Posted by doverton on February 16, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You could almost see it comming in the Rutgers game. The offense seems to be standing around too much, almost as if depending on Candice to do all the scoring.Coach Summitt has given the team a wakeup call,she has told them what they need to do. It will be interesting to see how they respond @ Vandy. My money is on Coach and what she wants this team to accomplish and how bad the ladies want to make a run at another Championship. We're pulling for you all !!

GO LADY VOLS !!!

Posted by bmaples on February 16, 2008 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You know, I'm sure the season gets long, and it's easy to lose your passion for it -- especially after you're already won one championship. That's how the LV looked the other night. Here's hoping they recapture their passion, and turn it into results.

Posted by CrankE on February 16, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Show up with a killer instinct and some good players and you might knock off somebody and have a shot at a championship. (see Rutgers).

Show up with with talent alone and no killer instinct and you'll get a great tournament seed, get deep into the tournament against the weaker sisters and fall before the championship game while some other team no one thought about takes home the hardware. (see UT-various recent years).

Combine great talent with a killer instinct and it's unstoppable. (see the 39-0, 1998.)

UT has the tools to be that overwhelming tournament favorite. But they don't have that attitude. That's exactly what this meeting was for. We'll find out soon enough what kind of team they really are.

Posted by tngeoff on February 16, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good job coach! now, back to the task at hand. Winning!

Posted by gbeall on February 16, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Well now a team meeting, Great, just hope the team is as embarrassed as the coaches and their fans are.
IMO if Parker had made a dunk in the game the outcome would have been different. A missed dunk would have inspired the team, almost as much as made one, however a missed lay up did just the opposite. I think Parker was thinking, dunk, but changed her mind and that made her miss the lay up.
I would not want to be the next team to play the Lady Vols after that embarrassment of a game.
they will be out to prove something (I just hope so anyway. I predict a "blowout".
The first ten minutes of that game was the best ten minutes of any game I've see this year from any team.

bmaples, I must say I enjoy you posting and knowledge, that I have read over the years. Thank you.
I do not post much but read them all.

Posted by 98reax on February 16, 2008 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I cannot imagine one's passion for playing on a full scholarship for "an elite college basketball team" to wane. It's just incomprehensible. Where would these young female college athletes be if not playing for a Tennessee with the indisputable best coach in the nation? Another college team? An overseas team? Where's the glory in that? What could make one think there is a better road to a successful career than being All You Can Be in a program that puts the spotlight on you every single time you step foot on the court? I agree with the coaches (and why wouldn't I) that there is absolutely no excuse to standing around. Watching another team, another player earn YOUR scholarship. If I were a senior, I would be so ashamed right now if I were not taking responsibility of this team. I'm so disappointed in Hornbuckle. She does not want to leave Tennessee with this attitude. She will get a great opportunity in the pros if she wants it. She should get a very high pick, however, a lackadaisical attitude will get her passed over for players who hussle on every play, every game. Could there possibly be chemistry problems or leadership issues going on here? This late in the season, I certainly hope not. I know last year Anosiki decided to take over that responsibility. Perhaps she might start NOW to get into that role. We could absolutely lose that #1 seeding with another loss. You have to think about UConn, Rutgers, LSU, NC, Duke being right there in contention for the top spots. Number (anything but 1) will mean facing a top ranked competition very early in the dance. We are way short (and unproductive) on the bench. We could have some serious work to remain alive to the F4. Excuse me for sounding negative. I simply need to vent. I would not be at all surprised to see the ladies come out and kick some serious butt from here on out, but, I would not be surprised albeit very sad if they do not.

Posted by wewhite on February 16, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It doesn't matter who's number 1 in February. It matters who's number 1 on April 6. If you have a 2008 Championship banner hanging in your arena, no one's going to say, "Oh, they got embarrassed by LSU at home last year," except to say, "but they turned it around after that and went on to win the SEC and then the national championship."

Posted by jh43 on February 16, 2008 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

No one is going to give us a championship, we have to take it. 12-15 minutes of effort per game will not get it. The team with the banner will be the team willing to gut it out for 40 minutes. So far this year, our team has not come close to that kind of effort. We are well into the habit of not playing a full game. I am very concerned that we can actually change learned habits this late into the season. I certainly hope so, but this group has not shown me any hint of a killer instinct. We will see against Vandy if they have any intention of changing.

Posted by johnlg00 on February 16, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

A #2 seed and a #1 seed would not meet until the regional final. At that level, there is no meaningful distinction between teams. My concern at this point is getting that far. I hope this last spell is just a case of mid-season blahs. We will be able to tell a lot by how they come out against Vandy Sunday. I hope it's good news.

Posted by rpoll1095 on February 16, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This is one of those times in a season where the true character of the individual team members is put to the test and the ability of the coaching staff is evidenced. To the latter, nothing need be said. To the former, we will see how, as individuals and a team, they step up and deal with the adversity. My money would be on them to do so. But just like the football team after Alabama this year, these women were humiliated....and it doesn't feel good. Sometimes these things, as it was in the fall, can turn out to have more positives than negatives. We will see. That said, it is essential that we will alll hang in there together. GO VOLS.....!

Posted by ATLVOLFAN on February 16, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This team should be ready tomorrow. I am hoping they go and destroy Vandy, and play a whole 40 minute ball game. The guards have do a better job on defense and offense. I still think this team is capable of repeating as champions as long as they play with heart and intensity. It was after a LSU lost that pull them together last year, so hope it does the same this year. I still have faith in this team and I know they got it in them its just how bad they want it. Go VOLs!!!!!!!!

Posted by janchattn on February 16, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I was hoping with all the negative press out there about the Rutgers game (and there is, just go to ESPN.com and see how many people say cheated, stolen, etc) -- I thought we would be especially fired up to come out and say to LSU, look here, we are a championship team, and then play like there was no doubt. A few games ago I thought this team could beat any team out there if they put their mind to it. I think they count on Candace to be their "go to" player so much that they forget they have to play too. It does seem like Alexis has lost her fire and Shannon, too. I hope you can get it back, girls, you are the best out there, don't forget that we are all pulling for you! You can do it!!!

Posted by jonathan81254 on February 16, 2008 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I think it's a good thing for the team and the coaches to have these meetings; it certainly helped last year. Because the coaches need to get the team to the next level, to the successful defense of the NC level, I also think it's good to tell the team about their disappointment. However, although the coaches and players know much more about this than I do, I disagree a bit with them. For example, I watched the game and I did not think that the Lady Vols lacked effort. It's true that the guards didn't play all that well, but it wasn't because they didn't TRY to play well. And you're never going to have Alex Hornbuckle not putting out the effort. To me, saying your team showed a "lack of effort" is coachspeak for the other team putting our MORE effort than did the team of the coach who's talking. THAT might be correct -- LSU might have put out MORE effort than the LVs -- but that doesn't mean that the Lady Vols didn't put out a lot of effort or enough effort to win. I think it is more a combination of factors. First, LSU is a VERY good team that plays great defense. Second, they are both quick and fast enough to make even the Lady Vols look slow (which the commentators noticed) even when the LV's are not in fact slow. Third, the particular lineup that LSU can put out there created matchup problems for Tenn, such as for Fuller, as noted, or for anyone having to play Fowles (and that's not to mention their depth, which matches up badly for UT). And finally, fourth, their coach isn't exactly chopped chicken liver, having much experience and some championships -- he's certainly as good a coach as Vivian Stringer, for example. It was a tough loss, but to me it wasn't so bad a loss that it makes me think the Lady Vols cannot successfully defend their championship. The SEC is just very tough, and women's college basketball at the highest level is also very tough. Go Lady Vols!

Posted by johnlg00 on February 16, 2008 at 12:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

jonathan, I think most of the talk about lack of effort was based on the last few minutes of the game. IIRC, we had cut it to about 55-51, with Candace at the line for a free-throw (which she missed), after blowing that 19-point first half lead and then LSU outscored us 23-11 from there on. Of course, it speaks to a lack of something to lose a 19-point lead on one's home court in the first place! I didn't get to see the game--heard the Lady Vol network feed on the internet--but some other posters said on another thread that the defense broke down entirely in the second half. It sure sounded like that to me.

Posted by threehundredbowler on February 16, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

U.T.was beaten by Rutgers yet won.Beaten badly by L.S.U.These two games saw a combined shooting of 31% from the floor and 25% from 3 point line.During this time we saw Bobbitt go 3 for 19,16%.Hornbuckle 4 for 15,26%,Auguste 1 for 11,10%,and Anosike 4 for 17,23%.that is 12 for 62 or 19% combined shooting from these 4 players. Anosike is only 40% for the year and most all of her shots are from 4 feet or closer while Auguste only shoots 33% for the year.Shooting like this will get you beat in games with top 10 teams.Tennessee ,to my regret, will not go past the 2nd or 3rd round in the big dance this year.

Posted by va_vol16 on February 16, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

there is only one team in the sec that can compete with the lady vols and they cant even beat them at home that is bad womens college basketball is the most non competive sport in the world when you only have to play five teams a year that can compete with you and have the best player in the game you should do better than that at home

Posted by 98reax on February 16, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I respect Pat for what she stands for, for what she's accomplished. She has no quit in her. Something so trivial as supporting a college sports team, in the grand scheme of things, seems laughable. But at the same time, fans have as much obligation to be loyal with a "never quit" attitude as the players do, right? Even though coaches and players do not look at these forums, I feel like they sense when fans give up on them. johnathan81254, thank you for reminding me to stay the course, give the players the benefit of being very beat up and beat down for a few minutes against a very HOT team & a veteran 'championship winning at the highest level' coach. Did you notice how calm he was when they were down by 19 points? WOW! Why can't I stay so calm? History tells the tale. The '96, '97 Lady Vols had Mique and a beat up point guard situation with little or no consistency from the rest of the squad. They were embarrassed by teams repeatedly. Remember Passion Thompson under the basket? She appeared to be growing old before your very eyes. Coach stayed in her face. Now days, she would be considered very small post player, LaShonda Stevens, Tiffani Johnson, my goodness, they were slow, and Kyra and Niya, the original Butts, what could they possibly contribute other than standing appointments with Jenny Moshak? Abby Conklin, did you ever just want to kick start her? But these kids won a National Championship after a 10-loss season. After escaping LSU in a 99-100OT then losing to a beat up Auburn in Chattanooga, SEC Tournament semifinals. Lady Vols gave up a 9-point lead with 10 minutes to play. Mique missed 2 free throws and Auburn took control, tied the game and Kyra turned the ball over uncontested. Mique was the only double-digit scorer in that game which TN shot 42% and out rebounded the Tigers by 9. I remember being at that game and just being so sickened by disbelief and disappointment that I couldn't leave my seat. I said "heck no" I won't go back, but I did watch that championship game which Auburn went on to win by taking down mighty Florida and Carol Ross. The remarkable thing about that situation was we had beaten Auburn by 13 points just one month prior to the tournament. A game in which Pashen Thompson scored 13 pts., 13 rebs. Kelly Jolly played 40 minutes with ONE turnover in the final minute of the game. Tiff Johnson scored 23 pts and 19 rebs. Who would've thought we could lose to unranked Auburn? Here's an interesting little item: 11 years ago, 2/17/97, #8/11 ranked Lady Vols faced #15/10 ranked Vandy and narrowly escaped with 64-59 victory in what was called "a sluggish offense and porous defense" on the LV squad. TN shot 37% with NO 3s. Bottom line, we won a national championship knocking down the likes of then #1 UConn, #14 Notre Dame, #2 Old Dominion. Lesson learned: Never give up on THE TN LADY VOLS & THE GREATEST COACH in the nation PAT SUMMITT!

Posted by 98reax on February 16, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I respect Pat for what she stands for, for what she's accomplished. She has no quit in her. Something so trivial as supporting a college sports team, in the grand scheme of things, seems laughable. But at the same time, fans have as much obligation to be loyal with a "never quit" attitude as the players do, right? Even though coaches and players do not look at these forums, I feel like they sense when fans give up on them. johnathan81254, thank you for reminding me to stay the course, give the players the benefit of being very beat up and beat down for a few minutes against a very HOT team & a veteran 'championship winning at the highest level' coach. Did you notice how calm he was when they were down by 19 points? WOW! Why can't I stay so calm? History tells the tale. The '96, '97 Lady Vols had Mique and a beat up point guard situation with little or no consistency from the rest of the squad. They were embarrassed by teams repeatedly. Remember Passion Thompson under the basket? She appeared to be growing old before your very eyes. Coach stayed in her face. Now days, she would be considered very small post player, LaShonda Stevens, Tiffani Johnson, my goodness, they were slow, and Kyra and Niya, the original Butts, what could they possibly contribute other than standing appointments with Jenny Moshak? Abby Conklin, did you ever just want to kick start her? But these kids won a National Championship after a 10-loss season. After escaping LSU in a 99-100OT then losing to a beat up Auburn in Chattanooga, SEC Tournament semifinals. Lady Vols gave up a 9-point lead with 10 minutes to play. Mique missed 2 free throws and Auburn took control, tied the game and Kyra turned the ball over uncontested. Mique was the only double-digit scorer in that game which TN shot 42% and out rebounded the Tigers by 9. I remember being at that game and just being so sickened by disbelief and disappointment that I couldn't leave my seat. I said "heck no" I won't go back, but I did watch that championship game which Auburn went on to win by taking down mighty Florida and Carol Ross. The remarkable thing about that situation was we had beaten Auburn by 13 points just one month prior to the tournament. A game in which Pashen Thompson scored 13 pts., 13 rebs. Kelly Jolly played 40 minutes with ONE turnover in the final minute of the game. Tiff Johnson scored 23 pts and 19 rebs. Who would've thought we could lose to unranked Auburn? Here's an interesting little item: 11 years ago, 2/17/97, #8/11 ranked Lady Vols faced #15/10 ranked Vandy and narrowly escaped with 64-59 victory in what was called "a sluggish offense and porous defense" on the LV squad. TN shot 37% with NO 3s. Bottom line, we won a national championship knocking down the likes of then #1 UConn, #14 Notre Dame, #2 Old Dominion. Lesson learned: Never give up on THE TN LADY VOLS & THE GREATEST COACH in the nation PAT SUMMITT!

Posted by 98reax on February 16, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

OOPs, sorry about that, don't know how that happened. That's a little long-winded. Don't need double-double. Suggest removal of repeat.

Posted by kcabutti on February 16, 2008 at 2:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Vandy 19-6 is ranked 25. Lady Vols should be able to easily win this game even if they played like they did against LSU. The SEC only has three teams in the top 25. Last year the Lady Vols lost to LSU and pulled it together and came home with the National Championship. Maybe we will see a repeat of last year.
By the way Bobbit is a canidate for the Nancy Lieberman award for outstanding guard what do you all think?

Posted by ATLVOLFAN on February 16, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I think she is one of the best guards in the country win she play up to her potential. I believe they would not have won a championship without her last year. She needs to bring the energy and fight she had last year. Last year she stop every top team we played point guard and I know she got in her to take that award home if she leads her team to a NC. I predict her and Alexis to have a good game tomorrow and a statement victory by the ladies. Its not a doubt in my mind she can win this reward.

Posted by mtnvol on February 16, 2008 at 3:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'll bet the team had to get refitted for uniforms because of all the a$$ chewed at that meeting Friday!

Posted by 98reax on February 16, 2008 at 3:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mtvo, remember last year post season when Anosiki decided to take over the leadership roll and do some chewing of her own kind? She challenged herself and the team in a very similar team meeting after we had lost the SEC Tournament. You know, looking back last two games, she has had a solid game on paper. We just expect more points than she is giving. We expect more attempts and we expect her to show more confidence in her shot than she appears to be showing. Does anyone agree with that assessment?

Posted by splinterdand on February 16, 2008 at 3:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm not sure if some of you have been watching the same games as I have, but Bobbitt is not a very good point guard right now and at this point in time is not doing anything to help her team win. Not to mention some real boneheaded plays. She's too small to shoot over anyone. Also, I'm assuming that there is a limited amount of time the players can practice per week, otherwise I would think that Pat would demand that they spend more time in the gym than "insisting" on it.

Posted by Plasticman on February 16, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I too have been watching the Lady VOls look like they have lost their "vigor" over the past several games. THis is not the same team that started the season. If they continue with this attitude, they will not make it past the Sweet 16 this year which will be embarrassing when you supposedly have the "player of the year". Other players must step up. Bobbitt, Hornbuckle, Fuller, Anosike- you are Seniors and it's time to start playing like it!

Posted by pdhuff on February 16, 2008 at 5:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Really, really going to be tuff the rest of the way. They can do it, but will they?

Several of these players need to come to the farm and practice hitting the long side of the barn.

Pat, we've got faith you can do it.

Posted by 98reax on February 16, 2008 at 5:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

After watching The PS Show, I'm still amazed at how composed, how calm she is about the last 2 games. She knows those games can't be replayed. She's moving on. "We can't be wounded" she says, "We have to bring it."

Posted by jdcdjc on February 16, 2008 at 5:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We are over rated. We are not good enough to be in the top five. I guess we have just be spoiled, This team has sooo much tallent so it has to be that they have lost thier drive. It does not get any easier. The other teams saw how LSU handled our girls so now it will be open season. They have beaten some teams by just walking on the court, but that is all in the past now. Girl for girl we have a much better team than LSU, but not with 5 Vols playing thier own game.

Posted by volfanincarolina on February 16, 2008 at 6:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with you jdcdjc. The way we have been playing I thought we were over rated as well. I do believe we have the team to be number one but we are not playing like it. We stunk it up bad and we deserve to get what we got. I wish this lost came just before the sec tourney so they would be real mad. As long as Coach Summitt is coaching you just can not count out the Vols.

Posted by RocketVol on February 16, 2008 at 7:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This team needs to lose some arrogance and get hungry. Time is almost up.

Posted by ATLVOLFAN on February 16, 2008 at 7:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree they act like they have lost their since of pride. I think this team need to play with some passion and heart. They look like they have lost their team chemistry also. As a fan I still think they can do it, I hope they believe they can win it all. Tomorrow game will show everyone is this team serious about repeating as champion.Go VoLS!!

Posted by tenncorncob on February 16, 2008 at 10:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The Vandy game being on the road will tell us a lot about the character of this team. Is Candice Parker "satisfied" with her lone NC? Time will tell, starting Sunday.....

Posted by ge446 on February 16, 2008 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Not a consistently good jump shooting team and has trouble around the rim while banging the ball off the glass. The jury is still out on this team. It will take a big turaround for them to get to final four. Never know about a team like this. Start playing smart basketball and hitting shots and the # 8 is a possibility. Hope it starts on Sunday...

Posted by reg_mza on February 17, 2008 at 8:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Let's keep one thing in mind. TN and LSU really have separated themselves from the rest of the pack in the SEC. This means that if all goes as expected(yeah I know, hard to say in this day and age), that there will be a rematch in the SEC Tourney. We will then see if LSU has TN's card or if the last game was an embarrassing aberration that has haunted them since. We will see soon enough.

Posted by gbeall on February 17, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I want to get this in before the game today.
The game will be a blowout for the Lady Vols.
However the neat thing is how all this is playing out with Pat. It is almost as interesting as watching their basketball games.
Pat will do what she thinks is necessary to get this team back on track and watching how she does it will be a story in sports physiology.
Pat has been around to long not to know how to fix this "problem". Great fun to watch and see how this plays out for the rest of the season.
GO VOLS

Posted by mparker on February 17, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

98,
I will only tackle one item in your psots, the one about athletes losing passion. IMHO, that really has nothing to do with being on shclarship, or being on a pickup team. It is a LONG season, and these ladies are truly 'student ahtletes', which means that most of 'em aren't taking basket-weaving.

To that, add the third physically-demanding game in 5 or 6 days, and yes, you can see some fire dropping off.

Finally, the team is getting ready to shift gears to post-season. They are ready for the regular season to be done, and for the heightened excitement of post-season play (the men's team is getting that way, too).

Humans adapt to situations in amazing ways. I always go back to that 'you would be amzed at what you can get used to'. Well, for these players, they are used to all the trappings of a big-time program, so they may, at times, take it for granted.

I spent a lot of words saying that, but it is my take on athletes and why at times they may just go through the motions when we fans think they should be trying harder.

Posted by volmattna on February 17, 2008 at 6:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Big blue falls again!!!

Posted by UTByrd on February 18, 2008 at 6:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I had a bad feeling during the first 10 minutes of the game. It seemed to me that Candace was playing one on one ball and the team never got in sync. They need to play team ball and get everyone involved in the game plan from the start. Let Candace take over the game at the end and see what happens. A leader definitely needs to come forward. Go Vols!!!!!

Posted by actuallyserved on February 19, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

After reading the Football/Colquitt issues, I am soo glad to read of Pat, her athletes and their overall dedication and class, even with the very rare loss of focus. They make me very proud to be an alumni who lives out of state.

THIS is what we should expect of any program or group that is fortunate enough to represent a great university.