Candi Whitaker out at Tex Tech | The Boneyard

Candi Whitaker out at Tex Tech

Vowelguy

Vowelguy

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When's the last time, if ever, a WCBB coach got fired mid-season?
When was it a P5 coach?
 
WHOA.

I mean, they were having a truly awful season and the writing was on the wall. But a midseason firing — announced on New Years Day, no less — suggests there are "issues" beyond just basketball performance.
 
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Plebe said:
I'm guessing Kevin Cook at Winthrop? Technically, though, he was only "suspended" on January 25, 2017, and then fired in March.
What happened to Winthrop women’s basketball and former coach Kevin Cook?

As for a P5 coach, does it count as "midseason" if it was between the conference and NCAA tournaments? Pokey Chatman is the one who comes to mind.
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Chatman, of course, for non-performance reasons and seems like Cook as well.

So either a new era for WCBB - ADs demanding on-court results OR that there's more to the story.
 
Any high level player's who may use this in a transfer move?
 
vowelguy said:
Chatman, of course, for non-performance reasons and seems like Cook as well.

So either a new era for WCBB - ADs demanding on-court results OR that there's more to the story.
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The AD in the press conference seemed to insist that it was just lack of competitiveness. He specifically mentioned the season-opening loss to Texas State and then referred generally to "subsequent losses" that "have not been good." (There may be other reasons, of course, but he made no hint in that direction.)

To review, Texas Tech went 6-5 before Christmas, including a 17-point loss to Texas State, a 34-point loss to Texas A&M, an 8-point loss to LSU, a 4-point loss to Houston, and a 34-point loss to New Mexico.

After Christmas, they lost by 41 points at home to Oklahoma State and by 48 points on the road to Baylor. The AD said he arrived at his decision last night (after the Baylor game) to make a "change in leadership."

This was her press conference after their home loss to OSU. She looks kind of beleaguered:
 
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Puppy Love said:
That's a double whammy with Melanie Balcomb having just resigned for personal reasons.
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Personal reasons meaning she saw the writing on the wall.
 
They should have fired her after last season. Bad season on top of previous bad seasons. Several more transfers. Asst. Coach with best recruiting connections resigned, and his daughter decommitted. Not much of a recruiting class for 2017, and then she might not have even signed anyone in November for 2018 class..

But, I think she had one season remaining on her contract; AD probably got cheap and didn't want to buy out her contract and hire and have to pay a new head coach, as well.

So, personally, I think he forced Balcomb on her as an assistant coach, with the mindset that Balcomb could step in to a bigger role, if necessary. But, something may have happened last month that caused Balcomb to move on (not sure those personal reasons tell the whole story).

I do feel for the kids and coaching staff the remain; they are in way over their heads. But, the administration needed to have made the tough decisions after last season. Writing was on the wall for what was coming on the court in 2017-18.
 
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southie said:
They should have fired after last season. Bad season on top of previous bad seasons. Several more transfers. Asst. Coach with best recruiting connections resigned, and his daughter decommitted. Not much of a recruiting class for 2017, and then she might not have even signed anyone in November for 2018 class..

But, I think she had one season remaining on her contract; AD probably got cheap and didn't want to buy out her contract and hire and have to pay a new head coach, as well.

So, personally, I think he forced Balcomb on her as an assistant coach, with the mindset that Balcomb could step in to a bigger role, if necessary. But, something may have happened last month that caused Balcomb to move on (not sure those personal reasons tell the whole story).

I do feel for the kids and coaching staff the remain; they are in way over their heads. But, the administration needed to have made the tough decisions after last season. Writing was on the wall for what was coming on the court in 2017-18.
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Texas Tech has been something of a Transfer Central in the past couple years, both incoming and outgoing.

A perusal of their current roster indicates no fewer than six players who have transferred in from power 5 schools. A few of these have been high-profile transfers, such as Recee Caldwell from UCLA and McKenzie Calvert from Kansas.
 
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The interesting thing is that they have lots of talents on their roster. A few top 20 and several top 100 recruits. They should be competitive with the roster they have. Caldwell, Calvert, and DeGrate are all pretty elite prospects. Just need good coaching.
 
Who's gonna step in? Sheryl Swoopes and all her unexamined baggage from Loyola?

Something must have precipitated this...
 
ThisJustIn said:
Who's gonna step in? Sheryl Swoopes and all her unexamined baggage from Loyola?

Something must have precipitated this...
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Assistant coach Shimmy Gray-Miller has been elevated to interim HC. (She was most recently an assistant to Amanda Butler at Florida.)
 
Plebe said:
Assistant coach Shimmy Gray-Miller has been elevated to interim HC. (She was most recently an assistant to Amanda Butler at Florida.)
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Shimmy Gray-Miller, a woman who coached at St. Louis (A10) and got fired after poor results
 
vowelguy said:
Shimmy Gray-Miller, a woman who coached at St. Louis (A10) and got fired after poor results
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vowelguy said:
Shimmy Gray-Miller, a woman who coached at St. Louis (A10) and got fired after poor results
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She was really bad here. She left the program in a bad way.
 
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I doubt Shimmy wants all the headaches and stress; but, I guess she could have said no.
 
southie said:
They should have fired her after last season. Bad season on top of previous bad seasons. Several more transfers. Asst. Coach with best recruiting connections resigned, and his daughter decommitted. Not much of a recruiting class for 2017, and then she might not have even signed anyone in November for 2018 class..

But, I think she had one season remaining on her contract; AD probably got cheap and didn't want to buy out her contract and hire and have to pay a new head coach, as well.

So, personally, I think he forced Balcomb on her as an assistant coach, with the mindset that Balcomb could step in to a bigger role, if necessary. But, something may have happened last month that caused Balcomb to move on (not sure those personal reasons tell the whole story).

I do feel for the kids and coaching staff the remain; they are in way over their heads. But, the administration needed to have made the tough decisions after last season. Writing was on the wall for what was coming on the court in 2017-18.
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While I don't know that "personal reasons" ever tell the whole story, I read the article(s) at the time and she was specific that it was a "family health emergency". I don't think she would have been that specific if there wasn't truth there.

Otherwise, I pretty much agree.
 
Shmermerer said:
The interesting thing is that they have lots of talents on their roster. A few top 20 and several top 100 recruits. They should be competitive with the roster they have. Caldwell, Calvert, and DeGrate are all pretty elite prospects. Just need good coaching.
Expand ...

Did you see DeGrate play during the Baylor game? That girl is SERIOUSLY out of shape.
 
ThisJustIn said:
Who's gonna step in? Sheryl Swoopes and all her unexamined baggage from Loyola?

Something must have precipitated this...
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Swoopes may perform better and deal with the players much better with the guidance of Marsha Sharp.
 
easttexastrash said:
Did you see DeGrate play during the Baylor game? That girl is SERIOUSLY out of shape.
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Being seriously out of shape doesn’t mean you’re not talented. The right coach can help change that work ethic.
 
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On the topic of coach departures midseason, it appears that the Indiana State coach was forced to resign due to poor team performance:

Wells resigns as ISU women’s basketball coach after 2-11 start

"After meeting with him this morning Joey Wells has submitted his resignation as head women's basketball coach," Clinkscales said. "The team's competitive performance over the past three years and specifically its performance over the last year and half have not shown the progress that either Coach Wells or I had hoped. ..."
 
Shmermerer said:
Being seriously out of shape doesn’t mean you’re not talented. The right coach can help change that work ethic.
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A good coach would whip her ass into shape. Nd, quite frankly, she is of average talent.
 
easttexastrash said:
A good coach would whip her ass into shape. Nd, quite frankly, she is of average talent.
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Well for one, I was saying with a good coach these kids would do better. 2, define average talent. She’s probably way above average of ALL the post players in the NCAA. Not fair to judge her as average because you’re a Baylor fan. No way Louisville would have recruited her otherwise.
 
Shmermerer said:
Well for one, I was saying with a good coach these kids would do better. 2, define average talent. She’s probably way above average of ALL the post players in the NCAA. Not fair to judge her as average because you’re a Baylor fan. No way Louisville would have recruited her otherwise.
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I am not "judging" her because I am a Baylor fan. I am saying that my fairly trained eye says that she was vastly overrated. What does it say that she is from Waco and Mulkey did not recruit her?
 
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