Posts Tagged ‘Wayne Chism’

Vols Outlast Marquette

Vols 80, Marquette 68

At least it wasn’t another loss.

It was another start, but fortunately Tennessee was able to fight their way back to a halftime tie Tuesday night in Nashville. As I was sitting watching a halftime show featuring two contestants who hit a combined two three-pointers in 35 seconds (no joke, one guy did not move his feet the entire time, not even jumping), I was expecting a battle in the second half. Honestly, I was excited for the promising outlook of a quality basketball game.

A small band of Marquette students made the trip and perched themselves right behind Section 120. Notice the guy on the left who at first glance appears to be painted completely gold and wearing just a Speedo (I was told it was actually a leotard)...

Well, then the men in striped shirts came out of the tunnel…

Seriously, great win for Tennessee and all, but I drove three hours in a cloudy, misty fog to watch Tennessee and Marquette play basketball, not for the referees to take over the show and call 54 fouls. If this doesn’t count as a “free-throw shooting contest” – 71 combined freebies – then I don’t know what is. And it wasn’t one-sided really or anything like that. It was just atrocious.

OK, enough of that rant. Amidst all the fouling, the game was entertaining to watch. The large Tennessee crowd was into it, and Marquette probably definitely had more fans in the Sommet Center than did Vanderbilt. Marquette is located in Milwaukee; Vandy is five minutes down the road. Fortunately for me, I didn’t get to the arena until the last four minutes of the South Florida-Vanderbilt snooze-fest the preceded the Vols-Eagles game. Even in those four minutes, I might as well been watching a couple D-2 schools…

OK, enough fun at Vanderbilt’s expense (oh yeah, our worst football team ever beat their first bowl team in 25 years…). As Ghost over at 3SIB so eloquently put it, this Tennessee team is frustrating to watch at times. For example, the three or four turnovers on alley-oop attempts that are clearly not there. Missed open and contested threes, which we fans aren’t used to (late first half comes to mind, when Maze had a WIDE-OPEN look from the wing in transition…and missed it). Failure to switch on some pick-and-rolls, leaving open looks at three for the opponent. Heck, even when Scotty Hopson chased down a loose ball right under the basket – and proceeded to not properly secure it and score two easy points – you can’t help but not be a little flustered.

All that said, this team fought through it – the fouls, the poor outside shooting, the stifling Marquette defense on Tyler Smith, the night Wes Matthews had, the late runs Marquette made, the last of which was silenced by this unlikely source…

After feeble and failed attempts at catching something YouTubeable and postable, Josh Tabb makes my night and essentially seals the win over Marquette. So, from all of us here at Gate 21 me, thank you, Josh Tabb.

And also a huge, HUGE thanks to Wayne Chism. Smilin’ Wayne showed up to the tune of 27 points, 11 board, 8-of-11 from the field and the line, and a pair of huge second half threes. After Marquette had made a mini-run to take a 48-46 lead, Chism scored 15 of Tennessee’s next 19 points, to forge the Vols to a 65-58 lead.

Tyler knocking down a pair of free throws from the Dominic James technical

Actually, you could argue that the Dominic James technical foul more or less turned the tide, as Tennessee took a six-point lead thanks to the pairs of free throws converted by Tyler Smith and Chism. After Lazar Hayward hit the three that Tabb answered, Marquette did not score.

As for the judging of Tennessee’s play, the defense was better, if only statistically. Yes, Marquette got too many open looks, a few of which Tennessee was fortunate to have not go down, but the Eagles made 8 threes and only 10 twos, and shot under 40% for the game, and in each half. It may have been a little iffy at times, but there were improvements in that area.

Three-point shooting is going to be an issue all year. Honestly, Renaldo Woolridge might be the most consistent guy in that aspect. He’s certainly not afraid of shooting. We’ve seen Cam Tatum go off. Still awaiting Scotty Hopson to have a “breakout” game with his beautiful, rainbow, nearly-hitting-the-center-hung-scoreboard it’s-got-so-much-arc J. It was good to see Tabb, the defensive stopper (kudos to him on guarding James most of the night), hit a big three in a tough spot.

Offensively, the Vols had no answer to Marquette’s trapping 1-3-1 zone until they started to attack it with the dribble. I think having J.P. Prince, who’s value as an experienced wing player and defender should no longer be underestimated, likely would have helped in that regard. Bobby Maze still isn’t quite there yet, but his play Tuesday was better than Saturday.

Yes, the JumboTron was high-quality, but showed NO replays all night, though I am not totally sure why...

But finally, back to Wayne. He has the upside, he just now needs to put solid performances together. And I wish people would quit groaning everytime he lines up a three. Like it or not, it’s part of the offense, people. He hits one of his four or five attempts each game, which is about what the other guys are doing anyways. That said, I think he needs to utilize his post game more, and look to earn trips to line, because he’s obviously worked on his free-throw stroke.

The Vols now have two home games to close out 2008, against Belmont Saturday afternoon and Louisiana-Lafayette the 29th. Then of course is the 2009-opening trip out to Lawrence to play Kansas January 3rd. I would say that’s the next test, but let’s not sleep on those Bruins. Just in the last week, Cleveland State won at Syracuse, Texas struggled with two in-state schools and Memphis beat Arkansas-Little Rock by all of 8 points. Let’s hope the young Vols can build off this W…

Vols getting pumped up before the game

Marquette-Tennessee Mini-Preview

As I mentioned Sunday, I am about to head up a possibly icy I-40 to Nashville (from Memphis) to watch the SEC-Big East Invitational, which of course includes the Vols, off the rather embarrassing loss at Temple Saturday, and Baldy’s Commodores (unfortunately, I’ll be there someday as well).

If you thought Temple was good, there’s plenty of reason to think Marquette is plenty better. The Golden Eagles, out of the Big East (although I wouldn’t call Milwaukee as being in the East), are 8-1, with a notable win over Wisconsin at home, and a loss to Dayton in Chicago in a preseason tournament.

All you basically need to know about Marquette are the three outstanding guards: Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. James has seemingly been there forever, and turned down the NBA Draft last year to return. Matthews is the leading scorer at just under 20 ppg, and actually second on the team in rebounds (6 rpg). McNeal is the second-leading scorer and is also averaging 5 boards/game. Though it might seem that Marquette has no inside game, Lazar Hayward does average a double-double at only 6-foot-6. That said, the only players taller than 6′8” on the roster have played as many minutes as I have this year (that would be zero).

So obviously Tennessee should be able to exploit Marquette inside, right? Well, the recent play of Brian Williams and Wayne Chism should have you a little nervous if you’re a Tennessee fan. Those two have to come to play tonight and control the boards and take advantage of the lack of defenders that are bigger than they are.

Now I don’t mean to throw Big Baby and Weezy (Chism’s an asthmatic) under the bus since the recent struggles haven’t been totally their fault. The perimeter defense will be under quite a bit of pressure tonight with those Marquette guards. Don’t expect too much press tonight, or at least I don’t. I know it’s a staple of Tennessee under Bruce Pearl, but I have little reason to think Marquette will have too much trouble with it.

Another thing to point out is that after James, McNeal, Hayward, and Matthews, the next player in ppg is Maurice Acker, who has scored in double figures all of once this year. Marquette does go 9-deep, but there isn’t much scoring after the big four. I also don’t expect J.P. Prince to play either.

This should be a home game for Tennessee for all intents and purposes, and it provides a great chance to repair the damaged reputation from Saturday’s blowout loss to Temple. Hopefully I’ll have some photos and videos from tonight’s game that I can put up here. I will not say that I’m expecting a Tennessee loss because I never, ever pick against Tennessee or think our hoops team will absolutely 100% lose a game (football…not so much…), but this will be a very tough test for the Vols. Nevertheless, it should be a fun game to watch and be at, so obviously I’m looking forward to that

GO VOLS!!

Finally!

Well, for some it’s been basketball season since about mid-September. But after a busy last spring – Ramar Smith/Duke Crews, the Hopson commitment and the Maze coup – and preseason – taking Negedu off Arizona’s hands, D-West’s unfortunate issues, and bum shoulders and bum academics – your defending SEC champs open up the 2008-08 season in the beautiful Thompson-Boling Arena tonight – an off football Saturday (thankfully) at that – against Chattanooga.

Because my creativity is pretty limited and honestly I’m still not fully into basketball mode, I’m going to take a shortcut with my hoops preview – a list. But unlike this list, it’s going to be a nice one, and twice as long. Yes, that’s 10 things and players I’m looking forward to/expecting from the always entertaining bunch of Bruce Pearl…

1. Back-to-back?

This Tyler's team

Flashback to March 5th of last year. The Vols, trailing early to red-hot Florida in Gainesville while Mississippi State leads Vandy in Nashville, look poised to go from #1 in the country to a tie for the SEC title in just a week. Now I don’t know about anybody else, but I don’t like to share. Sharing – and tying for that matter – is stupid. I wanted the SEC all to Tennessee. I wanted a t-shirt (and a 1-seed). Who cares if the SEC was “down”? An SEC title is an SEC title.

Well then this and this happened. Tennessee got that title, its first in 41 years. Now, heading into this season, the Vols on paper are the favorites to repeat. Florida will likely provide the biggest challenge, but the Gates are young inside. Kentucky lost to VMI – yes, VMI – last night, and have to deal without Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley. They do Patrick Patterson, but it didn’t help last night…

Vanderbilt lost their team Shan Foster, but Aussie-softee A.J. Ogilvy is back. South Carolina has a new coach (Darrin Horn) and Devan Downey, but that’s a big turnaround. Georgia is not good at basketball (SEC Tournament = fluke). Even Buzz owned UGA. The West? I have no clue, so don’t ask.

So while going back-to-back isn’t gonna be easy, it could/should very well happen.

2. Being Sweet is nice and all, but Elite is, well, it’s better…

In Bruce Pearl’s first year, it was any sign of not being mediocre. In his second year, it was advancing past the second round (yes, I include Mike Conley and Greg Oden in the same light as Matt Mauck and Steven Hill). Last year, it was winning the SEC. Going along the natural progression, shouldn’t this be the hump-overcoming year to the Elite Eight?

The common thought is that this year’s group should be the opposite of last year’s team that faded at the end. This year’s team may struggle at first with the many new parts, but come tournament time, they could be real good. Now obviously there’s a whole season and who knows what the matchups will be (hopefully nicer than last year), but this is the next step for the Tennessee program: going further in March, when it really counts.

3. Tyler Smith

It’s going to be a ton of fun watching this guy play basketball this year. He is a special player, and with all due respect to the rest of this group, this team is Tyler’s team. The offense is going to center around him, and when it comes down to it, he’s going to be the go-to guy. He showed he’s capable of coming through in the clutch (Ole Miss and Memphis, anyone?).

SEC Player of the Year? Likely. NBA Lottery Pick next June? If he gets an outside shot, without a doubt yes. To me he’s next in line in establishing the Tennessee program as nationally relevant. The one we’ll remember 20 years from now in the same line as C.J. Watson (who deserves WAY more appreciation than he gets), Dane Bradshaw, Chris Lofton (who’s by himself), and JaJuan Smith.

4. Scotty, Cam, Woolridge, and Negedu…

Oh, the new guys. Talk about length. Talk about athleticism. A 6-6 or 6-8 guy at the two? Having seen Hopson play in the summer league, he just makes it look so easy. Yes, sometimes it looks as if he doesn’t care. I’m not worried about him not turning it up when has to. Tatum may be the team’s best three–point shooter (more on that later). Woolridge could start tomorrow night and has had quite the buzz around himself since summer. What will Negedu – who to me is essentially replacing Duke Crews – bring to the table?

B-Maze might be the newcomer that determines the fate for Tennessee

How are all these new pieces going to mesh? Will the chemistry seen from the last two years still be here this year? It may take some time, but if it does, the talent is scary good. Obviously youth and inexperience gets brought up as well. To that I say these names: Carmelo Anthony. Derrick Rose. Kevin Love. Conley. Oden. This ain’t football, people. You can win with freshman in hoops. It may get bumpy at first, but if the struggles are there by conference play, only then would I start worrying.

5. Big Money Maze

Now I think Bruce Pearl is an excellent coach. However, yes Rick Pitino did pretty much own him last March in Charlotte. Yes tinkering with Ramar Smith and the PG position for the NCAA Tournament probably wasn’t his best moment, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Bruce even told you that himself.

But I think Maze may be the missing link. The guy was the most impressive Vol in the summer league, with his ability to do many things at the offensive end and his overall intensity. Obviously with the horribly (and questionably) timed Daniel West eligibility issues, more of a burden falls on Maze’s (and J.P. Prince’s…and Josh Tabb’s) shoulders. Can he handle it? Time will tell, but like with the rest of the new guys, Maze seems talented enough to make it happen.

I mean, he’s like a clone of Allen Iverson – corn rows, headband, height – and he puts on for Tennessee…how bad can he be??

6. Big Wayne

Wayne...you gotta love him...

I love watching Tyler Smith play. I’m probably gonna love some of the new guys’ games too. But my favorite current Vol has to be Wayne Chism. For a couple reasons, First, he wears his headband differently from every other player, so he’s easily spotted. Second, he and his three-point shots are adventurous. You always are thinking, “Oh s***, not Wayne!”…and he banks it in. Who doesn’t love centers who can bomb? And finally, the dude’s always smiling. Always. You gotta love him…

7. Who’s Bert gonna yell “Money!” for now??

I have three major questions for this team. First, and this was a late-developing concern, is the point guard situation. Maze now has a bigger burden on his shoulders, and behind him it’s either J.P. Prince, who most fans are probably very skeptical of after last year’s debacle, or Josh Tabb. From seeing Daniel West in the summer league, I thought he was going to be a very solid backup. Prince says he’s ready, not only healthy, but ready to play point guard. The Pistons are using Tayshaun as a point forward, so maybe J.P. can get some tips. I’m not saying he’s not capable, I’ll just believe it when I see it.

Secondly, losing Lofton and JaJuan means you lose almost all of the outside game. Who’s gonna hit those dagger threes this year? Who will come up with the key outside shot in a key moment? Will the new three-point line have any effect on Bruce Pearl’s three-happy offense? If Tennessee can’t hit threes, team are undoubtedly going to pack it in and clog up the lane for Tyler and Chism. Thirdly, how will this team come together? Can the chemistry from the past seasons carry over with all these new faces? The talent’s certainly there…

8. Now that’s a schedule…

Bruce Pearl loves schedules like this. In addition to the SEC, everyone of course knows about the trip to Kansas, the visits from Memphis State and Gonzaga, and the game in Nashville with Big East foe Marquette.

How about we take a little deeper look? There’s the Old Spice Classic in Orlando Thanksgiving weekend. The Vols’ opening opponent, the Siena Saints, hammered the crap out of Vandy in the NCAA Tournament last year. Also there: Wichita State (revenge?), Georgetown, Michigan State (who’s a top 10 team?), Oklahoma State, and Gonzaga (again possibly).

Even the “cupcake” teams aren’t walkovers. Chattanooga hung with Tennessee last year. UT-Martin has Lester Hudson, who nearly went in the NBA Draft last year. MTSU is picked near the top of the Sun Belt (they lost in the conference tourney title game last March). There’s a tricky little trip to Temple, an NCAA Tournament team from last year. Finally, there’s Belmont. Ask Dook about the Bruins.

9. “The Streak”

Fact: in my two years of college, I have never had to leave TBA with the sick feeling of losing. Yes, I’m undefeated at home over two years. Tennessee’s home winning streak is up to 32 games now, and I think it would be cool to keep that going.

Just four years ago, TBA was just a big, empty arena. Now, it’s one of the best arenas in college basketball, and one of the toughest places to play in the SEC and the nation. Thank you, Bruce.

10. January 24, 2009

Look, most Tennessee fans don’t really care about little ol’ Memphis State down in the southwest corner of the state. It’s a little different for those of us who either live there and grew up there. Seeing Tennessee win the last two games against Tiger High in person were two of the funnest times of my college life. Watching them choke away a national title was pretty good too…

WWWHHHHHHAAAAHHHHHH

The Vols go for three-in-a-row January 24 in Knoxville. Honestly, this is the game I probably want to win the most this year. I could go into my reasons my hating the Tigers basketball program, but I’ll save that til this game in January. I’m not one of guaranteeing things, but it’s probably going to better than my Alabama hate post from a few weeks ago.

Oh I can’t wait to make John Calipari cry his way back home…yet again.

GO VOLS BASKETBALL!!

Images Courtesy of: Mark Humphrey / AP (Daylife) • Saul Young / GVX • Joe Murphy / Getty Images (Daylife) • Alan Spearman / AP (Daylife)

Well, it was anything but boring…

Chris Lofton hit a 3-point basket with 12 seconds remaining in the game to barely defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks 87-89 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament this afternoon at the Georgia Dome. The Vols were sluggish throughout the game, despite the fact that four Vols scored in double figures. Wayne Chism led the Vols with 23 points, followed by JaJuan Smith with 19, Tyler Smith with 13, and Chris Lofton with 10.  After shooting only 44% from the field in the first-half, the Vols led by a point at the break.  During the second-half, the Vols managed to pour on some steam, shooting 73%, en route to the victory.

To their credit, the Gamecocks fought hard down to the wire, and if they had been able to hit free throws consistently, probably would have defeated the Vols. Thus, Tennessee advances to the semifinals to face the winner of the Arkansas / Vanderbilt game.

Though it was ultimately Chris Lofton who hit the clutch shot to win the game, it was Wanye Chism who had the greatest impact on turning the tide to help the Vols notch their 29th win of the season. Hopefully, Tennessee will manage to calm themselves and re-focus before their game tomorrow, and the possibility of earning their 30th win.

– Go Figure …