DeShields leaving UT, going professional

[LadyVols9]

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

Yes I was. Because she always wanted to be a LV. Her mom was a LV. Everyone thought she made a huge mistake by picking UNC. At the time, I thought she was following her heart. HOWEVER, after seeing her at TN and her attitude and now this? I stand by my post 100%. Enough is enough. I have loyalty to the program...not players who over time end up not deserving it.

 

[Bernie]

Yes I was. Because she always wanted to be a LV. Her mom was a LV. Everyone thought she made a huge mistake by picking UNC. At the time, I thought she was following her heart. HOWEVER, after seeing her at TN and her attitude and now this? I stand by my post 100%. Enough is enough. I have loyalty to the program...not players who over time end up not deserving it.

If she wanted to be a Vol so bad she would've assembled her crew in Knoxville no matter who was the coach. Loyalty to the program first before the players sacrificing for said program. Tennessee and Warlick is not above wrongdoings.

 

[Replicant]

LOL...what great theatre!

 

[Replicant]

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

And the band played on!

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I was very surprised that she announced that she was returning to Tennessee. She had nothing to gain by returning. She had not helped herself move up in the draft in her two seasons there, but she would simply be there for another painful year. But now I'm surprised by this bizarre announcement that she's leaving.

She has now burned the WNBA, and her chance to go high in the draft. And she will either have to attempt to latch on to a WNBA team, or else hope for a European contract for September. Any way you look at it, she's been a major bust. She ran out on her teammates at UNC. Then she underperformed in a very big way at Tennessee. Then she announces she's returning. Then two months after the pro draft, and a month into the WNBA season, she changes her mind, forcing her and her agent to scramble for a career.

Any way you look at it, she is becoming more and more of a roll of the dice, and a potential liability for whichever team gambles on her.

I've never seen such strange behavior from a WCBB player before.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

This is interesting news in a summer of interesting news.



Dan Fleser on Twitter

ETA:

Wow! Rereading this announcement, it is seething with barely concealed anger and resentment from Holly. " Diamond DeShields is no longer with the program." That is the sort of statement that a coach makes when a player has been kicked off the team, or has engaged in some sort of behavior that is detrimental to the team.

And after stating that DD "now has a chance to play professionally," Warlick goes on to praise the "commitment" of her returnees and incoming freshmen. That sounds like an indirect slap at DeShields, implying that she is not, and was not, "committed" to UT.

No nice words, not words of thanks, no best wishes. This is a rushed and sullen announcement that reeks of anger and a "good riddance" attitude by Warlick.

Something big must have happened recently to make this happen. A kid with hopes of a pro career doesn't blow off the pro draft, then in the middle of summer decide to go pro. Weird and inexplicable from the announcement. Wonder what happened....

 

[Bernie]

How many days until we get a Twitter war filled with passive aggressive sub tweets between DD people and the current defending Holly? I figured it's going to blow up tomorrow when the reporters start digging.

 

[Vowelguy]

She has now burned the WNBA,

How exactly has she burned the WNBA?

If she's a good player, she will do well in Europe and be a high draft pick next year.
If she's not a good player it's moot.

 

[Bestiarius]

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.

Her twitter account has been deleted. No more smiley face - or anything else.

 

[CocoHusky]

Anyone else find it odd that Holly would specifically mention Dunbar (a senior) and Westbrook ( a freshman) in an announcement about a departing Diamond?

 

[Only1coj]

Anyone else find it odd that Holly would specifically mention Dunbar (a senior) and Westbrook ( a freshman) in an announcement about a departing Diamond?

I guess she was reassuring the fan base that KD and Westbrook would be joining the team. There has been lots of questions about the two not being enrolled or on campus.

 

[Vowelguy]

Anyone else find it odd that Holly would specifically mention Dunbar (a senior) and Westbrook ( a freshman) in an announcement about a departing Diamond?

I think they are the only 2 players not currently enrolled in the 1st summer session.

 

[Bestiarius]

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....

These would have been her only two options at UCONN, and it wouldn't have taken long until she had to make the choice.

 

[Bestiarius]

Anyone else find it odd that Holly would specifically mention Dunbar (a senior) and Westbrook ( a freshman) in an announcement about a departing Diamond?

I don't think I've ever heard Holly say anything that wasn't odd. She keeps saying the same thing year after year. How great the chemistry is, how well the team is progressing, yada yada.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The Knox News on subject: http://www.knoxnews.com/story/sport...-deshields-not-returning-lady-vols/425167001/

No new pearls.

 

[Kaizen]

Her twitter account has been deleted. No more smiley face - or anything else.

Yes, why deleted the Twitter account? She can just delete the single message.
This is getting more like emotional behavior.

 

[UConnCat]

According to Swish Appeal's sources:

According to multiple Swish Appeal sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Diamond DeShields had been considering leaving for the last month, after returning home to Georgia following the spring semester and graduation.

The forced exit of her best friend, Te'a Cooper, sources say was also a factor in the decision of DeShields to forego a fifth year in college, and pursue professional basketball.

Exclusive: Why DeShields decided to leave Tennessee

 

[Blue Huskie]

According to Swish Appeal's sources:

According to multiple Swish Appeal sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Diamond DeShields had been considering leaving for the last month, after returning home to Georgia following the spring semester and graduation.

The forced exit of her best friend, Te'a Cooper, sources say was also a factor in the decision of DeShields to forego a fifth year in college, and pursue professional basketball.

Exclusive: Why DeShields decided to leave Tennessee

It seemed odd that she didn't decide before the draft. Does it always have to be as a result of what happens with some other player? Wasn't Cooper a big reason she went to UT to begin with?

 

[UConnCat]

Her twitter account has been deleted. No more smiley face - or anything else.

Wow. After some stories specifically included Holly's smiley-face tweet she then deletes her twitter account. This is not a good look for Holly. She needs some CD training on the use of social media.

 

[YellwJcket999]

Okay some of you guys have said that you have inside contacts within the LVols. Where is all of the DD hate coming from?

She bailed out on UNC? My understanding is that she left because of the academic fraud investigation going on and the women's basketball team receiving a lot of the blame.

How is/did she poison UNC, UT?

I don't have a dog in the fight. I'm just trying to understand the criticism she receives. (Yes she is a ball hog but where is all the rest coming from)

 

[DaddyChoc]

I said this all along from the moment she transferred to Tennessee. I knew she would not finish her last year and would go pro instead. No surprise for me...here... The surprise was...up to this point she had said she was coming back...now, that declaration threw me for a loop. And, BAM! Here we are, things are as expected.

Can't wait to see Margo's next video... lol

I'm sure you were expecting her to WNBA-pro tho... without all this additional drama! sort of like how the South Carolina girls did, declare for the WNBA draft. So I wouldn't say you was right

 

[DaddyChoc]

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.

well said

 

[UConnCat]

It seemed odd that she didn't decide before the draft. Does it always have to be as a result of what happens with some other player? Wasn't Cooper a big reason she went to UT to begin with?

I believe Diamond was sincere in wanting to return to Tennessee to improve her game and have some post-season success. She had just watched her friend/rival Kaela Davis win a national championship at South Carolina and I'm sure Diamond wanted her college resume to include more individual and/or team accomplishments. Circumstances changed as soon Te'a Cooper was forced to leave Tennessee.

 

[LadyVols9]

I don't the problem with a smiley face tweet. she is probably HAPPY. i do have a problem with her deleting it. own it.

 

[LadyVols9]

and i would add that if she left b/c cooper left then that is even more absurd. and this is why i have always wanted holly to be more of a coach and less of a friend. CLEARLY these players thought they could just do whatever they want and still be playing. there is some cleaning house going on in knoxville and before people characterize it as people leaving TN, maybe we should think about whether holly is actually telling people BYE.