Interesting Lou Brown article on her time at TN

[Rocket009]

Lou Brown: Six and Out

I wasn't prepared for this: the difficulties on returning to basketball in the midst of a coaching change.

pickandroll.com.au

Maybe should be in the General section, but it is a slow time of the year and there are some interesting things in the article for those not convinced that all is well again in Knoxville.

 

[eebmg]

Lou Brown: Six and Out

I wasn't prepared for this: the difficulties on returning to basketball in the midst of a coaching change.

pickandroll.com.au

Maybe should be in the General section, but it is a slow time of the year and there are some interesting things in the article for those not convinced that all is well again in Knoxville.

Not a great experience to be sure. I guess the lesson to be learned is that life is not great if you were not picked by the current coaching regime and they do have a real investment in seeing you succeed since you are a rental?

 

[EricLA]

Lou Brown: Six and Out

I wasn't prepared for this: the difficulties on returning to basketball in the midst of a coaching change.

pickandroll.com.au

Maybe should be in the General section, but it is a slow time of the year and there are some interesting things in the article for those not convinced that all is well again in Knoxville.

Thx for posting here. Greatly appreciate it! I'd not have seen it if it was only on the General Hoops Board.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Sad how injuries derail a career. Based on what she says, it sounds like the Vols were a "team", which I think they were not at times late in Holly's career. Yes, I think it sad that, in the end, she just didn't matter to the coaching staff because she was a "temp", but it isn't shocking. Much more telling will be how current coaches treat their players going forward as they have settled in.

My biggest fear is that there will be some emulation of Pat's techniques. If you have read Pat's books and some related articles, she was definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Really respect the demand for effort and the work ethic, I get it, but she could be remorseless. Will be interesting to watch the style going forward.

 

[EricLA]

Sad how injuries derail a career. Based on what she says, it sounds like the Vols were a "team", which I think they were not at times late in Holly's career. Yes, I think it sad that, in the end, she just didn't matter to the coaching staff because she was a "temp", but it isn't shocking. Much more telling will be how current coaches treat their players going forward as they have settled in.

My biggest fear is that there will be some emulation of Pat's techniques. If you have read Pat's books and some related articles, she was definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Really respect the demand for effort and the work ethic, I get it, but she could be remorseless. Will be interesting to watch the style going forward.

That's actually my biggest HOPE. Holly tried to emulate Pat's techniques (teach little in the way of offense, guards dribble around, jack up a shot, crash the boards, and play physical on both ends of the floor).

The difference is that thru sheer force of will, Pat was able to push her teams to the limit. Holly had no such personality. Her teams, with much more talent on paper, often lost to less talented, but more cohesive and better coached opponents. Holly just didn't have Pat's personality and in spite of insanely talented teams on paper, sorely underperformed.

I hope Kellie is not only less of a recruiter (Holly was a TREMENDOUS recruiter), but also tries the old time Pat school of hoops.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

That's actually my biggest HOPE. Holly tried to emulate Pat's techniques (teach little in the way of offense, guards dribble around, jack up a shot, crash the boards, and play physical on both ends of the floor).

The difference is that thru sheer force of will, Pat was able to push her teams to the limit. Holly had no such personality. Her teams, with much more talent on paper, often lost to less talented, but more cohesive and better coached opponents. Holly just didn't have Pat's personality and in spite of insanely talented teams on paper, sorely underperformed.

I hope Kellie is not only less of a recruiter (Holly was a TREMENDOUS recruiter), but also tries the old time Pat school of hoops.

Sorry. I no longer "like" or "root" for Tennessee (any remote amount of "like" took a hit with clock-gate and disappeared completely when Pat became ill, but I respected her very much). But - I think women's basketball is better when they are doing well. They never have to win a NC, heck, they don't ever have to win the SEC again, but they do, in my opinion, need to be a top 25 team.

 

[Cuango]

Sad how injuries derail a career. Based on what she says, it sounds like the Vols were a "team", which I think they were not at times late in Holly's career. Yes, I think it sad that, in the end, she just didn't matter to the coaching staff because she was a "temp", but it isn't shocking. Much more telling will be how current coaches treat their players going forward as they have settled in.

My biggest fear is that there will be some emulation of Pat's techniques. If you have read Pat's books and some related articles, she was definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Really respect the demand for effort and the work ethic, I get it, but she could be remorseless. Will be interesting to watch the style going forward.

I guess I have a different perspective! I think it is shocking that she was treated like that by the coaches. If you cannot treat an injured player with compassion and dignity, regardless of who she was recruited by, then you shouldn’t be coaching at all! I’m guessing her (or any player) would have had a much different experience at UCONN (or most colleges for that matter). I’m also guessing that Batouly, Doty, Hunter etc would have a very different story to tell!

 

[oldude]

That's actually my biggest HOPE. Holly tried to emulate Pat's techniques (teach little in the way of offense, guards dribble around, jack up a shot, crash the boards, and play physical on both ends of the floor).

The difference is that thru sheer force of will, Pat was able to push her teams to the limit. Holly had no such personality. Her teams, with much more talent on paper, often lost to less talented, but more cohesive and better coached opponents. Holly just didn't have Pat's personality and in spite of insanely talented teams on paper, sorely underperformed.

I hope Kellie is not only less of a recruiter (Holly was a TREMENDOUS recruiter), but also tries the old time Pat school of hoops.

Not only was Holly unable to motivate her teams like Pat, but the game itself changed dramatically and Holly failed to change with it. Motion offenses that spread the floor neutralized physical teams with greater size that crashed the boards like TN. Coaches like Geno, MM, Tara and others were able to adapt. Holly was something of a dinosaur who’s sole answer to the challenges of facing better coached teams was, “We have to play harder.”

 

[VFLfan]

I guess I have a different perspective! I think it is shocking that she was treated like that by the coaches. If you cannot treat an injured player with compassion and dignity, regardless of who she was recruited by, then you shouldn’t be coaching at all! I’m guessing her (or any player) would have had a much different experience at UCONN (or most colleges for that matter). I’m also guessing that Batouly, Doty, Hunter etc would have a very different story to tell!

That’s what is so interesting about Lou’s feelings. Coach Kellie kept Lou as a starter all year and always spoke glowingly about her as a teammate and player in any interview they asked about her, often referring to her as the “glue” that held the team together and often said the “team just plays better when Lou is out there.” Lou was also in many of the after game press conferences representing the team as well. I hope the coaches reach out to Lou to clear the air as she is a LVFL regardless.

 

[DefenseBB]

Sorry. I no longer "like" or "root" for Tennessee (any remote amount of "like" took a hit with clock-gate and disappeared completely when Pat became ill, but I respected her very much). But - I think women's basketball is better when they are doing well. They never have to win a NC, heck, they don't ever have to win the SEC again, but they do, in my opinion, need to be a top 25 team.

Well, to be fair all the voting public has been voting Tennessee as a Top 25 team for most of all the seasons since Pat was coach despite the fact it wasn’t warranted.

I, for one, will only “root” for them after they have missed being selected for an NCAAT to end that streak as they were given a few bids as unwarranted....

 

[EricLA]

Sorry. I no longer "like" or "root" for Tennessee (any remote amount of "like" took a hit with clock-gate and disappeared completely when Pat became ill, but I respected her very much). But - I think women's basketball is better when they are doing well. They never have to win a NC, heck, they don't ever have to win the SEC again, but they do, in my opinion, need to be a top 25 team.

Why? There is no reason they need to be a top 25 team. Sure their fans would love it, but just look at the fan support for other new top 25 teams. SC, Oregon, Oregon State, Iowa and Iowa State have always had tons of interest. L'ville. NC State. Mississippi State, UCLA, Arizona, FSU, ASU, Arkansas, Indiana. Baylor, ND, aTm, The list goes on and on. Old Dominion, USC, La Tech and Texas were all HUGE programs in the 70's and 80's. All 4 of them for the most part disappeared, yet WCBB still endured. Texas is on the road back as well.

WCBB does not "need" Tennessee for WCBB to be popular. They had a great history, like those other 4 programs I mentioned (of course Tennessee is the 2nd greatest program in the history of the game), but still, the sport has garnered new fans, and in every city where teams suddenly become good, attendance and interest spikes thru the roof.

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion. But I will never root for Tennessee to be good again. EVER. I will be thrilled if they remain in the bottom half of the SEC, never sniffing the top 25, for the rest of my life, and at 55, hopefully I have a long time left!

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Why? There is no reason they need to be a top 25 team. Sure their fans would love it, but just look at the fan support for other new top 25 teams. SC, Oregon, Oregon State, Iowa and Iowa State have always had tons of interest. L'ville. NC State. Mississippi State, UCLA, Arizona, FSU, ASU, Arkansas, Indiana. Baylor, ND, aTm, The list goes on and on. Old Dominion, USC, La Tech and Texas were all HUGE programs in the 70's and 80's. All 4 of them for the most part disappeared, yet WCBB still endured. Texas is on the road back as well.

WCBB does not "need" Tennessee for WCBB to be popular. They had a great history, like those other 4 programs I mentioned (of course Tennessee is the 2nd greatest program in the history of the game), but still, the sport has garnered new fans, and in every city where teams suddenly become good, attendance and interest spikes thru the roof.

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion. But I will never root for Tennessee to be good again. EVER. I will be thrilled if they remain in the bottom half of the SEC, never sniffing the top 25, for the rest of my life, and at 55, hopefully I have a long time left!

I agree that WBB does not need them to be popular for any practical reason, I would just like to see it. Texas's hoped for return is also a good thing, unfortunately for ODU and La Tech - who were just fading when I started watching in the mid-90's - there is no hope. I would have liked for them to have been able to stay relevant, even by remaining the best team in their mid-major conference, but that didn't happen either. And I wouldn't be "down" on USC, except they were completely before my time, appear to have awful support (but a good coach) and my Wildcats don't need any additional competition in the PAC.

As you say, fan support for the better teams is growing (a few you list are probably plateaued), and that's all to the good. Who would have expected South Carolina and Louisville to be joining and sometimes exceeding the UConn, Tennessee, Notre Dame attendance. Yes, it is good to see the game grow.