True Orange

For Tennessee fans, yesterday’s game against 2nd-ranked Texas couldn’t have been much better. Some questions about this year’s team were answered; they’re tougher than last year’s team, more focused than last year’s team, maybe even more talented than last year’s team…already, with every indication they can get even better. While Texas fans were undoubtedly disappointed by the outcome, I’m sure they’ll agree that if every game during the season was played at this level, what a wonderful sport this would be.

It’s a little early to anoint them as a favorite to win the NCAA, or even the SEC, though it will hard to imagine them not cracking the top 10 in the polls today. Texas shouldn’t slide very far, either; they proved themselves gritty and combative and the lead which Tennessee never relinquished in the game never seemed all that safe either. Home field advantage may have been the only difference. We still don’t know how the Lady Vols will fare in a hostile environment, against a quality opponent, though at this point it seems reasonable to predict they will be in the game. This team has enough weapons, and enough cohesiveness, to weather storms and off nights from a player or two. Nared and Russell provide exactly the kind of Senior leadership championship teams thrive on. The freshmen trio of Westbrook, Davis, and Hayes are playing like veterans. Green spelling Russell off the bench, and then playing alongside Russell down the stretch, is more than most teams can handle inside. Add to this the potential in Kushkituah and Harris, who have been slowed this season by injuries, the enthusiasm and outside shooting of Dunbar, and the defense and increasing offensive versatility of Jackson, and its almost hard to see where the minutes for DeShields, Middleton, and Cooper would have come from had they stayed with the program. DeShields, of course, passed up her last season of eligibility to turn pro; Cooper and Middleton will sit out the 2017-18 season because of transfer rules before playing for their new schools, South Carolina and Iowas State, respectively.

Two things we learned in this game, in addition to the fact that Tennessee is cooler under pressure than in the past, is that Hayes CAN successfully drive on bigger, more talented front courts, and Westbrook’s scoring game can be as deadly as her passing.

Two caveats from this game are, we need better free throw shooting, as Tennessee missed 11 shots that would have given the Lady Vols a lot more breathing room and could have been the difference if Texas had had a better shooting day, and in my personal opinion the team should have utilized the bench earlier and slightly more often. Dunbar, Kushkituah, and Harris didn’t play at all, perhaps in the case of KK and Harris because of nagging injuries, but while Texas was substituting freely (albeit partially in response to early foul trouble) the Lady Vols left their starting lineup in for most of the first half, using only Hayes to spell Jackson. It took a toll on the starters, allowing, I thought, Texas to close the gap heading into halftime. Nared played every minute of the game, and though she is capable of this, I can’t help but think there were a few minutes in each quarter where fatigue lessened her effectiveness, such as the two free throws missed down the stretch that, fortunately, did not turn out to be fatal. I don’t believe the bench needs as many minutes as they had during a blowout like the Troy game, but I do believe they need to be utilized better even against top-ranked teams. For Tennessee to consistently compete at the highest level, they need contributions from the bench as well as the starters. The good teams, these days, are usually more than 6 or 7 players deep. Or, to put it another way, a good team 6 or 7 players deep is at an extreme disadvantage against a good team 9 to 10 players deep, for the fatigue factor if for no other reason. Get the bench a few minutes early, and keep the starters fresh(er).

I really love this team so far, especially in comparison to the last couple of years. (Note, I loved them too, but the relationship was more complicated.)

He Came, He Saw, He…

Just a quick note about the short, troubled reign of AD John Currie:

I’m sorry it ended so quickly, and badly. Currie will always be remembered fondly by the Lady Vol faithful for having restored the Lady Vol name to all Tennessee women’s teams. We may note, also, that as the news of his dismissal spread, nobody was calling for the rehiring of Dave Hart.

I don’t follow Tennessee football, don’t care anything about it. I don’t follow football anywhere, on any level, and haven’t for a few years now. Not because football players in the NFL are taking a knee in protest during the national anthem…that, I support as their rights as Americans. Still not going to start following football again, though. Just taking the true American, true patriotic side of the debate.

But I know football drives the machine. If you’re going to be a successful AD, you have to keep the football fans happy. The rest of us are along for the ride. The firing of Butch Jones was not the issue -I think every AD in the country would have been forced to blame Butch for the disappointing season and fired him either during, or at the end, of this past season- but the search for his replacement didn’t play out at all the way a major university wants to present itself, with the first choice rejected by the fans (for the unproven but troubling allegation that he was aware of Jerry Sandusky’s child molesting while on the staff at Penn State and did nothing) and at least three other choices publicly turning Tennessee down for the head coaching job. Tennessee sees itself as a football power, and football powers don’t have to offer a head coaching job to four candidates without getting a coach, at least not in full view of the alumni.  I don’t know why this search was so public; I suspect somebody in the AD’s office, no friend of the AD, was leaking. Still, it was too embarrassing to allow; somebody had to take the fall.

Sorry, Mr. Currie. My wife and I spoke with you briefly at a softball game, where she, like so many others, lobbied you for the Lady Vol name change, which you graciously endured though, at the time, refused to commit to. We also noted your appearance at several other Lady Vol games, far more visible than Mr. Hart ever was. Good luck in your next endeavor, which I expect will be as an AD again elsewhere, perhaps at a university less stuck on itself.

What We’ve Seen So Far

Most of the way through the pre-conference season and what do we have so far?

Nobody can say for certain, but it looks like we have a pretty good team.

They’ve met all comers and come out on top. Eight games, eight wins. Only caveat is they haven’t played many quality teams…yet. The one top twenty team (Marquette) was defeated, narrowly, in overtime.  Better news is, unlike the teams of the past few years, they haven’t been playing down to the level of the competition. When they get a lead, they haven’t been coasting, or letting up. Today’s game against Alabama State, a great example: an all-time team record of only 4 turnovers over an entire game. 100 points scored. Bench players, no let up. Wednesday’s game, the opponent held scoreless in the 4th quarter, and to only 10 points in the third. Again, mostly with non-starters on the floor. It bodes well, especially compared with recent history.

The freshmen have been as advertised, if not better. Hard to imagine this group being denied a championship, assuming they can all improve from where they are now. Where they are now is solid, competent, confident.  Rennia Davis is a basketball machine. Hayes has flash and fire, and a nose for the basket. Westbrook is focused and appears to be a team player. Kushkituah has been setback by injuries, but in the early games was a presence, if not yet as polished as the other three.

Harris and Green, sophomore and junior by class but less by experience because of past injuries, are both stepping up and contributing. Meme Jackson is playing a more varied offensive game now, along with being the best lockdown defender on the team. Dunbar’s minutes are up, and though she hasn’t been as deadly at 3-point range as we’re used to, her defense isn’t as much a liability either and she’ll come around.

The key, of course, is still the starting seniors: Mercedes and Jaime. As good as the freshmen are, the fate of the team will be mostly up to those two. Russell is an accomplished center now, and Nared can do it all, and has the experience to help the freshmen grow. Which I am certain they will.

Compared to last year’s team, this year’s team seems more focused, more driven, less selfish, and less given to showboating. I don’t think there’s a showboat on the team, at least not so far. They aren’t looking to dazzle you, or intimidate you, or awe you with their reputations; they’re just looking to score more points than you do, by making sure you score fewer. It’s a formula that works in most sports.

Again, we haven’t played anybody much yet. Texas, coming up, will reveal more. A loss to the #5 team in the country in a non-conference game will hardly be fatal, especially if they learn from it. A win, of course, would be even better. An undefeated season would be miraculous, and is unlikely; the team’s character will be better forged after adversity, especially adversity that comes early enough in the season to be corrected. I am curious to see if Hayes can continue to drive to the basket against the better teams; I have some doubt. If she can, all the better; if not, I’ll be curious to see how quickly she adjusts. So, too, with the other freshmen; I haven’t spotted obvious flaws in Davis or Westbrook’s games, but then I’m no basketball expert. I may not have spotted a flaw in Haye’s game either; it’s just a possible one. We’ll see; it’s why they play the games rather than just letting people like me pick the winners in front of our computer screens.