Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 12/8/15

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In case you missed it, here is my UConn/Notre Dame post game report.

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I want to apologize for all the articles that ask you to pay to read. The Courant, The American Republic and others. I will still link then in case you want to pay to read them or already have a subscription.

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So, how do you move up from No. 23 in the AP poll to No. 18? Lose to UConn. That's right....DePaul, who was No. 23 last week lost to UConn by 16 at home and moved to No. 18 in the latest AP poll.

Notre Dame lost to UConn and stayed at No. 3.

The power of the Huskies is amazing!!!

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From my friend David in Naples -

Despite the perfect 6-0 record, UConn fans everywhere are up in arms about the efforts of this year’s defense. DePaul and Notre Dame scorched the nets from 3 point range in an obvious display of defensive ineptitude. Only one conclusion is possible, the defense sucks this year, right? No, not really…

1. UConn has NEVER trailed is a game this year during the 2nd half. DePaul and Notre Dame had leads of 2 points and 1 point for less than 3 minutes combined, and only in the 1st half.

2. Last year, the defense averaged 43.6 rebounds and 10.1 steals per game. This year, UConn averages 43.0 rebounds 12.3 steals per game.

3. Compared to last year, personal fouls are up less than 1 foul per game, turnovers created are down slightly from 17 to 14 per game and blocked shots are also down a bit from 7.9 to 5.1 per game. All those stats should even up with the easier part of the schedule still to come.

4. Scoring defense is noticeably different, with last year’s 48.6 points per game up to 56.8 after the first 6 games. But three of those games were against #6 Ohio State, #3 Notre Dame and #23 DePaul. That will even out with a larger sample.

5. Even with DePaul and Notre Dame shooting 45% and 65% respectively from 3 pt range, overall UConn is holding opponents to very respectable 34.8% accuracy.

6. For those who think the offense is bailing out poor defense, scoring in up less than 1 point per game, from 89.3 to 90.2 points.

7. One final stat about the Notre Dame game. UConn had a 20 point lead with 8 minutes to play in the game. N.D. hit 5 of 7 three point shots and the final 2 baskets of the game to pull to within 10 points. In that same period, UConn missed 6 shots, had 5 turnovers and missed 2 free throws. None of that involves defense.

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How to fix Tennessee??

I'll be damned if I know...but they sure do need fixin'.....!!!! I really can't remember a Tennessee team look this bad on both offense and even defensively. It's almost mind boggling to see how far this program has slid since Pat Summitt stepped down in 2012. It actually started before that and I have no idea if her illness had anything to do with it.

Since Candace Parker left the program, Tennessee has not been able to get past the Elite Eight. This is now seven consecutive seasons that the Lady Vols have not been in a Final Four. I believe before this drought Tennessee had been to 18 final fours in 31 years. It was pretty much the norm. To go seven years without a final four has to be stunning to the Lady Vols fans.

If you just look at the W-L records and conference championships, there has been some excellent regular season and conference successes. But true elite programs need more than that. They need NCAA success. Tennessee has just been mediocre in that regard.

So, what exactly is the problem at Tennessee? From my view, there are several issues.

- The Coaching. After Pat retired, she requested that Holly Warlick be her replacement. This was issue number one. As much as I'm sure Warlick was a fine assistant coach, you don't go from the good guy coach that has the players back when Pat gave them some harsh words and her icy stare to the tough coaching that needs to be done to mold a team. I have rarely seen her take a player to task after bad plays. I'm sure she does at times. I am not there on the bench. But I don't see the players responding. I see the same kind of play game after game. And I don't believe she has hired (or retained) the types of coaches that will bring any change to the team.

- The offense. It's more of the same from the Summitt era. Rebounding and defense is the key. Play hard. That is what I see from her pregame talks that for some reason, the SEC channel thinks is important to show. The problem is that that offensive strategy is no longer effective. You need to be able to shoot the mid-range and long range shot. Move without the ball. They stand around too much. The constant yelling of Warlick to "don't quickshoot" and "pass the ball inside" is forcing the ball inside even if there is an open shot. Relying on offensive rebounding seems to be their offensive strategy.

- The Deshields factor. The other DD (I am the real DD) is a very talented player. Physically, when healthy, she is athletic as any player in WCBB. But once you start watching her player, you can see that everything she does is all about her. If she has the ball, more than likely she will drive or shoot. Sure she can make some spectacular passes, but those are also all about her...showboating. She will make the fancy pass instead of the easy one. You can see her teammates deferring to her and that creates a team of players that are uncertain about what they should do. She was never a really good shooter and her stats are a continuation of her freshman year at UNC. Lots of shots but not a lot of makes. Winning teams are all about chemistry and I don't believe she adds to the team chemistry.

- The Recruiting. It looks to me that there is no rhyme or reason to the players that Warlick has recruited. There is a great article on ESPN about it and you can read it here. More of the recruits seem to have been overrated by Holly. There are no great shooters. No, no even good shooters. Are they afraid of missing so they don't shoot with confidence? I don't believe Warlick has a clue on scouting HS players and is just going by ranking services and doesn't look at personalities and how they fit together. I guess I'm spoiled with the players Geno gets. He rarely misses. Like the article said, Tennessee has ZERO recruits for 2016. So they will have this team without the other post presence in Graves. They will be playing a lot of small ball next season.

To fix Tennessee I think they need a new coach and a new direction. But this won't happen right away. Warlick just signed an extension and will be there for a while. And as bad as this year is, it's hard to imagine next year being better.

Here is Warlick's presser after the terrible loss to Virginia Tech. My buddy Rocky put it best -

"Me not coaching or doing something isn't the be all...quite honestly I don't know the answer or I would fix it." Holly late in her presser. Before you can know the answer, you have to know the question. She's all but said on 2 or 3 occasions that she's coached out on this group. She's said several different ways that its up to the players to have the will/determination to prevail. She seems comfortable in this lousy position, which is baffling.

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So, without further ado!!!

Ladies and Gents, DD looks at the news........

Irish's effort puts intrigue into season Roger Cleaveland

Daigneault: Notre Dame freshman a future nemesis? American Republic

John Nash Column: Jefferson wins the battle, UConn wins the war The Online

Husky time (and it couldn’t be cuter) American Republic

ND falls to top-ranked Huskies despite Mabrey’s 23 points The Observer

UConn still No.1 in AP women's basketball poll Yahoo

Upsets in Red

Williams Leads No. 15 Texas A&M to 67-55 Win Over SMU NY Times

Williams Leads No. 15 Texas A&M to 67-55 Win Over SMU NY Times

Cougars Race Past Incarnate Word, 67-51 Houston Team Site

Thanks to Johnny C for sending me many of these numbers!!!

Alicia Froling SMU 14 points 21 rebounds

Sorry, but I don't have more Great Performances until the morning. Just flew in from Florida.....and boy are my arms tired.

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