Former Vandy coach Melanie Balcomb hired by South Carolina

[Franklin Pierce]

There are several, though, on this board that said the new Vanderbilt head coach (who has never been a college head coach) is so great, that Vanderbilt (with the same admissions standards as when Balcomb was coach), will now surpass the the Lady Vols in basketball.

Some people have a strong desire to live in Fantasy Land.

 

[DeerPark12]

More questions than answers IMO. Will she be responsible for the offense? Will the offense be completely redone, i.e., a new scheme? Will she create the offensive game plan for each game? Will she make in-game adjustments?

Five coaches seems a bit much to me...is one of the other assistants leaving?

SC was already the favorite IMO to win the SEC title anyway, so the Balcomb hire was unnecessary for that. Is this hire an effort to get over the "hump" of winning a national championship or an acknowledgement by Dawn that SC's offense is subpar?

This is a non-coaching position. She cannot recruit off-campus, make recruiting calls, or coach players on the court in practice, games, or even the offseason. She can participate in film sessions.

Most of what she will do will be breaking down film and developing game plans with the coaching staff. She can observe practice, but cannot get out on the court.

 

[Voluble2]

Football programs hire people to retool, or QC their offense all the time.

This is the difference between wanting to win vs. wanting to do things the way they have always been done. Staley understands where her team is lacking and has taken steps to fix it. We could have, and should have done something similar years ago. But apparently if we only rebound harder, or get in a stance all of our problems will be solved.

This is also a sign of how things are becoming more competitive. The SEC will potentially have as good a set of coaches as they have had in a while and the athletes will still be of the highest quality. Now all we need to do is improve the officiating --- which is, and has been utter garbage for as long as I can remember.

 

[SCGamecock]

Football programs hire people to retool, or QC their offense all the time.

This is the difference between wanting to win vs. wanting to do things the way they have always been done. Staley understands where her team is lacking and has taken steps to fix it. We could have, and should have done something similar years ago. But apparently if we only rebound harder, or get in a stance all of our problems will be solved.

This is also a sign of how things are becoming more competitive. The SEC will potentially have as good a set of coaches as they have had in a while and the athletes will still be of the highest quality. Now all we need to do is improve the officiating --- which is, and has been utter garbage for as long as I can remember.

Great post. Allow me to reiterate for those that are STILL confused. Balcomb will not be coaching players at SC during games or practice.

She's here to observe, take notes or ANALYZE, and give her recommendations to our coaching staff. She's essentially an offensive analyst like you'd find in a football program. SC has the defense, Balcomb is here to help our coaches maximize what we can do on offense.

 

[HoopDR]

There are several, though, on this board that said the new Vanderbilt head coach (who has never been a college head coach) is so great, that Vanderbilt (with the same admissions standards as when Balcomb was coach), will now surpass the the Lady Vols in basketball.

Some people have a strong desire to live in Fantasy Land.

FP, I don’t believe it is Fantasy Land. I could see the skepticism if Stephanie White had no head coaching experience and had hired a lead assistant with no head coaching experience. However she has already been a successful head coach at the highest level of her sport. Her assistant has been successful as a head coach as well. Here is what I see as the question behind VU’s future and if it will be successful. The game at VU is going to change… I believe it won’t be long till they are playing like the Syracuse, Washington, and, yes, the Indiana Fever teams we see now. When I say it won’t be long…it will all depend on the administration at VU. VU is now going to be an attractive option to a caliber of player they previously have not been able to attract. Now, it will be up to the administration as to whether they will admit these new players. With the WNBA connection of White and the TV exposure from Peck, VU will put a more modern style of team on the court. And of course, this is just my opinion.

 

[LVJeff]

This is a non-coaching position. She cannot recruit off-campus, make recruiting calls, or coach players on the court in practice, games, or even the offseason. She can participate in film sessions.

Most of what she will do will be breaking down film and developing game plans with the coaching staff. She can observe practice, but cannot get out on the court.

Thanks for the explanations/clarifications.