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Almanor > Carr

I think it’s time to sit a few of these guys banged up and get em ready for March. Playing half a game and going out or playing at 50% isn’t gonna help us come March. This team has shown they can play with the best (9 quad 1 wins) when healthy, so get em healthy and let’s run it.
Agreed
 
Also, for those who keep talking about keeping guys fresh, please note:

KAT 34.6 mpg across 47 games
Randle 32.6 in 48 games
Bam 34mpg in 50 games

Horford 26.5mpg in 42 games (He’s 38)

22 minutes for a young dude like Almanor in a much shorter season with more timeouts is nothing.
 
This entire season is on the fly. And look at us take down another - yet ANOTHER - Top 5 team tonight.

The sands are constantly shifting here. It's a collective effort to step up, stay late at the gym and work HARDER and STEP IT UP. One man down, another step up. And the importance of just getting as healthy as we can be is of tantamount importance for the overall success of our team. Prayers all these guys get healthy as they can be by March with the brutal schedule still ahead.

But I will simply TRUST in Coach Pope and the Cats to find a way no matter what. And sure will we lose again ? Sure. But we get right back up. The season is far from over. Validating this entire season is what sweeping this Vols team means. They've proven they belong in the elite of college basketball teams this year. 7-1 against top ten teams this year. (let that sink in people) But there are harder games still this year to be had. Bring it on.

In a season I was so looking forward to Amari and Butler side by side, Oweh has been consistently my most favorite player and look at him out there with Carr and Jax as the starting lineup ? OMG. Brea off the bench? Almonor (uncle gets my vote as second favorite player this year. He is a cold assassin) Garrison is a BIG part of everything all along, to go with Perry, Chandler. And we got a Mountain Mamba now?!? Where's my energy bar Kerr Kriisa ? I want THAT TEAM HEALTHY !

And the SEC is like THIS ? Holy moly. What a season so far ! I hate to see it get closer to the ... end ??? )

Lord help me.

*** runt throws fit #327***

Love this team, coach. and season.

Go Big Blue !
 
This entire season is on the fly. And look at us take down another - yet ANOTHER - Top 5 team tonight.

The sands are constantly shifting here. It's a collective effort to step up, stay late at the gym and work HARDER and STEP IT UP. One man down, another step up. And the importance of just getting as healthy as we can be is of tantamount importance for the overall success of our team. Prayers all these guys get healthy as they can be by March with the brutal schedule still ahead.

But I will simply TRUST in Coach Pope and the Cats to find a way no matter what. And sure will we lose again ? Sure. But we get right back up. The season is far from over. Validating this entire season is what sweeping this Vols team means. They've proven they belong in the elite of college basketball teams this year. 7-1 against top ten teams this year. (let that sink in people) But there are harder games still this year to be had. Bring it on.

In a season I was so looking forward to Amari and Butler side by side, Oweh has been consistently my most favorite player and look at him out there with Carr and Jax as the starting lineup ? OMG. Brea off the bench? Almonor (uncle gets my vote as second favorite player this year. He is a cold assassin) Garrison is a BIG part of everything all along, to go with Perry, Chandler. And we got a Mountain Mamba now?!? Where's my energy bar Kerr Kriisa ? I want THAT TEAM HEALTHY !

And the SEC is like THIS ? Holy moly. What a season so far ! I hate to see it get closer to the ... end ??? )

Lord help me.

*** runt throws fit #327***

Love this team, coach. and season.

Go Big Blue !
Why exactly is this rant in this thread?
 
This entire season is on the fly. And look at us take down another - yet ANOTHER - Top 5 team tonight.

The sands are constantly shifting here. It's a collective effort to step up, stay late at the gym and work HARDER and STEP IT UP. One man down, another step up. And the importance of just getting as healthy as we can be is of tantamount importance for the overall success of our team. Prayers all these guys get healthy as they can be by March with the brutal schedule still ahead.

But I will simply TRUST in Coach Pope and the Cats to find a way no matter what. And sure will we lose again ? Sure. But we get right back up. The season is far from over. Validating this entire season is what sweeping this Vols team means. They've proven they belong in the elite of college basketball teams this year. 7-1 against top ten teams this year. (let that sink in people) But there are harder games still this year to be had. Bring it on.

In a season I was so looking forward to Amari and Butler side by side, Oweh has been consistently my most favorite player and look at him out there with Carr and Jax as the starting lineup ? OMG. Brea off the bench? Almonor (uncle gets my vote as second favorite player this year. He is a cold assassin) Garrison is a BIG part of everything all along, to go with Perry, Chandler. And we got a Mountain Mamba now?!? Where's my energy bar Kerr Kriisa ? I want THAT TEAM HEALTHY !

And the SEC is like THIS ? Holy moly. What a season so far ! I hate to see it get closer to the ... end ??? )

Lord help me.

*** runt throws fit #327***

Love this team, coach. and season.

Go Big Blue !
Love your positivity brother!
 
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Carr was really bad tonight.

But, Almonor just went the previous two games playing 40+ minutes and didn’t register a stat.
 
Carr was really bad tonight.

But, Almonor just went the previous two games playing 40+ minutes and didn’t register a stat.
Yeah, I mentioned that in the original post. And I can understand going away from Almanor in games like that. But when he has things going, I want to see him play more than 22 minutes.

Pope just sends guys to the bench regardless of the situation and that’s what I can’t wrap my head around. Even tonight Almanor had a huge and-one euro step basket (5:59 mark), then after the 4:00 media timeout, Carr is inexplicably in. Almanor had 11 points in the half and was one of our hottest hands.
 
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Carr’s clearly not right. Did think his defense was much better tonight, and he made a GREAT pass to Trent that led to the two FTs. I love Almonor but the problem with him is if he’s not hitting shots he tends to completely disappear and doesn’t really give us anything on the glass. We just need to get Carr healthy because he won us some games this year (Duke, Gonzaga).

I still think I prefer Carr at the end of close games over Almonor when it’s a gotta have it possession because of his ability as a playmaker, passer, and screener (and hopefully he finds his shot), but certainly think it’s much closer than it was earlier in the season.
 
Carr’s clearly not right. Did think his defense was much better tonight, and he made a GREAT pass to Trent that led to the two FTs. I love Almonor but the problem with him is if he’s not hitting shots he tends to completely disappear and doesn’t really give us anything on the glass. We just need to get Carr healthy because he won us some games this year (Duke, Gonzaga).

I still think I prefer Carr at the end of close games over Almonor when it’s a gotta have it possession because of his ability as a playmaker, passer, and screener (and hopefully he finds his shot), but certainly think it’s much closer than it was earlier in the season.
Almonor actually had a drive to the basket tonight. We need more of that.
 
Carr’s clearly not right. Did think his defense was much better tonight, and he made a GREAT pass to Trent that led to the two FTs. I love Almonor but the problem with him is if he’s not hitting shots he tends to completely disappear and doesn’t really give us anything on the glass. We just need to get Carr healthy because he won us some games this year (Duke, Gonzaga).

I still think I prefer Carr at the end of close games over Almonor when it’s a gotta have it possession because of his ability as a playmaker, passer, and screener (and hopefully he finds his shot), but certainly think it’s much closer than it was earlier in the season.
I just do not prefer this version of Carr at the end of close games. I prefer this version playing less than 10 minutes total. He simply looks like a guy you use if you absolutely have to have a body.

And I think the version that you mentioned is never going to be back. They should shut him down until the NCAA tournament. Doing so might give us a chance of having the version of him that we need.

Also, I don’t think Andrew Carr has shot well even before the injury. I don’t think he’s going to suddenly find something that he hasn’t had the whole year. If I want shooters out there, especially at the power forward spot that’s the easiest choice in the world.
 
Biggest problem with Ansley is the next time he blocks his man out, it may the the first. Think that's what got him out that last time
 
Because they are there every day in practice and watch.
Yeah, that’s not really a legitimate argument. The fact that you can see a guy like this, looking like a shell of his former self day after day - as opposed to us just seeing it on game days - makes it even worse. Carr is a net negative at present and it’s far better to sit him or play him sparingly until he can be a positive contributor again (if he ever can).
 
Biggest problem with Ansley is the next time he blocks his man out, it may the the first. Think that's what got him out that last time
Nope. Watching it on the DVR right now. Here’s the sequence of events:

Almanor and-1
Oweh fails to secure rebound
Oweh doesn’t box out, gives up second consecutive offensive rebound.
UT scores layup on Williams
Brea hits step backs 3
UT turnover at 3:49
Timeout
Carr in/Almanor out
 
I just do not prefer this version of Carr at the end of close games. I prefer this version playing less than 10 minutes total. He simply looks like a guy you use if you absolutely have to have a body.

And I think the version that you mentioned is never going to be back. They should shut him down until the NCAA tournament. Doing so might give us a chance of having the version of him that we need.

Also, I don’t think Andrew Carr has shot well even before the injury. I don’t think he’s going to suddenly find something that he hasn’t had the whole year. If I want shooters out there, especially at the power forward spot that’s the easiest choice in the world.
Fair. When I said “find his shot” I meant moreso in the post. When he was on, he did give us a unique interior presence that we don’t have right now. I agree if he’s not right he shouldn’t play, but don’t think Almonor is much better unless he’s hitting shots. Carr has a much higher ceiling if he does eventually get healthy
 
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Yeah I was shocked by that. Don’t know why we haven’t seen that more. I think it was legit the first time he’s done that all year haha
I think it was. I jumped off my seat. The Wife, who's not a basketball fan, gave me a startled look. "He just hasn't done that!" I said. She had no idea regardless. FWIW, She's a UT fan but probably can't name one player on the team 🤣
 
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So why does our coach think a guy who is still clearly hurt and limited by the injury and actually hurting our team when he’s on the court should play 19 minutes?
Some more minutes to Ansley would certainly have been justified. And your question is a reasonable one.

There are reasonable answer though:

A lot of Carr’s minutes came in the first half, in which Ansley only scored two points, those on free throws, missed his only fg attempt (a three), fouled a dude in the act of shooting, and played sometimes questionable defense.

A few of the games Carr blew up in, he started slow.

A lot of Carr’s minutes came in the second half, in which Ansley picked up two more fouls. The rate of 3 fouls in 22 minutes seems like a reason itself to steal him some bench time and protect his availability for game situations where he’s hot and you want to keep him in or where Carr’s back quits on him for good in a game or even where God forbid Williams and Garrison both foul out and we need some center minutes from him, which already happened this season.

Otherwise offered without interpretation. A lot of intuition was at play necessarily. Your take isn’t bad although man you need to address that foul situation especially when we face whistles like tonight’s. Pope’s take wasn’t bad either.
 
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With Carr being hurt he’s not the same player. Imagine before the season someone said Carr is going to be a shell of himself, not even start, butler will get hurt, Robinson is out, and kriisa down for the season. We thought we’d be a fringe top 25 team fully healthy… we’re somehow winning with 4 of our top 6 players hurt

This. Carr defended cupp reasonably well and made him work on D. This version of Carr has zero lower body strength and at times cant move his feet at all.

Its sad but that's what back injuries do. He was out best offensive player and now struggles to compete.
 
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First of all the SEC only stats are misleading, since Carr had limited minutes in a couple games, played hurt in a couple more.

Almonor and Carr both bring something different to the table.
Almonor is a much better 3pt shooter. He is also the teams best FT shooter, but doesn’t take many.
Carr has a better post game, if a better shot blocker, rebounds better, and a little better defender.
I think they complement each other.
 
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Almanor had another solid outing and is now shooting 44.3% from deep. He played only 22 minutes, while Carr played 19. Almanor has had some quiet, disappointing games, but when he attempts more than 3 shots, he averages 11.7ppg.

Carr is now shooting 29.7% from outside and is averaging 7.4 ppg and 3.3rpg in SEC play.

Going forward, I’d love to see Almanor play closer to 30mpg and Carr play 10mpg at the max.

Do you think Pope will do this? And if not, what exactly do you think he’s seeing out there that we aren’t?
We need Carr very badly to get back to the team that beat Duke . I haven’t forgotten what he accomplished early in the year . He’s just slowly coming along from the back injury . Against better teams we are going to need his rebounding because AA isn’t exactly Moses Malone in there . Carr is a much better passer too . We are at our best with Carr imo
 
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Almanor had another solid outing and is now shooting 44.3% from deep. He played only 22 minutes, while Carr played 19. Almanor has had some quiet, disappointing games, but when he attempts more than 3 shots, he averages 11.7ppg.

Carr is now shooting 29.7% from outside and is averaging 7.4 ppg and 3.3rpg in SEC play.

Going forward, I’d love to see Almanor play closer to 30mpg and Carr play 10mpg at the max.

Do you think Pope will do this? And if not, what exactly do you think he’s seeing out there that we aren’t?
Almanor was HUGE last night those threes were HUGE
 
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If you think that Carr is one of the most important three guys on this team, I don’t know how we can have any sort of meaningful dialogue.
Not hurting my feelings. First off, Carr and Almanor play two different roles. It’s not an either/or situation. Second, Carr, when healthy, has been incredibly valuable on offense, especially at the end of games. He is just a piece that others can’t replicate in that he’s probably our best guy on the block while also being a threat from 3. When it comes to crunch time, I like having a healthy Carr on the floor.
 
Not hurting my feelings. First off, Carr and Almanor play two different roles. It’s not an either/or situation. Second, Carr, when healthy, has been incredibly valuable on offense, especially at the end of games. He is just a piece that others can’t replicate in that he’s probably our best guy on the block while also being a threat from 3. When it comes to crunch time, I like having a healthy Carr on the floor.
You’re speaking of the old version of Carr in the present tense. The player you speak of will most likely never be seen again at UK.
 
Doesn’t seem that way. Carr had nor business playing 19 minutes, no playing so much late in the second half. We won in spite of Carr’s pitiful play down the stretch.

We beat a top 5 team last night. We swept them on the season. And "Pope doesn't know what he's doing" is the hill you're looking to die on?

Seems wild.
 
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We beat a top 5 team last night. We swept them on the season. And "Pope doesn't know what he's doing" is the hill you're looking to die on?

Seems wild.
Oh man, you’re right. He’s perfect and has done no wrong. I shall never criticize him again. Thanks for helping me see the light!
 
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