K Lawson question

#28
#28
I know Kara....got the chance to meet her and talk to her at length over a period of time. She's GOLD, I can tell you that. When we hired KH I was BEGGING for them to hire Kara. Some things you just can see......and the year we hired KH, the Celtics hired Kara as an assistant. I don't know that she will ever return to Knoxville, but I can tell you this....of the post-Pat hires, she would definitely be the best option we've hired. KH didn't have the stones to fill this role, the current coach is trying to force a square peg into a round hole, and Holly was just a place holder. I truly believe Kara would take us back to consistent success. NOT the level Pat was at because the sport has changed! But we would be back in Sweet 16s, Elite 8s and occasional Final 4s.
 
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#29
#29
Is Kara the best coach (so far, I know she's early in her career) from Pat's tree?

I like her a lot as a coach, which I didn't necessarily expect. But point guards can often transition into this role well due to the skills and capabilities that being elite at the position naturally require, as well as the instincts it's honing in the person over time. Then, because she as an analyst and had a lot of time observing many systems and breaking down, interrogating, exploring them etc, this probably even further sharpened her skills. It doesn't hurt that she has that natural "perfection is the standard" piece in her personality and in listening to her pressers, she comes across as introspective, thoughtful, and wise.

Duke definitely played above their talent this year and her players love her. Well coached team.
 
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#30
#30
I think the funniest comments on this board that I see about Kara is that “her Duke team wouldn’t last in the SEC” you do realize that the type of players she has to recruit at Duke are a completely different type of player she would recruit at an SEC school. Duke doesn’t just allow anyone in academically, not to mention the player having the ability to maintain the workload of a Duke education. There is no “online option” that a lot of these players opt in to.
Kara’s teams have over performed every year and that’s due to her ability to get them to buy in. They may not be as athletic etc as SEC teams. But they believe in her and trust her and that has gotten them to back to back elite 8s.
 
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#31
#31
1reVOLver said:
Do we know, even if only by hearsay, that she didn’t bring it up during that three year period?

“Obviously I had one small detail incorrect”
Only one?
Small detail?

OK. One. Only one. Small.

Got it. Everything’s copacetic, if not fully cromulent. 😇
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Gotta say, DP's once stellar credibility has taken a hit over the last few weeks. But hey, everything else is going down with the good ship Caldwell.....
 
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#32
#32
Wahoooo said:
I truly do not know the answer, so anyone who knows, please share.

Why did UT administration not pursue K Lawson for the Lady Vol BB HC?

Do they know something we don’t or has someone at UT offended K Lawson to the point she will never return?

I was always impressed with her BB IQ when she was a TV analyst. Seemed to have the same intensity that Pat had.
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www.wbir.com

Former Lady Vol Kara Lawson calls out lack of diversity at highest levels of Tennessee Athletics

"When I look at my alma mater, Knoxville, there is not a single African-American coach at that institution. That is not the same for the majority of the SEC."
www.wbir.com www.wbir.com
I just remember this and now don’t think she wants to come here
 
#34
#34
madtownvol said:
This story has been rehashed on this board. With the caveat that Fulmer's decision making process has never been made fully public, he was apparently leaning toward Kara until he interviewed Kellie, who was fresh from a S16 appearance with Missouri St.

Fulmer said that Kellie knocked her interview "out of the ball park" and he was also reported to have had some reservations over Kara's lack of college coaching experience.

When Kellie was fired five years down the road, Kara did not fit the profile of a Danny White hire, which is the surprise hire where he sees a rising star before anyone else. So, if Kara did not have enough experience for Fulmer, she was too much of known entity for White likes to be seen as the discoverer of talent that no one else had seen.
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So Danny White's ego is getting in the way of being an effective athletic director ?
He does give the impression of having an arrogant streak. I did not care for his attitude when he tried to lecture us Vol fans during his first year.
 
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#35
#35
Pay her and make her say no. Go get the best from the legend tree.

Who would have ever thought the Lady Vols would ever be the embarrassment that they are today.
 
#36
#36
DeerPark12 said:
It wasn’t factual at that time, particularly not in her situation. She was asking for an exception to state law. It wasn’t just unprecedented, it was also impractical for a D1 head coach in another state to have time to serve on the Board of Trustees.

if she had felt that UT had a problem with hiring at the highest levels, she had ample opportunity during the three years she was on the BOT to bring it up and address it. Instead, she made it a public issue after she left.
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Thus is what bothers me about Kara. She had ample time to get her views across and waited until she did to state them. Odd sense of timing
 
#37
#37
AllVols3 said:
Thus is what bothers me about Kara. She had ample time to get her views across and waited until she did to state them. Odd sense of timing
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First, I'll gladly grant that what you propose is a possibility. I would hope that you would extend the same courtesy to me as I suggest a contrasting possibility.

As neither of us was a member of the Board during Kara's tenure, at best we might have hearsay to support our thoughts. What if she *did* raise the topic in one or more closed meetings? What if she were shut down or received a patronizing ’We'll look into it'?
I offer the possibility that she went public only after having made one or more attempts in private.
 
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#39
#39
AllVols3 said:
Thus is what bothers me about Kara. She had ample time to get her views across and waited until she did to state them. Odd sense of timing
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What if she stated them privately, but got brushed off and nothing ever changed? So she went nuke on her exit.
 
#40
#40
1reVOLver said:
First, I'll gladly grant that what you propose is a possibility. I would hope that you would extend the same courtesy to me as I suggest a contrasting possibility.

As neither of us was a member of the Board during Kara's tenure, at best we might have hearsay to support our thoughts. What if she *did* raise the topic in one or more closed meetings? What if she were shut down or received a patronizing ’We'll look into it'?
I offer the possibility that she went public only after having made one or more attempts in private.
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You made this point before but DeerPark's comment which AllVol3 was citing, is a big pile of self-serving errors.

Kara did not have to ask for an exemption to stay on the BoT because the rule in question did not exist. DP subsequently noted that he made a small factual error on the very detail upon which his claim was based.

Second, the timing of Kara statement was not random. It was in the direct aftermath of George Floyd's death (I will refrain from calling it a murder so not as to upset the delicate sensibilities of the culture warrior crowd).

In any event, every major institution in the country was discussing issues related to representation in positions of power.

Kara made her comments during a public Tennessee board of trustees meeting, urging the chancellor and president to address the lack of representation. I provided prior documentation that the President of the UT system and then UTAD Phil Fulmer acknowledged that UT indeed had a problem on diveristy and needed to address it. Following her criticism, university officials committed to tracking and reporting metrics regarding diversity in faculty, staff, and athletics.

DP would have us believe that these adminstrative statements and policies were just a "show" while beyond the scenes these parties were working to have Kara thrown off the board and blacklisted from the university (no pun intended).

While being a self-identified lawyer, DP provides no evidentiary support for his claims, other than "trust me bro, I know people!."

DP also suggests that we simply ignore this statement from Board Chairman John Compton, as reported in the KNS:

Compton said the provisions of the UT Focus Act allow for Lawson to remain on the board.

“Kara can continue as trustee, and after a conversation she and I have had, I am pleased to inform you she will be doing so,” Compton said during the meeting. “So, Kara, congratulations to you, and we look forward to your ongoing contributions to our Board.”
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#41
#41
I am not a barrister, nor a solicitor, and despite my avatar, escudero/esquire is not an honorific I have earned. However, some of my progeny are lawyers, and based on what they have taught me, DP's assertions would be shredded in a courtroom.
 
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#43
#43
1reVOLver said:
First, I'll gladly grant that what you propose is a possibility. I would hope that you would extend the same courtesy to me as I suggest a contrasting possibility.

As neither of us was a member of the Board during Kara's tenure, at best we might have hearsay to support our thoughts. What if she *did* raise the topic in one or more closed meetings? What if she were shut down or received a patronizing ’We'll look into it'?
I offer the possibility that she went public only after having made one or more attempts in private.
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Thats a bad look to squeal after your gone. I like Kara and would take her in a heartbeat if CKC gets fired.
 
#44
#44
AllVols3 said:
Thats a bad look to squeal after your gone. I like Kara and would take her in a heartbeat if CKC gets fired.
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We disagree. Calling attention to a problem is a basic responsibility of anyone called to serve their beloved institution. When and how and how often are cosmetic details. Substance matters more.
 
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#45
#45
AllVols3 said:
Thats a bad look to squeal after your gone. I like Kara and would take her in a heartbeat if CKC gets fired.
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For the 3rd time, her statements were made prior to the Duke job even being open. Her comments on diversity came in June 2020. See article here: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/spor...-address-lack-diversity-athletics/3266037001/

Joann P stepped down on July 2nd, 2020 with no prior warning, so the Duke job wasn't even available. Lawson got the job on July 11th.

Duke’s Joanne P. McCallie resigns as women’s basketball coach: https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article243956747.html
 
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#46
#46
1reVOLver said:
We disagree. Calling attention to a problem is a basic responsibility of anyone called to serve their beloved institution. When and how and how often are cosmetic details. Substance matters more.
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Did she make the comments as a board member or afterwards? It was my understanding that it was after
 
#47
#47
#48
#48
AllVols3 said:
Did she make the comments as a board member or afterwards? It was my understanding that it was after
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It was after. Did her responsibility to her alma mater end at the expiration of her board appointment? Are we grasping at straws now, trying to find some minor detail to object to? Or is this another “squeal”?

You clearly dislike her having raised an issue. Noted.
Time to move on?
 
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#50
#50
1reVOLver said:
It was after. Did her responsibility to her alma mater end at the expiration of her board appointment? Are we grasping at straws now, trying to find some minor detail to object to? Or is this another “squeal”?

You clearly dislike her having raised an issue. Noted.
Time to move on?
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Note whatever you want. I like Kara and would take her tomorrow, but I disagree with her timing . It looks like sour grapes at that point, imo.
 
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