Thursday, February 3, 2011

In Case You Missed It: Andy Katz on the Commodores

I think Andy Katz is one of the best college basketball analysts out there. His piece, which is entirely fair, argues that Vanderbilt's problem right now is their inability to finish games. Katz's concluding paragraph sounds about right to me:
"Stallings is convinced that the SEC East winner will have four to six losses. He's probably right. But if Vandy is going to be the team that wins the division, then the margin for losing is down to two more games -- max. That means the Dores needs to go 7-2, at the minimum, in their final nine contests. That's more than plausible. But is it possible if Vandy continues to be inconsistent in its ability to finish?"

First things, first: the Commodores take on South Carolina Saturday at Memorial. I'll say it, this is a must-win.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

definitely in agreement w/ mr. katz. i really like a lot of ESPN'S basketball analysts. katz, vitale, and bilas are some of my favorites. a lot of people hate ole' dicky v but he always seems to have vandy's back so no problems w/ him here.

i have season tix but due to other commitments and travel for work i'll miss the USC & Bama games. Bama just killed Miss State last night and is extremely dangerous. we do NOT need another arkansas incident and they could definitely turn into one. i doubt i'll be watching either of these games but if we lose either i feel we are 100% out of contention for the east and officially on the bubble to even get in the tournament. if we lose either, i'm not going to the UK game and will gladly sell them to someone in blue and white. if we win both, i'll see you all there.

J.B., M.D. said...

No doubt about it. When it comes down to finishing, we play timid. Witness weak passes (brad tinsley, cough cough), stepping out of bounds, missing free throws, weak on the glass, etc...

Also non calls on blatant three point shots haven't helped either.

Anonymous said...

Katz states the obvious and has a positive view of the team - just win.

Dore.ZA said...

Inability to finish close games only comes into play when we let games be close. We have the potential to put teams away (See, e.g., St. Mary's, first half at UT) and, if we can get our health and confidence back, I'm optimistic that we can start doing that.

Of course, there are always going to be games that go down to the wire in conference play - not to mention tournament time. So, we do need to figure out how to close games. My point is just that not every game has to come down to the final possession. Let's start blowing these games open and finishing strong. South Carolina and Alabama are both good teams, but we have the ability to beat them soundly at home and that's what I expect our guys to go out there and do.

WhyAmIaVandyFan said...

Dore.ZA how on earth did we "put UT away" in the 1st half when they ended up beating us? i think the definition of putting someone away is getting the game to a point where you've essentially won the game and the other team never comes back.

5 reasons we lose to USC:
1) Sam Muldrow
2) USC beat UF @ UF - something we couldn't do
3) We're on a 2 game losing streak, battling injuries, and playing awful
4) I'm beginning to doubt Stallings' play calling ability. Anyone else?
5) The luck of the black and gold - which is as we all know, not at all lucky

Dore.ZA said...

1st half at UT is just an example that shows we have the "ability" to outplay good teams. Obviously we didn't do that in the 2nd half, or in several other games. Just saying we need to be less concerned with winning games in the final minute and more concerned with making sure we're not putting ourself in that position in the first place.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone see the latest cheap shot from Climer? While talking about the Titans search for a coach and mentioning Perry Fewell as a candidate, Climer hopes the Titans won't hold Fewell's time at Vandy against him during the Dowhower and Widenhofer days.

Anonymous said...

I'm as optimistic as anyone but this first half of season is showing us that we are who we thought we were. Super talent but lack of chemistry, tenacity and killer instinct to put games away and capitalize on weaker opponents. JT is a headcase. Fez and Steve while vastly improved are still foul liabilities. JJ while having a stellar season cannot score 48.3 points a game like he did in high school to carry us. CBC tourney here we come! USC over Vandy tomorrow 73- 65.

Anonymous said...

First off, anyone who thinks Stallings, Jenkins, and/ or Fes is a problem for this team is an idiot. Our problem is we rely on Jeff Taylor and he is not this teams go to guy. I think its Jenkins and we need to start realizing that. Taylor is a good athlete but he is a head case.

If we loose tomorrow, our season is over.

Anonymous said...

Vandy over So.Car. BIG

Ye of little faith - prepare for your feast of crow.

WhyAmIaVandyFan said...

haha, SERIOUSLY anonymous #5!?!? seriously? anyone who thinks stallings is a problem is an idiot? you're f**kin crazy. stallings is 10-13 against south carolina, our foe tomorrow. oh, he's also 7-17 against florida. he barely owns a winning record over any of our east rivals except georgia. arkansas owns us as do most any teams in the SEC tournament where our record is god awful. we can't win in march. stallings is 87-96 for all SEC play. ridiculously below average. vs top 25 opponents stallings is 29-48. 29-48!! i'm sorry, but vandy still gets talent in basketball and those records speak for themselves.

he is the 2nd winningest coach in vandy basketball history but any of us could do that w/ our gym and the teams that play us before SEC if we had 12 years like he has. i still miss fogler. now that was a coach.

i'm sorry but stallings is a problem. he should be fired.

Anonymous said...

CKS is a good coach and very good for VU - team needs some confidence. At least we dont have that cheater in Knoxville who will be fired when the NCAA reports.