Three Things We Learned From Vandy/South Carolina I
by Christian D'Andrea on Jan 10, 2011 11:16 AM EST
in Vanderbilt Commodores Basketball
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PrintAfter a day of reflection, I have come to this careful conclusion: that sucked. Vanderbilt fans were treated to a fraction of the feeling that Mississippi State fans had when Shan Foster tore them down in '08 during Saturday's loss. The Gamecocks, led by Bruce Ellington and Sam Muldrow, made tough shots look easy and long rebounds the norm in a game that looked like a Vandy win midway through the second half. Behind a barrage of deep threes and converted second chances, South Carolina not only forced overtime against the #22 Commodores, but dominated the favored team in the extra frame.
Vanderbilt had just one field goal - a John Jenkins three pointer - over the last nine minutes of play, leading to a 75-83 loss and the first major blemish on the Commodores' NCAA Tournament resume. The Gamecocks needed to catch fire to beat their more talented opponents, and did so behind freshman Ellington's hot hand. Just like Devan Downey's clutch shooting buried Vandy in the two teams' previous meeting, a diminutive SC guard proved to be the key to unraveling the 'Dores again in 2011.
That wasn't the only thing we learned about this team in the first SEC game of the season. Let's look at what the season's third loss said about the Commodores.
This team still doesn't know what to do with the final shot of the game. For all the announcers' praise of Kevin Stallings's play-calling abilities, his choices with the game on the line have left much to be desired. The 'Dores have had five opportunities to tie or win games with the final shot of regulation this season, and only converted one. Granted, situations against West Virginia and Missouri gave the team a pretty limited window of opportunity to get a shot off, but the fact remains that Vanderbilt is converting just 20 percent of their most important shots.
Saturday was no different. With 17 seconds left on the clock and the game tied, the 'Dores couldn't shake John Jenkins loose for an open look or feed the ball to the paint for the basket. Instead, we got a long step-back jumper from Jeffery Taylor - a player in the midst of a 4-16 shooting night. Taylor no doubt wanted the ball after his big confrontation with Sam Muldrow earlier, but he wasn't the right guy to put up a contested shot from 20 feet out. His touch was just slightly off, and those inches were enough of an opening for South Carolina to run past the 'Dores in overtime.
It's also worth noting the list of players who have taken the final shots in close games for Vandy this season. Brad Tinsley (twice), Andre Walker, Taylor, and Rod Odom. Notice anyone missing from that list?
Cohesion. We does not has it. Saturday marked another performance where the team was firing at less than 70% efficiency. John Jenkins and Lance Goulbourne played well, but it wasn't enough to stop the hemorrhaging when South Carolina started shooting the lights out. Taylor made up for his offensive deficiency with solid defense and chippy play but his scoring prowess was missed, especially in crunch time. Festus Ezeli couldn't capitalize on a solid start and played flat throughout the second half. Brad Tinsley failed to contribute much.
You can point to the fact that this team led by 14 in the second half despite these problems if you want to be an optimist, but the reality is that this inconsistency gave away a winnable SEC game against an inferior team. The Commodores are one of the most talented squads in the Southeastern Conference, but they won't be able to scrap by on individual efforts alone. Vandy can post a winning league record if they keep putting up performances like Saturday's. However, if they come together and put together a solid cohesive effort each night, they can win the SEC title.
Lance Goulbourne's progression continues. Goulbourne's development as a rebounder has been impressive, to say the least. The knock on the athletic forward last year was that he was often out of position when shots hit the rim and lacked the aggression to pull down rebounds consistently. This year, his footwork has improved and his anticipation in the paint has made him a beast on the glass. The junior had 14 boards on Saturday and is averaging 7.2 rebounds in just 24.4 minutes per game. He and Festus Ezeli have emerged as the team's backbone on the backboard this season:
| Player | Reb | Mins | Mins/Reb |
| Festus Ezeli | 91 | 296 | 3.25 |
| Lance Goulbourne | 86 | 293 | 3.41 |
| Steve Tchiengang | 60 | 256 | 4.27 |
| Andre Walker | 35 | 192 | 5.49 |
In the NBA, an figure of four minutes per rebound is considered just about average for big men. A mark closer to three minutes suggests a top tier rebounder. Goulbourne and Ezeli, with rebounds for every 3:24 and 3:15 of court time, respectively, have developed into one of the SEC's best frontcourts in that regard. Though lots of long rebounds found their way into Gamecock hands Saturday, Commodore fans should feel better about this team's ability to secure missed shots compared to 2010.
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Jeff Taylor's missed dunk over Muldrow
despite the fact that it wasn’t converted, that is EXACTLY what I wanted to see from Jeff. What a badass. That goes down, we win. Period.
Also, how impressive was it that he just hopped up off the floor like it was nothing.
I watched the game last night for the first time (thanks ESPN3.com!). Jeff’s dunk still has me fired up for the return visit. I imagine our team is going to be pissed.
Ellington trying to get in Jeff’s face was pretty hilarious as well. Put those two out in a dark alley and I know who’s being left for dead.
Another can’t miss game in Memorial. Sweet.
The list of remaining home games (in order of importance to me):
1) 02/22/11 – VU vs UT What could be Bruce Pearl’s final visit to Memorial
2) 02/12/11 – VU vs UK
3) 02/05/11 – VU vs USC – Round II (time for knockouts)
4) 03/05/11 – VU vs UF
5) 01/12/11 – VU vs UGA
6) 01/29/11 – VU vs Arkansas – I still can’t get the image of Stefan Welsh kicking Charles Hinkles foot so that he tripped out of my head. It happened right in front of me. What a thug.
7) 01/19/11 – VU vs Ole Miss
8) 02/10/11 – VU vs Alabama
9) 01/22/11 – VU vs St. Mary’s – St. Mary’s is going to be a tough opponent. I hope people realize this and show up for the game like they would for an SEC contest. A loss would screw up our NCAA seeding, but thankfully it won’t affect our SEC standing.
Jeff's run at Muldrow was a message
In plain letters: Fuck you.
Unfortunately, no one else took his lead. Taylor ran right at Muldrow knowing he’d either posterize him, watch him back down thanks to foul trouble, or draw the foul. All good scenarios. After that, though, no one seemed to want to drive aggressively at Muldrow and, you know, foul him out of the game he was dominating. I understand Ezeli’s hesitance thanks to fouls, but I would have liked to see Tchiengang, Lance, or even Odom get a chance to go hard to the rack. It really seems like playcalling and timidness wasted an opportunity there.
by Christian D'Andrea on Jan 10, 2011 12:04 PM EST up reply actions
St Mary's is no joke
That game went down to the wire last year in Moraga, their hall was LOUD AS HELL, and they have absolutely no quit in them. If we sleep on that game, we WILL lose it, period.
Bad road loss, but we can still run the table at home, and even though I doubt UK at Rupp is doable (though who knows, if everyone clicks) we can still repeat the previous feat: sweep home, sweep the West, sweep the Vols, and finish conference play with at least 14 wins.
However, I find myself sitting up in bed at 2 AM petrified with fear at the thought of “what if it doesn’t all jell eventually?” (jell? gel? what is it?) What if JJ23 never gets to take the final shot? What if we can’t find a way for Skynet and the Matrix to both go live in the same game? What if we can’t get Andre Walker healthy more than once a month? What if we never get to work the nine-man rotation again all year? What if Kyle Fuller doesn’t stop taking crazy shots?
I’m willing to overlook Saturday just because one guy went into NBA Jam mode and we still almost won, but at some point, we’re going to have to light up the whole board at once or things could turn ugly fast. And that’s on CKS to find a way to make it click for these guys.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
End of game play calling
Something I have suffered through doubly this year between the Dores and the orange peeps. In UT’s long list of close losses to inferior opponents, they have had a chance to win or tie on the last shot against Charlotte, USC, Belmont, and Arkansas. They have also converted on only one of those chances.
In a game where you are down by 2 or less, I’d love to see a look inside. Especially with the score tied like it was for the Dores on Saturday, why not get something driving to the basket? JT with a step back from 20 feet is not ideal. Frustration, I has it.
The caption for the picture is absolutely magical
I listened to the game on the radio on the way back to Nashville from VA. I had made it to this side of that Orange Themed Hill Town on I-40 and realized there is not one single station east of Nashville along I-40 that broadcasts Vandy b-ball. How ridiculous is that. I could only hear the game once I got in range of 97.1, basically the time they started to fall apart.
It was awful to listen to. It seemed all half like every single long three either for SC either dropped or bounce long to one of them. The blocks were also just awful, every time a Dore drove the lane you were just expecting a block.
I just knew that guy was close to a triple-double. That was embarrassing.
Did the offense just look awful towards the end of the game, because it sounded awful. By the end you just knew no one was going to do anything unless it was Jenkins.
It was every bit as bad on TV
as it sounded on the radio. We just completely fell apart the last 10 minutes. Got no favorable calls but you have to expect that on the road in the SEC.
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