Duke and Tennessee

[Gus Mahler]

I think TN should hire Gail Goestenkors. They need a solid professional who has had success both recruiting and with big wins.

 

[uconnever]

i dont agree with Tenn because i think this team deserves more time. Diamond and Mercedes and Tea werent even playing last year. if next year is like this year, then change is needed. Duke needs change....period.

 

[BlueDevils]

i dont agree with Tenn because i think this team deserves more time. Diamond and Mercedes and Tea werent even playing last year. if next year is like this year, then change is needed. Duke needs change....period.

Half of Duke team was in high school last year. Duke is really bad. Tennessee is flirting with awful.

 

[Kibitzer]

It's not just the records. It's the way the Tennessee players look lost and confused on the floor and the way Holly Warlick admits in pressers that she has no idea why her team doesn't play well. It's Duke's .75 to 1 Assist to Turnover ratio and scoring 48 points in a dreadful loss to Louisville and 50 points against Syracuse and 62 points to a mediocre NC State despite having superior talent, then Coach P blaming the players.

BTW, Tennessee has no signed recruits for next year and Duke has one.

Hmm. Duke (ACC) and Tennessee (SEC) are not only underachieving on the court but whiffing on the recruiting trail. The conventional wisdom was that UConn would be doomed to failure at luring recruits because the AAC is not a hot-shot conference like the AAC or the SEC.

So much for that -- yet another internet legend.

 

[BlueDevils]

The Duke vs Notre dame come Monday at Cameron indoor will define this season. If we loss big again, get outcoached, give up open elbow/3 pointer looks we have a HIGH chance of missing the tournament.

If we can play Notre Dame competitive for 35-37 minutes it may be the push we need to beat Miami and/or Fsu and allow us the confidence to go deep in the ACC tournament.

As of right now my prediction is Notre dame 73 Duke 52

 

[j66kicker]

I certainly agree about the money Kib.

But there is a hue and a cry going on.
In the fan base, in the media, less quantifiable but certainly among a portion of the major donors and Pat supporters.
The AD and college Prez cannot help but notice that a flagship programs is steering into the rocks.;they read about it and cannot put on ignore, the daily bombast that is becoming a (smalltime) national obsession.

There are also the storied alumni of the program who have been remarkably silent in public. Has anyone heard a peep from Parker? from Kara Lawson?
God knows what they are saying behind the scenes, possibly as advisors.

No, the pressure is building for change...Hart may not be obsessed with the program but he will not want to be held responsible for its downfall.

if he doesn't watch out that will be next.

TN fans can clamor for a new coach all they want, but if they really want this to happen they need to do like big-time football boosters do and shell out the $$ to buy her out.

 

[VA Huskie]

i dont agree with Tenn because i think this team deserves more time. Diamond and Mercedes and Tea werent even playing last year. if next year is like this year, then change is needed. Duke needs change....period.

DD was with the team last year. Was she able to practice? If so, no excuse for her not being able to contribute better this year.

 

[uconnever]

Half of Duke team was in high school last year. Duke is really bad. Tennessee is flirting with awful.

yeah well you being a Duke fan, you should know what to expect from your coach. Tenn's coach has a team full of good players with high expectations really for the first time. give her another year.

 

[uconnever]

DD was with the team last year. Was she able to practice? If so, no excuse for her not being able to contribute better this year.

i think she has been hurt alot and hasnt really been playing all that much. then you add all the new players and she needs time. from what i have always seen from her as talented as she is, she is just streaky anyways. maybe im wrong and i dont like Tenn....im all Uconn, but im fair and Holly and the team deserve another year...at least.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Someone like Shea as a coach at TN would be interesting - you need a strong, fierce personality to wrangle the egos. And, a good teacher. I'm assuming Shea's a good teacher, but have no idea of her role....

Gail seems to quiet as a personality.

 

[cferraro04]

I believe it would take a life changing paradigm shift of gargantuan proportions to get Shea Ralph to accept a coaching job in Knoxville... I'm just sayin'

 

[trb123]

In the 1870s British tourists had to go to France to see Paris burn.
Thanks to the internet and our Vol Nation friends, I can watch Tennessee "burn" on my laptop.
My favorite among the fire and brimstone sermons on the Vol Nation board:

The lady vols need the presence of a CHRISTIAN MAN with a strong coaching pedigree. Not a lesbian assistant coach. JMO

Duke fans are far better educated and consequently Im Osten nichts Neues

 

[toadfoot]

She is a common choice of the fire Holly now and bring in someone to save the season!
On the SEC - the lack of quality of road team play is very real, so I give TN an advantage over most SEC teams that come to their court, and flip it for the away games. It is why the middle of the pack so often beats the ranked teams on their home floors and you get so many split series.

 

[UcMiami]

Toadfoot - nice research. A few thoughts and one 'request'.
1. Part of the P5 issue is the 'if you want to play us, you have to come to our court' issue. They will only accept home and homes with other major programs.
2. Revenue stream and being underfunded - home games are much less expensive when ADs are tightfisted, and the away venues tend to be smaller.
3. BE and AAC are now populated by a number of teams used to the mid-major regime of having to accept away only games and not being big enough 'draws' to demand reciprocal rights. And perhaps more sensitive to the plight of mid-majors. And less able to do the 'if you want to play us you have to come to our home court' thing.

The request - I would be curious for a comparison to home win percentages by conference to compare to the away win percentages - the variance between the two at a conference level would be interesting. And even more interesting to me would be that comparison within only conference games where the SOS should be pretty equal (most conference don't have a completely balanced schedule, but it is pretty close.)

 

[Orangutan]

yeah well you being a Duke fan, you should know what to expect from your coach. Tenn's coach has a team full of good players with high expectations really for the first time. give her another year.

Class of 2011 rankings by Hoopgurlz - Burdick #3, Massengale #4, Harrison #29

She has had good players, or at least players that were perceived to be good before arriving in Knoxville, before.

 

[UcMiami]

Unfortunately for Duke and TN visitors,
I think both of those teams for the past number of years have done less with more HS rated talent than any other teams. Some allowance for bad luck in injuries, but it still doesn't explain the results and it isn't just the results, but the quality of the play.

 

[uconnever]

Class of 2011 rankings by Hoopgurlz - Burdick #3, Massengale #4, Harrison #29

She has had good players, or at least players that were perceived to be good before arriving in Knoxville, before.

Yes ranking wise they were supposed to be good players, but I watched them play plenty and they were not good players. I see at least 3 to 4 good to great players on her team this year. Diamond,Tea and Mercedes are players that anyone can see have a chance to be really good. I think Nared is a solid piece. If things are not vastly improved by the end of next year, make a coaching change.

 

[trb123]

A lot of sense:

http://www.holdsclaw.com/blog/theres-no-i-in-lady-volunteers

 

[meyers7]

i think she has been hurt alot and hasnt really been playing all that much. then you add all the new players and she needs time. from what i have always seen from her as talented as she is, she is just streaky anyways. maybe im wrong and i dont like Tenn....im all Uconn, but im fair and Holly and the team deserve another year...at least.

Yes, yes. Holly deserves a life time contract.

 

[jsloanjr]

Totally agree with all the post above and most AD's are spineless with Women's coaches.........Gender thing or they afraid of lawsuits......Tenn and Duke have deserved better for the past 5+ years. Take action It affects all WCBB.......

 

[Dillon77]

Duke's overall performance the last year or two just doesn't seem as right and tight as they had been around 2011 or 2012. That said, their top two players -- Azura Stevens and Rebecca Greenwell -- are both coming back next year, joined by transfer Lexie Brown and their one Top 100 recruit for 2016 (maybe only), Leanonna Odom, from Chaminade Prep in LA. Unless the bottom falls out, I think Coach P. gets another year. I think the Monday game against ND is on one of the ESPNs.

 

[Dillon77]

There was a similar thread on the ND board a few days back that came about because a poster wondered if Jonathan Tsipis, Muffet McGraw's top assistant for a few years and now HC at George Washington, might be considered for a larger program if it comes up. Here's some of the input:

- Down the road from Duke, there's North Carolina, which has been racked by all sorts of disturbances, from transfer to illnesses. Sylvia Hatchell has 7 players coming in next year (rated #13 class) and her long history and service at Chapel Hill wlll probably buy her some time there.
- Rutgers. I used to think Vivian Stringer had unlimited rope at Rutgers, but there is a new AD there and change is in the air with a new football coach. Her teams are one-note and Seton Hall seems to be outperforming them. On the other hand, the men's team is a mess and the facilities are really not all that good, so she might hang on because good is better than the football or guys team right now.
- Looking at the other ACC teams: Clemson and Wake Forest are once again in the back and BC has been a disappointment for a few years. But do the AD's care enough to make a change if they have to pay off contracts?

 

[EricSD]

Totally agree with all the post above and most AD's are spineless with Women's coaches....Gender thing or they afraid of lawsuits.Tenn and Duke have deserved better for the past 5+ years. Take action It affects all WCBB..

How does it affect all of WCBB? Does the fact that Stanford is having a really down year affect all of WCBB?

I would think not so much the opposite (that it affects all WCBB), but rather it creates an opportunity for new rivalries and new teams to rise to the top. SC has eclipsed Tenn as the cream of the SEC crop. ND has eclipsed Tenn as the biggest Rival in trying to stop UCONN in most years. The top 10 now includes not only teams like UCONN and ND who have been there for a very long time, but a welcome back to Texas, Maryland, and Baylor (all of who have won NC's in the past). And it has made room for relative newbies of Kentucky, Oregon State, Ohio State, Arizona State and Tex AM.

Outside of Knoxville and Durham, how is the rest of WCBB affected by the precipitous drop of those 2 programs? Even if/when it ever happens to UCONN, other teams will step in and make big news as they become the new Juggernaut and team to beat for the NCAA title...

 

[jsloanjr]

How does it affect all of WCBB? Does the fact that Stanford is having a really down year affect all of WCBB?

I would think not so much the opposite (that it affects all WCBB), but rather it creates an opportunity for new rivalries and new teams to rise to the top. SC has eclipsed Tenn as the cream of the SEC crop. ND has eclipsed Tenn as the biggest Rival in trying to stop UCONN in most years. The top 10 now includes not only teams like UCONN and ND who have been there for a very long time, but a welcome back to Texas, Maryland, and Baylor (all of who have won NC's in the past). And it has made room for relative newbies of Kentucky, Oregon State, Ohio State, Arizona State and Texas AM.

Outside of Knoxville and Durham, how is the rest of WCBB affected by the precipitous drop of those 2 programs? Even if/when it ever happens to UCONN, other teams will step in and make big news as they become the new Juggernaut and team to beat for the NCAA title...

Very simply, WCBB is losing TV eyes do the poor play of known teams like Duke, Stanford and Tenn the past few years. Granted, there are some new teams playing some inspired BB and hopefully, they will continue it towards March. Just when you see an upcoming team, they lose 2 or 3 games that they should have one.....Baylor very rarely leaves TX.........Texas has a few weaknesses and will be exposed come March........AD's and school Presidents need to place a higher commitment on all women's sports and do it soon....The TV $$$ unless UCONN is playing is very small.......Better coaches is the key along with new commitments from their schools...........The hour glass is running.....

 

[loneycafe]

It's not just the records. It's the way the Tennessee players look lost and confused on the floor and the way Holly Warlick admits in pressers that she has no idea why her team doesn't play well. It's Duke's .75 to 1 Assist to Turnover ratio and scoring 48 points in a dreadful loss to Louisville and 50 points against Syracuse and 62 points to a mediocre NC State despite having superior talent, then Coach P blaming the players.

BTW, Tennessee has no signed recruits for next year and Duke has one.

If Duke and Tennessee were playing hard all the time, running some semblance of an organized offense, and improving, even marginally, as the season went on, it would be one thing but these teams seem to be in a downward spiral and the coaches are clueless to do anything about it. That's why the ADs needs to do...something, anything!

NC State has become better than "mediocre" this season. It's unfortunate the game between them and Louisville wasn't on TV or steamed on ESPN3. Though NC State lost 92-90, it was the most exciting game I have seen this season, and I watch a lot of the games on TV or streamed. The offensive display was impressive.

NC State has two of the best guards in the league (Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson), and are doing much better than expected. They started the season looking bad and had a bad road loss to Miami, and they lost a key freshman to a knee injury, and I thought it was going to be a long season with all the new faces, but they have come together, coach has found a substitution pattern that works, and they are no longer just "mediocre."

Now watch them to lose to UNC Sunday.