Maria Cornelius' summary of the ND game

[CoryDallasLV]

Is she supposed to be a journalist? I thought she was a cheerleader.

This is more a PR piece than any identifiable form of journalism.

All she is is a glorified cheerleader. I lost respect for her years ago and stopped going to that other board because of her delusion and those of her followers.

 

[Amb3096]

I would suspect her hands are tied in the matter. As I recall, she writes for the folks who subscribe / pay for the coverage -- at least, that was the deal back when they took the old SUmmitT board private. I imagine she believes she must cater to that particular audience. Combine that with her need to have continued access to the program in order to write her stories, something which would be in jeopardy if she began challenging the program, and once can easily see how she could be trapped in a post where "putting a smile on it" is her only option.

Understood, but then she should understand that people outside her "particular audience" will consider her pieces to be biased junk.

 

[madtownvol]

I would suspect her hands are tied in the matter. As I recall, she writes for the folks who subscribe / pay for the coverage -- at least, that was the deal back when they took the old SUmmitT board private. I imagine she believes she must cater to that particular audience. Combine that with her need to have continued access to the program in order to write her stories, something which would be in jeopardy if she began challenging the program, and once can easily see how she could be trapped in a post where "putting a smile on it" is her only option.

That is exactly right. But how dare MM not pour more gasoline on the fire!!!! (yeah, she would be waiting in a long, long line but still)....

 

[lvocd]

I would suspect her hands are tied in the matter. As I recall, she writes for the folks who subscribe / pay for the coverage -- at least, that was the deal back when they took the old SUmmitT board private. I imagine she believes she must cater to that particular audience. Combine that with her need to have continued access to the program in order to write her stories, something which would be in jeopardy if she began challenging the program, and once can easily see how she could be trapped in a post where "putting a smile on it" is her only option.

Agreed. Maria's job isn't that of the traditional newspaper reporter in which the writer gives unbiased accounts of events as they unfold. She's more of an opinion columnist, so its within ethical guidelines for her to write with an affectionate slant toward the program and those who are in charge of it. Writing for a fan message board is NOT traditional "journalism," and really shouldn't be expected to be. Folks should turn to newspaper reports for their game stories, not columnists.

Also, keep in mind that Maria has much at stake personally in all this. Sales of her Summitt book depend on Summitt fans, and Summitt fans are, by and large, Holly fans. Do the math. And who knows? Maybe Maria's hoping that sometime in the future she'll get to write a book about Holly. My guess would be that a successful Holly -- not one who is fired -- would be a more sure bet to sell more books.

This will sound cynical to some, I know, but I do NOT say any of this with that intent. I like Maria and think she generally does an excellent job. But she would just about HAVE to be pulling hard for Holly, for many reasons, to get it together and someday leave Tennessee on a high note. I know I sure hope for that!

 

[Putbacks]

I think the 9,000+ attended as a tribute to Pat Summitt and the prevailing theme of the week--We Back Pat.

We've gone from bliss to the abyss...

 

[proVolone]

This is sort of Holly being the Captain on the Titanic and Maria the first mate..."what Iceberg?"

 

[bballnut90]

Lady Vols fall to No. 1 Notre Dame

This is so bad that it's cringeworthy. I don't know if Maria is flat out delusional, or she knows that the program is at rock bottom but trying to pump sunshine and rainbows into her outlook nonetheless. Either way, it's pathetic journalism. It was such a flowery write up that you would think that they won the game. No criticism of the coaching and no commentary on the overall state of the program.

Some of the "lowlights" of her "report":

The Lady Vols may have fallen to No. 1 Notre Dame, but the team showed it can play together – and find its voice – in the 77-62 loss Thursday - This was shaping up to be a 20+ point loss until Tennessee made a few cheap buckets and ND slowed down the tempo to run out clock. Tennessee shot 36% and let ND score at will for 3 quarters. How is this showing they can play together exactly?

Despite Monday’s bitter loss to Arkansas, 9,154 fans made it to Thompson-Boling Arena on yet another bitter cold night and made their voices heard, too. - The #1 team was in town and they only drew 9,100 fans? Does the "bitter cold" disappear when the men play so that they can play before bigger crowds?

The Lady Vols could have folded after Monday’s loss. Players barely out of high school and sophomores expected to lead like seniors comprise seven of Tennessee’s 10 players. - Ahhh, here we go. Her second reference to age. Because it's not like Tennessee is an elite program with a rich history in WCBB. No, this is a rag tag team of children going up against the mighty ND. You would expect this kind of tone for an up-and-coming program, not a powerhouse like Tennessee.

Bonus Quote from Holly:

On Zaay Green's play and how encouraging it is moving forward:
"Zaay did exactly what we expect her to do. She penetrated and is one of our best players that can penetrate the gap and take good shots. I thought she took good shots. She did not take the floater. She stopped and jump shot. Her defense I thought was solid. We need her to do that all the time. I expect her to do that, and it has always been expected. Now she showed she can continue to do that." - Her defense was so solid that she held Arike to 28 points on 52% shooting and Jackie Young to a triple double.

Arike and Young are probably the best wing combo in the country...can't blame Green for them having big nights, especially when Ogunbowale is the best one on one player in the nation and scored a huge chunk of her points in transition.


I'm all aboard the hating Holly bandwagon and have been a harsh critic of hers the last 3 years or so, but last night the team put forth a strong effort and shouldn't be criticized for the loss. They were simply outmatched by a more talented and experienced Notre Dame team.

 

[Darth_Vol]

There's a reason the Knoxville News Sentinel kicked her to the curb long before all the newspaper layoffs, and a reason she consistently had to beg her sycophants on the other forum for money to travel to the road games. When Holly is inevitably fired, hopefully she will take the "journalist" in her back pocket with her...

 

[jonson]

Not just that, but there are 6 AAs on this team, and 2 of them were starters last season who have logged major minutes since coming to the program. Zaay Green has also played a ton of minutes this season. Cheridene has in her 3rd year with the program. They have enough experience on the team that this shouldn't be happening. Remember UConn 2 years ago when Katie Lou and Napheesa were sophomores? That was a very young team, Gabby Williams and Saniya Chong did not have big role the previous years, but yet they went undefeated to the Final Four before losing.

Next year, both MSST and SC will rely heavily on their freshmen, but I'm confident they will not be struggling to put away the likes of Arkansas and Alabama like Tennessee is. MSST will have 5 brand new starters, and I think they will still finish in the top 2 in the SEC (along with SC).

Another example: Last year the Oregon team that lost to Notre Dame in the Elite 8 was comprised of two sophomores, a freshman, a junior, and a senior--and so not that different from this year's Lady Vols team with MeMe healthy. The two sophomores--Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard--were the team leaders, and so comparable, on paper, to Evina and Rennie, both of whom actually had superior recruiting ratings to their Oregon counterparts (#2 vs. #4; #12 vs. #40). (Hebard in fact considered redshirting her freshman year.). I don't think the Oregon senior was even ranked in the Hoopgurlz top 100 (vs. MeMe at #49), and the other two starters were from Europe: S. Sabally (the freshman) had a rating of #36 (vs. Z. Green at #10); M. Cazorla was #100, and so on. So even a very young team not named UCONN, and without Lady Vol or UCONN recruiting ratings across the roster, can succeed with the right mix of players and good coaching.

 

[VOLPAT]

This piece is proof that MARIA M. CORNELIUS is not a trustworthy journalist.

She is very pro Holly, as is her forum.

 

[BreatheUT]

If this was the first in the last seven years that the Lady Vols have gone South, I would agree with Maria’s assessment, however, the program is on a downward spiral. This trend cannot be corrected with excuses and delusional outlooks. This program is leaking and needs an infusion of reality and good coaching.

I had told myself to stop pointing out the same issues over and over but I couldn't resist commenting. The answer is obvious. Yes, the answer. The is only one optimum solution - new direction.

I am enticed to make two comments:

(1) It is clear there is a segment of the base and faux journalists that use the ole roster excuse every year. There's a new one somewhere just waiting to be turned over like a 1,000 y/o rock. In case it is forgotten who built the roster...lettuce (intentional) take some wild guesses, shall we? They only lost two seniors last year. If there is a gap in leadership it seems to be a recruiting and retention issue.

(2) I am not sure why we keep deducting a year of incompetence when she led the team in Pat's last year on the bench. Of course, they bowed out a round or two earlier than expected given the experienced roster.

GBO

 

[volman128]

That is exactly right. But how dare MM not pour more gasoline on the fire!!!! (yeah, she would be waiting in a long, long line but still)....

Must you be hyperbolic and overly dramatic about everything? You're bordering on trolling at this point. The Holly era is nearly over. Let it go, dude.

People are allowed to be realistic. Smokey is (was?) the other mod on the board forever and that never stopped him from being realistic. He knew Holly wasn't the answer years ago, to the point where you could tell Maria would get pissed at him when he would post, but it got her goat when she couldn't censor him given he was also a moderator. Maria has always been a cheerleader and a homer, long before Holly was in the situation she is in now. From screenshots I've seen from that board from friends who subscribe, she's one of the very few Hollyannas left there, outside of a couple of the usual suspects. And of course the ones that could kiss ass the best and put a positive spin on everything were usually the ones to become moderators and control the narrative, like TinyVol. The hypocrisy and double standards were always strong with that board, especially after Holly became coach. I'm surprised people still waste their money on that place and her "articles", but I digress.

 

[madtownvol]

Must you be hyperbolic and overly dramatic about everything? You're bordering on trolling at this point. The Holly era is nearly over. Let it go, dude.

People are allowed to be realistic. Smokey is (was?) the other mod on the board forever and that never stopped him from being realistic. He knew Holly wasn't the answer years ago, to the point where you could tell Maria would get pissed at him when he would post, but it got her goat when she couldn't censor him given he was also a moderator. Maria has always been a cheerleader and a homer, long before Holly was in the situation she is in now. From screenshots I've seen from that board from friends who subscribe, she's one of the very few Hollyannas left there, outside of a couple of the usual suspects. And of course the ones that could kiss ass the best and put a positive spin on everything were usually the ones to become moderators and control the narrative, like TinyVol. The hypocrisy and double standards were always strong with that board, especially after Holly became coach. I'm surprised people still waste their money on that place and her "articles", but I digress.

Uh, if you look at my posts, I think you will find that I am not hyperbolic and dramatic about everything. And I have made several posts stating that Holly is nearing the end of her run. But, I know for some this topic is of such dire personal importance that even a moment of satire is not to be tolerated.

But in all seriousness. the proverbial wolves are circling around Holly; She is getting hammered in many quarters of the sports media; social media is lighting up with demands that she be fired (and this fact is now part of the news cycle as it pertains to the LVs). In this context, one small, pay-to-play board--The Summitt-- has become the last refuge for those who want to believe that better days can still lie ahead with Holly. The internet is a big place; why get bent out of shape that there is one little website where people (who are paying subscribers) feel differently about the issue than you do?

Similarly, pretty much all the stories GOVOLs24/7 have a pro-Vol spin because they all rely on current coaching staffs and players for quotes. Critical reporting and negative spins would hurt their access to these inside sources. You really don't find many stories on that site that express critical views toward the coaches or the programs. It is just not Maria who plays this game. So, if you want to read critical takes on the LVs don't go to the Summitt or GoVols 24/7; you have plenty of other options. If you hate Justin Beiber, you wouldn't go to a Justin Beiber fan site to find people who share your antipathy, This situation is no different.

And on the overly dramatic theme, perhaps you should remember that no one lives or dies because of the LV's W-L record. We all want the LVs to return to prominence but if they don't, everyone's lives will go on just fine. Since you feel the need to police an off-hand satirical comment about Holly's coaching hot seat situation,
I am not sure you should be preaching about avoiding "drama."

 

[lvocd]

Similarly, pretty much all the stories GOVOLs24/7 have a pro-Vol spin because they all rely on current coaching staffs and players for quotes. Critical reporting and negative spins would hurt their access to these inside sources. You really don't find many stories on that site that express critical views toward the coaches or the programs. It is just not Maria who plays this game. So, if you want to read critical takes on the LVs don't go to the Summitt or GoVols 24/7; you have plenty of other options. If you hate Justin Beiber, you wouldn't go to a Justin Beiber fan site to find people who share your antipathy, This situation is no different."

BINGO!!!!! The SUmmiT isn't the place to go for traditional journalism. It never has been, and never will be. Occasionally a staffer will come close to speaking hard truths, but they truly have to tip-toe through potentially high-drama stories because if they don't, they will lose the trust of the admins and coaching staffs and then find they have less and less access to ANY information. It's just the way it is.

You'll notice that columnists like John Adams speak hard truths all the time. The only reason they can do that is because they don't have to depend on coaches or ADs for quotes to support their stories. Their stories are pure personal OPINION, so they don't have to tip-toe around any issues.