Let the Carousel begin!

[triaddukefan]

Brutal

 

[MSSportsGuy]

That's cold and somewhat unusual for WCBB but not unheard of in CFB.

 

[Wildcatfan3]

Elzy fired at Kentucky at last.

 

[Vowelguy]

Elzy fired at Kentucky at last.

You were right! Didn’t expect it would happen this year.

And we’ve got out FIRST MAJOR JOB!!

 

[Centerstream]

Brutal

Has anyone here ever seen something like this before?

 

[Vowelguy]

Kentucky candidates?

• Megan Duffy, who used to coach in OH
• Matthew Mitchell ?
• how long has been the Richmond coach been there?

 

[JellyBean]

Brutal

Brutal indeed. Holy smokes! Just makes a coach, who is looking for a job, really want to go coach Utah State.

 

[Wildcatfan3]

Most Kentucky fans would like one of the below.

1. Molly Miller
2. Kim Stephens
3. Carly DuDonis

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Elzy fired at Kentucky at last.

I honestly didn't think it would happen this year, not that I thought things would improve.

 

[Vowelguy]

Brutal indeed. Holy smokes! Just makes a coach, who is looking for a job, really want to go coach Utah State.

We dont know the backstory. Obviously the AD didn’t like the coach but perhaps for good reason?

 

[Plebe]

I honestly didn't think it would happen this year, not that I thought things would improve.

After their disastrous OOC I thought Kentucky might go winless in the SEC. They actually recovered somewhat to win 4 games and finish ahead of 2 other teams. But not enough, obviously.

 

[JellyBean]

We dont know the backstory. Obviously the AD didn’t like the coach but perhaps for good reason?

True. But if I am a coaching looking for a job, I ain't trying to hear the backstory.

 

[JellyBean]

Elzy fired at Kentucky at last.

Not too surprising. Hate to see any coach get fired but sometimes it isn't a great fit. Coach Elzy gave it a shot and things didn't work out. Hopefully she gets another chance and who knows, it might be the right fit.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

After their disastrous OOC I thought Kentucky might go winless in the SEC. They actually recovered somewhat to win 4 games and finish ahead of 2 other teams. But not enough, obviously.

That's one of the reasons I thought she had a chance to hang around one more year even though I didn't think it would change the eventual outcome. Elzy seems like a good person and may just not be cut out for being a HC at the SEC level.

 

[Dillon77]

Here's the official announcement from Kentucky. As you can guess, it's short and to the point.

Kyra Elzy, Kentucky Women’s Basketball Head Coach, Relieved of Duties

National search for new coach to begin

ukathletics.com

 

[Dillon77]

Most Kentucky fans would like one of the below.

1. Molly Miller
2. Kim Stephens
3. Carly DuDonis

Reactions:

• Molly Miller, if memory serves, played at Drury in Missouri and she's been successful and publicized at Grand Canyon for a few years now.
• Kim Stephens is in her first year at Marshall and doing a great job. However, that would be a leap of faith that she could translate one year to a P5 school in need of a rebuild.
• And while DuDonis is having a great 2nd year at Fairfield, that's a mid-major in Connecticut. She was at Minnesota under Whelan, but that didn't turn out that well.

As for @Vowelguy and the Megan Duffy suggestion, while Duffy is from the Dayton area and did spend a few years at Miami of Ohio, I still think of her as a solidly Midwest/Big Ten kind of coach in terms of recruiting and the players she goes after. (For some reason, I think if Uncle Joe retires at Northwestern, you could see an interest in moving down the lake shore coast from Milwaukee...) Something about Duffy and Kentucky doesn't feel quite right there in terms of fit...at least to this Domer.

 

[GoChips20]

Elzy clearly wasn’t the answer at Kentucky and the results were far below what the program should expect but she is incredibly gracious and appears to care deeply about her players and the conference. I hope she gets another opportunity, even if it’s just as an assistant coach. And if nothing else, she coached a team to the most unexpected SECT championship in a decade and no one can take that from her.

 

[Wildcatfan3]

Elzy is a great person, but her downfall was she just couldnt recruit at all and had more significant losses to the portal than additions.

There's a report out there that Matthew Mitchell could be getting hired again which I wouldn't love personally. Karl Smesko is another name out there in Kentucky groups.

 

[Vowelguy]

Elzy is a great person, but her downfall was she just couldnt recruit at all and had more significant losses to the portal than additions.

There's a report out there that Matthew Mitchell could be getting hired again which I wouldn't love personally. Karl Smesko is another name out there in Kentucky groups.

Smesko gets mentioned for every job, even interviewed at a few, and he’s gotten/taken none of them.

He’s got a good gig and likely lifetime employment. And he gets to live in Fort Myers!

I don’t see him leaving that for Lexington KY.

 

[YoDore]

Can't help but feel some empathy with coach Elzy, but there is no legit argument against this decision. I'm just saying she took over the program in the midst of the covid upheaval then had the new NIL and transfer cultures thrown in for good measure. That's a lot to deal with while trying to establish yourself as the leader of the program.

Could be a fresh start will turn out to be a good thing for her and for Kentucky.

 

[cancontent]

Can't help but feel some empathy with coach Elzy, but there is no legit argument against this decision. I'm just saying she took over the program in the midst of the covid upheaval then had the new NIL and transfer cultures thrown in for good measure. That's a lot to deal with while trying to establish yourself as the leader of the program.

Could be a fresh start will turn out to be a good thing for her and for Kentucky.

Well said.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Reactions:

• Molly Miller, if memory serves, played at Drury in Missouri and she's been successful and publicized at Grand Canyon for a few years now.
• Kim Stephens is in her first year at Marshall and doing a great job. However, that would be a leap of faith that she could translate one year to a P5 school in need of a rebuild.
• And while DuDonis is having a great 2nd year at Fairfield, that's a mid-major in Connecticut. She was at Minnesota under Whelan, but that didn't turn out that well.

As for @Vowelguy and the Megan Duffy suggestion, while Duffy is from the Dayton area and did spend a few years at Miami of Ohio, I still think of her as a solidly Midwest/Big Ten kind of coach in terms of recruiting and the players she goes after. (For some reason, I think if Uncle Joe retires at Northwestern, you could see an interest in moving down the lake shore coast from Milwaukee...) Something about Duffy and Kentucky doesn't feel quite right there in terms of fit...at least to this Domer.

I agree. That's not a robust enough list for a P5 job, especially one in the SEC. This job may require someone with more P5 coaching experience. I hope their AD will be working his magic at the Final Four this year because this might be a tougher sell than most think.

And count me as someone else who loves Megan Duffy but does not want her first P5 experience to be Kentucky.

 

[Wildcatfan3]

The reason I like those options is they are young and up and coming coaches who would be hungry for a big time gig. The Kentucky wbb has gone kind of stale so would love someone who could bring some energy into the program. Recruiting will be the biggest thing needed. It's obviously a risk jumping into the P5, but I think those options are more than capable along with Duffy.

 

[nwhoopfan]

The reason I like those options is they are young and up and coming coaches who would be hungry for a big time gig. The Kentucky wbb has gone kind of stale so would love someone who could bring some energy into the program. Recruiting will be the biggest thing needed. It's obviously a risk jumping into the P5, but I think those options are more than capable along with Duffy.

If you want young and up and coming, UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque is only 34 but already has 4 very good years under her belt as a head coach. Miller has been coaching longer, but La Rocque has more experience than the other two mentioned.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Brutal

Very brutal indeed!