Portal Hopefuls

#76
#76
JL1231 said:
Va Tech had Georgia Amoore WNBA #6 pick and Clara Strack future WNBA pick. Marshall's leading scorers were Abby Beaman(5'4"), Breanna Campbell (5'5") and Aislyn Hayes (5'6"). I can't find any WNBA draft information on those three. Va Tech had just lost to LSU the previous year in the Final 4. Do you think Geno or Dawn could have kept that game within 30 ? Va Tech was the #4 Seed, Marshall #13; how many of those games are usually close ?
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Good points but the question remains should someone with One Year of D1 experience concluding with a 40+ point first round loss have been hired to coach the Lady Vols?
The answer, IMO, is unequivocally no.
 
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#77
#77
Lucy said:
Obviously you are a member of the “biggest ahole wins club” but you might ask yourself how KC managed to have an entire team of highly ranked players who just didn’t want to play. Hate to break it to a basketball savant such as yourself but the common denominator to virtually the whole team transferring is a staff that is clueless as to how to win at the P4.
Further notice will be here in about 365 days if not before.
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Great first sentence! 🤣🤣🤣
 
#78
#78
Lucy said:
Good points but the question remains should someone with One Year of D1 experience concluding with a 40+ point first round loss have been hired to coach the Lady Vols?
The answer, IMO, is unequivocally no.
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It was certainly a risky move because of her lack of D1 experience coming into the SEC. She won the regular season and/or Tournament chamionships every year of her coaching career against her contemporaries. After continuing to do that at Marshall after Glenville State it certainly looked like she is a "winner". And the first year in the SEC was very positive. The 40 point loss is irrelevant to me; VA Tech had much better and more experience players in the NCAA Tournament. If it was a 25 point loss, would that make any difference ?
 
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#82
#82
JL1231 said:
It was certainly a risky move because of her lack of D1 experience coming into the SEC. She won the regular season and/or Tournament chamionships every year of her coaching career against her contemporaries. After continuing to do that at Marshall after Glenville State it certainly looked like she is a "winner". And the first year in the SEC was very positive. The 40 point loss is irrelevant to me; VA Tech had much better and more experience players in the NCAA Tournament. If it was a 25 point loss, would that make any difference ?
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I see your point for sure. There was a significant difference in athletic ability. I still feel like the lack of success with “the system” against a solid (4 seed ) team should have been a flashing yellow light at a minimum.
The other thing that really frustrates me is the either hubris or short sightedness exhibited by DW and KC in regards to “the system”. Did they really think KC had happened upon a system that no one else had ever thought of or tried and just couldn’t teach it correctly? I mean if this was such genius wouldn’t one of the great coaches in the last 20 years like Pat, Geno (that makes me throw up in my mouth a bit), Kim M, Dawn (okay now my head hurts) have adopted it? Truly breakthrough discoveries do happen but not usually in fields where a lot of other people are constantly challenging the status quo as well.
I need to go get some water and aspirin now.
 
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#83
#83
glv98 said:
Interesting that once again, Lauren is singled out. What do you base this on? Do you have some kind of inside knowledge that she Was the only one who cared?

For whatever else you might say about them, the Pauldo‘s seem to care very much. And I’m sure there were others.
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because Lauren is from TN & for all intents & purposes genuinely seemed to like the coach & try a bit harder than almost everyone else on the court when given the mins. (Nya, twins, civil, Alyssa) all would fall into this category as well). You can tell who cares by who gives the most effort in each & every game those were the standouts.
 
#85
#85
JL1231 said:
It was certainly a risky move because of her lack of D1 experience coming into the SEC. She won the regular season and/or Tournament chamionships every year of her coaching career against her contemporaries. After continuing to do that at Marshall after Glenville State it certainly looked like she is a "winner". And the first year in the SEC was very positive. The 40 point loss is irrelevant to me; VA Tech had much better and more experience players in the NCAA Tournament. If it was a 25 point loss, would that make any difference ?
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For you Kellie haters...Danny White replaced a coach that was hired after taking her mid-major team to the Sweet Sixteen by beating Alabama with a coach that had her mid-major team beaten by 43 points in the first round.
 
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#86
#86
th2421 said:
If we fire a coach because of one bad season good luck ever getting a great coach to come here.
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I generally agree. You don’t fire a coach after one bad season. Sometimes not even after two. Most people can recognize when a program is building toward something, even if the results aren’t there yet. You can usually see the foundation: a clear system, player buy-in, development, strong relationships, and signs that the coach is maximizing what they have. In those cases, the variables (roster, experience, depth) may be the issue, but the constant (the coach) gives you confidence that once those improve, the results will follow.

That’s the key distinction for me. It’s not just about wins and losses. It’s about whether you can clearly see something sustainable taking shape underneath.

If we had seen consistent signs of that with players improving within the system, strengths being maximized, strong connection with the team and fanbase, accountability and clarity in pressers — then a down year feels like a normal part of a longer build. And other coaches would recognize that too; they’re not just looking at records, they’re evaluating structure and trajectory.

Where it becomes different is when multiple foundational elements feel off at the same time — system fit, player usage, cohesion, overall direction. In that case, it’s less about impatience and more about whether the current approach is actually setting up for long-term success.

And to your original point, I don’t think thoughtful coaches are scared off by programs that make considered decisions. They understand the difference between instability and accountability. If anything, strong programs that are clear about expectations and identity can still be very attractive, especially to coaches who believe their approach can create better alignment with the same resources.
 
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#88
#88
volfan102455 said:
That is not blaming them for losing - some of CKC's comments about the team have been over the top.

She created a "them" verses "me" mentality.
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Texas HC Vic basically said the same thing that Kim said, it was talked about on SEC Network. Texas had more mature players than UT. Vols had no step up upper class leaders and depended on 5 freshmen that had not one of their peers to look up to.
Texas was loaded with mature high IQ upper classmen players, that took the challenge and ran with it. Soft versus solid IMO.
 
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#89
#89
volfan102455 said:
Having a coach will not matter if you can't get players to come here to play for the coach you have.
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Well, it's apparent that she will continue to play her system next year, as the only assistants left on the staff are the three people she brought over from Marshall. She got rid of the coaches with SEC experience, so this could be interesting. Will she try again to get experienced D1 coaches, or will she think that she now has enough SEC experience herself that would let her hire any coach that will support her system? When you have to worry about getting the right assistants in the program as well as players, it sounds like a complete rebuild to me. Getting the right players here, especially when she needs a lot, will be a brutal process that really will explode on this forum. Get your popcorn ready.
 
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#92
#92
StorrsCentral said:
Well, it's apparent that she will continue to play her system next year, as the only assistants left on the staff are the three people she brought over from Marshall. She got rid of the coaches with SEC experience, so this could be interesting. Will she try again to get experienced D1 coaches, or will she think that she now has enough SEC experience herself that would let her hire any coach that will support her system? When you have to worry about getting the right assistants in the program as well as players, it sounds like a complete rebuild to me. Getting the right players here, especially when she needs a lot, will be a brutal process that really will explode on this forum. Get your popcorn ready.
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Were the assistants advising her to try/do different things or were they undermining her in front of the players? We may never know what all went on in that locker room.
 
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#93
#93
LVBB_Legacy said:
For you Kellie haters...Danny White replaced a coach that was hired after taking her mid-major team to the Sweet Sixteen by beating Alabama ? with a coach that had her mid-major team beaten by 43 points in the first round.
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Kellie Harper has taken teams to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 three times in her career. She achieved this in 2019 with Missouri State, and in back-to-back seasons with Tennessee in 2022 and 2023.
  • 2018–19 (Missouri State): Led the Lady Bears to the NCAA Sweet 16.
  • 2021–22 (Tennessee): Led the Lady Vols to the NCAA Sweet 16.
  • 2022–23 (Tennessee): Led the Lady Vols to the NCAA Sweet
Missouri State beat Depaul and Iowa State to reach Sweet 16 where they lost to Stanford.

Not a Kellie hater. I was just pro Kara after Holly was let go. I didn't think Kellie had the resume to get the job and Kara (as we now see) was worth the gamble.
Kellie had 3 (2 time) All SEC First Team Players ( Davis, Jordy, Rickea ). She had a defensive force (All SEC Defensive team) in Tamari for years. She had a second team All Sec in Burrell. And the first couple of years the SEC was not nearly as competitive as today. She had ample opportunity to compete with the top of the SEC. If you compare All SEC players vs the other teams in the SEC during Kellie's years, I think TN was 3rd which amazingly enough is where they usually finished. And Davis and Rickea were All SEC performers before playing for Kellie.

Let me know when Kim has some All SEC First Team players vs these 5-Star HS players that everyone is using to bash Kim with. 5-Star athletes that are either freshmen and we can compare these freshmen statistics with Dawn and Vic to see how their freshmen performed in the first year or they are players like Barker and Wolk who performed very similarly for Kim as they did for Cori/Joni and Ark/Mulkey.
 
#94
#94
JL1231 said:
Kellie Harper has taken teams to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 three times in her career. She achieved this in 2019 with Missouri State, and in back-to-back seasons with Tennessee in 2022 and 2023.
  • 2018–19 (Missouri State): Led the Lady Bears to the NCAA Sweet 16.
  • 2021–22 (Tennessee): Led the Lady Vols to the NCAA Sweet 16.
  • 2022–23 (Tennessee): Led the Lady Vols to the NCAA Sweet
Missouri State beat Depaul and Iowa State to reach Sweet 16 where they lost to Stanford.

Not a Kellie hater. I was just pro Kara after Holly was let go. I didn't think Kellie had the resume to get the job and Kara (as we now see) was worth the gamble.
Kellie had 3 (2 time) All SEC First Team Players ( Davis, Jordy, Rickea ). She had a defensive force (All SEC Defensive team) in Tamari for years. She had a second team All Sec in Burrell. And the first couple of years the SEC was not nearly as competitive as today. She had ample opportunity to compete with the top of the SEC. If you compare All SEC players vs the other teams in the SEC during Kellie's years, I think TN was 3rd which amazingly enough is where they usually finished. And Davis and Rickea were All SEC performers before playing for Kellie.

Let me know when Kim has some All SEC First Team players vs these 5-Star HS players that everyone is using to bash Kim with. 5-Star athletes that are either freshmen and we can compare these freshmen statistics with Dawn and Vic to see how their freshmen performed in the first year or they are players like Barker and Wolk who performed very similarly for Kim as they did for Cori/Joni and Ark/Mulkey.
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So you wanted to hire a person with no coaching experience, who actually cancelled her entire first season at Duke, (TN would have loved that), played in a lesser conference than the SEC which had no National Championship winning teams (SEC had 2), whose winning percentage is less than Kellie’s, even playing in a lesser conference, whose team was 10th in conference in her second year and did not have any post season, was tied for 7th in conference her fourth year but went to the Sweet Sixteen finally, who finally made it to 3rd in conference and Elite 8 in her 5th year, and finally in her 6th year was first in this still lesser conference, and went to Elite 8. At least Duke gave her support during the years where her teams had no offense.

You are somehow criticizing Kellie for having good players, yet ignore that Rae, Zaay, Jordan, Rickea, Tamari, and others, missed significant amounts of time due to injury, or in Tamari’s case, illness. Yet Kellie’s teams never missed the NCAA Tournament, going to the second round twice, and the Sweet Sixteen twice. Kellie also had 4 players drafted in the first round of the WNBA. During her time here, Kellie beat both the National Championship winning teams, plus Vic at Texas, Jenny at Oklahoma, Kenny at Virginia Tech, Muffet at Notre Dame, and others, all while playing in the toughest conference in NCAA women’s basketball.

Now you say Kim’s players weren’t good enough, even though she chose them, but it’s not her fault. You’re ignoring that she had highly rated players whom she didn’t develop, coach, or improve, or keep, but if only the players
were “All SEC First Team players”, she would do well. “Let me know when Kim has some All SEC First Team players”? Fine, I’ll let you know, but it could be awhile.
 
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#98
#98
vols90 said:
probably never since we’re having to offer juco players
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you mean like Sheryl Swoopes, Yolanda Griffith, Danielle Adams, Shannon Bobbitt, Saudis Roundtree, and Alberta Auguste.

Look at Pat Summitt relying on juco players to push us over the top to be National Champions. Find talent wherever it may be.
 
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#99
#99
volbeast33 said:
you mean like Sheryl Swoopes, Yolanda Griffith, Danielle Adams, Shannon Babbitt, Saudis Roundtree, and Alberta Auguste.

Look at Pat Summitt relying on juco players to push us over the top to be National Champions. Find talent wherever it may be.
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These are great examples from almost 20 years ago; I don't doubt talent exists at many levels but more contemporary examples would be appreciated.
 
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#100
#100
volbeast33 said:
you mean like Sheryl Swoopes, Yolanda Griffith, Danielle Adams, Shannon Bobbitt, Saudis Roundtree, and Alberta Auguste.

Look at Pat Summitt relying on juco players to push us over the top to be National Champions. Find talent wherever it may be.
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They also had Pat as a coach and great players around them
 
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