Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 8/29/16

****************************************************************************

I wrote this 2016-17 "preview" of the Tennessee Lady Vols, the team I love to hate, on a message board and thought I would share it here.

Someday, maybe after she leaves Tennessee for the WNBA, the TN fans will realize that Deshields is just not a good shooter. MAYBE she will take better shots, but she hasn't shown the proclivity for doing that in her two years of playing.

That has nothing to do with her shin splints. Which those same fans said LAST YEAR wouldn't be a problem. Now it sounds like an excuse.

With around 600 more shots available this year.....I'd look for around 20 shots per game from her. Close to 700 for the season. They better hope she can hit 40%. And the ball will be in her hands a lot more with Cooper and Carter gone, her terrible assist/TO ratio will have to be so much better.

They have two top 25 players in Russell and Deshields. After that? I guess I will end up disagreeing the TN fans on how talented the remaining players are. But every one of them would have to improve to make Tennessee an SEC title contender and an NCAA threat more than maybe the sweet sixteen.

Reynolds has to have more than just games where she scores. Although she did have a season high of 16 along with games of 15, 12 and 10 points. Yes, a big ole four double digit games for the season. So no, she needs WAY more than to be consistent. This is her last season and she really hasn't shown she can be an effective point guard on a daily basis. She actually regressed last year from her sophomore season.

Nared is a nice players and she has definitely had her moments. I think she is the third best player on the team. Most players make their biggest jump from their freshman to sophomore year. I expect her to make some nice improvements. Can she improve her 34% shooting and 26% on threes?

The rest of the team? It gets pretty dicey to me.

From what I have read, it looks like the 5th year senior, 6'3" Schaquilla Nunn from Winthorp, will be taking Graves spot in the lineup. She missed last season with a broke foot. It might take a little while after sitting out so long to get it into gear. But she has a great basketball body (long arms and strong torso) and a great attitude.

The only other post on the team is three star freshman center 6'3" Kamera Harris. It's tough enough for highly ranked bigs to contribute. I wouldn't expect much here.

They have the two juniors off the bench, Dunbar and Middleton. Right away you have weak defensive players that will give Holly headaches when they are in the game. It was clear last year that Warlick didn't trust them on the court on the defensive end. Dunbar lead the team in three point percentage at 33%. But she added little else. She also regressed from her freshman to sophomore season. Middleton can hit the occasional three. And does a nice job in the passing lanes on defense, picking off errant passes. But her one-on-one defense is an issue. Can either of these players handle doubling their minutes considering their defensive liabilities?

Lastly they have Meme Jackson. She really struggled in her freshman season, only receiving 6 minutes per game. She was 1-16 on threes. Expected to be a defensive presence on the court, she seemed lost, often losing her man. How much can you expect from her?

They lost more in Graves, Cooper, Carter and Moore than they gained in Nunn and Harris. Way more.

I'm not sure why anyone would expect this years team to be better than last years team. It's just not as talented. And Holly is still the coach.

****************************************************************************

I'm just going to leave this here to help the MOJO for UConn getting an invite to the Big 12.

****************************************************************************

Scores (links in the WNBA link section)

Connecticut Sun 73 Atlanta 87

Chicago Sky 92 Dallas Wings 85

Seattle Storm 80 Minnesota Lynx 92

San Antonio Stars 85 Washington Mystics 74

Los Angeles Sparks 66 Phoenix Mercury 70

Top Performers/UConn Performers (bold)

Morgan Tuck Connecticut 5 points 2 rebounds
Kelly Faris Connecticut 4 points 2 rebounds 1 assist
Chiney Ogwumike Connecticut 24 points
Tiffany Hayes Atlanta 17 points 7 rebounds 3 steals
Angel McCoughtry Atlanta 19 points
Layshia Clarendon Atlanta 19 points
Sue Bird Seattle 11 points 4 assists
Breanna Stewart Seattle 10 points 6 rebounds 4 assists
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis Seattle 3 points
Jewell Loyd Seattle 20 points
Maya Moore Minnesota 13 points 5 rebounds 3 assists
Renee Montgomery Minnesota 4 points
Lindsay Whalen Minnesota 24 points
Moriah Jefferson San Antonio 15 points 9 assists
Monique Currie San Antonio 16 points 10 rebounds
Stefanie Dolson Washington 11 points 5 rebounds
Tayler Hill Washington 26 points
Diana Taurasi Phoenix 26 points
Candace Parker Los Angeles 25 points 13 rebounds 7 assists 6 turnovers
Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles 15 points 9 rebounds

*****************************************************************************