Kaela Davis Announcing Today @ 2:45

[Wonkster]

I'm no expert, but it seems to me that the free VolNation http://www.volnation.com/forum/tennessee-lady-vols/ is now the go-to board judging by activity. VolNation had almost no traffic before the Summitt went pay. Is it possible that the Summitt will just fade away over time?

You never know - maybe the Summitt's fees will escalate to $100,000/ year per poster and it will turn a profit!

 

[Kibitzer]

Also, lets be honest can anyone really beat Baylor this year without Griner getting hurt?

I'll concede 2012. But they will go down on February 18, 2013.

 

[Bestiarius]

You never know - maybe the Summitt's fees will escalate to $100,000/ year per poster and it will turn a profit!

Yes, they can probably survive with $200,000 (Maria & TinyVol).

 

[asuwish]

Do you not consider Stricklen and Johnson to be star players? Add in Baugh, even though she was often injured and couldn't be relied upon consistently, I'd say going #2 and 4 in the draft is a pretty good indication of the talent level of those 2 players.

Tenn fans may believe that Massengale and Burdick and Graves are future "stars", but if you don't believe Stricklen and Johnson were, then I don't see how you can think any of those 3 are.

So by some definitions of "stars", Tennessee now has one - Russell. Not enough to win a NC obviously, especially when UCONN has so many more. So a ton depends on the 2014 class. Does Tennessee back up Russell with Turner and Wilson and one of the top PG's in the class (Caldwell or Canada or Mitchell)? It remains to be seen...

Final thought - not every kid wants to play for the best or play in front of the kind of bright lights that exist at Tennessee and UCONN. Diamond and Kaela chose to take a chance. Della Donne chose Delaware over UCONN. It seems like more and more kids are opting for programs NOT named UCONN, Tennessee, Duke or Stanford.

The reality is that there are more good players, more good coaches, and more schools that see investing resources in woman's basketball as a positive (probably because they see how a strong program can effect a school). Some kids want to make there own name, be the star, find a school w/ their major (a woman's pro basketball career isn't generally lucrative). The Key for the Uconn's and TN is to target the kids that want to play in that situation. By the way Diamond chose one of the longer standing elite teams (Yes, a title in the 90's, and lots of great players for many years = elite) Many people thought she chose their "STYLE " of basketball over the way Uconn or TN plays.