Mercedes Russell Will Sit out 2014-2015 Season

[Bestiarius]

i think her foot pain was a huge factor. she ran differently than in high school and apparently had all five toes fixed. to answer your question, i think it will hurt us against big teams, but i believe TN can get to FF with its current active roster. i just happy she didn't try to play again and lose another year of eligibility.

i can't speak for all TN fans but i didn't think she would come in and replace Izzy at the 5 spot. she needed some time to adjust to being a center in the SEC which is a brutal physical conference. i had hoped to see her have a sophomore bounce. guess i will have to wait on the junior jump.

I believe Holly's best strategy is to recruit a replacement for Mercedes. It's just too big a risk to count on her recovery by next year or even the year after. Her surgery is not like most surgical repairs like broke bones or even ACL. It's much more complex and susceptible to setbacks. Particularly for a person who will be expected to put big time stress on her feet. Plus doesn't she have problems in her other foot too?

25% of a person's bones are in the feet along with 33 joints and over 100 muscles. I'd recruit, and rejoice if she fully recovers.

 

[ndmb]

since she started at TN, there have been a gazillion comments on here about how little she impacted TN's team. that she was overrated, etc. now that she is out for a year, TN will be hurting without her on the floor. i don't get how those two opinions work together. sorry couldn't resist. just messing with ya'll.

IMHO, she will be missed against big teams like SC. however, TN has several forwards that can play in the paint. holly has been playing burdick and jones at the 3. they will now play more at the 4, which i think is way better for them. that's my positive spin on it.

i am just happy she is going to get healthy and come back to play with DD for 3 years. and yes, i do expect both to play for 3 years.

Count me amongst those who didn't think that she was going to make a big impact this year. But this is still a huge blow to Tennessee, and here's why. Every time I've heard a Tenn fan explain why they're going to be (finally) elite this year, it was predicated on "of course, Russell is going to be a much bigger factor this year."

This is one less avenue that the lady vols have to improve their level of play (which, based on the expectation levels of the fans, is necessary) and now they have no room for margin of error if something happens to Graves or Harrison. I hope for a full recovery for Russell, so that she can finally show the world the talent that she has, but in the mean time, you all are in the same boat as UConn in terms of post depth, minus the three first team All Americans.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I think you will agree that she was not as effective, regardless of the reason, as the overall #1 ranked high school player usually is. So, in that respect, yes, she was overrated. This is a quote from a Tennessee fan on VolNation today "I wish Mercedes well, but she was not a huge contributor last season" So, it seems that the overrated tag placed on her was wide spread and not limited to the Boneyard. The vast majority Tennessee fans were hoping for the "sophomore bounce" and projecting her to be a major factor in being able to get the Lady Vols back to the final four this year.
Remember "this year, no excuses" as someone once said. Though, quite frankly, I think this qualifies as a legitimate excuse/reason.
Let me ask you directly. Do you think that Russell not being able to play this year will have a major negative impact on Tennessee's performance ?

what I like about VolNation... their honesty

 

[msf22b]

Daddy, I don't know if you were being sarcastic,
But a long lasting thread there gives Geno and our team a great deal of respect.
Even if there is still continued grumbling about ethics and whatever nonsense you call it.
A lot of valuable statistics thrown around to demonstrate our dominance in the area of assist/to's
Take away a few crazies and it's a an entertaining read
and quite welcoming to various boneyarders who post there (not me).

 

[DaddyChoc]

Daddy, I don't know if you were being sarcastic,
But a long lasting thread there gives Geno and our team a great deal of respect.
Even if there is still continued grumbling about ethics and whatever nonsense you call it.
A lot of valuable statistics thrown around to demonstrate our dominance in the area of assist/to's
Take away a few crazies and it's a an entertaining read
and quite welcoming to various boneyarders who post there (not me).

dead serious... I'd put a if I was being sarcastic

since the SuMMitt closed their doors to the non-paying public I travel over to VolNation to get an update on the Lady Vols happenings.

some take swipes at UConn but many admire the program on the court.

I post there but not much because Im just a visitor BUT I also like to let others know Im not "lurking" like some Tn fans may do when visiting the Boneyard

 

[Bayareahusky]

I beat up Mercedes a bit last year..... because I just couldn't understand her loafing up and down the court..... and in a couple of the games I saw, the broadcasters agreed with me.... and didn't have an answer..... then after the season ended, it was one of our LV friends on the BY here who mentioned her extreme foot problems.... I think it was LV9.... seems to know a lot about her injury..... and then I felt badly about criticizing her hustle last year..... I think of playing hoops after foot injury like this.... I think of it akin (though not as potentially serious) to playing football after a neck injury...... have to be very careful in how you proceed.... let's just hope this girl is intact, whether or not she turns into the high-hopes blue chip gal she was out of Oregon..... there are more important things in life than basketball...... now I find myself rooting hard for TWO Lady Vols..... Mercedes and Jannah Tucker....... Again, if you can hear me Mercedes, good luck ......

 

[EricLA]

I like SC's chances against Tennessee - especially since I think SC's incoming class is much better than Tennessee's and it's probably that Wilson will play a lot of minutes and contribute right away, while Tennessee has no "game changer" among their freshmen. Will be interesting to see how the teams match up this year...

Side note - I feel badly for Russell and hope she is able to heal and become 100% healthy. Morgan Valley had foot problems, albeit of a different sort - Plantar Fasciitis. But for a big girl with somewhat chronic foot problems, recovery maybe slow and arduous and she may never be the force Tennessee fans hoped for...

 

[Vowelguy]

Nia Moore would I guess step up and provide a breather for Harrison,

Uh, no. That would be a mistake. Which means there's a 50-50 chance they do it.
Moore is probably the 12th best of their 12 players.

The opportunity is there for TN to reorient to a more guard-focused, quicker lineup.

 

[UConnCat]

The opportunity is there for TN to reorient to a more guard-focused, quicker lineup.

Tenn's guards aren't good enough and Tenn's best available player is still Harrison. Plus, Harrison doesn't pass well enough to run a more guard-oriented lineup. Tenn will still focus on getting the ball inside to Harrison and Graves and crashing the boards. That will be successful against most opponents but, as Maryland showed in the S16 last year, Tenn does not space the floor well at the 3/4 spots and is not that difficult to defend.

 

[Vowelguy]

Tenn's guards aren't good enough and Tenn's best available player is still Harrison. Plus, Harrison doesn't pass well enough to run a more guard-oriented lineup. Tenn will still focus on getting the ball inside to Harrison and Graves and crashing the boards. That will be successful against most opponents but, as Maryland showed in the S16 last year, Tenn does not space the floor well at the 3/4 spots and is not that difficult to defend.

Good comments, thanks.
I agree that Harrison is their best player. My point was only that if she has to come out for rest or fouls, the choice will be to replace her with Moore or to slide Graves over and add another guard. I think the latter is a much better option for them.

 

[UConnCat]

Good comments, thanks.
I agree that Harrison is their best player. My point was only that if she has to come out for rest or fouls, the choice will be to replace her with Moore or to slide Graves over and add another guard. I think the latter is a much better option for them.

I agree. I expect Moore to play but she won't be an answer in the post. Harrison really needs to avoid foul trouble. I don't see Holly changing "the LadyVol style;" I'm not sure she knows how to do that.

 

[Sonny44]

Good comments, thanks.
I agree that Harrison is their best player. My point was only that if she has to come out for rest or fouls, the choice will be to replace her with Moore or to slide Graves over and add another guard. I think the latter is a much better option for them.

Quit trying to improve their staff!

 

[OneTrickPony]

You know, its worse than that.
This huge talent, looked like and at time performed like a zombie, last season
Bad body language, sad face.
No joy.
I really though she might consider other options (sorry mods if I crossed the line).

Playing on bad feet can be something of a killjoy...

 

[bballnut90]

Tough break for Russell and Tennessee. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it changes/influences Tennessee's team too much this season. Russell was still going to be behind Harrison and she hadn't been practicing all summer. If Russell can return to form in 2015-16 and stay healthy, I think she'll be able to contribute more over the following three seasons--assuming she uses her full eligibility--than she would have this season.

Tennessee will be fine--they have one of the best posts in the nation in Harrison, Graves was a monster as a freshman who could still turn it around and have a great junior season, Burdick is a good role player on the wing, and Massengale is one of the better point guards in the nation. Add in Nared, Tucker (when she's finally healthy), Reynold, and Carter as guards/wings and Tennessee has good depth. Post depth will be lacking if Harrison gets in foul trouble. In the event that does, I'd look for Graves to slide to the 5 defensively and Burdick to help out with the opposing team's 4. They also have Jasmine Jones who can help in the post.

 

[Vowelguy]

Quit trying to improve their staff!

Tenn staff < VG < Geno in a coma

 

[msf22b]

Playing on bad feet can be something of a killjoy...

I was speaking of Graves, nothing wrong with her feet.

 

[OneTrickPony]

I was speaking of Graves, nothing wrong with her feet.

My bad, abject apologies...can't figure out what happened there...

 

[geneticrex]

News I hate to hear.

As a UCONN Women's fan, I know only too well the bite of the injury bug, as it has cost the Huskies championships. I just hope that her surgery and recovery are a success, both for the young woman and her family, but also for the competition aspect.

It's always more satisfying to play a team at full strength.

 

[stwainfan]

As for this year. Tennessee can't afford a injury too Graves or Harrison. I think Nared will be one of the top freshman in the country. If Tucker has no set backs. She could return too form that made her one of the top recruits in the country. This year also I think there are more options for the three point shot. I still think this can be a very good team.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

since she started at TN, there have been a gazillion comments on here about how little she impacted TN's team. that she was overrated, etc.

Kind of like what TN fans said about Breanna Stewart when she struggled out of the gate at UConn, before she turned it on in the postseason...

 

[VAMike23]

i think her foot pain was a huge factor. she ran differently than in high school and apparently had all five toes fixed. to answer your question, i think it will hurt us against big teams, but i believe TN can get to FF with its current active roster. i just happy she didn't try to play again and lose another year of eligibility. i can't speak for all TN fans but i didn't think she would come in and replace Izzy at the 5 spot. she needed some time to adjust to being a center in the SEC which is a brutal physical conference. i had hoped to see her have a sophomore bounce. guess i will have to wait on the junior jump.

Was looking at the assist Appeal article on Mercedes and saw a related story headline saying that Holly is/will be suspending some players for missing classes or curfews.

I'm guessing it may just be that the unruly few will be riding the pine for the first exhibition game. As SA pointed out, it sounds like something Pat would do

Rest of the linked story is behind a paywall - just wondered if it might be more than just a preseason game or two?

 

[cabbie191]

I hope Mercedes has a full recovery but I'm skeptical.

It's part of sports, of course, that injuries throw a promising career out of whack. Sometimes, though, it seems crueler than usual. Case in point - Wisconsin's football team just announced that a highly touted tailback named Vonte Jackson and one who hails from the state, is out of the game for good having just suffered his fourth knee injury in three years. His first occured at the start of his senior year in high school. On the positive side, the school will honor his scholarship until he graduates.

 

[cabbie191]

My bad, abject apologies...can't figure out what happened there...

I made the same mistake!

 

[Boxerpups4me]

Very interesting and engaging thread here, as are most on the boneyard. I feel the loss of mercedes this season will mostly hurt the vols in the event graves or harrison get into foul trouble, which most certainly will happen. Harrison has always been prone to foul trouble anyway. I'm going to be interested to see how holly manages the lineup when that does happen. I happen to think one of holly's weaknesses as a new head coach is her inexperience at managing in game substitutions and personel, a valuable skill we lost with the retirement of pat summit and, I think, one of coach geno's many strong points.

What is important to note here is that Tennessee's big issues last year were poor perimeter defense, turnover issues and not much guard depth after massengale got hurt. With that said, and as someone mentioned earlier, tennessee can absorb the loss of mercedes with the new guards tennessee has coming in. As far as being a final four team, that's hard to say. They have the talent to get there, but do they have the dicipline? also, will coach holly be able to manage in game situations a bit better than she did last year? will the incoming freshman, especially tucker and nared, be able to live up to the hype they have been receiving?? Will last years issues, like the ones I mentioned above be corrected?? These are questions that don't have answers yet.

I do think sc is the team to beat in the sec this year, regardless of whether mercedes plays or not. That team is loaded and they have, I think, one of the best and brightest young coaches in the game today. could sc become the new dynasty team that will follow uconn and Tennessee in wcbb greatness? It could happen and the uconn sc series might just be that stepping stone..

Getting back to uconn, since this is after all a uconn forum..obviously they are the team to beat again this year for the nc. I thought last season that the graduation of faris would be a stumbling block for their 9th championship, and I couldn't have been more off target. I think what they have coming in and adding all Americans kml and stewart, I just don't see anyone stopping their run to a awe inspiring 10th championship. I'd like to say sc or duke might be able to compete, but who knows. I stopped trying to predict who could beat uconn last season..anyhow, should be another great season of wcbb!! Can't wait!!

 

[LadyVols9]

Kind of like what TN fans said about Breanna Stewart when she struggled out of the gate at UConn, before she turned it on in the postseason...

Well, doesn't that comment actually prove the point? Mercedes is a very young and talented player. It's too early to judge her worth, especially since she has been injured from day one.

For the record, it's not like Duke fans, or their coach, are known for good sportsmanship. Come on now...