KNOXVILLE – Basketball coaches tend to talk about possessions as if they are the equivalent of a stock.
The value of possessing the basketball or defending against it goes up or down depending on the opponent, the nature of the game or the stakes involved.
No wonder then that Tennessee coach Rick Barnes referenced the topic with a sense of gravity throughout his postgame breakdown of last Saturday’s 51-47 loss to Memphis.
For mid-December, the stage and the setting couldn’t get much bigger. Given the outcome, Barnes was left to lament, “When you’re in a possession game like this, we have to be mature enough to understand that we have to make them all count.”
The counting resumes on Wednesday when the No. 21 Vols (7-2) visit Cincinnati.
Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper came away of her team’s lone loss, 66-60 to Texas on Dec. 8, with some wayward offensive possessions during a crucial portion of the fourth quarter to illustrate the importance of patience and shot selection.
The Lady Vols schedule frankly hasn’t been tough enough so far to adequately stress the importance of each play. That will change when No. 23 Tennessee (8-1) visits No. 1 Stanford (9-0) on Wednesday.
“The value of a possession I think for me, the way we coach and we teach, it’s a progression,” she said. “Now it’s the time for us to start understanding that’s an area we can improve in.”
With the subject in mind, here’s some players and circumstances that bear watching at this point possession to possession:
Aligning the stars: Memphis built its defensively strategy around making shots difficult for Vols guards Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden, who are UT’s leading scorers. They combined to score just 10 points and collectively shot 3-for-21 from the floor.
“Those are two terrific players, two senior guards,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “To have them shoot like this, I don’t think they’ll ever shoot like this again in their career. Everything worked in our favor.”
The Vols can’t count on Hardaway’s gracious perspective. They’ll have to summon their own answer. While Turner and Bowden need more scoring help from their teammates, they also will continue to shoulder a heavier load.
“Jordan Bowden and Lamonte are two guys that are being game-planned for,” Barnes said, “But it gets down to believing in each other and doing what we do.”
Cut the turnovers: The Lady Vols are averaging 17.6 per game. To date, they covered for them with defense and overall superiority. They’ve reached the point, though, where they’ll be doing more damage than merely throwing away possessions. Tougher opponents are more apt to convert turnovers into scoring.
Harper has shifted coaching gears and is holding players more accountable. Harper also is playing the role of teacher with freshman guard Jordan Horston, who’s committed 40 turnovers, which translates to roughly 25 percent of the team’s total.
“We have talked about that a lot after games,” Harper said. “We have talked about it in practice, trying to make sure in practice that she is also limiting those. And talking about why. Why do we turn the ball over there? OK so let’s correct it. So it is not just yelling about a turnover.”
Figuring it out: Tennessee freshman forward Olivier Nkamhoua looked stricken when he found himself alone at the top of the key with the basketball in his hands shortly after entering Saturday’s game. He couldn’t pass the ball quickly enough.
Barnes couldn’t have seen that look. Yet he saw enough to say: “He has to change his body language when things aren’t going well. He can’t let everybody in the building know that he’s down on himself. That comes with maturity and playing.”
Harper said Lady Vols guard Jazmine Massengill was “a little anxious” when Colorado State wasn’t guarding her last week. The sophomore guard from Chattanooga responded by processing the situation. After three early misses (two 3-point attempts), she hit five mid-range jumpers as part of her career-high 16 points.
“I thought that was great maturity,” Harper. “I thought she grew throughout the game.”
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri who covered University of Tennessee athletics for the Knoxville News Sentinel from 1988-2019. He may be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com