Non-Lady Vol Basketball News 2024-25

Are you willing to say the same thing about Pat Summitt? She had the best players at the time. Could her teams have won without her as you suggest about Dawn? If not...you are a hypocrite because they are both the same. Pat had the best players and now Dawn has the best players.
You can't put Dawn Staley in the same conversation with Pat Summit. I can give you 16 years of dawn Staley at South Carolina starting 2008, many of them with top recruiting classes starting in 2014 and 16 years of Pat Summitt starting in 1995-2011. Pats teams consistently made elite 8's, final fours, championship games, and championships year over year and when Dawn started getting those players she did not and cannot hold a candle to Pats teams or success year over year. Between 1995 and 2012, Pat had 5 championship and 4 runner ups plus a couple of other final fours and multiple elite 8s. Only 3 times did any of Pats teams in those 12 years not make at least the elite 8. Dawn has made it into the final weekend 5 whole times. You can go right to the beginning of the NCAA tournament in 1982 and Pat had her team in the final 4 and two years later was the the runner up. There is no comparison and they should not be in the same conversation. It is like making a big deal about 43 straight wins when Uconn had 111 on one streak and 90 on another. Tennessee had 46 in a row. 43 is ok, but it is not Uconn or Tennessee.

1732836774688.png

1732837620554.png

1732836999059.png
 
You can't put Dawn Staley in the same conversation with Pat Summit. I can give you 16 years of dawn Staley at South Carolina starting 2008, many of them with top recruiting classes starting in 2014 and 16 years of Pat Summitt starting in 1995-2011. Pats teams consistently made elite 8's, final fours, championship games, and championships year over year and when Dawn started getting those players she did not and cannot hold a candle to Pats teams or success year over year. Between 1995 and 2012, Pat had 5 championship and 4 runner ups plus a couple of other final fours and multiple elite 8s. Only 3 times did any of Pats teams in those 12 years not make at least the elite 8. Dawn has made it into the final weekend 5 whole times. You can go right to the beginning of the NCAA tournament in 1982 and Pat had her team in the final 4 and two years later was the the runner up. There is no comparison and they should not be in the same conversation. It is like making a big deal about 43 straight wins when Uconn had 111 on one streak and 90 on another. Tennessee had 46 in a row. 43 is ok, but it is not Uconn or Tennessee.

View attachment 701460

View attachment 701465

View attachment 701461
I am absolutely not a Dawn Staley fan. I believe you laid out the argument quite well that there’s no comparison between PS and DS. I have always thought that Staley did far less than she should have considering the talent she has had on the different teams. However, if I was going to argue on the side of DS, the one argument you could make is that there’s far more parity now than there was during the Summit era. Love the visual aides.

Note: don’t forget UConn’s lowly 70 game win streak. 😉
 
Last edited:
MTSU is now 6 and 1 and plays Iowa State next game. Would be huge for them to take down Iowa State.
FSU will have played 9 games before we play them next week, 4 more games to get to gel as a team compared to UT. Wish UT had a game or 2 more before we play FSU. 4 more games is a lot this early on. Weird scheduling and probably out of Coach Caldwell hands.
 
MTSU is now 6 and 1 and plays Iowa State next game. Would be huge for them to take down Iowa State.
FSU will have played 9 games before we play them next week, 4 more games to get to gel as a team compared to UT. Wish UT had a game or 2 more before we play FSU. 4 more games is a lot this early on. Weird scheduling and probably out of Coach Caldwell hands.

I think MTSU will beat Iowa State. Going to be a really good game I think. Boldyreva and Crooks will be a fun matchup. Two traditional bigs with completely different styles. I’m curious to see how Crooks manages a player that size.
 
Have watched all of the FSU/Texas Tech game so far. It’s currently a 1 point lead for FSU in the fourth.

Big takeaway for me is how inconsistent FSU has been with their energy throughout the game. They’ll go on a run and then nothing for extended periods of time. Tend to get a little lead and then let off the gas and let Tech right back in the game.

Their primary game plan is to give the ball to Latson and let her go to work. She’s tough to stop, I think we have to trap her in the backcourt and make her give it up. We have the length to bother her more than any team they have played so far.

Gordon can also be a spark for them, definitely option 2 after Latson. I think she’s the key to winning that one comfortably. Don’t give Gordon any good looks and they will have a hard time sticking with us. Tech has defended them well as a team, Latson and Gordon are just more athletic and they can’t check them.

FSU is not good on the glass and very inconsistent defensively. Their defense is totally dependent on their offense. Slow their scoring and their defense disappears. I think we can crush them on the oboards, they do not rebound out of position at all.

We are also a much deeper team at this point. Do not think they can match our pace for 40 minutes even though they play with pace as well. They play hard in 3 minute stretches and then take breaks. If we can keep our energy up on defense for 40 like we did the other night they will be frustrated.
 
Have watched all of the FSU/Texas Tech game so far. It’s currently a 1 point lead for FSU in the fourth.

Big takeaway for me is how inconsistent FSU has been with their energy throughout the game. They’ll go on a run and then nothing for extended periods of time. Tend to get a little lead and then let off the gas and let Tech right back in the game.

Their primary game plan is to give the ball to Latson and let her go to work. She’s tough to stop, I think we have to trap her in the backcourt and make her give it up. We have the length to bother her more than any team they have played so far.

Gordon can also be a spark for them, definitely option 2 after Latson. I think she’s the key to winning that one comfortably. Don’t give Gordon any good looks and they will have a hard time sticking with us. Tech has defended them well as a team, Latson and Gordon are just more athletic and they can’t check them.

FSU is not good on the glass and very inconsistent defensively. Their defense is totally dependent on their offense. Slow their scoring and their defense disappears. I think we can crush them on the oboards, they do not rebound out of position at all.

We are also a much deeper team at this point. Do not think they can match our pace for 40 minutes even though they play with pace as well. They play hard in 3 minute stretches and then take breaks. If we can keep our energy up on defense for 40 like we did the other night they will be frustrated.
Same take from here. Unless the Lady Vols have their first meltdown of the season that day and don't recover in time, I'm thinking we should win by double digits.

I was impressed by how Tech came roaring back after looking dead in the water early.
 
You can't put Dawn Staley in the same conversation with Pat Summit. I can give you 16 years of dawn Staley at South Carolina starting 2008, many of them with top recruiting classes starting in 2014 and 16 years of Pat Summitt starting in 1995-2011. Pats teams consistently made elite 8's, final fours, championship games, and championships year over year and when Dawn started getting those players she did not and cannot hold a candle to Pats teams or success year over year. Between 1995 and 2012, Pat had 5 championship and 4 runner ups plus a couple of other final fours and multiple elite 8s. Only 3 times did any of Pats teams in those 12 years not make at least the elite 8. Dawn has made it into the final weekend 5 whole times. You can go right to the beginning of the NCAA tournament in 1982 and Pat had her team in the final 4 and two years later was the the runner up. There is no comparison and they should not be in the same conversation. It is like making a big deal about 43 straight wins when Uconn had 111 on one streak and 90 on another. Tennessee had 46 in a row. 43 is ok, but it is not Uconn or Tennessee.

View attachment 701460

View attachment 701465

View attachment 701461
I absolutely can compare them for the statement that was made. Can Pat Summitt's teams play without her and win like the statement that was made about Dawn? I didn't say Dawn was in the same class or had the same accolades. The statement was that Dawn won because she had the best talent, and you could absolutely make the same argument about Pat or Geno. It was a stupid statement, and I was pointing out how stupid the statement was. They are all great coaches, and I would bever say that the teams would or could just because of the players but some people are stupid enough to make that statement.
 
Dawn Staley is on the same career trajectory Pat experienced, no doubt. It's really difficult to directly compare the two women because they are from such different backgrounds and eras. But I think if Pat were alive she'd be extremely proud of Dawn Staley and the role she is playing in continuing to grow the women's game. I kinda think Pat would have appreciated how, in many ways, the job of a coach today has some restrictions that a coach/personality like herself didn't have.

Some tactics hard-@ss Pat used successfully back in the day to maintain discipline and accountability would get Dawn fired and sued if she tried to use them. Things are just ... different.

Both women deserve all the accolades they each have earned. Dawn is very much like Pat in that she is doing all she is doing as a woman who wants nothing more than to build up other women along the way.

I literally miss Pat Summitt every day. But I'm confident she'd be telling me if she could to look forward, not backward, and support Dawn and, ESPECIALLY, Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell who is herself doing a damn good job of carrying the torch.

🧡
 
Dawn's teams win all the time due to the combination of talent and coaching. Remember the Warlick years! We saw firsthand the impact of no Pat with a team full of McDonald All Americans. No Final 4 teams, and further deterioration each year. Coaching matters regardless of the talent level. There are numerous examples of this across sports. Dawn has done an astounding job at SC. Nevertheless, there will never be another pioneer like Pat. She is etched in the history of women's basketball in a way that none of the coaches who follow her will ever achieve.
 
Last edited:
I guarantee you that Fulwiley and Watkins transfers after this season. and Dauda made a huge mistake transferring there. She should have went to Baylor Or here
 
Based on what sound reasoning should Fulwiley and Watkins transfer?

I’m not like some posters on here that go off of high school rankings and accolades such as All-American honors that aren’t 100% accurate in some cases in translating to college athletics.

South Carolina as a team has elite talent and just like every other team they have to work hard and mesh as a group for the players as a unit and individually to have success.

The current lack of production that certain players are experiencing a month into the season won’t be resolved simply by transferring.

And no Dauda shouldn’t have come to Tennessee.

She went where she wanted to go and that’s South Carolina.
It wouldn’t be any easier for her to play at Tennessee as it as at South Carolina.
It’s not like she’s playing behind a Cardoso or Rickea Jackson type post player.
She wouldn’t be guaranteed to have minutes in front of Spearman, Puckett, Latham, or Hollingshead.
Have you watched in the past when Arkansas played Tennessee?
It wasn’t Arkansas guards that struggled but the post players that got dominated by Tennessee.
Again, this is based on WBB not five or four year old high school rankings.
You have to earn it in P4 basketball.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Talon2
You need some coaching ability, but most of the winning comes from talent on your team. Just look at Geno's, Dawn's, Pat Summitt, or any coaches record before they got talent. Look at their first seasons and you will see that talent is 75 percent of it. Coaching comes into getting the maximum effort out of that talent and having a plan that gives them the information they need to use their abilities to the maximum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
Based on what sound reasoning should Fulwiley and Watkins transfer?

I’m not like some posters on here that go off of high school rankings and accolades such as All-American honors that aren’t 100% accurate in some cases in translating to college athletics.

South Carolina as a team has elite talent and just like every other team they have to work hard and mesh as a group for the players as a unit and individually to have success.

The current lack of production that certain players are experiencing a month into the season won’t be resolved simply by transferring.

And no Dauda shouldn’t have come to Tennessee.

She went where she wanted to go and that’s South Carolina.
It wouldn’t be any easier for her to play at Tennessee as it as at South Carolina.
It’s not like she’s playing behind a Cardoso or Rickea Jackson type post player.
She wouldn’t be guaranteed to have minutes in front of Spearman, Puckett, Latham, or Hollingshead.
Have you watched in the past when Arkansas played Tennessee?
It wasn’t Arkansas guards that struggled but the post players that got dominated by Tennessee.
Again, this is based on WBB not five or four year old high school rankings.
You have to earn it in P4 basketball.

Dauda would absolutely have played at Tennessee and would be having much more fun right now. She is buried on the bench at SC and wasting her final season getting minimal game reps.

What is your deal with knocking anyone someone mentions would be a good add to our team? As I said the other day, if talent wants to come to Tennessee it’s unlikely we are turning it down. We absolutely would have taken Dauda if she chose us and she absolutely would have contributed in this system, especially with her ability to stretch the floor. Dawn is never gonna put her in a position to showcase her range.
 
a selected number of board members have negative bias toward three exisingg coaches all with superior records. is it significant why they seem to choose those three to fixate over?

seldom, if ever to board members "praise" a coach and her/his ability to win unexpected
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo

VN Store



Back
Top