DeShields leaving UT, going professional

[tennparker3]

I would never want to bash Diamond. She is kind and caring person.

But the Lady Vols will be better this year IMO because of the baggage that has been unloaded. Baggage that was speculation for a long time but in recent months reared it's ugly head.

We finally have options at the point, albeit two freshmen. Depth in the post, something we didn't have last season and two returning All SEC players to go with Rennia Davis who is apparently wowing people with her talent, athleticism and work ethic.

I'm remaining positive, perhaps with a few cocktails, but all the same.

 

[Vowelguy]

So this is Tenn's roster:

F Nared (Sr)
C Russell (RS Sr)
F Dunbar (Sr)

F Greene (RS Jr)
W Jackson (Jr)

C Harris (So)

G Hayes (Fr)
C Kushkituah (Fr)
G Westbrook (Fr)
W Davis (Fr)​

Only guaranteed players are Nared & Russell. Beyond that I think we're looking at a whole lot of Frosh.
Dunbar & Jackson haven't done much so far, and Harris was the late signee last year who wasn't even a top 250 player.
Greene, the transfer from London, is a bit of an unknown.

I'm guessing we'll see a starting lineup of Hayes - Westbrook - Nared - Greene - Russell.

 

[Bernie]

Holly Warlick looking like Matthew Mitchell right know. Can we say biggest college bust now?

 

[Vowelguy]

I smell a 10 day contract coming up...

Is that allowed? I'm gonna guess it isn't. Otherwise that'd be a pretty big loophole for a player to get around the draft and pursue the team she wants, rather than the other way around.

 

[UConnCat]

Imagine the drama if the SEC had approved a change to its bylaws that would have allowed intra-conference graduate transfers. That proposal was tabled at the June meeting.

 

[wbbfan]

I've never been impressed by her so for TN fans I would not consider it a big loss.

 

[trb123]

Where will the greatest WCBB player from Georgia (by her own admission) hang her jersey from the rafters - Chapel Hill or Knoxville?

 

[Sonny44]

I guess more shock in LVNation than in BYard.

What shock do we have? Did I miss anything?

 

[Sonny44]

I am really disappointed that Deshields has decided to leave. I count her as one of the reasons (along with Warlick) that UTenn has struggled the last couple of years. Too bad. I was looking forward to another failed season at UTenn.

Believe me, you will not be disappointed.

 

[Sonny44]

So is DD a "free agent" now? Can she go anywhere?

 

[Kaizen]

Whoa.
This was tweeted minutes ago:


Holly Warlick‏Verified account @HollyWarlick

Oh, here comes the offensive ...

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Holly Warlick looking like Matthew Mitchell right know. Can we say biggest college bust now?

Difference IMO is that Mitchell saved face and had a press conference admitting his part in the departures. He regrouped and had a pretty darn good season last year. Just can't see CHW doing that.

 

[triaddukefan]

Lemme pull up a chair..... this could be an interesting thread

 

[triaddukefan]

The buzz has been out there all day. Here's the confirmation. DD has now bailed out on 2 teams in 4 years, UNC & TN. The Lady Vols are in for one tough season.

First NC... then TN....... she minus well have continued westward and transferred to ARK and bailed on them in mid season or something

 

[Bernie]

Difference IMO is that Mitchell saved face and had a press conference admitting his part in the departures. He regrouped and had a pretty darn good season last year. Just can't see CHW doing that.

If Holly says I have no problem getting rid of my top players for the betterment of the team and lives and dies by going all in with the freshman would you fault her for the teams record next year.

 

[EricLA]

I think it's pretty funny. Now some Tenn fans are saying on their board "well it will be better in the long run". Really? How? DD was only there for 1 more year along with Russell. Given the core of Cooper, Nared, DD, Russell, and then probably Westbrook, LV fans figured they'd be in the final 4 for sure, and competing for the NC.

Now the train wreck continues. First, Cooper gets into a fight with Nared and bolts to SC. Then Deshields waits till well after the WNBA draft to announce that she's bolting too. Say what you will, it's hysterical and makes for the beginnings of a disastrous season for them (given the "potential" NC expectations). I, of course, am lovin' it!!

 

[iri10]

Back before she committed to UNC, UConn was as interested in Diamond as anyone else. And she is a talented basketball player with considerable potential in the pros, IMO.

Which just goes to show that nobody's crystal recruiting ball is perfect. As talented as Diamond is, I'm not sure how she would have worked out in a UConn environment...

 

[MilfordHusky]

I was fairly sure that Diamond would leave after last season, so I was surprised that she chose not to enter the draft. In no way did I see her leaving at this time of year under these circumstances.

There appears to be a lot of stuff going on in Knoxville, maybe not all of which is Diamond's fault, but this shows her limited commitment to the team. I thought that she could be a poor influence on the freshmen and might screw up the careers of all four. I agree with Cat that this is probably good for the LVs in the long run. They certainly have a lot of talent--top 5-10 talent--even without her.

BTW, Diamond's former teammates Alisha Gray and Kaela Davis are doing pretty well.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Haven't read anything but the quote by Fleser. If that's all there is, Ms. Warlick sounds pretty defensive.

Minimal statement of the departure. No well wishing, or we'll miss her, or anything about her contribution.

At greater length, and I paraphrase: "We aren't going to hell; we'll be fine I tell ya."

I do believe they are better off without her as far as building something on the floor with 5 people with a common purpose.

 

[bballnut90]

At a UT fan...I'm honestly not all that upset by this. Not trying to slam her, but since Diamond came on board the team has looked just awful and team chemistry has been abysmal. 26 losses in 2 years with two lineups both loaded with talent. They've proven they can hang with and beat very good teams (they went 3-1 against Final Four teams this year) but the effort and chemistry wasn't there most of the time.

Whether it be their social media accounts, signing day celebrations, or whatever it may be, neither Cooper nor DeShields ever appeared to be team first players. As a result, the team played like it on the court. I don't think Diamond is a bad person, but I don't think her presence on Tennessee necessarily made the Vols a better team. Same with Cooper.

I wouldn't be surprised if the team plays with a chip on its shoulder or comes extra motivated to prove doubters wrong after people will be saying this year is hopeless. The roster is going to be scary thin agian next year...that's my main concern with the 3 transfers. Outside of Nared/Russell/4 freshmen, the roster is Dunbar, Harris, Green and Jackson. Don't have much hope for Harris/Dunbar, Jackson is athletic but doesn't have great basketball skills, and I haven't seen Green. Gotta hope these freshmen are good.

 

[RPM101370]

Wow. Holly is a disgrace. What is she a teenager? She had YEARS (and hundreds of thousands of dollars, and assistants) to put her foot down on this mess that we could all see a mile away and didn't. Now she is passive-aggressively tweeting smiley faces? Yikes. They all deserve each other.

Me, I love every second of it.

 

[bags27]

I've ridiculed DD's play over the past couple of years as much as anyone has. But at times she was electrifying, and, since their playoff run in Spring 2016, overall she's been better than she's been bad. Sure, she might have been a toxic influence on the fab four frosh. But she might have grown up a bit and taken the burden of senior leadership. It would have been good for everyone. Now, she'll surely be an undisciplined pro, getting pretty fair money because she's a crowd-pleaser. But who would want her on an Olympic team or anywhere where team play is demanded? Really sad to waste such natural talent.

As to it being a near-miss disaster if she had chosen UConn, I would very much have liked to have seen that: wonder if the program would have shaped her or whether she would have transferred out....

 

[Bernie]

Does Holly leave on her own recognition next year or does she get fired right after the season ends. I don't think their new AD will give Holly much grace period, he came right out the gate and fired their baseball coach who was subpar.

 

[LadyVols9]

I am very surprised by this but not sure why I expected anything other drama from DD. I am a huge fan but personally I am SO SICK of these college kids having ZERO loyalty to a program and their teammates. Not only did she have a very mediocre career, but now she will forever be known as the player who gave up on 2 schools, never made the FF, never won a major award, nor was even drafted. Put me in the group that says TN needs a fresh start from the DD/Cooper drama. And it really burns me up that she posted a long post a couple of months ago saying she wanted to mentor the freshman. BYE DIAMOND. your words mean nothing. Next......

 

[Bernie]

I am very surprised by this but not sure why I expected anything other drama from DD. I am a huge fan but personally I am SO SICK of these college kids having ZERO loyalty to a program and their teammates. Not only did she have a very mediocre career, but now she will forever be known as the player who gave up on 2 schools, never made the FF, never won a major award, nor was even drafted. Put me in the group that says TN needs a fresh start from the DD/Cooper drama. And it really burns me up that she posted a long post a couple of months ago saying she wanted to mentor the freshman. BYE DIAMOND. your words mean nothing. Next.

Ehhh. I bet you were jumping for joy when she transferred there though weren't you.