Did [Warlick] do Enough to Hang on for Another Year at Tennessee?

[Striper69]

I'm not so sure. This makes 8 straight years that Tennessee hasn't been to the Final Four. And four of those years of no-shows are on Wharlick. Keep in mind that they're looking at continued poor performance next year and in future years due to lack of recruits and the loss of the few stars they have. Tennessee's fan base expects national championships, they expect Final Fours, they expect top rankings. But they're not ranked nationally, they were seeded just 7th, and lost to a team that had never been to a single Final Four.

I'm guessing that Tennessee's AD doesn't want this growing headache on his hands. He'll have to deal with Wharlick sometime. Does he want the fan boards to light up for another year with "Fire Wharlick!"? Will he be criticized for doing nothing while the program languishes? And for Tennessee, is the cost of a (negotiated) buy-out cheaper than falling ticket and TV revenues? And what happens if kids announce over the next few days that they're leaving Tennessee? That will put even more pressure on the AD. No cavalry to the rescue.

I think she's on a much hotter seat than we realize. I'll be watching for movement in the next several days. Remember, if they want 2017 recruits, they'll need to start signing kids in the next several weeks. A quarter of 2017 HS players have already signed. Oh, and the top recruit in Tennessee is going to- ahem- Connecticut.

Just sayin'...

Speaking of fan bases...

where were they this weekend?

Not many for a team that overachieved as much as these young ladies did this tournament. Everyone had them dead in the water yet they almost made it to the Final Four.

 

[Striper69]

What is the most important thing to a program, making the SEC finals, or the NCAA final?

Give her a break, especially when they were on the verge of not even qualifying for the tournament.

I had them bowing out in the 2nd round as the majority. But they played hard and exceeded everyone's expectation.

I would say yes she earned a keep.

However, their recruting is suffering and that doesn't look good at all.

Carter and Graves had injured hands and were wearing bandages that may have factored into today's loss.

Most of the good players will return.

 

[Nuyoika]

I'm pretty sure she stays there til she is old and feeble regardless of what she puts out on he floor. I don't see them making a change for another 20+ years.

 

[msf22b]

The magic question: who's a better and viable alternative?

Plenty of candidates:
1. Consider the younger generation of coaches who made moves this tourney; too numerous to list.
2. Kara has been discussed; I for one think she would be fab.
3 Perhpas the best and most interesting chouce would be the young woman presently sitting on the Spur's bench


Answering another question:Holly will be retained unless 2 or 3 of the more talented underclassmen transfer. That would leave the team completely denuded as Holly recruited 0 (zero) replacements.
We'll know that this week; could happen.

 

[reno tony]

Who thinks TENN is going to spend $2 million to buy out her salary. Not me.

 

[stamfordhusky]

She will definitely be back.

 

[JordyG]

Holly has easily done enough to stay. Frankly as I see the state of the current UT administration, it was cheaper to keep her no matter the seasons outcome. A contract is a contract. Not only will Holly stay, many from the current roster who were considering leaving will now probably stay. Also some 2017 recruits who were crossing UT off their lists have now broken out their erasers. Unfortunately for them, many current players will now think coasting during the season is fine as long as they "turn it on" for the Dance. This rarely works.

 

[Dougie]

I'm not so sure. This makes 8 straight years that Tennessee hasn't been to the Final Four. And four of those years of no-shows are on Wharlick. Keep in mind that they're looking at continued poor performance next year and in future years due to lack of recruits and the loss of the few stars they have. Tennessee's fan base expects national championships, they expect Final Fours, they expect top rankings. But they're not ranked nationally, they were seeded just 7th, and lost to a team that had never been to a single Final Four.

I'm guessing that Tennessee's AD doesn't want this growing headache on his hands. He'll have to deal with Wharlick sometime. Does he want the fan boards to light up for another year with "Fire Wharlick!"? Will he be criticized for doing nothing while the program languishes? And for Tennessee, is the cost of a (negotiated) buy-out cheaper than falling ticket and TV revenues? And what happens if kids announce over the next few days that they're leaving Tennessee? That will put even more pressure on the AD. No cavalry to the rescue.

I think she's on a much hotter seat than we realize. I'll be watching for movement in the next several days. Remember, if they want 2017 recruits, they'll need to start signing kids in the next several weeks. A quarter of 2017 HS players have already signed. Oh, and the top recruit in Tennessee is going to- ahem- Connecticut.

Just sayin'...

Holly Warlick (please note spelling) is not going anywhere. Although they were soundly beaten today, they ended their season very, very strongly. They were in complete disarray just a few weeks ago. I dislike the Tennessee program as much as anybody but I have to give them props for finally "getting it" and playing as a team. And I think Holly Warlick gets a lot of credit for not giving up. They are only losing one key player next year (Graves) and I think they will come out of the gates much more motivated and focused.

Do I think they have recruiting problems? Yes. Do I think they'll be a major contender next year? No. But I do think we'll see a team with a better collective psyche that will be playing much more together than this year. Expect to see Holly Warlick on the bench next year.

 

[xHunt3r]

Has she done enough to keep her job? No... even-though they made the elite eight they are still the same flawed teem they have been all year... and they still have zero recruits coming in next year. But, will she get fired? Nope. Don't think their AD cares enough about WCBB and doubt they want to spend what it would cost to buy out her contract.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Syracuse has to be the hottest team I've ever seen in person. They may have had one of the best Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight series other than UCONN in history.

UCONN has some competition in the Final Four this year if all those teams stay hot.

Holly has my vote to stay.

It is difficult for underdog teams like Washington and Syracuse to carry it over from Sweet 16 weekend to Final 4 weekend. Talent rises the last weekend of the tournament.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Did Wharlick do Enough to Hang on for Another Year at Tennessee?

Yes. Even without the run, she wasn't going away.

Better question, "Did Warlick do Enough for folks to learn how to spell her name correctly??"

 

[UConnCat]

A conversation about Holly losing her job is ridiculous. A thread title that misspells her name is disrespectful.

 

[UcMiami]

Fairfield Fan - there is a very vocal group of LadyVol fans who have been calling for her head throughout the year - there is a somewhat less vocal group of fans that are staunch in their support for her, and I suspect a not very vocal majority of Summittistas (FOPs or Fans of Pat) who would crucify the AD for firing Pat's personally anointed successor and those folks are rabid, they got 'religion', and they already stick pins in an effigy of him every night for all the supposedly injustices he has perpetrated on the LadyVols program. He does not need the grief of stirring them up more than they are already. If he does nothing it remains status quo, and he does not have to pay another fired coach $1.4M to not coach, and find a new coach that he has to pay too.
I suspect he will not give Holly yet another extension but in reality she has a great winning percentage and has taken her teams further than Pat took them her last few years. Easy to justify her coming back with the nice end of season run she took them on. I doubt she would have been fired if they lost to Green Bay, but getting to the E8 guaranteed she will not be.

 

[Padutch5]

Syracuse has to be the hottest team I've ever seen in person. They may have had one of the best Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight series other than UCONN in history.

UCONN has some competition in the Final Four this year if all those teams stay hot.

Holly has my vote to stay.

I agree she will stay. However, I will also be surprised if there are not Few transfers out. Getting to the Elite 8 does not hide the fact that they have some true stars who have dramatically underperformed. Today's game again showed the lack of team play. A lot of dribbeling ending with a poor shot.

 

[UcMiami]

I agree she will stay. However, I will also be surprised if there are not Few transfers out. Getting to the Elite 8 does not hide the fact that they have some true stars who have dramatically underperformed. Today's game again showed the lack of team play. A lot of dribbeling ending with a poor shot.

They already are losing Graves and Moore to graduation and lost Jones a few months ago to severe concussions - she has quit the sport after three in two years. That leaves a roster with no current recruits of nine players - they are reportedly going after a few unranked players that are borderline D1 talent and probably looking at some juco players as well. I know there is speculation about kids wanting out on vol fan sites, but I believe they are baseless rumors with no inside knowledge. It may happen, but those are the kind of posts that would be deleted from this site immediately. The team on the sidelines during the first half looked more enthusiastic and more into their teammates than I have seen all year so maybe there was a little bonding that happened in the last two weeks.

 

[chuck.r]

Tia Cooper had a rough freshman campaign at point guard. Her development at the position will be critical to their success going forward. Because of her intuitive talent, Deshields can be the roaming outlier in their offense, but Cooper has to become the decision-maker and primary distributor. Another Lindsay Allen or Lexi Brown.

 

[UcMiami]

Tia Cooper had a rough freshman campaign at point guard. Her development at the position will be critical to their success going forward. Because of her intuitive talent, Deshields can be the roaming outlier in their offense, but Cooper has to become the decision-maker and primary distributor. Another Lindsay Allen or Lexi Brown.

Unfortunately with the coaching she receives more likely another Simmons or Massengale!

 

[chuck.r]

Unfortunately with the coaching she receives more likely another Simmons or Massengale!

I totally agree that this is the more likely outcome. That's too bad - their offense needs a quarterback.

 

[UConnNick]

I

Who thinks TENN is going to spend $2 million to buy out her salary. Not me.

I'm not suggesting they will, but if her buyout is only 2 million, that's chump change for a P5 school with the kind of football revenue Tenn. generates. They wouldn't think twice about spending that much on anything.

 

[ocoandasoc]

I have lived in both CT and TN and follow both school's teams fairly closely. Most CT fans overestimate the relative importance of basketball to UT. This is a football school that happens to have a good women's basketball team with some longtime and loyal fans.

The Tenn AD has his hands full right now... he won't be looking to make any big moves. By most standards, Warlick's performance has been very good. She went further in the tourney this year than any other SEC team, and her overall W/L record is still near the top of the charts. And by all accounts the AD doesn't particularly want a strong, big-name basketball coach who might give him a lot of headaches.

Holly's biggest problem seems to be recruiting. We keep hearing that TN is high on a lot of recruits' lists... but there's no prize for second place. She has to do better, or get some new assistants that can help her. Tenn will probably have to add a Juco or non-top-100 top recruit or two for next year just to make sure they have enough bodies. They lose two to graduation and one already to injury. And there could be more losses.

TN could lose Carter if she decides that her knees won't last another season. And if I was Dunbar I'd think seriously about transferring because her coach appears to have no confidence in her game and runs an offense that has almost no role for a shooter of her type. There's been a lot of web chatter about players transferring... but it might be mostly chatter. I have heard nothing concrete.

Fan reaction to the "turnaround" in Tenn's fortunes late in the season has been mixed. Some point to the Elite 8 as a big achievement and feel that if Reynolds had been able to play tonight and Graves and Carter had been healthy they would have beat Syracuse (not based on my take on the game) and maybe Washington and played UConn in the final game. Others feel that Tenn has not played up to its talent all year, was bound to lose in the tourney to the first team that could play a decent zone defense, was lucky to get the matchups they did, and are very glad the Lady Vols won't wind up getting an embarrassing shellacking at the hands of UConn. Some are optimistic about next year... all are worried and believe Holly will need a big recruiting haul from the 2017 class. Most agree that Holly is not the second coming of Pat Summitt and probably never will be. Many are realistic enough to understand that there's not a coach available who could quickly take the Lady Vols back to their glory days.

This team could be better next year... or worse. To put the current team in perspective, they lost twice to Mississippi State, plus losses to Virginia Tech, Arkansas, LSU, Alabama, and Florida. So a single digit number of losses and a top four SEC finish would be an improvement. But nothing less than a Final Four appearance is going to silence Holly Warlick's critics and satisfy the fans.

 

[RowdyFan]

I don't think HW is going anywhere...According to a Johnny Taylor tune: "If you're tied up...you better stay tied up....'cause it's cheaper to keep her....this is from T Services...."....................

 

[meyers7]

I totally agree that this is the more likely outcome. That's too bad - their offense needs a quarterback.

LOL. That's funny. Tennessee, offense.

 

[Dillon77]

And both will keep their jobs until their contracts expire.

I'm note sure they'll keep their jobs until their respective contracts expires, but they'll get another shot in 2016-2017.

Tennessee
- As mentioned, contract situation does loom here for the Vol AD. He gets to point to the NCAA run as a positive upswing and say things look to be going in the right direction.
- Plus, Tennessee was the last team standing from the SEC, positioning them for next year. (I personally think that's a bit of red herring, given that I think the SEC is hugely overrated (due to the way they construct teams), but that's for a different thread.)
- For instance, four of top five scorers are back. Three will be there for two years: Diamond DeShields, Mercedes Russell and Jamie Nared; and, one for three years, Te'a Cooper.
- If those four can play closer to NCAA levels as opposed to late-season, it might help get recruits.
- Those are the two big "ifs": playing consistently and having that translate into a 2017 recruiting class. Still I think it will keep Holly there.

Duke
- AD Kevin White is not a brash man (he was in South Bend for a stint). Besides the contract, he'll look at the injuries that hit the Blue Devils and the potential coming back, which I'm sure Coach P has brought up time and again.
- But those four are players: Azura Stevens, Rebecca Greenwell and transfer Lexie Brown, all of whom have two years together. Those four will be joined by Top 10 2016 HoopGurlz recruit Leanonna Odom.
- The base for a successful season is there and now it's up for the coaching staff to make it happen.
- If they make it back to a few rounds of the NCAA, I think she'll stay. But if they fall short of that, I could see a move....the boards are on fire in Durham.

 

[Goodgood]

I'm note sure they'll keep their jobs until their respective contracts expires, but they'll get another shot in 2016-2017.


- But those four are players: Azura Stevens, Rebecca Greenwell and transfer Lexie Brown, all of whom have two years together. Those four will be joined by Top 10 2016 HoopGurlz recruit Leanonna Odom.
- The base for a successful season is there and now it's up for the coaching staff to make it happen.
- If they make it back to a few rounds of the NCAA, I think she'll stay. But if they fall short of that, I could see a move....the boards are on fire in Durham.

You mentioned four players. Only 3 are listed. Who is the fourth? Angela Salvadores?

 

[Dillon77]

You mentioned four players. Only 3 are listed. Who is the fourth? Angela Salvadores?

Hi there. The four players I think are critical for Duke are the three upperclassmen -- Stevens, Greenwell and (transfer) Brown -- as well as the incoming frosh, Odom. Salvadores was kind of an ancillary part for Duke last year, which could have as much to do with Coach P as anything else. Hopefully, Greenwell's presence will allow her to find her space and opportunities.
(I like Greenwell a lot....)