Could Former Tennessee Vol Kelly Jolly-Harper Keep The Lady Vols Out of NCAA's?
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creekdipper
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creekdipper
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creekdipper
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creekdipper
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Kellie Harper knew the Lady Bears were capable of making the NCAA Tournament before the season, but she also knew it was going to take a lot of work in order for them to reach their potential.
It was a young team, consisting of five freshmen, six sophomores, two juniors and only one senior. From the very beginning, Harper was worried about the little things, including the correct way to ride a bus.
The 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year said the most important thing is knowing where you're going to sit. There are times when cellphones need to be turned off when they need to look through scouting reports. There's a snack bin that many of the young players weren't aware of. The list goes on and on.
MSU head coach Kellie Harper cuts down the net after the Lady Bears defeated Drake in the final of the MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill. on Sunday, March 17, 2019. (Photo: Jesse Scheve)
It was just one of the many things she had to spend time on as she attempted to have a new team buy into her culture.
"It was daily," Harper said Wednesday morning in her JQH Arena office. "It took a lot of energy, I'm not going to lie. It's not tiring because they wore us out, it was tiring because we wanted it so bad. We could see their potential and we were working really hard to get them there.
"We did so many things to help them reach their goals that had nothing to do with basketball; it was probably the most I've ever done in my career."
All the hard work appears to have paid off because the Lady Bears will only have a short bus ride to the airport before they travel to Ames, Iowa, to play DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Harper said the Lady Bears aren't just satisfied with making the tournament — they're traveling to Iowa confident they will win. Their confidence has grown over the course of the season.
The Lady Bears' bench reacts during the first half of their win over Drake on Sunday at the MVC Tournament final in Moline, Ill. (Photo: Jesse Scheve)
Harper knew her team would be fine after a close loss to Gonzaga
Missouri State started the year 1-7 and came up short against ranked teams such as Mizzou and Gonzaga while having opportunities to beat teams such as Wichita State, Santa Clara and North Texas during the stretch.
Some teams would have folded, but not this Lady Bears team. It was after that Gonzaga game when Harper knew everything was going to be OK.
"It was just different," Harper said. "The locker room was different after that loss than any of the other games. It was almost like I could visibly see them drawing a line in the sand and saying 'no more. This is it and we can do this.'
"I've never been so encouraged as a coach after a loss than that game."
The room wasn't sad. It wasn't mad. It was more of an "OK, that's enough" type of attitude. Harper said no one was satisfied with a close loss.
"I just remember their faces," Harper said. "Their faces spoke volumes. They knew this was a very good team. We competed, had a chance to win. We can do this. We can do something really special."
On Monday, Lady Bears coach Kellie Harper and her team celebrated their placing in the NCAA Tournament at a bracket reveal party at JQH Arena. (Photo: Bruce E Stidham - STIDZ Media)
A remarkable streak begins
The next game, the Lady Bears started a run that showed they were special and capable of winning a championship.
Missouri State defeated Louisiana Tech 82-70 on Dec. 20, and the Lady Bears wouldn't lose a game until Feb. 15 — after a 13-game winning streak.
The streak included a road trip to Iowa, where the Lady Bears learned they were capable of making the NCAA Tournament. The Friday night game was against a nationally ranked Drake team and a Northern Iowa program that ended their MVC title hopes the season before.
"It was a tough weekend," Harper said. "It was hard. It was emotional."
Missouri State came back to beat Drake 85-79 on Feb. 1. The Lady Bears overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to end the Bulldogs' 47-game conference winning streak.
"They were so excited and had a great mindset coming out of the Drake game and were talking about how they needed to take care of business," Harper said. "Our leadership from that point on, I'd go to the huddle and they were already saying the right things."
Harper attributes the success to a few things, one being the buy-in from the very beginning, with another being how the team took the personalities of its lone senior Danielle Gitzen and sophomore guard Brice Calip.
The head coach said she could focus on coaching because either Gitzen and Calip were saying the things she'd normally say to motivate the team in the huddle.
Missouri State capped off its Iowa trip with a 63-58 win over Northern Iowa — which featured another comeback when the Lady Bears trailed by six with three minutes left in the third.
That weekend solidified the Lady Bears as a championship contender. Since then, the Lady Bears have lost twice — one a hiccup at home against Illinois State and the other coming on Senior Day against nationally ranked Drake with a regular-season title on the line.
Drake took a 41-23 lead into halftime and trailed by as many as 21 in the second half. The Lady Bears rallied and brought the game within four with just over a minute left, but it was too little, too late for MSU.
It was a young team, consisting of five freshmen, six sophomores, two juniors and only one senior. From the very beginning, Harper was worried about the little things, including the correct way to ride a bus.
The 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year said the most important thing is knowing where you're going to sit. There are times when cellphones need to be turned off when they need to look through scouting reports. There's a snack bin that many of the young players weren't aware of. The list goes on and on.
MSU head coach Kellie Harper cuts down the net after the Lady Bears defeated Drake in the final of the MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill. on Sunday, March 17, 2019. (Photo: Jesse Scheve)
It was just one of the many things she had to spend time on as she attempted to have a new team buy into her culture.
"It was daily," Harper said Wednesday morning in her JQH Arena office. "It took a lot of energy, I'm not going to lie. It's not tiring because they wore us out, it was tiring because we wanted it so bad. We could see their potential and we were working really hard to get them there.
"We did so many things to help them reach their goals that had nothing to do with basketball; it was probably the most I've ever done in my career."
All the hard work appears to have paid off because the Lady Bears will only have a short bus ride to the airport before they travel to Ames, Iowa, to play DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Harper said the Lady Bears aren't just satisfied with making the tournament — they're traveling to Iowa confident they will win. Their confidence has grown over the course of the season.
The Lady Bears' bench reacts during the first half of their win over Drake on Sunday at the MVC Tournament final in Moline, Ill. (Photo: Jesse Scheve)
Harper knew her team would be fine after a close loss to Gonzaga
Missouri State started the year 1-7 and came up short against ranked teams such as Mizzou and Gonzaga while having opportunities to beat teams such as Wichita State, Santa Clara and North Texas during the stretch.
Some teams would have folded, but not this Lady Bears team. It was after that Gonzaga game when Harper knew everything was going to be OK.
"It was just different," Harper said. "The locker room was different after that loss than any of the other games. It was almost like I could visibly see them drawing a line in the sand and saying 'no more. This is it and we can do this.'
"I've never been so encouraged as a coach after a loss than that game."
The room wasn't sad. It wasn't mad. It was more of an "OK, that's enough" type of attitude. Harper said no one was satisfied with a close loss.
"I just remember their faces," Harper said. "Their faces spoke volumes. They knew this was a very good team. We competed, had a chance to win. We can do this. We can do something really special."
On Monday, Lady Bears coach Kellie Harper and her team celebrated their placing in the NCAA Tournament at a bracket reveal party at JQH Arena. (Photo: Bruce E Stidham - STIDZ Media)
A remarkable streak begins
The next game, the Lady Bears started a run that showed they were special and capable of winning a championship.
Missouri State defeated Louisiana Tech 82-70 on Dec. 20, and the Lady Bears wouldn't lose a game until Feb. 15 — after a 13-game winning streak.
The streak included a road trip to Iowa, where the Lady Bears learned they were capable of making the NCAA Tournament. The Friday night game was against a nationally ranked Drake team and a Northern Iowa program that ended their MVC title hopes the season before.
"It was a tough weekend," Harper said. "It was hard. It was emotional."
Missouri State came back to beat Drake 85-79 on Feb. 1. The Lady Bears overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to end the Bulldogs' 47-game conference winning streak.
"They were so excited and had a great mindset coming out of the Drake game and were talking about how they needed to take care of business," Harper said. "Our leadership from that point on, I'd go to the huddle and they were already saying the right things."
Harper attributes the success to a few things, one being the buy-in from the very beginning, with another being how the team took the personalities of its lone senior Danielle Gitzen and sophomore guard Brice Calip.
The head coach said she could focus on coaching because either Gitzen and Calip were saying the things she'd normally say to motivate the team in the huddle.
Missouri State capped off its Iowa trip with a 63-58 win over Northern Iowa — which featured another comeback when the Lady Bears trailed by six with three minutes left in the third.
That weekend solidified the Lady Bears as a championship contender. Since then, the Lady Bears have lost twice — one a hiccup at home against Illinois State and the other coming on Senior Day against nationally ranked Drake with a regular-season title on the line.
Drake took a 41-23 lead into halftime and trailed by as many as 21 in the second half. The Lady Bears rallied and brought the game within four with just over a minute left, but it was too little, too late for MSU.
creekdipper
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BruceInLouisville
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I realize there are many people saying ADPF should "swing for the fences" – but I think Harper would be the right hire for this team at this time. It's not about her Vol legacy—although there is that—but it's because she has significant experience at all levels, and knows that culture is more important than anything else. Read that story again and think about that culture being instilled in Knoxville.
Harper would, in my opinion, be a significant upgrade. I hope she gets consideration.
Harper would, in my opinion, be a significant upgrade. I hope she gets consideration.
Holly does the same. And she's taught them it's ok to be losers because you will graduate with a degree and you should be proud of that. And whereas that may be true of most players in college sports, the ones who have the potential to be pros (I'm looking at YOU, Mercedes Russell) should have been like "Yeah, no. I'm here to win."
Nice Holly has instilled her players with a loser's mentality, and that's a tough cycle to break out of. It seems Evina and Rennia see the light, but not the freshmen (besides Zaay).
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creekdipper
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No collusion! No collusion!
(or are you suggesting that Vlad would be a good choice to take over the program? Team dissension would likely disappear overnight. Or the players would disappear.
)
One thing to add about Kellie (and I just wrote a rambling screed in another thread about why she might not be ready for the job even though I love her to death):
Kellie has currently developed some fantastic point guards in senior Danielle Gitzen (whom Kellie has had for four years) and sophomore Brice Culip. The announcers mentioned that Danielle was not that good of a ball handler when she arrived as a freshman but has steadily improved under Kellie, Jon, Jackie Styles, and staff.
I believe the radio announcers said that both played against DePaul's pressure and trapping defense without a single turnover Saturday. If that's the case, that's an amazing statistic.
Compare that to our current Turnover Nation status.
(or are you suggesting that Vlad would be a good choice to take over the program? Team dissension would likely disappear overnight. Or the players would disappear.
)One thing to add about Kellie (and I just wrote a rambling screed in another thread about why she might not be ready for the job even though I love her to death):
Kellie has currently developed some fantastic point guards in senior Danielle Gitzen (whom Kellie has had for four years) and sophomore Brice Culip. The announcers mentioned that Danielle was not that good of a ball handler when she arrived as a freshman but has steadily improved under Kellie, Jon, Jackie Styles, and staff.
I believe the radio announcers said that both played against DePaul's pressure and trapping defense without a single turnover Saturday. If that's the case, that's an amazing statistic.
Compare that to our current Turnover Nation status.
creekdipper
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