RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Jlcarter]

“I want to be thought of the as the player who helped put Tennessee back on the map,” DeShields said. “Not as if we fell off at any point, we’ve never fallen off. But, we have yet to get to the Final Four, we have yet to get a championship in the post-Pat era.
http://www.utdailybeacon.com/sports/deshields-hopes-to-bring-championship-mindset-back-to-lady-vols/article_a15d9e7c-9b76-11e6-9046-b792df9c93d8.html[/b]

[LegoMyEggo]

Honestly, what better chance will she have than having to go through Syracuse? No slight against the Orange who had a terrific run, but that's a lot more favorable match up than most could hope for.

[Jlcarter]

Tennessee did win the regular season game. I think a healthy Carter and Reynolds had played Tennessee wins. Diamond is going into this season healthy. It will make a difference. She is a game changer. Also Russell is also healthy.

[linkster]

Honestly now, what does DeShields know about "championship mindsets"?

One thing she needs to learn is that when you miss your first 5 shots you don't respond by sulking.

[Jlcarter]

She has five gold medals.

[ArtBest23]

Playing on hastily assembled, minimally coached, all star teams seems to suit her perfectly.

[Jlcarter]

[myrtle]

She looked really good in HS, but really we haven't been that impressed since she hit college. Yeah, really really athletic, but doesn't appear to have improved her skills. And she may be the sweetest kid on the planet and she may love basketball but she has an odd way of expressing it which is a definite put-off to many of us watching from a distance.

I wish her the best and hope she has found the right combination of attitude and skill to best showcase her talent because clearly there is a lot of talent that she mostly keeps hidden and just lets us occasionally see little tidbits.

_________________
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
- Amanda Gorman

[ArtBest23]

[Jlcarter]

[Jlcarter]

[ArtBest23]

[linkster]

[Shades]

[ClayK]

There's a big difference, obviously, between high school and college.

But even in high school, DeShields' team didn't exactly overachieve. When she was a senior (and played with Shayla Cooper for one of the top coaches in the state), they won the Georgia state title, but only took two trips out of state the entire season. On both of those trips – one a tournament in Oregon, the other a one-game event in North Carolina – they lost a game to solid but not great opponents. Their state title came against North Gwinnett, which had Lexie Brown and Peyton Whitted, but they split with North Gwinnett on the season, winning two and losing two.

There's no question about DeShields' individual athletic ability, or her skills. But athletic ability and skills do not necessarily equal a great player. So far, DeShields has not shown that she's a great player, which is why I wonder about all the speculation about trading up so you could draft her number one.

Sure, she will be in the WNBA, and it might be that the pro game is much better suited for her than high school or college. But it's also possible that the player we see, and we have seen, is the player she is. There's nothing wrong with what she does, and she has a lot of talent, but to say that she's the best player in the country seems to me a little premature.

As someone has repeated up thread, "show me," seems about right.

_________________
Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[Jlcarter]

[quote="ArtBest23"]

[Jlcarter]

[quote="linkster"]

[Jlcarter]

[Nixtreefan]

Zzzzzzz why is anyone still entertaining this, should be the question. Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda until there is anything to talk about.

Anyone doing polls, put up how long it will take for the excuses to pop up when nothing new happens?

[linkster]

[bacabuck]

Well said.

[Jlcarter]

If you want to see what Russell can do. Watch the Ohio State game again.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gntLW9WLH70" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[dtsnms]

What a smart, nice, well spoken young woman. It was a pleasure talking to her today.

I'll have a podcast where both Howard Megdal and I talked with Diamond.

[blackrain]

I think Diamond is one helluva player. Being injured is not an excuse really, but it is a reality. I think the main thing she struggled with last year was adjusting to a new system at Tennessee, and adjusting to how Holly coaches. I also think that Diamond didn't really know what was expected of her at Tennessee. She is a natural scorer, a volume shooter. Holly didn't seem to want that type of play from her at Tennessee, so she struggled with her game IMO.

I also feel like a lot of the players on the lady vol team struggled with their offense due to confidence. Holly seemed to focus more on passing and sharing the ball which is a good thing, but when you stress that too much, you breed passive players. I watched a lot of capable players on the lady vols squad last year pass up open shots. I felt like they were confused on the court. Do I shoot it? Do I pass it? They seemed like a bunch of young women on the court that did not know their roles. Diamond seemed more confused than all of them IMO.

I expect to see a better Diamond this year. Good year at North Carolina. Ok year at Tennessee, not what she is capable of so maybe this year she can finally live up to the hype.

[Davis4632]

IMO, Diamond's main issues on the court are her decision making and shot selection.