Tennessee 2025, part 2 | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Tennessee 2025, part 2

Vowelguy said:
Illogical? Uhhhhh

So you think a coach at a
High academic school wouldn’t ever want
Employment at her
Alma mater??
Expand ...
Nice.

My take on this is, however, that S.H.E.A. would actually choose to be a forever coach at Vandy rather than go back to Storrs.

Hopefully soon UConn resolves the 'conference challenge', but current structure post Geno will be tough to recruit in.

Vandy is now about 2 years ahead of schedule for being competitive in SEC, and bring back Galvan/Blakes tandem to build around for next 2 seasons.

Shea will be the Geno of Vandy, she's also at home in the South.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
Wonder if Candace Parker has any interest in coaching? I'm sure she's talks about it. Good communicator and obviously a lot of gravitas.
Expand ...
She's not (she's said it plenty of times before), and the ONLY way that I could see her considering it is if Kim Caldwell sinks the program to the point where she would feel compelled (for the sake of Pat Summitt's legacy) to jump in and save it. And even then, she'd be relying heavily on her assistant coaches to show her the ropes. She's got some friends in the biz who probably would help her, if it came to that.
 
Vowelguy said:
Purdue Maryland Texas LSU NcSt ODU have gotten to final 4s with multiple coaches

(+ UCLA Rutgers if counting AIAW)
Expand ...
South Carolina made the 1980 AIAW Final Four.

Royalty looking down at the Tennessee one coach wonder poors. 😄
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
Not sure we really have a blue blood program in WBB.

Mainly just have coaching legacies at this point.

There isn't really yet a program that has two hall of fame tenures. I'm not thinking of it anyway.
Expand ...
Vanderbilt not there yet but on the cusp, maybe
 
.-.
Gamecockfan77 said:
Not sure we really have a blue blood program in WBB.

Mainly just have coaching legacies at this point.

There isn't really yet a program that has two hall of fame tenures. I'm not thinking of it anyway.
Expand ...
Two Halll of Fame tenures? Only one school.

LaTech :
Sonja Hogg (.848) and
Leon Barmore (.935)
As co-coaches for 3 years, they went 90-9
 
1772198152985.png
 
Back to Tennessee. What’s their bottom? This year, even with a miraculous upset, they appear to be D. O. N. E. What’s the path forward look like? They have some HUGE hurdles ahead. They probably aren’t firing Caldwell, but I think she needs help and a support staff that has some HC experience. And staff that she will listen to. She seems a bit rigid and out of touch. You fix the latter first because it may impact who stays and who packs their bags, possibly including incoming recruits. And lastly, they probably need a concerted marketing effort to secure their fanbase. One of the realities of being a storied program is that a significant portion of he fans are not only financially invested, but emotionally invested. I don’t peruse twitter or whatever else is out there with any purposeful intent, but wherever I go I see a fanbase having an emotional meltdown. No judgement. It’s just what I see.
 
Wow! A lot of hijacking going on in stwainfan’s thread. Not nice.

I wonder how most LV fans feel now about this “style” or “system”. A good offense beats a good defense most of the time because you’re at the mercy of the offensive team. Good coaches dedicate a part of their practice to “breaking the press”, which is so simple when you have so much space on a basketball court.
 
Last edited:
To get back to the topic and answer @LwrcasefaN and @TheGOAT23, a few thoughts all IMHO obviously

Tennessee fans were really distraught over the really bad Mississippi State and aTm losses. As well as the historic beatdowns at the hands of UConn and SC.

But then you look at the efforts against Texas (-2), Oklahoma (-7), and they were down 5 with about 4 minutes left in Q3. They also played UConn even for the entire first half. My point is against some tough competition, thy were competitive for long stretches, and then - I'm not sure - lost focus maybe?

People asked if she has "lost this team". I don't think so. We will see what they do against Vandy. I think Tennessee will be desperate - and if they DO lose, they will be beyond desperate to win at least one SEC tourney game to avoid going 2-10 to end their season on a 7 game losing streak.

Creme has had Tennessee as a 7 seed for a bit now, and the bracketology said it updated today, but that can't be correct. They should have dropped to 8 or 9. I don't care how strong their SOS is - their extended losing streak and record over the past 10 games has to be accounted for.
 
.-.
I've seen people describe Tennessee as in a downward spiral. I understand why they would say that but I think the situation is a little more complicated. I would use a roller coaster metaphor and that may even apply within games. As Eric noted, the first half of the UConn game and the second half were very different. How much of that is Tennessee how much of that is UConn?

The TAMU loss was clearly a low point, but note that TAMU is doing better recently. They managed to lose to number 67 Missouri by double digits in January, but responded to beat a better team number 62 Auburn by 18 points in February, and follow that up with three more wins, one of which, Arkansas, was expected but Mississippi State not so much. I'd say TAMU is a little better than the ashheap some have relegated them to, but it still served as a bad loss for Tennessee.

On the other side of the ledger, a two-point last-second loss to number four Texas, seven point loss to Oklahoma are not exactly the results you expect from ateam spiraling to disaster. Even the 16 point loss to LSU is a better result than you would expect of a team not worthy of her tournament bid. For example Florida's probably just on the inside the bubble but lost by 29 to LSU.
 
Phil said:
I've seen people describe Tennessee as in a downward spiral. I understand why they would say that but I think the situation is a little more complicated. I would use a roller coaster metaphor and that may even apply within games. As Eric noted, the first half of the UConn game and the second half were very different. How much of that is Tennessee how much of that is UConn?

The TAMU loss was clearly a low point, but note that TAMU is doing better recently. They managed to lose to number 67 Missouri by double digits in January, but responded to beat a better team number 62 Auburn by 18 points in February, and follow that up with three more wins, one of which, Arkansas, was expected but Mississippi State not so much. I'd say TAMU is a little better than the ashheap some have relegated them to, but it still served as a bad loss for Tennessee.

On the other side of the ledger, a two-point last-second loss to number four Texas, seven point loss to Oklahoma are not exactly the results you expect from ateam spiraling to disaster. Even the 16 point loss to LSU is a better result than you would expect of a team not worthy of her tournament bid. For example Florida's probably just on the inside the bubble but lost by 29 to LSU.
Expand ...
I think that this is a level-headed and fair take. Despite some recent missteps, Tennessee could finish above 0.500 with a win on Senior Day against Vanderbilt. That would give them a better SEC record than last season and would give them their signature win for the season. I'm not expecting it, but I won't be shocked if it does happen.
 
Tenn has had an interesting schedule:

#1 UConn
#2 UCLA
#3 SC
#4 TX
#5 Vandy
#6 LSU
#7 Oklahoma
#10 Louisville
all losses

#16 Kentucky - a win!

Let's say they are the 25th best ncaa team. With this schedule they would be expected to lose these games.

They have looked awful at times, competitive at times. Still with 4 quad 1 wins and 8-8 in SEC, they will squeak into the tournament.
 
Last edited:
I think they'll do more than squeak in. By seed is a bridge too far, especially as the selection committee has more recency bias than the algorithmic rankings, but I could see them as a six or seven seed probably seven. The committee won't saddle them with the dreaded eight seed which means in matchup against the one seed in the second game.
 
Phil said:
I think they'll do more than squeak in. By seed is a bridge too far, especially as the selection committee has more recency bias than the algorithmic rankings, but I could see them as a six or seven seed probably seven. The committee won't saddle them with the dreaded eight seed which means in matchup against the one seed in the second game.
Expand ...
With the exception of William and Mary, who won their conference tournament, but had a losing record, the team with the fewest wins the tournament last year had 19 wins (assuming Wiki is accurate). I know some people have argued that Tennessee “should have lost” the games that they played against higher ranked teams recently, but they also have an embarrassing loss to A&M. I personally think they should consider themselves lucky if they get an 8/9 seed. If they lose to both Vandy and in their first game of the SEC tournament, all bets are off.
 
packwrap said:
Tenn has had an interesting schedule:

#1 UConn
#2 UCLA
#3 SC
#4 TX
#5 Vandy
#6 LSU
#7 Oklahoma
#10 Louisville
all losses

#16 Kentucky - a win!

Let's say they are the 25th best ncaa team. With this schedule they would be expected to lose these games.

They have looked awful at times, competitive at times. Still with 4 quad 1 wins and 8-8 in SEC, they will squeak into the tournament.
Expand ...
They will not squeak in. They are nowhere close to the bubble.
 
.-.
I just keep coming back to firing Jolley essentially for Cardoso making that three and two years later you're on the worst losing streak suffering the worst defeats in school history.
 
packwrap said:
Tenn has had an interesting schedule:

#1 UConn
#2 UCLA
#3 SC
#4 TX
#5 Vandy
#6 LSU
#7 Oklahoma
#10 Louisville
all losses

#16 Kentucky - a win!

Let's say they are the 25th best ncaa team. With this schedule they would be expected to lose these games.

They have looked awful at times, competitive at times. Still with 4 quad 1 wins and 8-8 in SEC, they will squeak into the tournament.
Expand ...
For a qualifier, KY was without Teoni Key for that game as she had dislocated her elbow. She’s back and KY is playing much better with 3 strong options and two supporting options. They have pretty good top 6 so in a rematch vs TN, I am taking Kenny.
The thing I am confused about Caldwell is she has no plan B when her run and gun scheme fails. She can’t make any adjustments at half tome and doesn’t anticipate any adjustments by the other team. She seems seriously in over her head and is very stubborn at the thought it could be her fault. She is in only year 2 but I don’t see this ending well.
 
I’m bemused by the easy assumption that Vanderbilt is academically superior to UConn, or many other state schools for that matter. These sorts of judgments are typically made based on very flawed information (rankings, acceptance rates, endowments, etc) and reveal very little about the undergraduate experience. In reality, there is probably very little to distinguish Vandy from UConn (or Harvard or Stanford) as an academic experience. Of course, as a recruiting device, the value of academic reputation, however erroneous, can have a powerful influence on the decision making process of high school kids and their parents.
 
Phil said:
I think they'll do more than squeak in. By seed is a bridge too far, especially as the selection committee has more recency bias than the algorithmic rankings, but I could see them as a six or seven seed probably seven. The committee won't saddle them with the dreaded eight seed which means in matchup against the one seed in the second game.
Expand ...

Tennessee could end up being a victim or benefactor to the proverbial seeding "bump" due to avoiding intra-conference matchups. If Tennessee is an 8/9 seed, they won't be placed in a sub-regional of SEC schools like South Carolina or Texas/Vandy if those schools end up as #1 national seeds. That leaves either UCLA or UConn who they faced in the regular season.

If Tennessee gets a 7-seed, they won't be placed in the sub-regional of SEC schools like Texas/Vandy/LSU if those schools end up as #2 national seeds.
 
Bone Dog said:
I’m bemused by the easy assumption that Vanderbilt is academically superior to UConn, or many other state schools for that matter. These sorts of judgments are typically made based on very flawed information (rankings, acceptance rates, endowments, etc) and reveal very little about the undergraduate experience. In reality, there is probably very little to distinguish Vandy from UConn (or Harvard or Stanford) as an academic experience. Of course, as a recruiting device, the value of academic reputation, however erroneous, can have a powerful influence on the decision making process of high school kids and their parents.
Expand ...
Did you wander into the wrong thread perhaps?
 
EricSD said:
To get back to the topic and answer @LwrcasefaN and @TheGOAT23, a few thoughts all IMHO obviously

Tennessee fans were really distraught over the really bad Mississippi State and aTm losses. As well as the historic beatdowns at the hands of UConn and SC.

But then you look at the efforts against Texas (-2), Oklahoma (-7), and they were down 5 with about 4 minutes left in Q3. They also played UConn even for the entire first half. My point is against some tough competition, thy were competitive for long stretches, and then - I'm not sure - lost focus maybe?

People asked if she has "lost this team". I don't think so. We will see what they do against Vandy. I think Tennessee will be desperate - and if they DO lose, they will be beyond desperate to win at least one SEC tourney game to avoid going 2-10 to end their season on a 7 game losing streak.

Creme has had Tennessee as a 7 seed for a bit now, and the bracketology said it updated today, but that can't be correct. They should have dropped to 8 or 9. I don't care how strong their SOS is - their extended losing streak and record over the past 10 games has to be accounted for.
Expand ...

I honestly don’t think she ever “had” this team. Besides Kentucky, they really haven’t beaten anyone. They started the season ranked top 5-10 and never saw that rank again.

I watched many of their games. This team never bought into her system. She never made adjustments as the season went on.

Also…. Volnation does on a hill that the refs have it out for them. That’s why they’ve lost 9 in a row.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
167,744
Messages
4,537,176
Members
10,413
Latest member
Sec202


Top Bottom