Adamec: Warde chats with Duke AD about.....

[Blakeon18]

continuing the series with each other....after Duke's visit up here next year. Duke had a sell-out this time round [9G] and in terms of attendance their next best is around 4G. Carl's article suggests that the Duke AD
wants the games to continue and he will be checking with the Duke coach on the matter. Her comments....imo...have been coachspeak for 'I don't want to keep getting hammered by UConn so let's end the series]. Hmm...Duke AD versus Duke coach....as in the old TV series...Who's The Boss?

Obviously....the best teams playing each other is good for the growth of the game...coaches should embrace that. BTW: we have seen reports suggesting that UConn/LadyVol might be in the works in a couple of years.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Maggie Dixon Classic or a game during Jimmy V week on a Neutral court is the best way for a UConn vs Lady Vol game to be scheduled. Don't see it happening as long as Holly is the coach. IMHO the Lady Vols will also wait to see how UConn being in the AAC impacts their recruiting. If it hurts they won't be in a hurry to schedule a game.

At this point and time Lady Vols need the game more then UConn does. Few Lady Vol games are Nationally Televised in comparison to UConn.

 

[msf22b]

IMHO the Lady Vols will also wait to see how UConn being in the AAC impacts their recruiting. If it hurts they won't be in a hurry to schedule a game.

.

Actually the reverse is more likely…(See Alice in Wonderland).

 

[EricLA]

Remember the comment about UCONN schedule ND as being more important to UCONN than Duke? The same holds true for Tennessee, but the other way around. UCONN and ND are going to be the clear 1-2 teams for the forseeable future, and unless Tennessee lands Wilson, or one of the top 2 kids in 2015 (Durr, Samuelson), Tennessee will continue to fall even further behind. Tennessee fans don't want to admit it since they are still giddy about Russell, but the fact remains that while their 2015 class may be in the top 10, it's not good enough to keep up with the big boys. A 2nd year of that and the future will begin to look like it's passing them by...

I'm not sure where Durr will end up, but as of now, Samuelson seems to be deciding between UCONN and ND. The #3,4 and 5 kids have already verbaled to Texas, UNC, and Nebraska respectively.

 

[baggerbob]

Money always talks, and outside of Geno, no women's coach is going to dictate, whether a school plays UConn, TV does. See how quickly Notre Dame is scheduling UConn again, TV does , and will continue to schedule games. Coach P as she calls herself, really will not have much say in whether they schedule UConn or not. KML, Stewie are going to be on TV a lot in the next 2 years, and many of the games will be made by the Networks.

 

[AllHusky529]

Umm, hate to disagree, but Notre Dame wont be #2 team after this year. They lose Achonwa, Braker and McBride. Next year we will be hard-pressed to make a top 10 list...It'll be UConn, Tennessee and everyone else. The 2014-15 rosters will speak for themselves. Just sayin...

 

[Suebird10fan]

Remember the comment about UCONN schedule ND as being more important to UCONN than Duke? The same holds true for Tennessee, but the other way around. UCONN and ND are going to be the clear 1-2 teams for the forseeable future, and unless Tennessee lands Wilson, or one of the top 2 kids in 2015 (Durr, Samuelson), Tennessee will continue to fall even further behind. Tennessee fans don't want to admit it since they are still giddy about Russell, but the fact remains that while their 2015 class may be in the top 10, it's not good enough to keep up with the big boys. A 2nd year of that and the future will begin to look like it's passing them by...

I'm not sure where Durr will end up, but as of now, Samuelson seems to be deciding between UCONN and ND. The #3,4 and 5 kids have already verbaled to Texas, UNC, and Nebraska respectively.

Actually Eric I see TN as #2 next year. They have three big plusses going into next year.

Remember the comment about UCONN schedule ND as being more important to UCONN than Duke? The same holds true for Tennessee, but the other way around. UCONN and ND are going to be the clear 1-2 teams for the forseeable future, and unless Tennessee lands Wilson, or one of the top 2 kids in 2015 (Durr, Samuelson), Tennessee will continue to fall even further behind. Tennessee fans don't want to admit it since they are still giddy about Russell, but the fact remains that while their 2015 class may be in the top 10, it's not good enough to keep up with the big boys. A 2nd year of that and the future will begin to look like it's passing them by...

I'm not sure where Durr will end up, but as of now, Samuelson seems to be deciding between UCONN and ND. The #3,4 and 5 kids have already verbaled to Texas, UNC, and Nebraska respectively.

Actually Eric, I am pretty confident TN will be #2 next year. They have three big plusses:
1. losing Simmons. TN will get back a huge number of wasted possessions they now lose due to the poster child for volume shooters. This is worth 3 to 4 points or more.
2. While Russell has certainly been disappointing, like most WCBB players, she's likely to improve considerably from her freshman to sophomore years. If by some chance she could actually achieve something close to what everyone expected, so much the better for the Vols but I'm not assuming that.
3. Andraya Carter, redshirt freshman, is similarly likely to make significant improvements.

Put these together with some more modest improvements from Graves and others and I expect TN to improve by close to 10 points. UConn will still be much better, but I do expect the Vols to be #2 with ND nipping at their heels and a pretty big gap after that.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Money always talks, and outside of Geno, no women's coach is going to dictate, whether a school plays UConn, TV does. See how quickly Notre Dame is scheduling UConn again, TV does , and will continue to schedule games. Coach P as she calls herself, really will not have much say in whether they schedule UConn or not. KML, Stewie are going to be on TV a lot in the next 2 years, and many of the games will be made by the Networks.

Not only that, but UConn has ESPN in their backyard and everyone else doesn't, and that certainly can't hurt.

 

[Kibitzer]

Maggie Dixon Classic or a game during Jimmy V week on a Neutral court is the best way for a UConn vs Lady Vol game to be scheduled. Don't see it happening as long as Holly is the coach.

I would restate that sentence to read like this:

"Don't see it happening until Coach Emeriti Pat Summitt is no longer a strong presence and major influence in all LadyVols basketball matters."​

Put another way, I believe Holly would jump at the chance to play UConn the moment she has total free rein to schedule this game.

 

[jsloanjr]

IMO,ESPN rules the WCBB TV market and they always want UCONN to sell TV ads...........No other tem can sell like UCONN. IMG is in the process of being sold and their might be some new direction on the UCONN account to sell more UCONN on more TV networks and top help put more fannies in the seats.......More details coming soon..

Merry Christmas!!!

 

[Zorro]

UT also has a couple of big minuses, or actually, one big minus made up of two elements; Holly being disciple of Pat, and Pat as coach emeritus looking over her shoulder. She probably would not dare deviate much from the time-honored UT strategy of "toss up a shot, crash the boards, get the rebound, put it back" even if she were of a mind to do so. And that kind of strategy is not going to prevail consistently against teams with comparable talent, much less against UConn. The days when a coach could recruit 8 or 10 All American highschoolers, give them some basic training and turn them loose to overwhelm the lightly-armed opposition by sheer weight of numbers and athleticism are gone. Even if they weren't, there is just no way Holly is ever going to have the kind of recruiting power that Pat had.

I don't think that one can fairly judge Holly as a coach under these conditions nor can anyone predict how much longer they are likely to continue or how Holly might or might not revise her coaching technique if she were totally on her own. My guess, however, is that at least for as long as the present situation continues, the LV are going to continue to underperform and will not be a serious NC threat. I see no advantage to UConn in trying to schedule them.

Kentucky is another matter. Any wcbb program that can putt 22k butts in the seats for a regular season game is a vibrant, up-and-coming program. I would really like to see the Huskies schedule them every year.

 

[DobbsRover2]

A plus \ minus for UTenn is that with the possible exception of KY, the rest of the SEC has slid far back from the glory days of the late '90s, or even the decently flush times of 2000-2008 era when a couple teams were often near the top. This is a plus in that even so-so Vol teams have the opportunity get through their conference with minimal losses since they're not busting heads with the strong LSU or Vanderbilt teams of the past. The minus is that they are likely to be in a sem-crap conference for years to come in a region mainly just devoted to football. How much TV play they can get out of that is open to question. UTenn vs. LSU used to be huge, and now it's who cares?

 

[EricLA]

Actually Eric I see TN as #2 next year. They have three big plusses going into next year.

Actually Eric, I am pretty confident TN will be #2 next year. They have three big plusses:
1. losing Simmons. TN will get back a huge number of wasted possessions they now lose due to the poster child for volume shooters. This is worth 3 to 4 points or more.
2. While Russell has certainly been disappointing, like most WCBB players, she's likely to improve considerably from her freshman to sophomore years. If by some chance she could actually achieve something close to what everyone expected, so much the better for the Vols but I'm not assuming that.
3. Andraya Carter, redshirt freshman, is similarly likely to make significant improvements.

Put these together with some more modest improvements from Graves and others and I expect TN to improve by close to 10 points. UConn will still be much better, but I do expect the Vols to be #2 with ND nipping at their heels and a pretty big gap after that.

Unless Tennessee beats ND this year, I just don't see it. ND adds the #2 recruit in the nation to their 2014 class coming in next year and I realize the ratings voters love to reward Tennessee for their plethora of HS AA's, I just don't see it. But time will tell. My guess is ND beats Tenn handily, faces UCONN in the NC game, loses, but is the #2 team to start next year followed by #3 Tennessee. But hey, I've been wrong before so we will see!!

And as someone else pointed out, ND loses McBride and Achonwa as well as Bracker so that is a much bigger loss than Tennesse losing Simmons. Next year will be Tennessee's last best chance to make a NC game unless they do something magical in the 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes...

 

[Suebird10fan]

And as someone else pointed out, ND loses McBride and Achonwa as well as Bracker so that is a much bigger loss than Tennesse losing Simmons.

As I said losing Simmons is a big gain--I really believe that!

If you see TN as #3 next year I don't think we disagree as much as I thought. I do agree next year is TN's big chance. Not so much 'cuz they decline but ND will be soaring past them by that point for sure (further past them if you're right).

 

[Fightin Choke]

Umm, hate to disagree, but Notre Dame wont be #2 team after this year. They lose Achonwa, Braker and McBride. Next year we will be hard-pressed to make a top 10 list...It'll be UConn, Tennessee and everyone else. The 2014-15 rosters will speak for themselves. Just sayin...

Notre Dame loses a lot this season, but at some point, the voters are going to have to realize that the Irish are top 5 material, regardless of personnel losses, as Muffet has been recruiting much better the past few years so Notre Dame reloads rather than rebuilds. Of course losing 3 starters (with 2 of them being stars) really hurts, but ND should be able to weather the storm. Taya Reimer will step into Achonwa's role. She looked good at the beginning of the season when she started 3 games while Achonwa recovered from her surgery. A year of seasoning (presently 22 min/game) should prepare her for the role. McBride cannot be replaced, but Loyd will be a year better and either Madison Cable or Michaela Mabrey will start next season at the remaining guard spot (with freshman Lindsay Allen returning as the PG). Because of her knees, Braker averages only 16 minutes/game, so replacing her won't be as difficult as replacing McBride (due to her limited minutes AND of course her lower skill level than McBride). I'm guessing that Muffet will start Brianna Turner at the other forward spot, as Muffet has had success starting highly talented freshmen (Loyd and Allen). The first players off the bench will be Cable (or Mabrey), Kristina Nelson (P), and perhaps Kathryn Westbeld (F).

The best thing about the Irish is that they will not start any seniors next year, so the team should be very strong for the 2015-6 season. The bad news is that Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson will be seniors that year.

 

[EricLA]

I forgot about Westbeld. That was a player I think UCONN was after at some point as well. ND definitely has a great class with Turner and Westbeld as top 20 5 star recruits, and Johnson - she's quite high per Blue Star - at 17, but quite low per HG - 80. BUT I could see starting the year with Tenn at #2 and ND at #3. I happen to disagree a bit, but I'm just a WCBB hack...!

 

[triaddukefan]

Notre Dame loses a lot this season, but at some point, the voters are going to have to realize that the Irish are top 5 material, regardless of personnel losses, as Muffet has been recruiting much better the past few years so Notre Dame reloads rather than rebuilds. Of course losing 3 starters (with 2 of them being stars) really hurts, but ND should be able to weather the storm. Taya Reimer will step into Achonwa's role. She looked good at the beginning of the season when she started 3 games while Achonwa recovered from her surgery. A year of seasoning (presently 22 min/game) should prepare her for the role. McBride cannot be replaced, but Loyd will be a year better and either Madison Cable or Michaela Mabrey will start next season at the remaining guard spot (with freshman Lindsay Allen returning as the PG). Because of her knees, Braker averages only 16 minutes/game, so replacing her won't be as difficult as replacing McBride (due to her limited minutes AND of course her lower skill level than McBride). I'm guessing that Muffet will start Brianna Turner at the other forward spot, as Muffet has had success starting highly talented freshmen (Loyd and Allen). The first players off the bench will be Cable (or Mabrey), Kristina Nelson (P), and perhaps Kathryn Westbeld (F).

The best thing about the Irish is that they will not start any seniors next year, so the team should be very strong for the 2015-6 season. The bad news is that Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson will be seniors that year.

At this point.... I have nothing really against ND....... and of course I would want Duke to win the 2015 ACC tourney... but it wouldnt bother me too much to see ND cut down the nets in Greensboro in 2015. But... as for 2014.... i would be a bit annoyed if in there first year in the ACC.. they come in and win the tourney. But better the Irish than Maryland..... I would probably vomit in the seats of the Coliseum if the Benedict Arnolds won the tourney on their way out of the door.

 

[HoopsFan21]

At this point.... I have nothing really against ND....... and of course I would want Duke to win the 2015 ACC tourney... but it wouldnt bother me too much to see ND cut down the nets in Greensboro in 2015. But... as for 2014.... i would be a bit annoyed if in there first year in the ACC.. they come in and win the tourney. But better the Irish than Maryland..... I would probably vomit in the seats of the Coliseum if the Benedict Arnolds won the tourney on their way out of the door.

OK, someone please tell me WTF is in/at Greensboro? I've never even heard of this town/city/school but have seen it referenced here now a couple of times.

 

[triaddukefan]

OK, someone please tell me WTF is in/at Greensboro? I've never even heard of this town/city/school but have seen it referenced here now a couple of times.

No need for any rude acronyms.... Greensboro is the home of the Women's ACC tournament.. and will host a Regional in 2015. Also the place where your huskies (i assume you are a UCONN fan) ended their 3 year non final 4 drought in 2008. Its in North Carolina by the way

Also the place where the Whalers moved to for two years until their future home was built down in Raleigh. I assume you are old enough to remember the Whalers.

 

[Suebird10fan]

The best thing about the Irish is that they will not start any seniors next year, so the team should be very strong for the 2015-6 season. The bad news is that Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson will be seniors that year.

If we don't get Aja ND figures to be very close to UConn in two years. Should be a lot of fun.

 

[AllHusky529]

Notre Dame loses a lot this season, but at some point, the voters are going to have to realize that the Irish are top 5 material, regardless of personnel losses, as Muffet has been recruiting much better the past few years so Notre Dame reloads rather than rebuilds. Of course losing 3 starters (with 2 of them being stars) really hurts, but ND should be able to weather the storm. Taya Reimer will step into Achonwa's role. She looked good at the beginning of the season when she started 3 games while Achonwa recovered from her surgery. A year of seasoning (presently 22 min/game) should prepare her for the role. McBride cannot be replaced, but Loyd will be a year better and either Madison Cable or Michaela Mabrey will start next season at the remaining guard spot (with freshman Lindsay Allen returning as the PG). Because of her knees, Braker averages only 16 minutes/game, so replacing her won't be as difficult as replacing McBride (due to her limited minutes AND of course her lower skill level than McBride). I'm guessing that Muffet will start Brianna Turner at the other forward spot, as Muffet has had success starting highly talented freshmen (Loyd and Allen). The first players off the bench will be Cable (or Mabrey), Kristina Nelson (P), and perhaps Kathryn Westbeld (F).

The best thing about the Irish is that they will not start any seniors next year, so the team should be very strong for the 2015-6 season. The bad news is that Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson will be seniors that year.

Kentucky has good size coming in, it will be interesting to see them next year. Beyond UConn, TN, ND and KY it will be fun to watch how UNC, UCLA and Ohio St develop their talent. And while it would be outstanding to get Ms. Wilson, my hope is that Geno can bring home Brown, Boykin &Collier for 2015. Samuelson would be great, but she seems more perimeter oriented. With this year's class(2014), we will need more Stokes', Tucks & Dolsons to compliment them and sow up our future in the post. Go Huskies!