It's Official: Shea Ralph Named Vanderbilt Coach

[hoopster]

Wonder what that means for her husband’s job?

 

[BostonBay]

Where's the Geno quote?? This happened very fast - looked like she packed up her bags during the Tourney & already left! Very strange.

 

[MooseJaw]

I apologize in advance for being the party pooper...Does anyone recall Brown's submission on Apr 2, 2021

I thought it was kind of odd when Geno was asked if they were able to go over different things with Shea and he kind of brushed it off saying what can she do she's not here..he did after awhile say it's per Ncaa rules she can't come back but couldn't help think he was maybe a little upset that she left..I may be totally off base but I expected him to say we go over things with her,she's been watching film,we talk daily ,we miss her not being here but there was none of that

Is i possible that this has been going on for a while?...even that the family issue was not exactly as publicly described.

It would be good to be able to put all this nonsense to bed.

At this time it really doesn't matter. Once she decided to take the job she was no longer UCONN. I know others may disagree, consider this You are putting your time into interviewing, studying what the team has, what the team needs, who you may be able to take with you, who your assistants will be, and who you will recruit. How much time is left for UCONN? Shea had mentally left UCONN at that point. I loved her as a player, loved her as a coach and as a recruiter, a legend for sure. I've moved on, the details while interesting are not important.

 

[Littlemin]

it's most likely going to take her a minimum of 3-4 years to get the program to .500...........unless academics are your main focus or you are desperate for playing time and don't mind losing, why would you leave any of the guaranteed NCAA tournament teams to go to Vanderbilt?

Come on, players want to play, period, end of story. I was lucky enough to win my share in HS and college but given the choice of sitting and winning championships or playing and losing, I’m on the court. I never played a game I went in thinking we would lose; maybe playing a million playground games and learning OTJ from older and better players before I ever wore a uniform helped me forge that attitude, I don’t know.
I get a kick out of all the people on this board who can predict the future; I forget who, but a poster asked one such “Nostradamus” to provide the winning lottery numbers; I’m pretty sure he or she is still waiting.
And obviously, I am generalizing, there probably are players who think as you do.

 

[fireford]

Wonder what that means for her husband’s job?

From what I've heard/read, he will be on her staff.

 

[Argonaut]

I thought the same thing. That's twice in 11 months two assistants have pulled a Delle Donne and disappeared in the middle of the night, figuratively speaking of course.

Shea taking a HC position in the off-season after being at UConn for 13 years does not compare to Jasmine Lister leaving in the middle of her second season without another job on the horizon.

 

[CTBballfan243]

If she does do well there, in five years or so when Geno retires, she has to be on the short list of candidates to replace him. And as a candidate for that job, how do you turn down UConn other than you just don't want to follow

Nice to be going to a P5 school where you get the use of a corporate Jet. Shea made the right move going to the P5.

 

[BBallF]

I feel that I can predict this: She will have great coaching career wherever it takes her. Look for her one day to be an assistant for the National team.

 

[JoePgh]

I apologize in advance for being the party pooper...Does anyone recall Brown's submission on Apr 2, 2021

I thought it was kind of odd when Geno was asked if they were able to go over different things with Shea and he kind of brushed it off saying what can she do she's not here..he did after awhile say it's per Ncaa rules she can't come back but couldn't help think he was maybe a little upset that she left..I may be totally off base but I expected him to say we go over things with her,she's been watching film,we talk daily ,we miss her not being here but there was none of that

Is i possible that this has been going on for a while?...even that the family issue was not exactly as publicly described.

It would be good to be able to put all this nonsense to bed.

What difference would it make if the real reason for Shea's absence from San Antonio was because she was pursuing or had privately accepted the Vanderbilt job (or perhaps was interviewing for it)? Neither she nor Geno was required to make a full disclosure about something like that. Perhaps it was at a stage where it might still fall through -- in which case no one other than Geno and the parties involved would or should ever have known about it.

I fail to see anything scandalous in this sequence of events even if it occurred -- and of course we don't know whether it did or not. We will never know, nor should we.

 

[browns]

Wish her success at Vandy

 

[BRS24]

I thought the same thing. That's twice in 11 months two assistants have pulled a Delle Donne and disappeared in the middle of the night, figuratively speaking of course.

Hold on. Per a prior post of mine, Stephanie White was set to return to VU on March 5 (per news article) and was not fired until April 5-6. This would leave 5-7 days until now for VU to vet/interview/offer any prospective hires. There is nothing during the NCAA tourney (March 21-April 4) that would indicate that Shea had already "checked out", especially for this job, especially if this job wasn't available until 7 days ago. Maybe Geno got tired of the same questions about Shea leaving to deal with a family member and covid. And with the short time period between rounds, study hall, game prep, covid tests, ad nauseam, maybe Geno, CD, and Jamelle had it all covered.

@JoePgh made the same points I was typing ...

For all we know, maybe she left after finding out a family member had exposed her, and even after two negative tests, it wasn't worth the risk to the rest of the staff and team. Just imagine knowing that you were the one that forced the team to forfeit the tournament? We don't know what we don't know and that's ok. The coaches' personal lives are just that and they don't have to answer to us.

And, just maybe, when this situation arose last week, she and Tom considered the move so that they would be together. I used the google to see Storrs to Lowell. Worcester is the mid-ish point. On a good day, it's 90 mins, and when not, 1:45 or longer. Coaching at this level is long hours, add on a hellish commute, makes it hard on a family.

(on edit - I did a 100 mile per day commute on the Merritt Parkway for 9 years. The only thing that kept me and the hub sane was that I worked from home on Mon and Fri, he worked close to home, and we were empty nesters, so the only impact was on us)

 

[BRS24]

Timeline cleanser:

 

[f1f1ferrari]

I find it very hard to believe that someone like Shea would abandon her team in the NCAA Tournament because of a pending job. I am 100% convinced that she would have been there till the end if she could have, and even if she had the Vandy job, would have finished the season first, and then announced. It amazes me that there are so many people who think Shea would have so little character as to abandon the team during the tournament.

 

[Geew1992]

Some of ya'll are just looking for conspiracy theories!

 

[bluedevil]

I apologize in advance for being the party pooper...Does anyone recall Brown's submission on Apr 2, 2021

I thought it was kind of odd when Geno was asked if they were able to go over different things with Shea and he kind of brushed it off saying what can she do she's not here..he did after awhile say it's per Ncaa rules she can't come back but couldn't help think he was maybe a little upset that she left..I may be totally off base but I expected him to say we go over things with her,she's been watching film,we talk daily ,we miss her not being here but there was none of that

Is i possible that this has been going on for a while?...even that the family issue was not exactly as publicly described.

It would be good to be able to put all this nonsense to bed.

To quote Fox Mulder "Trust No One", The Covid story sounded a little fishy from the get go....Also wondering if the end of male coaches in wcbb is near...

 

[JonathanXIV]

There is no valid reason anyone would leave the SEC for the Big East. She'll be at Vandy to map her own future. UConn will be a place of good memories.

Perhaps. But UConn transcends any conference affiliation. It's not UConn and the Big East. It's simply UConn.

 

[DeeHusky]

Can Diana or Sue take her spot?

 

[UConnCat]

I find it very hard to believe that someone like Shea would abandon her team in the NCAA Tournament because of a pending job. I am 100% convinced that she would have been there till the end if she could have, and even if she had the Vandy job, would have finished the season first, and then announced. It amazes me that there are so many people who think Shea would have so little character as to abandon the team during the tournament.

She wouldn’t of course and even the suggestion of it is unspeakably offensive to Shea.

 

[Carnac]

Can Diana or Sue take her spot?

Either can, and either would be an excellent addition to his staff, but neither appears to be ready to retire from playing professionally. I imagine a front runner will emerge by the end of the week.

Geno probably has a candidate or two in mind. I wonder if Nakisha Sales would be interested in joining the staff? 😳 She’s currently an assistant at UCF. Geno is partial to hiring former players.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I realize that. I was being facetious and saying something equally ridiculous. Sorry you missed that.

I shouldn't have "replied" to another post. There were several folks who commented that players might follow her, including one of the "news" reporters who said he was sniffing 2 transfers.

My point was that players - and certainly not the quality of UConn players (never mind superstars like Paige) are rarely going to follow the assistant. There are cases, but a lot of them are not at top tier programs, in my opinion.

I did not miss that several posters made Paige remarks "tongue in cheek", but the reference to Aari was simply incorrect and rightly or wrongly I felt called to point it out.

 

[CL82]

Charter jet for the ride down. Sweet.

 

[CL82]

I find it very hard to believe that someone like Shea would abandon her team in the NCAA Tournament because of a pending job. I am 100% convinced that she would have been there till the end if she could have, and even if she had the Vandy job, would have finished the season first, and then announced. It amazes me that there are so many people who think Shea would have so little character as to abandon the team during the tournament.

Even Edsall didn't abandon his team, at least until a nano second after the end of the season.

I have to admit that I'm a little conflicted on this. I'm happy for Shea, I truly am, but I feel sorry to see her go. I do take some solace that Maysen shook off the Vandy mascot when he tried to hand her some gear. It is tough read a toddler's expression but I took it as her saying "I'll pass. Keep it you big headed freak. I'm here under protest."

 

[uconnfan68]

You aren't serious, are you?

UCONN will continue to do EVERYTHING it has to do to keep the program top level.
Financial support and resources will continue to be there. UCONN will be extremely attractive to Shea to come back to UCONN.
I hope they like Nashville but don't fall in love with it.
Storrs is where Shea belongs.

Well yeah, I'm totally serious. Did UConn mbb remain at the same level a few years after Calhoun left? Did football stay at the same level after Edsall left the first time (still with a decent conference)? When program builders leave, stuff happens, usually not always good. And if you think UConn has the same financial resources as Vanderbilt, I have an old bridge for sale you might be interested in.

 

[JoePgh]

She wouldn’t of course and even the suggestion of it is unspeakably offensive to Shea.

Suppose (hypothetically, since we'll never know), that she had to travel to Nashville sometime during the NCAA tournament to interview with the AD, the Dean, or the Chancellor. If she had traveled for that purpose, she wouldn't have been able to return to San Antonio because of COVID restrictions.

Then the public story wouldn't have been complete fiction. It would simply have been altered to suppress appropriately non-public information.

If that is what happened, she and Geno have nothing to apologize for.

 

[Crossover]

I apologize in advance for being the party pooper...Does anyone recall Brown's submission on Apr 2, 2021

I thought it was kind of odd when Geno was asked if they were able to go over different things with Shea and he kind of brushed it off saying what can she do she's not here..he did after awhile say it's per Ncaa rules she can't come back but couldn't help think he was maybe a little upset that she left..I may be totally off base but I expected him to say we go over things with her,she's been watching film,we talk daily ,we miss her not being here but there was none of that

Is i possible that this has been going on for a while?...even that the family issue was not exactly as publicly described.

It would be good to be able to put all this nonsense to bed.

You can put nonsense to bed by not repeating it.

 

[UcMiami]

Sales created a life for herself in FL, and a number of years later walked into the UCF gym and asked for a job. I think FL is her home and coaching was a surprising desire she developed - she even joked about how no one and especially Geno or she herself would have ever imagined she would be on a sideline some day. Doubt she is leaving FL for any coaching job.

Shea and Marisa have both landed at 'disaster' programs, with each team being a dumpster fire for the past decade. If they succeed in rebuilding their teams into successful perennial NCAA participants, they will have built ownership of those programs and it will be hard to believe they would leave. Their teams are P5 members and I suspect their schools will pay handsomely to retain them should they be successful.

And if they don't succeed, it will be hard for Uconn faithful to push for them as a succession candidate.

 

[Argonaut]

Suppose (hypothetically, since we'll never know), that she had to travel to Nashville sometime during the NCAA tournament to interview with the AD, the Dean, or the Chancellor. If she had traveled for that purpose, she wouldn't have been able to return to San Antonio because of COVID restrictions.

Then the public story wouldn't have been complete fiction. It would simply have been altered to suppress appropriately non-public information.

If that is what happened, she and Geno have nothing to apologize for.

She didn't.

The job didn't even come open until after the national championship. Until Love, Hall, and Newby transferred, White was going to be able to finish out her contract.

There is no need to speculate that Shea left San Antonio for any other reason than what was disclosed.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

Suppose (hypothetically, since we'll never know), that she had to travel to Nashville sometime during the NCAA tournament to interview with the AD, the Dean, or the Chancellor. If she had traveled for that purpose, she wouldn't have been able to return to San Antonio because of COVID restrictions.

Then the public story wouldn't have been complete fiction. It would simply have been altered to suppress appropriately non-public information.

If that is what happened, she and Geno have nothing to apologize for.

Or, far more likely, she would've said "We'll discuss it when our season is over." Do you really think Vanderbilt would force her to leave her team or else?

 

[UConnCat]

Suppose (hypothetically, since we'll never know), that she had to travel to Nashville sometime during the NCAA tournament to interview with the AD, the Dean, or the Chancellor. If she had traveled for that purpose, she wouldn't have been able to return to San Antonio because of COVID restrictions.

Then the public story wouldn't have been complete fiction. It would simply have been altered to suppress appropriately non-public information.

If that is what happened, she and Geno have nothing to apologize for.

So, just so we’re clear, you’re saying Shea abandoned her team and her coaches, including her former head coach and mentor, during the NCAA tournament so she could interview for a job that was not even available because the previous coach had not yet been fired. You must not think much of Shea. I do. That’s why it’s offensive.

 

[Watchdog]

So if the job is offered to Shea and she decides to take it who do we fill her spot with. I know this may be premature but still fun to talk about.

There have to be at least 20 to 30 people on the Boneyard who believe themselves capable of filling that vacancy............