Kellie Harper officially announced as Lady Vols BB Coach...

#3
#3
I hope this isn't a trip down memory lane....
Same here... this program is just a little too much up it's own butt with nostalgia... where honoring the past and doing things a certain way is just as important as winning itself. This is a very unimpressive hire. Even with a small budget to work with (below $800K), Fulmer could have done better if he had been willing to hire outside of the "family".
 
#4
#4
I hope this isn't a trip down memory lane....

In many respects, I hope it is. If she can pass on her playing personality to the girls on this team, build some type of recognisable of offense and instill the importance of defense (second two points will be tough), then the trip down that memory lane will be great.
 
#7
#7
I think it's unfair to judge before giving a chance to someone...but this hire disappoints me. I thought for sure UTK could attract a big name coach or a great up and coming coach. Instead, we go the predictable route of hiring a former LV who had one good run in the NCAA tournament with an iffy coaching record.
I think her contract should be incentive-laden and have a good buy out.
I think Harper really needs to focus on getting great assistants. I desperately want to see a modern game for the Lady Vols, not the same old dated offense we've seen under Warlick.
At a certain point this program and its fans MUST accept that Summitt is gone, and she will never return. With that also comes the death of a style of basketball that no longer can win championships offensively.
I'm willing to give her a chance obviously. But I will be highly critical the moment she seems over her head. Because that means that the LVs will slide further into irrelevancy as she and the team struggles.
I'm hoping Westbrook stays so she can be coached by a former PG. Harper will have PLENTY of talent to work with next year.
 
#9
#9
Is what it is. I hope she does well and leads us back to where we belong. I'm gonna be interested in who she brings in as assistants.
Don't get me wrong. I hope Kellie is a superstar. I just don't want to see another Lady Vol great get canned. It is sour stuff.
 
#11
#11
Is what it is. I hope she does well and leads us back to where we belong. I'm gonna be interested in who she brings in as assistants.
Yeah... but how many good assistants will want to work with a fellow assistant who is married to the head coach? I don't think very many. It's a recipe for resentment and division within the staff. I have talked about this in another thread but damn, I really hate that arrangement.
 
#12
#12
I think it's unfair to judge before giving a chance to someone...but this hire disappoints me. I thought for sure UTK could attract a big name coach or a great up and coming coach. Instead, we go the predictable route of hiring a former LV who had one good run in the NCAA tournament with an iffy coaching record.
I think her contract should be incentive-laden and have a good buy out.
I think Harper really needs to focus on getting great assistants. I desperately want to see a modern game for the Lady Vols, not the same old dated offense we've seen under Warlick.
At a certain point this program and its fans MUST accept that Summitt is gone, and she will never return. With that also comes the death of a style of basketball that no longer can win championships offensively.
I'm willing to give her a chance obviously. But I will be highly critical the moment she seems over her head. Because that means that the LVs will slide further into irrelevancy as she and the team struggles.
I'm hoping Westbrook stays so she can be coached by a former PG. Harper will have PLENTY of talent to work with next year.

You do know Holly was a 3 time All-American PG, right?
 
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#16
#16
This is not to be critical of Fulmer, but honestly, I was surprised he stepped up and opened the pocketbook to keep Barnes. I don't think he was ever going to spend big money to fill this position. It just wasn't in the cards. And it's not even entirely on him. Others are very much in play when it comes to salaries. And yes, it sucks. What Pat built here was very special, and none of us want to see it fade, but I seriously doubt that factors into these decisions.
 
#18
#18
This is not to be critical of Fulmer, but honestly, I was surprised he stepped up and opened the pocketbook to keep Barnes. I don't think he was ever going to spend big money to fill this position. It just wasn't in the cards. And it's not even entirely on him. Others are very much in play when it comes to salaries. And yes, it sucks. What Pat built here was very special, and none of us want to see it fade, but I seriously doubt that factors into these decisions.
Agreed but I still think he could have done better than Kellie Jolly Harper (Courtney Banghart at Princeton, perhaps?). Even with the limited budget, he had better options than this.
 
#19
#19
Yeah... but how many good assistants will want to work with a fellow assistant who is married to the head coach? I don't think very many. It's a recipe for resentment and division within the staff. I have talked about this in another thread but damn, I really hate that arrangement.
Do we know for sure her better half will be on staff? She surely needs some strong assistant coaches and great recruiters to be successful. Just not Dean.
 
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#20
#20
Different era.
Warlick was an AA too! That really means nothing to me. Some of the greatest coaches were bench riders or didn't even play at an elite level.

The statement was wanting to see Westbrook coached by a PG. Holly Warlick was one of the greatest PGs in Lady Vol history. In fact, which Pat assistant do you think probably worked with KJH the most when she played here?

This isn't me puffing my chest over Holly, this is simply stating facts. And FTR, Holly was an excellent assistant to Pat. She just wasn't meant to be a HC.
 
#21
#21
Do we know for sure her better half will be on staff? She surely needs some strong assistant coaches and great recruiters to be successful. Just not Dean.
No, I'm assuming since he has coached everywhere else she has been, that it's a package deal. We will see tomorrow during the press conference. I'm sure that will be a question that is asked.
 
#22
#22
Holly and Kellie were 19 years apart but that is irrelevant. We shouldn't be hiring a head coach based on their credentials as a player.
Never my point. Read the post I originally replied to and the poster made a statement about wanting to see Westbrook coached by a PG. Holly was a PG. That's all I was saying.
 
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#24
#24
No, I'm assuming since he has coached everywhere else she has been, that it's a package deal. We will see tomorrow during the press conference. I'm sure that will be a question that is asked.

I honestly know nothing about KJH's husband. What I do know is great assistants can make a HC look really good. So I hope she's really smart about hiring assistants.
 
#25
#25
Yeah... but how many good assistants will want to work with a fellow assistant who is married to the head coach? I don't think very many. It's a recipe for resentment and division within the staff. I have talked about this in another thread but damn, I really hate that arrangement.

This is what I have been saying. You couldn't pay me to join a staff where one of my equals was married to my boss. Just a recipe for disaster. Hoping part of the deal was that she must hire a staff that does not include her husband.
 
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