Holly Warlick press conference

[MilfordHusky]

I wonder if they would get past their hatred of Mulkey should Tennessee be able to lure her away from Baylor. Holly's days are numbered. But I guarantee you that UT is not going to go outside the UT family for the next coach.

I'm very happy if they stay inside the family. Nikki Caldwell would be a great choice, as she has underperformed at 2 schools already.

 

[j66kicker]

Did Nina Davis transfer to Tennessee?

Sorry - meant Nia Moore

 

[j66kicker]

They have not been paying attention, then, because that's been a part of the culture since their heyday. I distinctly remember making fun of "Face" Clement when I was roughly in middle school. Make-up always perfect and an annoying habit of hitting threes when I was really hoping she'd miss.

They cited "...Randall, Catchings, Holdsclaw, Conklin, Marciniak, etc.... t-shirt and jeans girls with a backwards hats on. These mini skirts aren't tough and it matches their approach to defense and rebounding." One dissenter mentioned Bria & Stef "...were clearly into the way they looked and that didn't stop them from being ruthless competitors." Another mentioned Glory spent a lot of time doing her hair and nails, but others decided she doesn't count because 1) of her relationship with BG, and 2) she wasn't a top 5 recruit anyway.

 

[pinotbear]

Heck, I just don't get it. If Stringer, at 102 years of age, can learn and teach new offense to her team, surely Holly can do the same. ...

..an' , she don't look a day over 96!

"Merciful Father, I"m a sorry, I shouldn'ta oughtta a-said that, please forgive me, and help th' starvin' pygmies in New Guinea...Amen!"

 

[Geno-ista]

But why would Tyler be a better choice? Give that he's Pat's son, and literally grew up absorbing her basketball knowledge from her career, I would think he would be even more so a clone of her than someone who was a former player but now coach at another school.

Actually I'm of the opinion that any one they would choose who is from the Pat Summitt coaching tree would be a poor choice, and that includes her long time assistants as well as former players who have gone on to become HC's elsewhere. Heck, I just don't get it. If Stringer, at 102 years of age, can learn and teach new offense to her team, surely Holly can do the same. Heck, even Tara, in one summer, revamped her entire offense to a new guard oriented one and sprung the surprising upset over UCONN...

You know- wonder if they would go all the way over to the dark side and consider a UConn alumni??? You never know. Be a heck of a marketing ploy! Wonder if Kara Lawson has any thoughts about coaching. They are desperate for a fresh start.

 

[Bayareahusky]

If the talk moves to changing coaches, I am reminded of a decade or so ago..... Remember when Urban was the hot thing in football, and the Notre Dame head coaching was open and most of the public figured he would take that position, and then he took the Florida job? Tennessee position isn't utopia now..... LV program does not have great support from the athletic department, so why would a big name coach take that, and also, Holly's initial HC contract was for about $350K I think...... good for you and me maybe, but for the HC position at the U of T? ...... and many are promoting Tyler to morph into the position..... as I have said before, I only hear him as a parrot of his mother..... still believes WCBB is ALL about defense and rebounding..... like it is a prescription for all ills...... I can't wait to see a LTech game so I can see first hand what kind of a game coach he is......

 

[Geno-ista]

If I'm U Tenn - the last person I would want to hire- is someone I would an extremely difficult time eventually firing. Reminds me of the Yankees not asking Don Mattingly to manage. Firing Joe Girardi would be a lot easier than firing Donny Baseball. Just my thought!

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

If Stringer, at 102 years of age, can learn and teach new offense to her team, surely Holly can do the same. Heck, even Tara, in one summer, revamped her entire offense to a new guard oriented one and sprung the surprising upset over UCONN...

I'm not so sure that Viv's offense is much different, per se. I always come back to the Auburn victory some years ago in the NCAA at the RAC. It was an offense we had never imagined (we ran circles around them and Dewanna Bonner too) - yet the woman I used to talk to that was on the bench with Vivian at Cheney assured me that it was classic Vivian with the brakes off. FWIW.

I was quite impressed by Tara's change - but look what has happened since. Similarly, years ago, Viv learned the triangle from Tex Winter and Phil, but chose not to implement it because we didn't have the personnel, while Stanford made a living on it for years.

 

[jdubct]

I wonder if they would get past their hatred of Mulkey should Tennessee be able to lure her away from Baylor. Holly's days are numbered. But I guarantee you that UT is not going to go outside the UT family for the next coach.

Why would Mulkey leave Baylor? It's a prime coaching job and I bet the school would match any salary offers from other schools.

 

[HuskyNan]

It seems to me Holly is trying to coach the way she was coached all those years ago. But in listening to Geno over these last few years, the current generation of players is much different than past ones. Geno says the players' attention span is shorter and it's hard to get them to focus. He also said that AAU these days is more about showcasing stars and less about teaching them to win so it's harder to find players that just want to win, even if it means setting screens for other players all night.

So, Geno has changed his coaching style. I think Muffet has as well and it appears Tara has a new approach, too, although that's inference on my part just from some superficial observation. Maybe Holly shouldn't be worrying so much about what Tennessee did with players in the past and start looking at the best way to get a consistently high level of play from the roster she has.

 

[Icebear]

If I'm U Tenn - the last person I would want to hire- is someone I would an extremely difficult time eventually firing. Reminds me of the Yankees not asking Don Mattingly to manage. Firing Joe Girardi would be a lot easier than firing Donny Baseball. Just my thought!

Heck they hired and fired Billy Martin annually or so it seemed.

 

[pinotbear]

Heck they hired and fired Billy Martin annually or so it seemed.

 

[Tonyc]

The problem at Tenn is disicipling the players. Because theyre not disciplined they're not coachable. That goes hand in hand. They do as they please because they are and were not taught what to do and how to do it. That is execution. So what has been happening at Tenn is give the ball to your top scorer and let her do her thing. Maybe she will pass the ball, maybe she'll shoot it or force a shot. Yeah we've seen a lot of that. IMO you teach the players what to do and how to execute plays and if they don't sit'em. Makes you wonder next season with DD and MR in the lineup if that is the game plan.

Tenn needs to rebuild their program. If the present coaching staff cant then replace them with a coach who can. However that brings up another problem. Pat is still being paid and so is Holly. That's a lot of money. So if you bring in a new coaching staff where does the money come from? Its not like a new coaching staff will fill the arena? Its already filled. That's a problem. So maybe the administration at Tenn is thinking why change coaching staffs when the arena is filled, just have an easier schedule and win games and the LV fans will think Tenn is great, then when Hollys contract runs out we can take a look at the coaching staff. By getting a couple of top players gives LV fans hope and with hope it puts fannies in the seats and bring money into the program. So next season DD and MR play and that's the hope LV fans need. IMO that really doesn't matter if you don't have a team. Basketball is a team game not and individual game and I suspect next season Tenn will have their hopes up again because DD and MR are in the lineup but there wont be a team. There will be individuals trying to win games by themselves.

If this season continues as it is for the LVs you've got to wonder what DD and MR are thinking.

 

[Waquoit]

The arrogance they showed by cancelling the annual UConn game while at the same time smearing Geno has come back to haunt them. They can't lose enough to suit me.

 

[meyers7]

The arrogance they showed by cancelling the annual UConn game while at the same time smearing Geno has come back to haunt them. They can't lose enough to suit me.

Agreed.

 

[JFC613]

Heck they hired and fired Billy Martin annually or so it seemed.

I think the point Geno-ista was making was that Mattingly was a beloved player with the organization and more importantly the fans. There would be a revolt if George fired Mattingly with his typical knee jerk reaction the way he fired Billy and for that matter other managers. Billy was liked and amusing to the fans, but never really admired the way Donny was IMO.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Again, good points Tony..... on the money for the coaching staff..... if they decide to pull a switch, it wouldn't be so tough a thing..... Pat is down to $75K a year for her HCE position. .... and Holly is at $375K I believe..... they are saving a bunch from the HPS days....

and I have always said....... the quicker Pat is gone from the program, the better the overall situation will be.,.... it is a novel thing they are trying to do..... but it casts such a big shadow over the entire program..... she has her place in history, she has her statue..... she should leave it at that.

 

[msf22b]

As far as highly rated high school talent, Tennessee is loaded and will be even more so next season. That they continue to underperform, year in and year out, paints a clear picture of an overall philosophy that needs updating.

I find it hard to believe that if Tennessee's exact roster's since their Final Four drought were in the hand's of Geno, or Muffet, or Kim, or Jeff, or Tara, or "fill in the blank", they would have been shut out of a FF appearance.

It's just possible that the talent on hand will be strong enough for them to play essentially without coaching
DD, aside from her BB skill, is no dummy, and she's getting a crash course in observing how not to coach
I think they'll be formidable next season.

 

[EricLA]

Again, good points Tony..... on the money for the coaching staff..... if they decide to pull a switch, it wouldn't be so tough a thing..... Pat is down to $75K a year for her HCE position. .... and Holly is at $375K I believe..... they are saving a bunch from the HPS days....

and I have always said.. the quicker Pat is gone from the program, the better the overall situation will be.,.... it is a novel thing they are trying to do..... but it casts such a big shadow over the entire program..... she has her place in history, she has her statue..... she should leave it at that.

I think, and this is just a guess, that the feeling was having her around would be good for the players Pat recruited, and also for future players that are being recruited. It's great to have a legend around. Imagine if UCONN was able to have an icon like Dee or Sue or Maya around (I know it's not identical), but it certainly couldn't hurt recruiting...

Also of course it was to honor her for her dedication and accomplishments at the University...

 

[Geno-ista]

Heck they hired and fired Billy Martin annually or so it seemed.

Gd pt- but the more info I have heard about that situation- it was a bit unique because of Billy's personal demons, and drinking issues , among others I think.
George actually had a bigger heart than we/ I knew at the time. Even though I despised him during that time as well. He gave Billy 2nd chances and I think he showed the same compassion w/ Strawberry. But Mattingly was our only shining star for 15 yrs+~ during some dark days. I think hiring Donny Baseball and having to fire him would have created another Yogi Berra situation IB- as always- there is a really Gd chance that I'm way off as usual!

 

[UcMiami]

It's just possible that the talent on hand will be strong enough for them to play essentially without coaching
DD, aside from her BB skill, is no dummy, and she's getting a crash course in observing how not to coach
I think they'll be formidable next season.

I think DD will be a much higher skilled version of Simmons - she was last year for UNC. Dynamic as heck but she shot 42.6% for the year while the next four highest scores on the team all shot 47.2% or better - and she took 220 more shots than anyone else on the team - she also took 20 more threes than anyone else while shooting 27.9% (next most frequent three point shooter shot 41.8%.) If she is coachable and has a strong coach she will be a great player for years - at TN I think she will just continue the trend of the inmates running the asylum.

 

[Geno-ista]

It's just possible that the talent on hand will be strong enough for them to play essentially without coaching
DD, aside from her BB skill, is no dummy, and she's getting a crash course in observing how not to coach
I think they'll be formidable next season.

I think you are 100% correct. If you added DD to any solid team- she is an absolute game changer- I think Green Bay is a potential top 5 team if DD joined them this year. She is prolific. And I think her will to win will make her create and dish and make others better. We'll find out next year. But the Tenn environment may not be the environment to foster that. She reminds me of Angel McCaughtry. Angel really carried a decent team to a Nat Championship- by herself.

 

[johnnyc]

Reminds me of the Yankees not asking Don Mattingly to manage. Firing Joe Girardi would be a lot easier than firing Donny Baseball. Just my thought!

The Boss would have hired both of them. Don Mattingly as manager and Joe Girardi as his bench coach to step in when he fired Don Mattingly.

 

[UcMiami]

I think, and this is just a guess, that the feeling was having her around would be good for the players Pat recruited, and also for future players that are being recruited. It's great to have a legend around. Imagine if UCONN was able to have an icon like Dee or Sue or Maya around (I know it's not identical), but it certainly couldn't hurt recruiting...

Also of course it was to honor her for her dedication and accomplishments at the University...

I agree Eric - and I suspect she is seldom seen around the practice facility or the offices now. She probably is making 'publicity' appearances for the University and the team, but not even on campus on a daily basis - probably not around for weeks on end. (Not dissimilar to Calhoun - showed up for the practice facility dedication but disappeared before the first night festivities, which I thought was a good call.)

 

[j66kicker]

I think you are 100% correct. If you added DD to any solid team- she is an absolute game changer- I think Green Bay is a potential top 5 team if DD joined them this year. She is prolific. And I think her will to win will make her create and dish and make others better. We'll find out next year. But the Tenn environment may not be the environment to foster that. She reminds me of Angel McCaughtry. Angel really carried a decent team to a Nat Championship- by herself.

??? Don't remember that one...?