A Modest Proposal

The LSU game was disappointing, to say the least…an early lead on the way to what looked like a fairly easy victory in the first half, followed by an unraveling in the second that made LSU look like the superior team, which, on paper at least, they are not. They played like it, though, and the final score was neither a fluke nor an accident. Tennessee had foul trouble and that was certainly a factor, but the absence of passion and competitiveness that followed was reminiscent of teams from the past few seasons, and has not been seen in this year’s team…until now. Holly said they have to get back to doing what they were doing earlier in the year, but at least one of those things -playing against weaker, non-SEC competition, is not an option.

I still believe in this team. I don’t see any flaws that can’t be righted. I hope, for the sake of seniors Russell, Narad, and Dunbar, they make a deep run in the post season.

But I’d also like to make a tiny suggestion for next year’s team, and the teams of the future. Something that can’t be implemented this year, but should be implemented next year. With apologies to the Lady Vol faithful who can’t stand the guy, it’s a page out of the Geno Auriemma playbook.

Pat believed in having a short bench, primarily so that she could play everybody and keep them all happy. She thought players at the end of the bench who never got any playing time were a potential source of disharmony. That is a reasonable concern, but in the past few seasons, even with a short bench, there have been players who rarely see action. So, if you are going to have players sitting for entire games anyway, why not have a full roster. There are, as I see it, at least four solid reasons for this:

1. If you are all about opportunity for young women, unused scholarships are an unconscionable waste.
2. In the case of foul trouble, you have players to go use.
3. Tired players can be rested.
4. In the normal course of a game, having a deeper bench gives you leverage and options. It’s no secret this team and a lot of teams of the recent past have had trouble sticking to the game plan. Part of this is fatigue; you see the sagging on defense, and the settling for quick three point shots instead of running the offense, which, it’s no secret, should go through Mercedes most of the time, not just during the first half. It’s also true that a lot of successful teams don’t go very deep in the bench; conditioning and motivation for the top 6-7 players is sufficient…until they run into a deeper team. Recruiting a starting lineup of top talent is difficult enough; it’s not realistic to expect a 12 man roster not to have a talent drop-off. However, if you have other players you can put in, and you are willing to use them, particularly when the starters are not following the game plan, either through fatigue or because they know they won’t be taken out regardless of what they’re doing, you have the ability to keep your starters more focused and on point. Play the game plan, or ride the bench. That’s Geno’s not-so-secret secret. NOBODY is sacrosanct. If you aren’t hustling, if you aren’t committed, if you aren’t running the game plan, you come OUT. You may notice Geno doesn’t substitute all that often, or even go very deep into his bench all that often. This is because he doesn’t have to, and he doesn’t have to because his starters know that he WILL.

So, that’s my suggestion: get more players. Play the ones who want to play bad enough to play hard and follow the game plan every minute they are privileged to be on the court.

Not Quite There Yet

The gauntlet of four top twenty teams in a row has been run, but not with the results we fans might have been hoping for. Four wins would have been epic; three, giddy; two, encouraging; one, disappointing; none, grim.

We got disappointment; one win, three losses

The win over South Carolina, on their home court, was a good one, even though the absence of their best player is a major caveat. The loss to Texas A&M on their home court was the one that got away and should have been won. The Notre Dame game was the most frustrating; the Lady Vols opened with probably their best quarter of the year, opening up a commanding lead, then watched seemingly helplessly as the Irish scrapped their way back to a win. Notre Dame outplayed the Lady Vols the last three quarters, in spite of having a depleted depth chart owing to injuries; if Tennessee made any tactical errors it was probably in not using their own short bench a little more. Particularly puzzling was the decision not to give Green more minutes. And where has Harris gone? And what’s up with Kushhituah, is she injured, still learning the ropes, or just a bust? The Lady Vols don’t have a very deep bench either, but I expect the players on it would benefit from a few more minutes of game experience every night, and the overworked starters might get a benefit out of it too. Fatigue surely is a factor in the way they begin each game executing a game plan that includes tight defense, multiple passes, and getting the ball inside to Mercedes, only to abandon it in the second half, letting up on defense and abandoning the offensive plan, settling for jump shots, ignoring Russell, and everybody trying to be the hero. United we stand, divided we fall.

I’m not sure anything would have saved us against Mississippi State, a veteran team with four starting senior guards and a junior center who is imposing, taller and wider than Mercedes, who nonetheless held her own pretty well, and might have done even better with more minutes from Cheridene Green, either spelling her or in tandem. It’s hard not to be concerned about the way Jaime Nared is struggling with her shot of late; there’s no question its hurting the team. Nared is my favorite player on the team, and the best combination of talent and experience the Lady Vols have except maybe for Russell, but Jaime is a vocal leader and Mercedes isn’t, so the freshmen are more influenced by what Nared does and doesn’t do. I appreciate she probably has to shoot her way out of this slump; I just wish her shot selection included more shots taken closer to the basket and less three pointers. And when she is being closely guarded inside, there’s no shame in passing to someone more open. Assists are just as important as points, and an offense that has five players scoring and expecting to shoot is harder to defend than one that relies on individual heroics.

Hayes seemed to run into more trouble driving the lane than she’s had up until now; credit the speed of the Bulldog guards and the imposing center. Everybody seemed to be having trouble with MSU’s speed; a lot of their baskets came when the ball handler blew by her defender, and no one was in position to help. I haven’t seen that with this team before; usually our guards don’t need any help because they’re pretty fast themselves, but the Bulldogs seemed to have a step on them all night.

Davis having to sit early with two fouls might have been a turning point as well. She was playing with passion and fire, and when she went out some of the fire went with her. It was like an engine missing a cylinder. Rennia Davis is definitely a keeper.

The softball team open house is this Saturday (January 27, 2-4 PM). It’s a chance to meet the team and get autographs and photos if that’s your thing. The facilities are open as well. You can tour the stadium, the locker room, training rooms, and batting cages The coaches who are usually very friendly and accessible will introduce all of the players and talk about the prospects for the coming season. You can buy season tickets too, if you’re so inclined. I don’t know what the seat selection will be or how many will be available. There are 500 new bleacher seats behind right field, installed last year. The team has been growing in popularity every year I’ve been here; we were very lucky to get the seats we have. Most SEC games are sellouts. The season usually starts in freezing weather and ends in sweltering; even so, it’s not a bad way to spend a few hours over the weekend.

Bloom and Grow

If you felt compelled to single out a single player to blame for the loss to A & M, most would point at freshman point guard Evina Westbrook.She made too costly mistakes in the closing minutes; first fouling an Aggie at 3-point range, giving her the chance to shoot three free throws, which she shot and made. Of course, if one or two of those hadn’t gone in, Danni Williams, the Texas shooter, would have been the goat instead of Westbrook. It’s also possible she could have made a 3 point shot from where she was fouled, in Westbrook hadn’t been guarding her closely. Seconds later, on what turned out to be the Lady Vols last possession, Westbrook’s pass to Nared was just out of reach, for a turnover. Final score Texas A&M 79, Tennessee 76. In overtime.

Westbrook, understandably, felt terrible and was down after the loss. Her teammates, to their credit, all cared more about supporting their teammate than they did about pointing fingers. Westbrook is one of many players on this team in their first season; they’re all going to make mistakes, sometimes critical ones. Even veteran players aren’t immune; you just want to see improvement game by game and year by year. The most important thing is to stick together. Play together. Grow and get better together, which is the path they appear to be on. The potential for greatness is there. Teams -real teams- win championships.

In the first minute of the South Carolina game, Evina threw another errant pass, and I thought to myself, crap, she’s got the shakes after the A & M game. It’s in her head now. But the errant pass proved an anomaly. The team, upset by Texas A & M, upset South Carolina in turn in an away game, and Westbrook had a good game, much praised by the broadcast team for her maturity and skills at such a young age. Granted, South Carolina didn’t have their star forward A’ja Wilson, and whether or not Tennessee will be able to beat them with all cylinders firing is a question that now has to wait for the SEC tournament, or the NCAA tournament, or just go unanswered. But as Gertrude Stein famously never said, a win is a win is a win. Tennessee 86, South Carolina 70.

This is the middle of a tough stretch; Notre Dame away on Thursday night, then Mississippi State in Thompson-Boling on Sunday. Another loss or the loss of both games is a definite possibility, but as long as the urge to point fingers is kept at bay, and they stay together, this team should still be in the mix in the post season.

So Far So Good

Wow, who predicted a 15-0 start? Be honest now.

This year’s team looks like the real deal. We’ve been accustomed to hearing glowing reports about the recruiting, only to have the reality fall somewhat short of the hype the past few years. A lot of talented players have come through the program, without jelling into the team we hoped they would be. And it’s all about the team. If the team can’t compete on the national stage, the individual accolades and accomplishments naturally ring hollow. The Tennessee legacy of the Summitt years is championships, not all stars.

The freshmen continue to impress. Hayes off the bench is a firecracker, Westbrook is growing in the role of point guard, and Davis is a solid talent at forward. As for the veterans, Jackson is setting the tone for the defense while also increasing her offensive effectiveness, Jamie Narad is Ms. Everything You Could Possibly Want in a Senior, fellow Senior Russell has matured into one of the top centers in the college game, and Dunbar gives the team a shot of energy and enthusiasm whether she’s in the game or not. Transfer student Cheridene Green might be the most effective player off the bench Holly has ever had. The only question marks at this point are freshman Kushkituah and sophomore Harris; whether they are still hampered by injuries or just aren’t of the caliber of the other players at the moment is hard to judge as a fan. All we know is, they aren’t getting any minutes. They both have size which could be a valuable asset now that we are in the conference schedule, but for whatever reason they are not being used.

The last two games have been disappointing, or as disappointing as games you still won can be; for the first time this year we’ve seen long stretches of less than stellar focus and effort, reminiscent of the rest of the decade’s teams. They pulled both games out, which previous year’s teams probably wouldn’t have done, but vulnerabilities were visible. The last few minutes of the Vanderbilt game were enough to restore the faith, but, really, the team needs to play with that level of intensity for four quarters every night if they want to go very far in either the conference or the tournament. There aren’t any easy games left; every night they will have to bring it to stay on top. I doubt if an undefeated season is in the cards -the team is too young, the conference is too strong, and it probably won’t even be necessary to get a berth- but they’ve already surprised us thus far, so why not make it a goal to go undefeated, at least until you lose one? There’s room in the trophy case for more trophies as well as room in the fan’s hearts for another legendary team. You could even say the faithful have been waiting too long for both.