Kaela Davis Reopens Recruitment

[UcMiami]

Yeah, the assumption that everyone is negative recruiting against Tennessee is odd to me. At this particular moment, the program is underperforming relative to its lofty historical standards, and Pat's condition is well known. The uncertainty in recruits' minds is going to be there without a coach of another school bringing it up. Not saying that none are, as I'm not sitting in any kid's living room listening to the various pitches, but the notion that it would take negative recruiting for kids to harbor serious concerns is rather silly.

I can't imagine any coach would even talk about TN or Pat. If they did so, I think they would lose the respect of the recruit and their parents. And as others noted - this isn't inuendo, it is a fact that everyone knows. Until a TN recruiter can say ... 'your coach next year will be ___ and at the end of your four years you coach will be ____' with any amount of certainty, they are going to have trouble. There is never absolute certainty in coaching matters, but asking someone to sign a very restrictive 4 year contract, with no certainty at all is nearly impossible.
Just a side note - I wonder if the NCAA in these exceptional circumstances would allow TN to create a modified LOI, that removed the 1/2 year transfer penalty? That might be a solution that would help TN and be acceptable to all the other member institutions?

 

[HuskyNan]

I actually agree with this. I hadn't seen that thread and this is the first time that I have heard anyone say that, but I thought the same thing when I have watched UT games. They rarely show her up on the sidelines, just when she is sitting there.

I am not saying that it is a conspiracy, but I do think there is some truth to the fact that she is not shown very often doing anything. It gives the impression that she does nothing other than sit there in a fog.

It would certainly give some juice to any marketing plans ESPN might have for hyping the "could this be Pat Summit's last NCAA tournament?" campaign that I see as inevitable, unfortunately. I think ESPN will be sacrificing small animals and drawing pentagrams in its basement in Bristol to bring about a UConn-Tennessee game this year.

 

[EricSD]

I actually agree with this. I hadn't seen that thread and this is the first time that I have heard anyone say that, but I thought the same thing when I have watched UT games. They rarely show her up on the sidelines, just when she is sitting there.

I am not saying that it is a conspiracy, but I do think there is some truth to the fact that she is not shown very often doing anything. It gives the impression that she does nothing other than sit there in a fog.

yep it's a conspiracy i tell ya! everyone has it in for tennessee and pat!!

 

[JS]

It would certainly give some juice to any marketing plans ESPN might have for hyping the "could this be Pat Summit's last NCAA tournament?" campaign that I see as inevitable, unfortunately. I think ESPN will be sacrificing small animals and drawing pentagrams in its basement in Bristol to bring about a UConn-Tennessee game this year.

Yep. As a business they're ruthless marketers. They're gonna latch onto a story line that they think will get the attention of viewers. And their camera work will reflect that story line.

"There's more coaching left in Pat than you may think" isn't exactly the drama they're looking for. And reality, if that's it, isn't the point.

 

[easttexastrash]

Yep. As a business they're ruthless marketers. They're gonna latch onto a story line that they think will get the attention of viewers. And their camera work will reflect that story line.

"There's more coaching left in Pat than you may think" isn't exactly the drama they're looking for. And reality, if that's it, isn't the point.

That is how the media works. It is a double-edged sword at this point. Pat went public with her condition to raise awareness and she knew what the consequences would be. And I suspect that she wanted recruits to know the situation so that they could make a decision based on the facts. I have no doubt that she knew how it would affect the university.

However, Pat also has a commitment to her current players who committed to playing for her. How fair would it be to those players to just walk away without trying to fight through her situation. What kind of message does that send to them? That of being a quitter? She made the right decision at the moment and I suspect that she will make the right decisions going forward.

UT is going to feel the effects of this. Pat will eventually have to tell her team that she tried and did her best but that she will have to step down for the good of the university. But at least she has shown that she is a fighter who met this challenge head on. This senior class deserves to have her around until they graduate.

 

[EricSD]

one thing i meant to add to my post was that don't the teams sit opposite where the cameras are? in other words, as the kids play back and forth across the court, the camera follows them and you get an easy view of the team's benches at that time. Every single play as the teams move back and forth, we get a full view of each bench with the coaches and players for each team. whenever i see the UCONN games on CPTV, or nationally televised, you can catch Geno or the other coach pretty much every play. and when the kids are shooting FT's, it's a "still" of the coaches on whatever bench is behind that side of the court.

now it may be that ESPN is manipulative, nefarious, deceitful, has it in for Tennessee and is taking an active part in a conspiracy to destroy Tennessee and their entire program. or it could be that Pat really does spend an overwhelming majority of her time sitting in a chair on the bench. It's really simple to see based on the camera angles and views. you can constantly see the instantaneous reactions of the coaches/players on most every play without needing any special camera angle or close up of a coach.

now i don't doubt that ESPN does only care about itself and promoting whatever is in their best interest, as would be a Tennessee team seeded in UCONN's bracket. but it hasn't happened for years and i'm not sure they have the NCAA's in their back pocket.

 

[MarieM]

one thing i meant to add to my post was that don't the teams sit opposite where the cameras are? in other words, as the kids play back and forth across the court, the camera follows them and you get an easy view of the team's benches at that time. Every single play as the teams move back and forth, we get a full view of each bench with the coaches and players for each team. whenever i see the UCONN games on CPTV, or nationally televised, you can catch Geno or the other coach pretty much every play. and when the kids are shooting FT's, it's a "still" of the coaches on whatever bench is behind that side of the court.

now it may be that ESPN is manipulative, nefarious, deceitful, has it in for Tennessee and is taking an active part in a conspiracy to destroy Tennessee and their entire program. or it could be that Pat really does spend an overwhelming majority of her time sitting in a chair on the bench. It's really simple to see based on the camera angles and views. you can constantly see the instantaneous reactions of the coaches/players on most every play without needing any special camera angle or close up of a coach.

now i don't doubt that ESPN does only care about itself and promoting whatever is in their best interest, as would be a Tennessee team seeded in UCONN's bracket. but it hasn't happened for years and i'm not sure they have the NCAA's in their back pocket.

i wanted Tennessee to play Uconn last season in the final fore but notre dame happened. lol

 

[Tonyc]

This is a huge blow as a top recruit is thinking of leaving which will send a message to all AAU players that things arent well at TN. It will be a domino effect. Trying to play monday morning quarterback youve got to wonder with all the kids who have left TN and didnt go to TN if Pats illness was kept quiet. Dont forget to Micki left TX and GG to come back to TN. Looking back youve got to wonder about that too. I do know coaches who have said how can I support TN with Pat ill and not knowing who will replace her??? Gotta wonder what TN is waiting for.

Gotta wonder about more transfers??? The end will come soon as I expect a Pat Summitt night. She has earned the right to keep her title as head coach forever however someone needs to step in and run the team and pick up the pieces and start the rebuilding.

 

[wallman]

Shocker wel maybe not. I had heard Notre Dame was only looking at bigs 2013 hence Nelson. After watching Buford in AZ I don,t think either would be Uconn type players just my humble opinion.

 

[UConnCat]

now it may be that ESPN is manipulative, nefarious, deceitful, has it in for Tennessee and is taking an active part in a conspiracy to destroy Tennessee and their entire program. or it could be that Pat really does spend an overwhelming majority of her time sitting in a chair on the bench. It's really simple to see based on the camera angles and views. you can constantly see the instantaneous reactions of the coaches/players on most every play without needing any special camera angle or close up of a coach.

eric, the complaints that ESPN was creating a "false narrative" about Pat on the bench occurred after the ND game. I went back and watched the entire 2nd half and focused on Pat every time the game action was at the Tenn end of the court. She sat on the bench with her legs crossed for the entire 2nd half while game action was underway. I'm sure she got up during timeouts, but I saw nothing misleading about ESPN's camera shots, at least during the 2nd half. I think she was up coaching 1 or 2 times during the 1st half but, again, not once during the 2nd half. I don't understand the complaints or why it would be in ESPN's interest to create a false impression about her in-game coaching.

 

[trb123]

I respect coach PHS. I have never said anything against her. I have some questions about her situation.

1. When did she learn that she has Alzheimer?

2. Was she pushed to announce this publicly? If not, why did she decide to do it at the start of the 2011-12 season and not earlier?

 

[easttexastrash]

My understanding is that this was diagnosed over the summer, after last season, but I could be mistaken. I have heard no reports that she was pushed to make this announcement, and even if she were it would probably never have been reported that she was. It sounds as if she made the announcement pretty quickly. I am sure that she really had to give some thought to making the announcement and that she wanted to get as much information as possible before making an announcement.

Anyone who has had a serious medical issue (I've have my share) knows that it is a long process of going to doctors, gathering all information and making decisions about how to handle the situation. Seems to me that she did her due diligence and then made the announcement in a fairly short time frame.

 

[rwdinsalem]

One thought would be for them to give her the title of Head Coach Emeritus and hire a new head coach. She would then still be involved. The only problem would be finding a new coach that would work under that arrangement.

 

[easttexastrash]

I believe that nobody will have to tell Pat what is the right thing to do. I think that she will recognize that the situation is not one that can continue and that she will handle this with grace and due to her love for the university.

We all make it sound so simple. This is a woman who has spent almost her entire post-college life dedicated to this program. How in the world can anyone expect this to be something that she could just one day say "well, time for me to go. So long"? I think that she wanted to do her best to see these seniors thorough to their last game.

 

[doggydaddy]

From Maria -

"I think it is very, very, very unlikely that Tennessee recruits Kaela Davis going forward.

Again, recruiting landscapes do change but I see the Tennessee train rolling down the track.

What transpired was underhanded and unethical based on the phone call I got last night from Georgia from a very credible and longtime source who has no dog in the fight."

Wow...more accusations without naming names.

THAT I believe is unethical.

 

[justML]

From Maria -

"I think it is very, very, very unlikely that Tennessee recruits Kaela Davis going forward.

Again, recruiting landscapes do change but I see the Tennessee train rolling down the track.

What transpired was underhanded and unethical based on the phone call I got last night from Georgia from a very credible and longtime source who has no dog in the fight."

Wow...more accusations without naming names.

THAT I believe is unethical.

AND . . . when you read further you'll discover that Muffett is quickly replacing Geno as the devil incarnate.

 

[UConnCat]

From Maria -

"I think it is very, very, very unlikely that Tennessee recruits Kaela Davis going forward.

Again, recruiting landscapes do change but I see the Tennessee train rolling down the track.

What transpired was underhanded and unethical based on the phone call I got last night from Georgia from a very credible and longtime source who has no dog in the fight."

Wow...more accusations without naming names.

THAT I believe is unethical.

So now it has moved beyond an assumption. The intrepid Scout reporter has unearthed credible sources who claim that a coach (is it Muffet?) has engaged in "unethical and underhanded behavior" with respect to Davis and it's likely Tenn will stop recruiting her. So, I guess we're to believe that but for this "unethical and underhanded behavior," Davis would remain fully committed to Tennessee. What exactly are Davis and her family being told that is so underhanded? That Pat has early onset dementia Alzheimer's type? And on top of that, Pat isn't as fully engaged as a bench coach and she may retire sooner rather than later? Scandalous. I guess we're supposed to believe that Davis and her family are innocents in all of this and at the mercy of the mendacious and manipulative Muffet. Call the FBI.

 

[UcMiami]

ETT - I think you have it correct - I believe time from 'final diagnosis' to announcement was counted in weeks not months. I don't think Pat had much choice regarding making an announcement - she is too public and high profile a person not to have done so.

 

[DaddyChoc]

KD's daddy did play for the "Indiana" Pacers in the NBA... so he's familiar with the area.

 

[EricSD]

eric, the complaints that ESPN was creating a "false narrative" about Pat on the bench occurred after the ND game. I went back and watched the entire 2nd half and focused on Pat every time the game action was at the Tenn end of the court. She sat on the bench with her legs crossed for the entire 2nd half while game action was underway. I'm sure she got up during timeouts, but I saw nothing misleading about ESPN's camera shots, at least during the 2nd half. I think she was up coaching 1 or 2 times during the 1st half but, again, not once during the 2nd half. I don't understand the complaints or why it would be in ESPN's interest to create a false impression about her in-game coaching.

thanks for going back and checking that. i saw a "photo" on the tennessee board of Pat up and about during one of the games. and the fans were literally ALL over it talking about the ESPN conspiracy and how they wanted to destroy Pat (i'm not kidding). if the disease has progressed the way some on here who have personal experience believe, it's possible she's even fortunate to be on the bench for an entire game without some kind of incident...

 

[EricSD]

So now it has moved beyond an assumption. The intrepid Scout reporter has unearthed credible sources who claim that a coach (is it Muffet?) has engaged in "unethical and underhanded behavior" with respect to Davis and it's likely Tenn will stop recruiting her. So, I guess we're to believe that but for this "unethical and underhanded behavior," Davis would remain fully committed to Tennessee. What exactly are Davis and her family being told that is so underhanded? That Pat has early onset dementia Alzheimer's type? And on top of that, Pat isn't as fully engaged as a bench coach and she may retire sooner rather than later? Scandalous. I guess we're supposed to believe that Davis and her family are innocents in all of this and at the mercy of the mendacious and manipulative Muffet. Call the FBI.

i'm thoroughly shocked that the tennessee AD and coaching staff is allowing the moderator from the message board to post stuff like that. IF tennessee and Kaela were to part ways, i hardly think it would be done publicly by the coaches or the player with viciousness or petty snark.

i get that there is negative recruiting out there. many (some) UCONN fans aren't thrilled with Freeze with regards to what happened over the recruitment of Laura Harper. but to put specifics out there accusing someone of being "unethical and underhanded" makes her look like a complete buffoon. then again this is the same lady who apparently reported DoggyDaddy to the FBI, and was instrumental in the 35 page complaint to the NCAA that actually named the boneyard in its' complaint... talk about the pot calling the kettle black (sort of).

and for the record, if Kaela and her family are as intelligent as they've been made out to be, i HARDLY think they would fall for "unethical and underhanded" comments. to me "unethical and underhanded" would be "don't go play football for Penn State - their coaches are all child molesters".

but having a conversation with a kid regarding what they've been told about the future HC situation, and discussing it and even saying "do you want to stay committed to a school where you have no idea who the HC is going to be?" is well within the bounds of discussion.

and after all, isn't Kaela the god-sister of Candace Parker? and didn't her mom have some involvement with tennessee in the past? and wasn't tennessee her dream school? i hardly think ANYONE could negatively recruit her out of tennessee, and if someone tried, i'd bet THEY'D be taken off Kaela's list, not Tennessee.

i hate to admit it, but their board is a train wreck and it's a guilty pleasure to head over and witness the carnage.

 

[Icebear]

thanks for going back and checking that. i saw a "photo" on the tennessee board of Pat up and about during one of the games. and the fans were literally ALL over it talking about the ESPN conspiracy and how they wanted to destroy Pat (i'm not kidding). if the disease has progressed the way some on here who have personal experience believe, it's possible she's even fortunate to be on the bench for an entire game without some kind of incident...

You need to remember, eric, that ESPN is in UConn and Geno's back pocket.

 

[speedoo]

From Maria -

"I think it is very, very, very unlikely that Tennessee recruits Kaela Davis going forward.

Again, recruiting landscapes do change but I see the Tennessee train rolling down the track.

What transpired was underhanded and unethical based on the phone call I got last night from Georgia from a very credible and longtime source who has no dog in the fight."

Wow...more accusations without naming names.

THAT I believe is unethical.

Nobody should be surprised at this behavior. Maybe people don't remember as well as I do that she was actually on the Boneyard making accusations about Geno after Summitt terminated the series. She "hears things" and then makes assertions as though those "things" are facts, proven by a wealth of evidence. Some moderator.

 

[Bestiarius]

LVs need to figure out the coaching situation. They have a good brand, great exposure and facilities, and they devote lots of resources to WBB. But right now, if you're a 16 year old recruit, you don't know who's going to be your coach when you arrive in Knoxville, much less when you leave. That's a problem.

I think the brand is Pat, not Tennessee. What do they tell recruits about the tradition before Pat? "We have a long history before Pat. Twenty-nine years. We won 93 games during that time! That's more than 3 games a year. One coach coached 9 of those years, but we can't seem to find the records. Anyhow, 93 wins and only 57 losses. Thats 62%, almost as good as we're doing this year! Our new coach will be carrying on the tradition. Trust Me."

 

[Bestiarius]

one thing i meant to add to my post was that don't the teams sit opposite where the cameras are? in other words, as the kids play back and forth across the court, the camera follows them and you get an easy view of the team's benches at that time. Every single play as the teams move back and forth, we get a full view of each bench with the coaches and players for each team. whenever i see the UCONN games on CPTV, or nationally televised, you can catch Geno or the other coach pretty much every play. and when the kids are shooting FT's, it's a "still" of the coaches on whatever bench is behind that side of the court.

now it may be that ESPN is manipulative, nefarious, deceitful, has it in for Tennessee and is taking an active part in a conspiracy to destroy Tennessee and their entire program. or it could be that Pat really does spend an overwhelming majority of her time sitting in a chair on the bench. It's really simple to see based on the camera angles and views. you can constantly see the instantaneous reactions of the coaches/players on most every play without needing any special camera angle or close up of a coach.

now i don't doubt that ESPN does only care about itself and promoting whatever is in their best interest, as would be a Tennessee team seeded in UCONN's bracket. but it hasn't happened for years and i'm not sure they have the NCAA's in their back pocket.

Apparently those afflicted with Pat's illness are told not to get stressed, and to remain calm. She may still be capable of her former demeanor, but might just be following doctors orders and letting her assistants do the emoting.

 

[Bestiarius]

You need to remember, eric, that ESPN is in UConn and Geno's back pocket.

Refs too.

 

[Tonyc]

Great post Doggy. Now watch your back. LOL I think reality is finally settleing down in TN. It is very apparent to me that Pats illness just didnt happen. If Parker hadnt come along with her demands how long would it be since TN won a NC????? Many years. Now looking back and playing monday morning quarterback we can understand how the best class in the nation has underperformed and why so many kids transfered and didnt commit to TN. Yes yea yea the TN fans will scream that there was a conspiracy and that ESPN and Geno and everybody else did this and that. The truth is they werent told the truth. For example the top recruiting class in WCBB lost to Ball St. Now look at them. They arent all there, theyve left. Its been going on for sometime. Looking back its easy to see what has been going on. The truth is looking back 4 years ago we can now see what was happening. The truth is we never were told the truth it was kept from everybody. Now the FBI story chasing a doggy. The truth is the truth was hidden.

Whats next? I will make a few predictions. There will be a Pat Summitt day and a new coach will be announced. I predict that coach will not come from UConn but from a very close rival of UConn. I will also predict DD will verbal to UConn killing TNs hopes and that K Davis will end up at either GA or another ACC team. I will also predict one of TNs guards will transfer at the end of the season and most likely will transfer to an ACC team and face UConn next season. I hope this dosnt get me another NCAA violation or FBI report or give aurabass a heart attack.

 

[Georgestarr7]

One note concerning ESPN/UT: during the UT/SC game they did focus on Pat standing in a time-out huddle and quite animatedly haranguing the players. The announcers spent time on it, labeling it a good old-fashioned Pat Summit finger-point-in-the-face educational moment.

 

[HuskyNan]

This thread, which started out as an actual discussion, has turned in a direction I don't like. I'm ending this now.

If people just want to throw stones at the Summit, do it over there.