is improving. I have never been overly impressed with Lang, especially her offense and White may be an effective replacement.

 

[JordyG]

I didn't see the conditioning issue with respect to Holmes. And as far as Boothe only what I have read and her play in the Jordan Classic. She seems to be an extraordinary talent but what I read hints at unspoken problems. But in any case I think Texas is improving. I have never been overly impressed with Lang, especially her offense and White may be an effective replacement.

Watch her in the NCAA's. As I said, after 4 or 5 mins. she's gassed. That's poor conditioning.

 

[JordyG]

So Nared, Harrison, Russell and others haven't improved. In their time at Tennessee.

Russell entered UT as the #1 recruit and failed to make AA 1st or 2nd team once. Nared and Harrison were I believe top 10 in their class and also failed. Show me where was their improvement?

 

[stwainfan]

Russell entered UT as the #1 recruit and failed to make AA 1st or 2nd team once. Nared and Harrison were I believe top 10 in their class and also failed. Show me where was their improvement?

Harrison freshman year averaged 3.3 points.

• Set a Tennessee junior record with 18 double-doubles, passing the previous record holder, Chamique Holdsclaw, who had 16 in 1997-98.
• Only Candace Parker had more double-doubles in a season with 21 as a sophomore in 2006-07.
• Nared freshman year 5.2 points to 15.6 points last season.
• Russell had a bad feet freshman year. She went from 6.3 points to 16.1 points.

• Named to the 2017 Coaches and AP All-SEC Second Team after improving several key areas of her game: points (9.9 to 16.1), rebounds (8.3 to 9.7) and free throw percentage (.554 to .671).
• Russell was Tennessee's second-leading scorer at 16.1 per game and leading rebounder at 9.7 per contest, which was tied for the fourth highest single-season average in Lady Vol history with Glory Johnson. Her numbers are the best by a true center at UT since Daedra Charles (17.3/9.2) in 1990-91.
• She is the SEC leader in double-doubles this season with 19, a total that ranks as the most ever by a Lady Vol junior, and scored in double figures in 30 of 32 games, including five with 20 or more points.
• Scored 15+ points in 22 games this year after scoring 15+ in only four games over her first two years.
• Notched 151 career blocks in her career, recently passing Tamika Catchings (136) for seventh on the school's all-time career blocks list against Auburn.

 

[triaddukefan]

Bballnut beat me to it. I think Mississippi State has a tremendous upside. They lost four seniors, including Dillingham, Richardson, and Okorie, but I think McCowan may be scary good, a potential NPOY candidate. Blair Schaefer lit it up in a couple of tournament games, and her father is a helluva coach and getting more out of his team every year.

And I agree with the consensus that UVA will be a force in the ACC next year.

Nobody said anything about them being a force...... just improved enough to make the NCAA's out of a weakened ACC

 

[Vowelguy]

Russell entered UT as the #1 recruit and failed to make AA 1st or 2nd team once. Nared and Harrison were I believe top 10 in their class and also failed. Show me where was their improvement?

fyi
Nared was Consensus #16. (ASGR #25, PN 40, BS 19, FC 9, HG 6.)

 

[Alydar]

So Nared, Harrison, Russell and others haven't improved. In their time at Tennessee.

I think all three improved but especially Harrison. But there's more to a team than it's individual players. The last time I saw a consistently cohesive and motivated team in Knoxville was in Harrison's senior year. Since then Tenn has had plenty of talent that seemed to walk through the regular season as if it was an exhibition season. No urgency whatsoever. The system is the same as when Pat was there. Same offensive philosophy and same defensive philosophy. But not close to the same amount of energy. And we all know where that came from.

As far as next year, if the freshmen can learn some defense Tenn will be able to press and trap more. A lot of their offense came from defensive pressure but last season their bench was too short to do much of it. Next year will be their best shot at a FF in a long time.

 

[JordyG]

Harrison freshman year averaged 3.3 points.

• Set a Tennessee junior record with 18 double-doubles, passing the previous record holder, Chamique Holdsclaw, who had 16 in 1997-98.
• Only Candace Parker had more double-doubles in a season with 21 as a sophomore in 2006-07.
• Nared freshman year 5.2 points to 15.6 points last season.
• Russell had a bad feet freshman year. She went from 6.3 points to 16.1 points.

• Named to the 2017 Coaches and AP All-SEC Second Team after improving several key areas of her game: points (9.9 to 16.1), rebounds (8.3 to 9.7) and free throw percentage (.554 to .671).
• Russell was Tennessee's second-leading scorer at 16.1 per game and leading rebounder at 9.7 per contest, which was tied for the fourth highest single-season average in Lady Vol history with Glory Johnson. Her numbers are the best by a true center at UT since Daedra Charles (17.3/9.2) in 1990-91.
• She is the SEC leader in double-doubles this season with 19, a total that ranks as the most ever by a Lady Vol junior, and scored in double figures in 30 of 32 games, including five with 20 or more points.
• Scored 15+ points in 22 games this year after scoring 15+ in only four games over her first two years.
• Notched 151 career blocks in her career, recently passing Tamika Catchings (136) for seventh on the school's all-time career blocks list against Auburn.

Good numbers. You see these numbers as improvement. I see them as the bare minimum for players of such talent and so highly rated coming out of HS. So let me backpedal just a bit. Russell came out of HS with a jump shot that has not improved at UT. Nor at her size has she shown improvement in her footwork and upper body strength one would expect. Yes all of these players showed some improvement, and with the amount of PT they've gotten some would be expected. All of these women should at least be 2nd team AA's with their talent and Russell should be a shoo in for 1st team, especially since their offensive scheme is predicated on feeding the posts. Their forwards had better lead the team in scoring. So I was wrong. They have improved, but that improvement isn't nearly commensurate with their talent.

 

[JordyG]

fyi
Nared was Consensus #16. (ASGR #25, PN 40, BS 19, FC 9, HG 6.)

You're correct. Nared's improvement is the only one on the team that has exceeded expectancy.

 

[bballnut90]

I watched enough Tennessee games this year to think the problem is the coaching. What exactly does coach Warlick accomplish by stomping around and whistling at her team with her fingers in her mouth? The players are human beings, not dogs. The disarray on the floor seems to reflect the program, and that comes from leadership or lack of it. The will have a hard time improving without coaching changes. I'm not banking on the getting better.

I agree....it's a real shame since we finally have a ton of talent stock piled and should be able to make a push for a deep run with a lineup that has:
-3 players who've won HS POY awards (Westbrook/Deshields/Russell)
-2 others who were ranked top 10 out of HS (Hayes/Nared)
-2 others who were top 15 (Cooper/Davis)

Yet, nobody is picking them as a Final Four favorite.

By comparison, Connecticut has:
-3 players who've won HS POY awards (KLS/Walker/Dangerfield)
-1 other who was top 10 out of HS (Collier)
-2 others who was top 15 out of HS (Coombs/Williams)

And everyone (including myself) thinks UCONN is a virtual lock to win it all next year.

The difference between the 2 programs? Coaching.

 

[SCspur]

UCONN, Baylor, SC, ND, and Stanford will be the front runners for the FF next year again. Want to know why? Because each team has elite level coaches who understand the game and get the best out of all their players and has phenomenal coaching staffs.

Texas has great talent but the coaching is very mediocre. Karen Ashton doesn't make in game adjustments to help her team. She got out coached twice by Tara and couldn't keep up in terms of coaching.

Tenn should have a better team next season and I will admit Holly did have some good coaching moments this year but I doubt she can get this team together consistently, especially after what Reynolds said after the Bama game. That just went to show that great program has fallen off and lacks the discipline and fire that Coach Summitt instilled in that program.

UCLA is similar to Texas, great talent but a very average coach. Close should have won the PAC 12 atleast once but failed and lost to lesser talent teams. Albeit Tara Vanderveer, Mike Neighbors, and Scott Rueck are great coaches it just should have been no excuse.

I have no reason to believe next year will be any different just because teams picked up a couple talented players. Coaching and Defense wins championships.

 

[bballnut90]

UConn, Baylor, SC, ND, and Stanford will be the front runners for the FF next year again. Want to know why? Because each team has elite level coaches who understand the game and get the best out of all their players and has phenomenal coaching staffs.

Texas has great talent but the coaching is very mediocre. Karen Ashton doesn't make in game adjustments to help her team. She got out coached twice by Tara and couldn't keep up in terms of coaching.

Tenn should have a better team next season and I will admit Holly did have some good coaching moments this year but I doubt she can get this team together consistently, especially after what Reynolds said after the Bama game. That just went to show that great program has fallen off and lacks the discipline and fire that Coach Summitt instilled in that program.

UCLA is similar to Texas, great talent but a very average coach. Close should have won the PAC 12 atleast once but failed and lost to lesser talent teams. Albeit Tara Vanderveer, Mike Neighbors, and Scott Rueck are great coaches it just should have been no excuse.

I have no reason to believe next year will be any different just because teams picked up a couple talented players. Coaching and Defense wins championships.

I do think coaching is the biggest factor with any team's success. I think Aston is a terrific coach though--getting outdone by Tara doesn't mean a whole lot since Tara is one of the best game planners out there. Aston led Texas on a terrific run after a slow start and I think she has done a really good job of bringing players like Atkins/McCarty/Lang/Holmes along. She certainly can recruit with the best of them and has Texas projected to be a top 5 team for years to come. Their win streak which included wins over programs like Baylor and Florida State showed how far they came along this year. They didn't finish strong, but I thought overall she did a really good job this year. Next year they have the pieces to take the next step toward being a Final Four squad with McCarty/Atkins/Holmes/Higgs/Boothe on board. .

 

[MilfordHusky]

What happens with an unusually large number of highly regard transfers is that it shifts the talent forward by one year. Not only will several teams be weaker next year, but WCBB as a whole may have a little bit of a down year. The following year, the increase in talent will be unusually large.

 

[Vowelguy]

especially after what Reynolds said after the Bama game.

?

 

[Plebe]

View attachment 21903

Nobody said anything about them being a force. just improved enough to make the NCAA's out of a weakened ACC

The weakening of the conference would little to do with them making the NCAAs (unless they were to win the ACC tourney, which no one is predicting). But there's every reason to believe they can match up competitively against anyone in the conference. Last year they played Notre Dame very tough in South Bend. At home they blew a HUGE lead on Louisville only to lose in overtime. They also beat Florida State soundly (although that was the game where Thomas got hurt).

 

[triaddukefan]

The weakening of the conference would little to do with them making the NCAAs (unless they were to win the ACC tourney, which no one is predicting). But there's every reason to believe they can match up competitively against anyone in the conference. Last year they played Notre Dame very tough in South Bend. At home they blew a HUGE lead on Louisville only to lose in overtime. They also beat Florida State soundly (although that was the game where Thomas got hurt).

They also lost to UNC and Pittsburgh

 

[Plebe]

They also lost to UNC and Pittsburgh

And Duke lost to Vanderbilt despite being a better team than Virginia.

 

[triaddukefan]

And Duke lost to Vanderbilt despite being a better team than Virginia.

 

[Vowelguy]

And Duke lost to Vanderbilt despite being a better team than Virginia.

Stone Cold

 

[huskeynut]

Every top ranked team graduates stars/ key contributors. Every team goes through chemistry changes. So the real question is: why do the top teams stay on top year after year? Sure having top talent is a requirement. But in reality, its the head coach and assistant coaches.

Does anyone doubt that Stanford, ND, SC and UConn will be primary contenders? Of course not. Tara, Muffet, Dawn and Geno will have their teams ready. Other perennial contenders, Baylor, MD, Louisville will be there. Newcomers Mississippi State, Oregon State and maybe Oregon will be ready.

 

[Charliebball]

[

I didn't see the conditioning issue with respect to Holmes. And as far as Boothe only what I have read and her play in the Jordan Classic. She seems to be an extraordinary talent but what I read hints at unspoken problems. But in any case I think Texas is improving. I have never been overly impressed with Lang, especially her offense and White may be an effective replacement.

I thought Holmes showed remarkable improvement as the season went on last year.......if handled properly she should be an All American in the next year or two..........Boothe is a talent but she is seriously in need of adult supervision to succeed at the next level

 

[LasVegasYank]

Most assume the same level of play from returning players.

And yet, look what happened to UConn this past season. Gabby and Pheesa (not to mention KLS) both upped their game significantly.

Why can't other team's players do the same?

The answer is simple.......UConn can and UCan't.

 

[SCspur]

?

She basically said the team wasn't even worried about Bama who beat the twice previously. That's plays a huge part in coaching and disciplined.

 

[DefenseBB]

[/QUOTE]

UConn, Baylor, SC, ND, and Stanford will be the front runners for the FF next year again. Want to know why? Because each team has elite level coaches who understand the game and get the best out of all their players and has phenomenal coaching staffs.

I have no reason to believe next year will be any different just because teams picked up a couple talented players. Coaching and Defense wins championships.

Well, I agree with your premise that the "front runners" and perennial powers all have great coaching and staffs. Your qualification of who is great is something I have an issue with.
Coaching is about 3 things- Recruiting, Program management, coaching-both practice and in-game.

We, as fans, only see 2 of the 3 so those become glaring. Program management is coaching staff, school support for academics, media, travel, OOC, school acclimation.

Texas was a dumpster fire in the last 5 years of Jody C reign and what Gail G brought. Karen righted the ship and has them back in national relevance. She has exactly mirrored Dawn's career in terms of coaching. I believe it was just this past season many were criticizing Dawn's lack of in-game skills vs.. Duke, Tenn and to a lesser extent UConn. Yet some how Dawn won a title.

You have to have the horses and know a little bit about scheme and adjustments to win consistently.
I think Close has also done a very good job at UCLA and will continue to get better. Neighbors I think was a one trick poney. He will not be successful at Arkansas. Just look at the dearth of talent at UW now.
Rueck, I like and think he can coach but where is his talent? He needs to get some.
Tenn is curious in that they too have 2 of the 3, just not coaching. To say Holly had her moments (she did) and denigrate Aston and Close by not saying they had their moments also is a bit unjust.
Look at Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, he was able to recruit and had been knocked as not being able to coach yet by being having talent, getting into big games, he learned to coach and eventually win a NC.
The same could occur for Aston and Close just like it did for Staley.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Right so right. Also in watching UT DD plays to the end without taking off plays. Her effort and talent are not in question. Holly's poor coaching, poor use of the team's skills, poor game management, poor understanding of offense, and her inability to vett her talent in order to create a team instead of a bunch of head cases is Tenn's problem.

I actually think that a lot of the type coaching Holly is doing was evident in, at least the last years of Pat Summit's tenure there. I don't think she was ever a really good offensive coach, relying on having much more talented players than her opponents and I concede she was probably appreciably better in motivating her team.

 

[Buzzyboy]

It's easy to look at who is leaving and make assumptions that team x, y and z will be a bit down. What this doesn't take into consideration at all is players already on those teams making significant improvements. You can't ignore that. It's always been the backbone of college sports. next (wo)man up. Star players are always moving on, yet life continues. Now some schools are going to face more of a challenge replacing certain players than others. But some schools seem to stay near the top regardless of who is on the roster. To provide a few specific examples, I certainly think Washington is going to have a precipitous drop (there's just no way they can replace the production of Plum and Osahor), but I think Stanford and Oregon St. will both be better next year than many are expecting.

I think that it's just an illusion that all the returning players are going to make SIGNIFICANT improvement. Sure, it happens to an extent but not to the point where it is a given that it'll make a significant change. There is the sophomore jump where a number of players, based on their developing some maturity and adapting to college life and to a system that was new to them as freshman do show noticeable improvement. It's not often that the sophomore jump is a radical jump, even for the very really talented players but then again, sometimes there's the Napheesa, Katy Lou exception. The improvements from sophomore to junior and junior to senior years are normally very subtle, if at all.

 

[Buzzyboy]

So what you are saying is DD didn't perform at Kelsey Plum's level or even Kelsey Mitchell's level so by not dominating to a level we think she should be at, she is detrimental to her team?
That's the evidence you are "rationalizing" as the reason? If it is, my only retort is "Check please"...

What might be said is that with the talent that everyone knows Tennessee has and has had, with the influx of a player self proclaimed as the best, wouldn't you think that they'd have something to show for their efforts? I don't claim to follow Tennessee very vehemently but I do remember hearing where she (DD) has had a ridiculous amount of turnovers and it seems that the recklessness of her type of play hasn't helped but probably hurt the Vol's, at least a decent amount of the time. The fact that Tennessee stunned some teams and then lost to mediocre teams seems to point to the recklessness and haphazard style of play they put out and I'm under the impression that DD personifies that style of play.