Lady Vols Board

[Patrick Lilly]

I usually visit the Boneyard most days and get my UConn WBB fix. Mostly good stuff, but some days it depresses me with the nasty/unkind remarks or hold the party line posts (Geno is a god, do not ever criticize him or you are disloyal, etc.). Well I went to the Lady Vols Board this morning wondering what's up with Diamond and boy, was it an eye opener. They make our most challenging posters seem like angels. Makes me appreciate the Boneyard more.

 

[huskyd]

I usually visit the Boneyard most days and get my UConn WBB fix. Mostly good stuff, but some days it depresses me with the nasty/unkind remarks or hold the party line posts (Geno is a god, do not ever criticize him or you are disloyal, etc.). Well I went to the Lady Vols Board this morning wondering what's up with Diamond and boy, was it an eye opener. They make our most challenging posters seem like angels. Makes me appreciate the Boneyard more.

Whew. Pretty lacerating stuff. It interests me that so many Vol fans (and others) seem to recognize that Holly isn't a first rate coach w/out quite being able to put their finger on what her shortcoming(s) is/are. Boils down, I guess, to having a lot of player talent and seeming to squander it. Good players + good coach = good outcomes. Absent one, you lose (when you shouldn't). Seems as if a lot of highly touted programs are having problems this year (e.g., Baylor, NC, FSU, SC, and UT).

 

[MilfordHusky]

Tennessee' problem (they have more than one) is that they have not evolved. In the early days, having elite athletes, an aggressive defense, and strong rebounding was good enough to win championships. Now teams need need more. The elite athletes are spread around, and many teams play good to great offense. The latter has never been a Tennessee tradition.

 

[VFLfan]

I know we all appreciate y'alls thoughts on the subject. Nothing being said here hasn't already been said over on our board. Despite the majority thinking our fans are idiots, most aren't. We are a frustrated fan base right now. I'm sure if your team was playing as poorly as we are, some not so nice things would also be said. But again, I appreciate y'all making another thread for us to vent on and y'all to point out what we already know. When do y'all play again? I could use some good bball for a change

 

[HuskyNan]

But again, I appreciate y'all making another thread for us to vent on and y'all to point out what we already know. When do y'all play again? I could use some good bball for a change

You're quite welcome. We do like to discuss other top 10 teams here. It keeps us from being too myopic or assuming that everyone is focused on our team.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Tennessee' problem (they have more than one) is that they have not evolved. In the early days, having elite athletes, an aggressive defense, and strong rebounding was good enough to win championships. Now teams need need more. The elite athletes are spread around, and many teams play good to great offense. The latter has never been a Tennessee tradition.

Absolutely. Warlick is using the same outdated "pound it into the posts and rebound" game plan that Summitt used. A Warlick quote from the post game presser -"Anybody that knows Tennessee knows that we play inside-out, and our posts are going to touch the basketball," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. "They did tonight . . . . "

It worked for Summitt during the dark ages of WCBB when competition was scarce but the game has evolved. Is it possible that Summitt's legacy will be UT's downfall?

 

[trb123]

I have some questions.
When was Diamond Deshields injured?
What treatment did she receive?

Was she healthy when she was selected for World University Games?
She played 8 minutes in the opener. She did not score any points.
After that her participation was minimal.
What happened exactly?

She does not seem to be in good shape now. Is this a new injury or continuing?
Have all these been discussed on the Tennessee boards?
I do not have access to The Summit.

 

[triaddukefan]

Absolutely. Warlick is using the same outdated "pound it into the posts and rebound" game plan that Summitt used. A Warlick quote from the post game presser -"Anybody that knows Tennessee knows that we play inside-out, and our posts are going to touch the basketball," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. "They did tonight . . . . "

It worked for Summitt during the dark ages of WCBB when competition was scarce but the game has evolved. Is it possible that Summitt's legacy will be UT's downfall?

When exactly did the dark ages of WCBB end ?

 

[Millenial23]

I know we all appreciate y'alls thoughts on the subject. Nothing being said here hasn't already been said over on our board. Despite the majority thinking our fans are idiots, most aren't. We are a frustrated fan base right now. I'm sure if your team was playing as poorly as we are, some not so nice things would also be said. But again, I appreciate y'all making another thread for us to vent on and y'all to point out what we already know. When do y'all play again? I could use some good bball for a change

UCONN plays Kansas on Monday at 7PM EST. Not on ESPN though, I think it's on SNY.

 

[SCGamecock]

When exactly did the dark ages of WCBB end ?

When Connecticut and Geno the Great took down the mighty Tennessee empire and became all of our overlords.

 

[trb123]

When Connecticut and Geno the Great took down the mighty Tennessee empire and became all of our overlords.

Ya, the return of the Jedi.

 

[Kibitzer]

I know we all appreciate y'alls thoughts on the subject. Nothing being said here hasn't already been said over on our board. Despite the majority thinking our fans are idiots, most aren't. We are a frustrated fan base right now. I'm sure if your team was playing as poorly as we are, some not so nice things would also be said. But again, I appreciate y'all making another thread for us to vent on and y'all to point out what we already know. When do y'all play again? I could use some good bball for a change

Thank you for y'alls interest in LadyVols basketball.

On edit: Enough with the pandering affectation! Back to my roots!

We want to thank yinz for your interest in LadyVols basketball.​

 

[MJL243]

When exactly did the dark ages of WCBB end ?

1985, at UConn.

 

[Gus Mahler]

I know we all appreciate y'alls thoughts on the subject. Nothing being said here hasn't already been said over on our board. Despite the majority thinking our fans are idiots, most aren't. We are a frustrated fan base right now. I'm sure if your team was playing as poorly as we are, some not so nice things would also be said. But again, I appreciate y'all making another thread for us to vent on and y'all to point out what we already know. When do y'all play again? I could use some good bball for a change

All y'all hang in there.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Y'all Noo Englanders keep comfortin' ya'selves by tellin' ya'selves ya'smarter'n others cuzza whereya live. Me, I live NorthnSouth, but come from the latter. I got sperience, n I kintellya, y'ain't gotta clue! Always knew folks wenta MissippiState what could run intellectual rings round other folks I knew wenta Harvard!

 

[Gus Mahler]

Y'all Noo Englanders keep comfortin' ya'selves by tellin' ya'selves ya'smarter'n others cuzza whereya live. Me, I live NorthnSouth, but come from the latter. I got sperience, n I kintellya, y'ain't gotta clue! Always knew folks wenta MissippiState what could run intellectual rings round other folks I knew wenta Harvard!

Thanks for 'splainin' this.

 

[geneticrex]

I blame the Mason Dixon line for this!!!

 

[vtcwbuff]

When exactly did the dark ages of WCBB end ?

1995 for me alth0ugh some could make a good argument for a couple of years earlier.

 

[Kibitzer]

Surely we have someone from Maine to toss in an occasional "ay-UP!"

It is uttered like the Japanese "Hai," or the Canadian "Eh," just polite ways to keep a conversation moving along agreeably.

 

[Zorro]

Like most eras (probably all) the Dark Ages of WCBB did not end abruptly in one fell swoop (or swell foop, if you prefer). The crumbling began with the hiring of GA and CD at UConn. The End of the Era came on gradually, though not smoothly; there was a brief reversal of trend during the Parker years, but the handwriting was on the proverbial wall. The consistency with which the New Era Huskies handled the Empire in championship games was a clear sign of things to come. Coach PHS asking Harry to come over to Rocky Top to teach her how to run offense was probably the clearest advance sign; even she knew, or at least suspected, that the old days of "chuck it up and rebound like your life depended on it" were over. Although, personally, I never noticed any difference in the LV's on-court behavior after Harry's lessons.)

Perhaps 2008 could be considered the last gasp of the old era, which, but for Parker would have ended much earlier. All this, of course, imho.

 

[CocoHusky]

When Connecticut and Geno the Great took down the mighty Tennessee empire and became all of our overlords.

So 2009 then?

 

[DaddyChoc]

The Lady Vols have 2 boards... VolNation (Free) and The Summitt (Pay To Play on the Scout system).
The VolNation site had nothing about the UConn/OhioState game but the Summitt had a few pages about the game (if you don't pay you can only see/read the Titles but not the content)
I would've thought it would have been reverse for the 2 boards

 

[UcMiami]

Basketball has some basic fairly simple plays revolving around setting screens and moving off them both with the ball and without. The 'dark ages' involved the running of one of these plays and if it didn't work running another and another until you got one that did work and resulted in an open shot, or you ran out of time and heaved the ball at the basket in desperation. Alternatively you had a very good player that just went at it one on five and scored.
As basketball has evolved, new forms of offense have evolved to have options on each basic play, with the offense reacting in set ways depending on how the defense reacts at each step of the play. This works better because it doesn't depend on the defense making a 'mistake' but it also takes more coaching and basketball IQ because the player is not just performing a set move. It also works better as it can involve a continuous series of plays all flowing together and giving the defense no chance to reset. In its basic form it involves two players, playing off each other and their two defenders (pick and pop, pick and role.) Tara runs a triangle offense that takes in as the name suggests three primary players, and Geno has expanded this to be a choreography of five players all in 'motion' during the possession. When it works well it is beautiful to watch, when it doesn't ...

The principles of moving the ball into the post area and out, and from side to side is true for every type of offense as that movement puts stress on the defense and creates openings for the offense, and the faster the ball moves the better. So Holly saying that they need the ball going in to the post isn't in and of itself a 'dark ages' comment.

What has been a problem for TN for a long time now is that they have not seemed to teach the more complex varieties of offense and rely heavily on the simple basic plays that have been around since the beginning, and on individual players to create their own shots. With a consistent and brilliant player like Parker the results cover up the lack of complexity, with the occasional brilliance of a Simmons you get occasionally good results and occasional clunkers. And against good defenses with good players it requires a brilliant player to succeed consistently.

 

[VFLfan]

Y'all Noo Englanders keep comfortin' ya'selves by tellin' ya'selves ya'smarter'n others cuzza whereya live. Me, I live NorthnSouth, but come from the latter. I got sperience, n I kintellya, y'ain't gotta clue! Always knew folks wenta MissippiState what could run intellectual rings round other folks I knew wenta Harvard!

Ya makin' fun of me, Riz?

 

[EricLA]

Tennessee' problem (they have more than one) is that they have not evolved. In the early days, having elite athletes, an aggressive defense, and strong rebounding was good enough to win championships. Now teams need need more. The elite athletes are spread around, and many teams play good to great offense. The latter has never been a Tennessee tradition.

I simply don't buy the "but we'll get better by the end of the year" thing. The only "really" new part on the team is Cooper. Deshields had an entire year to sit out and watch. This is Russell's 3rd year. Every single starter on the Tenn roster has at least 1 year experience except for Cooper. AND the team went to Italy or something this year to bond and play some games, right?

So really, Tenn should be ahead of every other team out there, not behind them. To say "but we will improve loads by the end of the year". Riiiight. So will UCONN, ND, Baylor (who by the way is acclimating may more pieces than Tenn), as well as SC (who is far more experienced than most teams out there).

I think (just my opinion) that some of the frustration for Tenn fans is that they look at the roster and see all the players who were ranked super high coming out of HS, and they think that makes them a FF team. It simply doesn't, and when you have a hobbled Diamond to go along with coaching that is still working from a style drawn from the 80's and 90's (as Mil, Vctw, and UCMiami pointed out), it's not a recipe for elite success. You simply cannot run offense that consists mainly of dribble around the perimeter, make a few passes for the 1st 10 seconds of the shot clock, then jack up a shot, miss, and expect your bigs to crash the boards and put back a score.

Will they be relevant? Sure. Just like in Pat's years, they have enough talent to be in the top 10. Will they win a NC? Not at all - can't do it against other elite teams with equal talent but better coaching.