Louisville Dumps Tennessee

[stwainfan]

I haven't thought for even a bit since she took over that she is doing a good job.... Understood it is hard to take over for a legend.... but based on 35 years of experience, 5 as head coach and 1 more as head coach filling in for Pat, don't you think she would have the hang of it by now... and she even admits that she does not know how to fix things.... do you really think she is competent? and to your suggestion about Westbrook, do you think she will get proper coaching?

I think next year will be the most talented team Holly has had. I look at players like Harrison and Nared. As two players who improved. Just using those two as a example.

 

[Bayareahusky]

I think next year will be the most talented team Holly has had. I look at players like Harrison and Nared. As two players who improved. Just using those two as a example.

Yes you are correct about Harrison and Nared.... I hope it works as you want it with Holly.

 

[Blueballer]

I think next year will be the most talented team Holly has had. I look at players like Harrison and Nared. As two players who improved. Just using those two as a example.

I applaud your loyalty. Or maybe it's being a realist because of the long contract Holly has. So if next year is also somewhat of a bust if it's the most talented group will that be the breaking point for you regarding a coaching change?

 

[augustaTC]

A lot of the problem with following a legend is that legends surround themselves with good people.... who act in the capacity of tenured, vested, loyal supporters, but not necessarily with the imbued qualities of the legend him or herself. And associated with that, schools (and/or the legends themselves) act with their hearts and name these underlings to the top spot... and rarely it turns out well.... Bruiser Flint after Calipari at UMass, Gene Bartow at UCLA, Esherick at Georgetown, the list goes on and on.... Jimmy Johnson was successful.... but he was not in the Landry lineage... he was from the outside.

Excellent point (that's why I said "near to impossible" - had to allow for a minor cop-out!). But boy, is it hard. And somehow being the loyal #2 for a bunch of years doesn't quite cut it. Good luck to whoever has to replace Bellichick. Or Popovich. Arguably Auerbach's successors break the rules, but he was looking over their shoulders as GM so it wasn't so clear cut.

 

[DaddyChoc]

That's what you kept saying about Tuck. I won't say "It ain't happenin'." But it probably ain't happenin'. Just enjoy her while she's here

Stevens do not have the knee issues that Tuck has/had... also Tuck was with UConn for 4 yrs, she could say that she had enough

Bad comparison

 

[CocoHusky]

These are my thoughts. As far as this year. The loss of Cooper did hurt. However I do think overall the team. Took some steps forward over the previous year. Most players improved their stats over the previous year. I think next year with the freshman coming in, and Cooper back. If Both Mercedes and Diamond return. The team is a FF caliber team.

I think next year will be the most talented team Holly has had. I look at players like Harrison and Nared. As two players who improved. Just using those two as a example.

Sounded familiar so I actually went back and did a search. The following events were supposed to propel TN back to national prominence and or FF per Lady Vol fans.

• Cierra Burdick #3 recruit.
• Te'a Cooper "best PG in the class"
• Signing of Diamond DeShields
• Mercedes Russell being "healthy"
• Diamond staying healthy.

Now Lady Vols fans are banking on incoming #1 recruiting class. TN spent much of this season unranked. TN has had consecutive years of double digit losses. TN has had 3 consecutives years of multiple losses to unranked teams. Perhaps a less loft objective (single digit losses season ) should be TN's goal and not the FF.

 

[Geew1992]

I go over to the LV board alot. There are numerous fire holly threads. There are a coupple of the best candidate for the job is... Most of their fans have no faith in Holly. Don't believe she will get them back to the promise land. Says even with the number 1 recruiting class coming in, HW will screw that up too. That she makes great/good talent bad. There are still some that think she's done a good job and the reason for this year was due to the short bench/injuries. But the majority have written her off.

 

[stwainfan]

I applaud your loyalty. Or maybe it's being a realist because of the long contract Holly has. So if next year is also somewhat of a bust if it's the most talented group will that be the breaking point for you regarding a coaching change?

Thanks. I think I will wait and see how next year goes. Yes it could be . I think the team will be better though.

 

[stwainfan]

Sounded familiar so I actually went back and did a search. The following events were supposed to propel TN back to national prominence and or FF per Lady Vol fans.

• Cierra Burdick #3 recruit.
• Te'a Cooper "best PG in the class"
• Signing of Diamond DeShields
• Mercedes Russell being "healthy"
• Diamond staying healthy.

Now Lady Vols fans are banking on incoming #1 recruiting class. TN spent much of this season unranked. TN has had consecutive years of double digit losses. TN has had 3 consecutives years of multiple losses to unranked teams. Perhaps a less loft objective (single digit losses season ) should be TN's goal and not the FF.

Diamond played hurt her first year. Mercedes game improved. She tied Harrison for most double double games by a junior. She is in the number 37 all time in points. I think had Cooper been healthy. She would have helped also.

 

[CocoHusky]

Diamond played hurt her first year. Mercedes game improved. She tied Harrison for most double double games by a junior. She is in the number 37 all time in points. I think had Cooper been healthy. She would have helped also.

 

[augustaTC]

I go over to the LV board alot. There are numerous fire holly threads. There are a coupple of the best candidate for the job is... Most of their fans have no faith in Holly. Don't believe she will get them back to the promise land. Says even with the number 1 recruiting class coming in, HW will screw that up too. That she makes great/good talent bad. There are still some that think she's done a good job and the reason for this year was due to the short bench/injuries. But the majority have written her off.

Those LV fans are a tough group. My nephew married a lovely young lady from Knoxville and she and her family are Tennessee fans. Her Dad is a huge LV fan and I made the mistake at the wedding of mentioning the Huskies......Oops. Couldn't resist sending their 2-yr old daughter one of those baby headband thingies from the UConn store for Christmas (as a gentle poke, obviously) and asked them to send me a pic when she tried it on. Absolutely refused to even put it on her head! I was kind of surprised but my nephew explained his wife was worried the pic (that never happened) might "get out" and be seen by her friends & family members. They're great kids, but in the immortal words of Cris Carter, "C'mon Man"!

 

[CocoHusky]

Those LV fans are a tough group. My nephew married a lovely young lady from Knoxville and she and her family are Tennessee fans. Her Dad is a huge LV fan and I made the mistake at the wedding of mentioning the Huskies.Oops. Couldn't resist sending their 2-yr old daughter one of those baby headband thingies from the UConn store for Christmas (as a gentle poke, obviously) and asked them to send me a pic when she tried it on. Absolutely refused to even put it on her head! I was kind of surprised but my nephew explained his wife was worried the pic (that never happened) might "get out" and be seen by her friends & family members. They're great kids, but in the immortal words of Cris Carter, "C'mon Man"!

Get child protective services involved if you have to.

 

[augustaTC]

Forgot to mention, the family cat (orange of course) is named Neyland.

 

[sarals24]

It's always something with the Lady Vols. Middleton was supposed to come in and be the next great shooter. Meme Jackson was uber athletic. Cooper was the next great point guard. Mercedes and Diamond were #1 coming out of high school. (As a side note, they technically have more #1 HS players on their roster than UConn does).

I know injuries happen, but either the player development isn't there, or the recruiting is bad (recruiting highly ranked players with no thought as to how they fit together) or the in game coaching is bad. I think it's a combo of all three. But it all starts and ends with the head coach.

 

[j66kicker]

Stevens do not have the knee issues that Tuck has/had... also Tuck was with UConn for 4 yrs, she could say that she had enough

Bad comparison

You heard it here first

Just sayin' many here are overly optimistic about this type thing. The reality is almost all the high WNBA prospects who can go - they go. Somebody a week or 2 ago in this same discussion came up with an eligible player (?) from way back when who didn't go, but that one example was all anybody could come up with. ??

 

[HoopsFan21]

You heard it here first

Just sayin' many here are overly optimistic about this type thing. The reality is almost all the high WNBA prospects who can go - they go. Somebody a week or 2 ago in this same discussion came up with an eligible player (?) from way back when who didn't go, but that one example was all anybody could come up with. ??

I hope she does stay and play for two years. Imagine that second year's line up: Crystal Dangerfield (jr), KLS (sr), Collier (sr), Z (sr), Walker (so).

 

[Carnac]

I am trying really hard to be sympathetic but I just can't!!!! I am a bit scared we end up like them wen Geno retires, but I trust our staff to find a better coach than Tennessee did. Since Pat's day they seem to run on ego. I think we will make a better choice.

It will be a sad day in the kingdom when Geno decides he's had enough, and retires. A day that no UConn fan wants to see, but it will come. Geno will no doubt set records that will never be matched or eclipsed by any other coach in WCBB. The hardest thing in sports to do is to replace a living legend coach (John Wooden/Pat Summitt/Adolph Rupp, Vince Lombardi, Bill Walsh, Arnold "Red" Auerbach, Phil Jackson (11 rings), etc.), and their respective teams continue to win and flourish as they did when they were coaching.

How did their respective teams do after they retired? You can learn/glean from a coach, try to copy or emulate his/her style and philosophies, but that association does not guarantee the same success. Whoever replaces Geno will take over a team with the highest profile in WCBB. They will also assume the same expectations to win from the fan base, former players and the school administration. When that time comes, let's hope they find the right coach, and as you said, a better coach than Tennessee did.

 

[LasVegasYank]

Terrific recruiting class.....again.

If they have a similar season next year I wonder if that class will start thinking they made the wrong decision and you could see a couple of transfers out of the program.

Just thinking.

 

[Bigpetunia]

It's always something with the Lady Vols. Middleton was supposed to come in and be the next great shooter. Meme Jackson was uber athletic. Cooper was the next great point guard. Mercedes and Diamond were #1 coming out of high school. (As a side note, they technically have more #1 HS players on their roster than UConn does).

I know injuries happen, but either the player development isn't there, or the recruiting is bad (recruiting highly ranked players with no thought as to how they fit together) or the in game coaching is bad. I think it's a combo of all three. But it all starts and ends with the head coach.

Well, you're right...it's "always something" with them. But, of the possible "culprits" you list, I can't count bad recruiting among them. They get the players, but, as you suggest, Holly fails in developing them. Yes, she's highly ineffective as an in-game coach, but the main thing I'd list is the obviously deficient quality of her pre-season and pre-game coaching. I've been rightly accused of denigrating her skills on our forum by folks who recognize the fundamental impossibility of stepping into the shoes of a legend...point taken. But as UConn fans, treated as we are to a level of preparation of players and development of strategies by the very pinnacle of coaching ability, we cannot help but watch the LV's with a certain sense of incredulity...players standing around on offense, poor spacing and poor ball movement. Geno would be on the sideline fully apoplectic! Someday, someone is going to face the daunting task of replacing Geno, maybe Shea? I dunno...but I promise we'll see a better performance than what Holly's turning in. She's just in way over her head. The one thing that continues to amaze me is that such highly talented (well, in high school, anyway) players keep showing up on her doorstep. Maybe it's an institutional thing, that the LV legacy continues to attract long after Pat's departure, hopefully something we too can someday count upon.

 

[Rixxx]

BigP, that is because TN has no offense!!! Or, the players do not understand Holly's "system". A new coach is desperately needed at TN. Unfortunately, Holly's contract still has two years to run.

 

[HoopsFan21]

BigP, that is because TN has no offense!!! Or, the players do not understand Holly's "system". A new coach is desperately needed at TN. Unfortunately, Holly's contract still has two years to run.

They didn't have offense when Pat was there. There's a reason Geno was 4-0 vs. Pat in title games.

 

[VAMike23]

BigP, that is because TN has no offense!!! Or, the players do not understand Holly's "system". A new coach is desperately needed at TN. Unfortunately, Holly's contract still has two years to run.

Fixed it for you ... !

 

[lcjeff]

Well fortunately for UConn. Your coach didn't have health issue. Then had to step down. I do not know the full extent of how that effected the team and recruits. I think that Westbrook will be a star. As far as Holly is concerned. Like Gary Blair said she's doing a great job. It's hard to replace a legend.

No,she isn't.Each year our record gets worse.Ten-loss seasons will be the norm under Warlick.She is in WAY over her head and the only thing she has in her favor is the faction of the fan base that cannot accept reality.I can promise you that we'll NEVER have a Final Four team while Holly is coach.

 

[oldude]

I have no dog in this hunt, but I find it fascinating that the arguments over Holly Warlick between Lady Vol fans, usually found on the VolNation board, have now migrated to the BY.

As always, the BY welcomes input from other teams fans.

 

[meyers7]

No,she isn't.Each year our record gets worse.Ten-loss seasons will be the norm under Warlick.She is in WAY over her head and the only thing she has in her favor is the faction of the fan base that cannot accept reality.I can promise you that we'll NEVER have a Final Four team while Holly is coach.

Then I hope you guys give her a lifetime contract.