So who do you hire?

#426
#426
sisaq said:
Kara or Becky will be the best fit. They're both young
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My picks, in no certain order, would be Wes Moore, Kara Lawson or Becky Hammon.

• Wes would certainly be the safest hire with his experience and his history of success. I would be SO proud to see him in the Big Chair. Besides, he gets bonus points for being a UT alum!
• Becky would bring fresh energy and a wealth of experience as both a player at every level of women's basketball and as a high-level coach. I think young women would flock to play for her, and going outside the "Lady Vol family" might not sting so much to some if the hire were a strong woman like Hammon. I would love to see what she could do with next year's team.
• Like Beck, Kara would bring the type of fresh energy the program sorely needs, and would also satisfy the unspoken requirement some may have that the hire be someone within the Lady Vol family. Unlike some others now coaching that were once associated with the Lady Vols, I feel like Kara is her own powerful force with her own ideas and ever-expanding brain and would not lean on outdated methods/ideas about what makes a team successful on the court. Many people scoff at her lack of experience, but my gut says that if there is ANYONE who could be the exception to the rule in regard to the importance of having years of experience in a job in order to get a better one, it's Kara Lawson. I honestly feel like she'd be a home run hire.

Any of these three would thrill me.
 
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#428
#428
mike099 said:
I really wish people would not suggest any individual with no head coaching experience. There are plenty of established college head coaches with proven upscale records that would be much better than we have now.
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No worries. You can rest easy that no hires will be made based on what is posted in here.

But to address your point: Of course you are right. There ARE plenty of established college head coaches who could do a great job. But there's also no GUARANTEES that they will. There's also no guarantee that someone without that experience would NOT do a great job.

Life everyone else here, I'm just putting out personal opinions, and those really don't matter to anyone but me. To give you a better idea of where I'm coming from, though, I'll say that in both my personal and professional lives I've never shied away from taking highly calculated risks -- risks that could have ended in failure. Fortunately for me, things always worked out well, even though I've often taken the road less traveled. That's why I would have no qualms whatsoever if Fulmer chose to take a risk on Kara Lawson. The calculations simply add for me!
 
#430
#430
I love Kara and admire her intelligence, her competitiveness, her character, and her experience.

I also admire Peyton Manning for similar reasons yet would have severe reservations about turning over the Vols football program to him

Wes Moore would be a very safe pick, IMO. Proven winner at every stop, TN roots, good recruiter and rebuilder. At this stage, he might want to finish his career at State rather than make another major change. On the plus side, he's affordable and likely to feel unphased by pressure to produce miracles immediately. UT might be the last coaching stop. That might mean another turnover in 5-10 years, but at least he'd theoretically leave the program in great shape for his successor.

Becky Hammond is a long shot unless she's given up on her shot at making NBA history and unless UT would fork over the dough to snag her.
 
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#434
#434
Rice is not a high profile school or in a power conference, but Tina Langley has done a good job in 4 years, improving the record from 9-22 to 25-3. In her early to mid 40's I would guess. My concerns with a lesser program is how much experience the coach has with trying to recruit the top players. Someone with success like this should at least get an interview.

For more experienced coaches that the LV might get without breaking the bank I lean toward Wes Moore.
 
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#435
#435
JohnTN said:
Rice is not a high profile school or in a power conference, but Tina Langley has done a good job in 4 years, improving the record from 9-22 to 25-3. In her early to mid 40's I would guess. My concerns with a lesser program is how much experience the coach has with trying to recruit the top players. Someone with success like this should at least get an interview.

For more experienced coaches that the LV might get without breaking the bank I lean toward Wes Moore.
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If not Wes Moore Tennessee could hire Katie Meier away from Miami
 
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#438
#438
lvocd said:
My picks, in no certain order, would be Wes Moore, Kara Lawson or Becky Hammon.

• Wes would certainly be the safest hire with his experience and his history of success. I would be SO proud to see him in the Big Chair. Besides, he gets bonus points for being a UT alum!
• Becky would bring fresh energy and a wealth of experience as both a player at every level of women's basketball and as a high-level coach. I think young women would flock to play for her, and going outside the "Lady Vol family" might not sting so much to some if the hire were a strong woman like Hammon. I would love to see what she could do with next year's team.
• Like Beck, Kara would bring the type of fresh energy the program sorely needs, and would also satisfy the unspoken requirement some may have that the hire be someone within the Lady Vol family. Unlike some others now coaching that were once associated with the Lady Vols, I feel like Kara is her own powerful force with her own ideas and ever-expanding brain and would not lean on outdated methods/ideas about what makes a team successful on the court. Many people scoff at her lack of experience, but my gut says that if there is ANYONE who could be the exception to the rule in regard to the importance of having years of experience in a job in order to get a better one, it's Kara Lawson. I honestly feel like she'd be a home run hire.

Any of these three would thrill me.
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I like your take on Kara. I've always thought there was something special about her......from her playing days and time behind the mic!!
 
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#439
#439
I streamed the Rice/WK game on WatchStadium.com today to see Tina Langley's team play. Rice had pretty good ball movement on offense, played both zone and man on defense and I did not see a single WK player drive the lane for an uncontested layup. Play in the post was not as physical as we see in the SEC. Probably the most impressive thing I noticed was the Rice players hustled down court to get on defense after they made a basket or the other team rebounded a missed Rice shot. There was no shuffling down the court in either direction as the Lady Vols often do.

Rice plays in the finals Sunday.
 
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#440
#440
JohnTN said:
I streamed the Rice/WK game on WatchStadium.com today to see Tina Langley's team play. Rice had pretty good ball movement on offense, played both zone and man on defense and I did not see a single WK player drive the lane for an uncontested layup. Play in the post was not as physical as we see in the SEC. Probably the most impressive thing I noticed was the Rice players hustled down court to get on defense after they made a basket or the other team rebounded a missed Rice shot. There was no shuffling down the court in either direction as the Lady Vols often do.

Rice plays in the finals Sunday.
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Tina Langley would be a quality replacement for Holly Warlick
 
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#441
#441
Ladyvolfan4ever said:
Nobody wants to come to Tennessee because the (so called) fans is the programs worst enemy
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This is so interesting to me. So the problem is not the multitude of negative firsts, the obvious lack of development of elite talent, the rapidly declining attendance, the decent to the lower level of SEC teams? Instead its the fact that fans see these things and complain that they're happening? If we'd just shut up, lay back and enjoy it everything would be fine?

Same thing when I read that negative things we post run off potential recruits. If parents and players think our yammering, as opposed to the things that are actually happening to the program are the biggest problem, there's something way amiss with them. We are of no importance; the parade of disappointing and frustrating careers of previous elite recruits should be.
 
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#442
#442
BMvol27 said:
It’s nowhere near a rebuilding job.
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Maybe it's a matter of semantics, what you define as a rebuild, but I don't get this at all.
If any other team in the bottom tier of SEC competition, a declining record over a 4 season period, and barely able to eek out an NCAA invite hired a new coach, would we say their job was to rebuild? Especially if that team had previously been elite? I'll bet we would.

IMO our house is a pile of rubble with a curl of smoke rising up. I hope to hell our next coach (next season please bball gods!) sees their job as rebuilding the house into a mansion.
 
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#443
#443
glv98 said:
Maybe it's a matter of semantics, what you define as a rebuild, but I don't get this at all.
If any other team in the bottom tier of SEC competition, a declining record over a 4 season period, and barely able to eek out an NCAA invite hired a new coach, would we say their job was to rebuild? Especially if that team had previously been elite? I'll bet we would.

IMO our house is a pile of rubble with a curl of smoke rising up. I hope to hell our next coach (next season please bball gods!) sees their job as rebuilding the house into a mansion.
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I hope this isn't what the shape of the Tennessee women's basketball program will be when Phil Fulmer decides to make a head coaching change

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#445
#445
glv98 said:
Maybe it's a matter of semantics, what you define as a rebuild, but I don't get this at all.
If any other team in the bottom tier of SEC competition, a declining record over a 4 season period, and barely able to eek out an NCAA invite hired a new coach, would we say their job was to rebuild? Especially if that team had previously been elite? I'll bet we would.

IMO our house is a pile of rubble with a curl of smoke rising up. I hope to hell our next coach (next season please bball gods!) sees their job as rebuilding the house into a mansion.
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If Holly is not fired/resigns and doesn't lose any of her key players (Evina, Rennia, Zaay, Jordan, and Tamari), then she will be coaching for however long she wants. It would take a Herculean feat of bad coaching...even beyond what Holly has shown to date...to replicate this season with the talent she has on this team. They could maybe finish 4th or 5th in the SEC (woo hoo!!!!).

If she stays, the only way she is let go is if those players wisen up and transfer, and Holly finishes her job of completely destroying the program. Maybe then, Fulmer will finally pull the plug (if she doesn't retire to "pursue other interests").
 
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#446
#446
Amb3096 said:
If Holly is not fired/resigns and doesn't lose any of her key players (Evina, Rennia, Zaay, Jordan, and Tamari), then she will be coaching for however long she wants. It would take a Herculean feat of bad coaching...even beyond what Holly has shown to date...to replicate this season with the talent she has on this team. They could maybe finish 4th or 5th in the SEC (woo hoo!!!!).

If she stays, the only way she is let go is if those players wisen up and transfer, and Holly finishes her job of completely destroying the program. Maybe then, Fulmer will finally pull the plug (if she doesn't retire to "pursue other interests").
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I think you're seeing a level of potential development I just don't see. Again with the T word - talent. I've seen flashes and dashes of it, but certainly not evolution of it; in fact, it could be argued it has either stagnated or regressed, see Davis' midseason total meltdown. I'm not sure how another season of repeating the formula helps them.

Worst case scenario is your right, the raw T alone develops itself, in spite of the coaching input, just enough to improve to an average team and there we stay and set up camp. That's uber depressing.

Also depressing is I think rather than mass transfer to push the AD along, it will be a gradual but noticeable recruiting decline that will do the trick. And that will take so much longer.

Going to restore my bball soul today by focusing on the men's game against that other team for a #1 seed in the big dance. So reminiscent of the great LV/UConn games. I miss those days.
 
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#447
#447
glv98 said:
I think you're seeing a level of potential development I just don't see. Again with the T word - talent. I've seen flashes and dashes of it, but certainly not evolution of it; in fact, it could be argued it has either stagnated or regressed, see Davis' midseason total meltdown. I'm not sure how another season of repeating the formula helps them.

Worst case scenario is your right, the raw T alone develops itself, in spite of the coaching input, just enough to improve to an average team and there we stay and set up camp. That's uber depressing.

Also depressing is I think rather than mass transfer to push the AD along, it will be a gradual but noticeable recruiting decline that will do the trick. And that will take so much longer.

Going to restore my bball soul today by focusing on the men's game against that other team today. So reminiscent of the great LV/UConn games.
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Your second paragraph is where I'm at. They will perform not at the level that one would expect based on the HS hardware they've accrued, but will win enough games against athletically overmatched teams in their cupcake OOC schedule and lower rungs of the SEC, perhaps "outathlete" a top 20 team or two to finish with 20 wins, break even in the SEC, maybe even break into the "receiving votes" section of the AP polls, and earn that #9 seed in the NCAAT. Give Holly a raise now!

An exodus of players removes this scenario as well as the risk that she continues to recruit at a high level. I think that will make recruiting hard, even if they are awestruck by the faded Tennessee history. Then you just opt not to renew her contract and hope a new coach can clean up the mess Holly left behind.
 
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#449
#449
Someone posted on another thread here on Volnation that rumors were Holly turned in her resignation last Monday. Have any of you heard about this elsewhere?
 
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