Tenn AD retiring

[Vowelguy]

next summer

He seemed to be no fan of the wcbb team. Will be interesting to see if the next ad cares more.
It also could mean that Warlick has another year reprieve. Hart will probably not fire her , as he will leave that situation for his successor.

 

[bags27]

lots of ways to read this, assuming (somewhat big assumption) that Holly is fired:
1. Current AD will fire her on his way out, to do his successor a favor, so, barring at least another elite 8 finish, this is her last year
2. As you say, current AD passes the buck to next AD, but the next AD may not want to do the deed until having all his/her political ducks in a row: Never underestimate what we don't know: Holly might have lots of friends on the Tenn Board of Trustees. And so Holly might actually get up to 3 more years.

Of course, the real challenge for her is two fold: 1. win this year with a reasonably talented but very depleted team; 2. recruit, recruit, recruit.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Rabid Tenn Vols fans have consistently ascribed malignant motives to Hart's systematic dismantling of the robust women's athletic department that was built and maintained by Pat Summit, most symbolically portrayed by the abolition of the Lady Vols branding (saved for the women's b'ball program by fan outrage). They see the early extension of Holly's contract 2 seasons ago in the same light. Mediocrity in the Tenn program is what he wants they argue. There would be rejoicing in Rockytop if Hart took the burden of canning her, but I believe that is a dubious, small possibility. Despite all the lip gloss spent on the SEC women's programs, there are still few among them able to knock of the shadow that once was Tennessee. In other words, they will stumble to a decent SEC record and that suits Tenn's powers that be just fine. Hart didn't undertake his athletic department remake without the upper ups blessing.

 

[EricLA]

I think regardless of what happens with the AD, Holly has a reprieve for several years. Last year was awful, but they made the elite 8 - their draw was perfect for them and they had a clear path to the NC game. This year, in spite of the injuries, they have a core group of 4 who is as solid as most top 10 teams in the nation on paper. If the team learns from last year and buys in to Holly's coaching, they will at least have a solid season.

The biggest question mark is recruiting. Yes Tenn fans can be happy that they are on the short list of many top recruits (almost as many as L'ville it seems), but lately, all Holly's been able to land are some 2nd tier players and some JUCO transfers. If they are able to land a top 10 or 2 in the next 2 recruiting cycles, most fans, and certainly the AD will look at them as "back on track". If they strike out in 2017, then I tend to agree that 2018 is do or die because they will be left with almost nothing when Reynolds, Russell, Deshields and Nared graduate...

 

[stwainfan]

I do like the Butch Jones hire. I think he's a real good football coach. The team is ranked #10 is one poll.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I hate to say it, but. while I always expect Tennessee to be among the better WBB teams (and softball, among others) I don't expect they will ever experience their dominance again. That means, unfortunately, that UTenn fans need to adjust their level of satisfaction.

I don't think Holly is a "great" coach, and agree with comments above that indicate a possible recruiting issue. That said, the results (from a distance) maintain Tennessee in the national picture - that's why they have some top talent considering them, even if they haven't landed them. I don't think a coaching change would necessarily be a bad thing, but I'm not sure that a dramatic improvement or return to history would be the result.

 

[Beemer]

I'll bet there is a lot of celebrating going on Lady Volunteers land right about now.

 

[Kibitzer]

This little meaningless (for UConn) tidbit from Tennessee is -- like the "DeShields Is Back" thread (140 posts/4,000+ views) -- is catnip to the Boneyard.

AD Hart is retiring. So what! Barring a colossal collapse Holly is secure.

Who knows what Diamond will do a year from now? (Even Diamond herself.)

So many of us wait with bated breath to find out who succeeds Hart and where DeShields plays in 2017.

Sorry, but not me. I'm more concerned about Kia going left, Gabby's perimeter game, and Pheesa's labrum.

Only about 80 days to go.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Here's an article from a Tennessee newspaper:

John Adams: Vols AD Hart forced out Pat Summitt and hired Butch Jones