Not gonna defend Holly but.....

[larjoranj]

she's not responsible for global warming or low interest rates on CDs. Players standing around on offense is her fault. Players not knowing where to rotate on defense is her fault. Spending so long in the timeout with Dean discussing strategy that the timeout is over before she can talk to the players is her fault. Strategy is her fault. Not benching players that she later says are basically lazy a$$e$ is her fault.But come on. Some of the plays in this game looked like 3rd grade gym class. Passes attempted to Russell that were physically and scientifically impossible. A pass to a wide open Russell from 12 feet away that missed by 6 feet. Dribbling balls off knees and feet. Chasing balls that were clearly touched by Georgia and knocking them out of bounds instead of letting it go out. Trying to corral loose balls with 1 hand and dribble instead of using 2 hands and getting the ball under control. Trying to make 1 handed passes off the bounce and missing the target by 1 area code. Hitting the bottom of the rim with a shot. Shooting airballs from 3 feet. Bouncing layups so hard off the glass they ricochet to the free throw line. Trying to impersonate Curly Neal in a crowd when you really dribble like Barbara Bush.I could go on but my fingers are cramping. There is plenty of blame to go around and Holly has to take her fair share-but jeez-this team looks at times like Forrest Gump has been cloned and is playing all 5 positions.

 

[LasVegasBill23]

she's not responsible for global warming or low interest rates on CDs. Players standing around on offense is her fault. Players not knowing where to rotate on defense is her fault. Spending so long in the timeout with Dean discussing strategy that the timeout is over before she can talk to the players is her fault. Strategy is her fault. Not benching players that she later says are basically lazy a$$e$ is her fault.But come on. Some of the plays in this game looked like 3rd grade gym class. Passes attempted to Russell that were physically and scientifically impossible. A pass to a wide open Russell from 12 feet away that missed by 6 feet. Dribbling balls off knees and feet. Chasing balls that were clearly touched by Georgia and knocking them out of bounds instead of letting it go out. Trying to corral loose balls with 1 hand and dribble instead of using 2 hands and getting the ball under control. Trying to make 1 handed passes off the bounce and missing the target by 1 area code. Hitting the bottom of the rim with a shot. Shooting airballs from 3 feet. Bouncing layups so hard off the glass they ricochet to the free throw line. Trying to impersonate Curly Neal in a crowd when you really dribble like Barbara Bush.I could go on but my fingers are cramping. There is plenty of blame to go around and Holly has to take her fair share-but jeez-this team looks at times like Forrest Gump has been cloned and is playing all 5 positions.

I agree on the global warming and interest rates .... everything else that you mention, I know you are defending her.... but she is responsible for coaching these player everything!!! PERIOD!!! Turnovers? you can work on that in practice.... Missing bunnies? Yes you can work on that in practice!!! I know many on the forum say much is the fault of the players.... but it all can be changed by Holly and her coaching methods....

Stuff the players do that you do not want them to do, SIT THEM DOWN!!! Holly has said that the team kept dribbling along the sidelines fighting the Auburn press.... arrest that behavior immediately! Players do not want to get in defensive stance, then sit their butts down....

Holly has me so frustrated.... but it is ok if the fan base is thrilled with her and so is the admin, then i guess i have to go along

 

[GoVols15]

HW HAS TO GO! This crap, all of the above, has been going on for YEARS! She is the HEAD COACH, period! If this stuff was going on for one or I will even give her two seasons I would not be so critical but LOOK AT THE FACTS! Her teams are not prepared! GOOD GRIEF, GET RID OF HER NOW! SHE IS THE DEREK DOOLEY OF WOMENS BASKTBALL!

 

[larjoranj]

I agree on the global warming and interest rates .... everything else that you mention, I know you are defending her.... but she is responsible for coaching these player everything!!! PERIOD!!! Turnovers? you can work on that in practice.... Missing bunnies? Yes you can work on that in practice!!! I know many on the forum say much is the fault of the players.... but it all can be changed by Holly and her coaching methods....

Stuff the players do that you do not want them to do, SIT THEM DOWN!!! Holly has said that the team kept dribbling along the sidelines fighting the Auburn press.... arrest that behavior immediately! Players do not want to get in defensive stance, then sit their butts down....

Holly has me so frustrated.... but it is ok if the fan base is thrilled with her and so is the admin, then i guess i have to go along

Don't misunderstand. The buck stops with Holly and she hasn't done a good job in my opinion. But come on. They work on this stuff. If you have a scholly to UT and you can't throw a pass 12 feet and hit a barn-what can Holly do? You don't think they work on that? If you drive under the basket and throw the ball up and hit the bottom of the neck of the rim and it bounces back and puts a knot on your head then that's on you. Everybody knew a kid in 3rd grade that didn't shoot layups-he shot throw ups and slammed the ball off the square so hard it knocked another kids glasses off at the 3 pt line. How much time can Holly afford to spend teaching a McDonalds AA how to lay the ball off the square? There are lots of things to work on and only so many hours in a week. I'm not saying Holly isn't a large part of the problem-but she's not the whole problem.

 

[Amb3096]

Double post

 

[Amb3096]

She saved her job with the recruitment wins and victories over ND and SC. If she was gonna be at risk, she pretty much had to miss the tourney. Another S16 this year will save her for another 3 years probably.

 

[armchair]

The coach is responsible for his or her team, and the way the team plays. 'Twas always been so. Why do we never hear of Uconn or ND players standing around or not getting great effort or making lots of stupid decisions every other game--or every game? Because they are well coached. None of this is new with the Vols--this is the way we've been for years. We have a strong starting five--better than about every team in the country save maybe two teams--and yet we've lost 8 games! Hell, in terms of prospect rating out of high school and talent level, our starting five/six is probably as good as Connecticut's--but we underachieve and they overachieve. They beat everybody--every game--by 40. And we lose 8 games, including this game to a team that is 12-11. The coach is ultimately responsible for the way the team performs. That is how they are judged.

 

[NoBackBoard]

Don't misunderstand. The buck stops with Holly and she hasn't done a good job in my opinion. But come on. They work on this stuff. If you have a scholly to UT and you can't throw a pass 12 feet and hit a barn-what can Holly do? You don't think they work on that? If you drive under the basket and throw the ball up and hit the bottom of the neck of the rim and it bounces back and puts a knot on your head then that's on you. Everybody knew a kid in 3rd grade that didn't shoot layups-he shot throw ups and slammed the ball off the square so hard it knocked another kids glasses off at the 3 pt line. How much time can Holly afford to spend teaching a McDonalds AA how to lay the ball off the square? There are lots of things to work on and only so many hours in a week. I'm not saying Holly isn't a large part of the problem-but she's not the whole problem.

Holly recruited the players. It's her job to evaluate talent and develop the players. Why do many of our recruits struggle? These are not players forced upon our program. Holly selected them.

 

[508mikey]

She saved her job with the recruitment wins and victories over ND and SC. If she was gonna be at risk, she pretty much had to miss the tourney. Another S16 this year will save her for another 3 years probably.

There are some other good coaches out there that can do both -- recruit and game coach -- replace her with one, as soon as the new AD is hired

 

[LasVegasBill23]

Don't misunderstand. The buck stops with Holly and she hasn't done a good job in my opinion. But come on. They work on this stuff. If you have a scholly to UT and you can't throw a pass 12 feet and hit a barn-what can Holly do? You don't think they work on that? If you drive under the basket and throw the ball up and hit the bottom of the neck of the rim and it bounces back and puts a knot on your head then that's on you. Everybody knew a kid in 3rd grade that didn't shoot layups-he shot throw ups and slammed the ball off the square so hard it knocked another kids glasses off at the 3 pt line. How much time can Holly afford to spend teaching a McDonalds AA how to lay the ball off the square? There are lots of things to work on and only so many hours in a week. I'm not saying Holly isn't a large part of the problem-but she's not the whole problem.

I am with you in the statement that they work on this stuff.... but the big question is how much.... they should be working on it an exhaustive amount... until they cannot get it wrong rather than just getting it right....

And Holly says it herself in her post game talks.... says she cannot coach effort... says that is she knew what was wrong she would fix it.... last year she said she taught the team about getting down in a defensive stance, but quickly added.... they did not want to do it....

I am absolutely beside myself with frustration...but as i see you have many more thumbs up than i do... so i will leave it alone!

 

[jonson]

The coach is responsible for his or her team, and the way the team plays. 'Twas always been so. Why do we never hear of Uconn or ND players standing around or not getting great effort or making lots of stupid decisions every other game--or every game? Because they are well coached. None of this is new with the Vols--this is the way we've been for years. We have a strong starting five--better than about every team in the country save maybe two teams--and yet we've lost 8 games! Hell, in terms of prospect rating out of high school and talent level, our starting five/six is probably as good as Connecticut's--but we underachieve and they overachieve. They beat everybody--every game--by 40. And we lose 8 games, including this game to a team that is 12-11. The coach is ultimately responsible for the way the team performs. That is how they are judged.

One of the things that seems to distinguish Holly from coaches like Auriemma or McGraw or Mulkey is the fact that, as far as I can tell, she sets the bar so low given the talent of the players on the team. At today's press conference she said something to the effect that she couldn't really blame DD for having 10 turnovers since she had scored 34 points. That seems to me exactly the wrong response. I don't mean that DD should be blamed for the loss or that there aren't other players who were also careless with the ball and/or made boneheaded plays, but I do think that a player of Diamond's talent should never turn over the ball at this rate. (And, if I remember correctly, this isn't the first time that Diamond has had this many turnovers.)

Holly doesn't have to go ballistic but she does (I think) need to send a message that this sort of thing won't be tolerated, even given a very short bench, if the team is, at least more often than not, going to play up to its potential.

 

[FrozenLVFan]

The NCAA only allows a certain number of practice hours per week. Holly can't be running layup drills and boxing-out drills for the 40 hours/week that this team appears to need. These players should have been proficient in these things long before now.

The solution will come next year when the bench is a lot deeper and CHW can sit people who are jacking up bad shots, missing layups, refusing to play defense, throwing the ball away, or jogging down the floor. Right now she has no option except to play people whether they're making effort or not.

If Holly made a rule saying anyone who made 5 TO's or missed 2 layups was on the bench for the rest of the game, you'd all have her head for sitting DD and MR in favor of Dunbar and Nunn.

 

[larjoranj]

Double post

Is that our new offense? The double post?

 

[LasVegasBill23]

The first post here now has 7 likes..... WOW!!!! I guess then the fault of the players....

Perhaps the players do not even NEED coaching....

 

[508mikey]

oh brother

 

[tnvols72]

The NCAA only allows a certain number of practice hours per week. Holly can't be running layup drills and boxing-out drills for the 40 hours/week that this team appears to need. These players should have been proficient in these things long before now.

The solution will come next year when the bench is a lot deeper and CHW can sit people who are jacking up bad shots, missing layups, refusing to play defense, throwing the ball away, or jogging down the floor. Right now she has no option except to play people whether they're making effort or not.

If Holly made a rule saying anyone who made 5 TO's or missed 2 layups was on the bench for the rest of the game, you'd all have her head for sitting DD and MR in favor of Dunbar and Nunn.

Tn gets the same hrs of practice like the rest of the schools? So your saying she don't have time to coach these girls how to play basketball but these other schools either gets more hrs or they are just have better coaches that can coach their kids up.
From what you are saying ,sounds like the players are running the team if they don't want to learn or jogging down the floor. If that's the case then she needs to be fired just for letting these girls do whatever they want.

 

[Voltopia]

We have a strong starting five--better than about every team in the country save maybe two teams

I actually don't ... know if I buy this one. I'm not looking to pick apart the larger post you're making, but I'm not sure we do have a strong starting five. Not at all. I think we have a a really good player, and I think we have a physically gifted post, and a good point guard, but I'm not sure as a five I couldn't pick 6 or 7 teams with better overall starting fives this year. We might have one or two matchups where we're ahead physically or athletically, but it's not like when we had Bobbitt-Hornbuckle-Parker-Spencer-Anosike or somesuch where you just knew we were ahead in pretty much every spot, save possibly one, or when we could roll out Massengale, Simmons, Harrison, Graves, and Burdick ... I mean, those lineups, you could see the advantages across most of the board. Ehh. I'm going to have to go stare at some rosters and think about that one.

 

[feathersax]

Tn gets the same hrs of practice like the rest of the schools? So your saying she don't have time to coach these girls how to play basketball but these other schools either gets more hrs or they are just have better coaches that can coach their kids up.
From what you are saying ,sounds like the players are running the team if they don't want to learn or jogging down the floor. If that's the case then she needs to be fired just for letting these girls do whatever they want.

:hi: Nailed it!

 

[Bah Humbug]

she's not responsible for global warming or low interest rates on CDs. Players standing around on offense is her fault. Players not knowing where to rotate on defense is her fault. Spending so long in the timeout with Dean discussing strategy that the timeout is over before she can talk to the players is her fault. Strategy is her fault. Not benching players that she later says are basically lazy a$$e$ is her fault.But come on. Some of the plays in this game looked like 3rd grade gym class. Passes attempted to Russell that were physically and scientifically impossible. A pass to a wide open Russell from 12 feet away that missed by 6 feet. Dribbling balls off knees and feet. Chasing balls that were clearly touched by Georgia and knocking them out of bounds instead of letting it go out. Trying to corral loose balls with 1 hand and dribble instead of using 2 hands and getting the ball under control. Trying to make 1 handed passes off the bounce and missing the target by 1 area code. Hitting the bottom of the rim with a shot. Shooting airballs from 3 feet. Bouncing layups so hard off the glass they ricochet to the free throw line. Trying to impersonate Curly Neal in a crowd when you really dribble like Barbara Bush.I could go on but my fingers are cramping. There is plenty of blame to go around and Holly has to take her fair share-but jeez-this team looks at times like Forrest Gump has been cloned and is playing all 5 positions.

The very definition of "bad coaching"

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

The NCAA only allows a certain number of practice hours per week. Holly can't be running layup drills and boxing-out drills for the 40 hours/week that this team appears to need. These players should have been proficient in these things long before now.

The solution will come next year when the bench is a lot deeper and CHW can sit people who are jacking up bad shots, missing layups, refusing to play defense, throwing the ball away, or jogging down the floor. Right now she has no option except to play people whether they're making effort or not.

If Holly made a rule saying anyone who made 5 TO's or missed 2 layups was on the bench for the rest of the game, you'd all have her head for sitting DD and MR in favor of Dunbar and Nunn.

Sorry Frozen, this last statement is not true...If Holly made them sit, she would have no players on the floor at the end of the game...simply because she puts these players in an environment where they will make mistakes trying to make up for Holly's mistakes during the game.

 

[RollerVol]

amazing what a loss can do to bring out the "fire Holly" crowd...it was getting a little quiet, so thanks for the entertainment, and, as always...

GO HOLLY AND GO LADY VOLS!

 

[Tennman47]

These girls we not invested in this game. They did not have the intensity as they have the last couple of games. That is on the coach. I worry about next year with these great girls coming in and cooper being back. They have to have some motivation to play. Holly cannot get that out of them. imo.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

Here's a list of the 10 teams that have made the Final 4 in the past 4 years. At an absolute bare minimum, the depth of UT's longest tourney run must exceed that of Syracuse, Oregon State, Washington, Maryland, Louisville, and Cal over any 4 year period.

UConn
Syracuse
Oregon State
Washington
Notre Dame
South Carolina
Maryland
Stanford
Louisville
Cal

 

[savannahfan]

I agree on the global warming and interest rates .... everything else that you mention, I know you are defending her.... but she is responsible for coaching these player everything!!! PERIOD!!! Turnovers? you can work on that in practice.... Missing bunnies? Yes you can work on that in practice!!! I know many on the forum say much is the fault of the players.... but it all can be changed by Holly and her coaching methods....

Stuff the players do that you do not want them to do, SIT THEM DOWN!!! Holly has said that the team kept dribbling along the sidelines fighting the Auburn press.... arrest that behavior immediately! Players do not want to get in defensive stance, then sit their butts down....

Holly has me so frustrated.... but it is ok if the fan base is thrilled with her and so is the admin, then i guess i have to go along

The buck stops at the top, no question. But, if she sits all the players you and others blame for no effort or bad play, just who the he-- will be left to put on the floor?
Holly just can't get it done. More coaching is done before season and between games than in games. She and her staff are just not getting it done at these times. For me, that's why games are played son poorly.

 

[movinonup]

There are some other good coaches out there that can do both -- recruit and game coach -- replace her with one, as soon as the new AD is hired

This is a serious question - WHO ?

Couple years ago it Matthew @ Kentucky - NOPE
Then it was Muffet - how's ND doing lately ? She would be crucified on here if this was our team dropping so quickly.
Dawn - just got out coached by Holly AT HOME
Over the years, it has been so many others that were hot for a short period of time, but now no one mentions because their programs have faltered.

Honestly, Geno (as bad as it pains me to say it) is the only coach that anyone would be happy with and that is not an option.

The girls battled yesterday and I thought ball movement was pretty good. I just think we have to look at who we have playing past the "big 3" - only 7 players and no offense, but the other 4 playing are average players. They are playing their heart out and I appreciate their effort, but we need some more quality depth (which is coming next year).

Fire away !