Tennessee (merged threads)

[huskeynut]

where is Aurabass...

And were are his color coded charts!!!!!!

 

[DaddyChoc]

And were are his color coded charts!!!!!!

I'm sure he doesn't even waste his time these days

 

[ed4ourgirls]

I take no joy in this. . . .

I agree insofar as the kids on the team are concerned.

But when I think of Maria Cornelius' head exploding, then, well . . .
it is ungenerous of me I know, but yeah, I take pleasure in that.

 

[bballnut90]

I understand that impulse, but teams play games in November and December for a reason. That's when almost all nonconference games are played, and the committee has made it clear that it wants teams to challenge themselves in the games they have a say in scheduling. Saying a nonconference win is "meaningless" would fly in the face of that ethos.

You have a good point, it should count for something and Tennessee should get credit for their #1 SOS, but I'd say their last 2 losses should vastly outweigh their win over OSU for several months ago.

 

[JS]

I wasn't there
It sounds horrible.
But to wish on any team or group of kids the ongoing catastrophe which is the UTenn season
Is uncharitable, unChristian (I'm a Jew) and beneath the dignity of this board.

Preach on, Michael. But you may notice a lack of enthralled listeners. Perhaps the fault is in the message.

1. Wishing ill (losing) on a "team." Fans love some teams, dislike others -- as a team or program. That's one of the mainsprings of sports fandom. We who harbor that dislike in the case of Tennessee -- and, with more precision and continuity, a segment of its fan base -- will have to live with our failure to meet your standards of charity, religious principle or "dignity" (whatever you mean by that; I for one, IMO, can with great dignity despise a certain group of people).

2. Wishing ill (losing) on a "group of kids." Oooo, how mean. But a straw man. The kids' feelings about losing and being a part of a hideous excuse for basketball are collateral damage. No one here wants them to feel bad, but it's irrelevant if one is satisfactorily to wish ill under point 1. If a team is to lose, individuals have to lose. They're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe they should've gone somewhere else. But that's sports.

 

[Bayareahusky]

I wasn't there
It sounds horrible.
But to wish on any team or group of kids the ongoing catastrophe which is the UTenn season
Is uncharitable, unChristian (I'm a Jew) and beneath the dignity of this board.

I agree with you these kids do not deserve the verbal circus that they are currently experiencing...... The only thing i will put on them is - if true - that they quit on their coaching staff..... and the Lady Vol tradition..... don't know if that is true..... but it sure looks like it..... losing to LSU and Alabama at the bottom of the division.....

This is all about Holly though..... she cannot coach in the top spot..... and has proven that for 5 years..... and she deflects blame over to her players.... not very admirable....... AND... going to the comment that you had responded to...... Holly was part of the Pat and Maria brigade that tried to dismantle our program like a grizzly would tear into a piece of flesh..... if we brought up the ravenous Tennessee fan boards at that time..... they were much less civil and much more offensive than this one is.....

 

[JordyG]

You weren't on the Boneyard during the time of the NCAA investigation and didn't see the vitriol and spewing of lies by a handful of whackadoos in the Tennessee fan base. Part of the complaint was based on posts from the Boneyard and gathered by minions of the Head Whackadoo. Boneyarders, including me, were called to task by the UConn Compliance Department and its lawyers. I, personally received a slew of nasty, vile PMs from Tennessee fans due to my support of Geno and the UConn Athletic Department and I was actually condemned to eternal damnation by one particularly loopy person.

I have no animus towards the young women at Tennessee but the small group of fans that did their best to make trouble for UConn, the Boneyard, and Boneyarders can all go pound sand. The more miserable they are because of the performance of their basketball team is okey-dokey with me and, no, I don't care if that sounds juvenile.

And so your happiness is contingent on the unhappiness of a few knuckleheads. No offense really, but with that logic let's just junk our entire Democracy. I like to think my happiness will never be linked to the misery of any other. The people responsible for those reprehensible acts against you, indeed more than reprehensible, are slowly being taken over by more level headed Lady Vol lovers. Yeah, I get some (a little) pleasure in hearing about the suffering of those few. I get it. But I also see the game I love slowly sinking into obscurity. That from being a niche sport. Those administrators who spearheaded those unwarranted attacks against Maya and her mother are either gone, were just good soldiers (like clueless Holly) or have Alzhiemer's. By the by, I have to deal daily with the effects of my mothers Alzhiemer's. First comes the suspicion, then the accusations (sound familiar?) and frustration. All well before the forgetting and (thank you Ms. Dickinson) the letting go. I love WBB. I love these great athletes who deserve the recognition and salaries commensurate with their abilities. I think we Husky fans need to be bigger than any of our UT counterparts and just let some crap go for the betterment of these great athletes. Even a rock becomes weary in the face of a meager stream.

 

[JordyG]

Jordy like you I was not here on (Boneyard) when the events that Nan is describing actually happened. I feel bad for not having warned you. When I did join just by reading the intensity of some of the posting regarding TN and the attempt to destroy the UCONN program via innuendo I decided two things 1) For the people that were here it was a very traumatic set of events 2) It must be entirely and solely up those people how they deal with that trauma. The best that outsiders like you and I can do is to give them as wide a berth as possible. (Why did I just hear Sean Connery voice in my head when I was writing that?

Once again you show yourself to be better than I. I won't apologize for being the voice of reason. I will apologize to all posters who believe I've picked an angry and deep scab. My feelings are my own, and if they differ from many please dismiss them and me as a know nothing neophyte. These feelings however will never disqualify me from a full fledged membership in Husky Heaven, nor my love for these exception women who clearly play this sport for the love of it. Not the glory, the money or the attention, as do their male counterparts.

 

[CocoHusky]

That'd be like saying UConn should hire C Viv if Geno left.

So you think Holly = Geno? That is bizarre!

 

[ctfjr]

I don't oppose a game vs Tennessee but it's not particularly relevant at this point, IMO. PHS is no longer coach and unless Tennessee hires someone that can inspire UConn fans to care about the game, I don't know why anyone wants this matchup. If, say, Courtney Banghart were the LV coach, I'd have a hard time feeling that I want to see Lou drop 40 points on her and then punch something orange. Tennessee is no longer a rival in any way, shape, or form so to me a game would be just another out of conference date on the schedule.

As for the apology thing, I don't care about publicly humiliating anyone from Tennessee. If Warlick or the AD privately apologized to the Moore family, I'd be good with that.

To be clear, my anger is directed at the Tin Foil Hat Brigade, Cronan, and Summit, although that's faded due to the fact that paranoia is an early sign of dementia. I just don't care about Tennessee, the university, any more. The only reason I watch the games is to enjoy the Brigade's misery. I do like to watch other teams when I can, though, and Tennessee is still a "name".

One of my all time best memories of the rivalry

 

[CocoHusky]

I wasn't there
It sounds horrible.
But to wish on any team or group of kids the ongoing catastrophe which is the UTenn season
Is uncharitable, unChristian (I'm a Jew) and beneath the dignity of this board.

What is below the dignity of the board is your repeated attempts to stir the pot when ever this subject comes up. In this case you deliberately ignore Nan's statement: "I have no animus towards the young women at Tennessee".

 

[CocoHusky]

Once again you show yourself to be better than I. I won't apologize for being the voice of reason. I will apologize to all posters who believe I've picked an angry and deep scab. My feelings are my own, and if they differ from many please dismiss them and me as a know nothing neophyte. These feelings however will never disqualify me from a full fledged membership in Husky Heaven, nor my love for these exception women who clearly play this sport for the love of it. Not the glory, the money or the attention, as do their male counterparts.

I consider myself no better or worse than any other human & neither should you. You should never apologize for your opinions, just simply leave enough room for others to disagree. Our collective love of UCONN WBB can be a powerful bonding agent if we keep those first two thing in mind.

 

[Kaizen]

I wasn't there
It sounds horrible.
But to wish on any team or group of kids the ongoing catastrophe which is the UTenn season
Is uncharitable, unChristian (I'm a Jew) and beneath the dignity of this board.

I think Nas said: I have no animus towards the young women at Tennessee but the small group of fans that did their best to make trouble for UConn.

Nan never said "any team or group of kids". You may misunderstand what she said.

 

[JS]

And so your happiness is contingent on the unhappiness of a few knuckleheads. No offense really, but with that logic let's just junk our entire Democracy. I like to think my happiness will never be linked to the misery of any other.

A bad start to a post that doesn't get any better in terms of being condescending, judgmental and self-righteous - in terms (as Coco rightly indicated) of telling other BYers how they "should" (in your view) feel about things.

But in addressing the self-styled "voice of reason," I'll pick on just one central misconception: that the people who spearheaded the effort to bring down UConn are all gone.

The attack was hatched on The Summitt message board, the leaders of which prevailed on the coach and staff to launch it and then followed up with a campaign of innuendo and personal smear that has gone on for years now.

Those people, the cause and perpetuators of the problem, are still there and at last report still at it. Those of us who indulge ourselves with a bit of schadenfreude at their presumed misery will not be overly concerned with your judgment on us.

 

[JordyG]

A bad start to a post that doesn't get any better in terms of being condescending, judgmental and self-righteous - in terms (as Coco rightly indicated) of telling other BYers how they "should" (in your view) feel about things.

But in addressing the self-styled "voice of reason," I'll pick on just one central misconception: that the people who spearheaded the effort to bring down UConn are all gone.

The attack was hatched on The Summitt message board, the leaders of which prevailed on the coach and staff to launch it and then followed up with a campaign of innuendo and personal smear that has gone on for years now.

Those people, the cause and perpetuators of the problem, are still there and at last report still at it. Those of us who indulge ourselves with a bit of schadenfreude at their presumed misery will not be overly concerned with your judgment on us.

I apologize. In the most non-condescending way possible I regret offending you.

 

[JS]

I apologize. In the most non-condescending way possible I regret offending you.

Apology gladly accepted. Now I feel guilty for eliciting it.

Would much rather enjoy Tennessee's awful UConn's great season in the company of the best fans anywhere, including you, Jordy.

 

[HuskyNan]

And so your happiness is contingent on the unhappiness of a few knuckleheads. No offense really, but with that logic let's just junk our entire Democracy. I like to think my happiness will never be linked to the misery of any other. The people responsible for those reprehensible acts against you, indeed more than reprehensible, are slowly being taken over by more level headed Lady Vol lovers. Yeah, I get some (a little) pleasure in hearing about the suffering of those few. I get it. But I also see the game I love slowly sinking into obscurity. That from being a niche sport. Those administrators who spearheaded those unwarranted attacks against Maya and her mother are either gone, were just good soldiers (like clueless Holly) or have Alzhiemer's. By the by, I have to deal daily with the effects of my mothers Alzhiemer's. First comes the suspicion, then the accusations (sound familiar?) and frustration. All well before the forgetting and (thank you Ms. Dickinson) the letting go. I love WBB. I love these great athletes who deserve the recognition and salaries commensurate with their abilities. I think we Husky fans need to be bigger than any of our UT counterparts and just let some crap go for the betterment of these great athletes. Even a rock becomes weary in the face of a meager stream.

Wow, you really managed to mangle what I said. I was going to argue with you but you're up on your high horse, busy passing judgement on others, so I won't bother.

 

[Patrick Lilly]

Article on Holly and Lady Vols at RockyTopInsider.com: LINK

 

[Jim R]

Article on Holly and Lady Vols at RockyTopInsider.com: LINK

Thanks for the article. Rutherford's analysis is "spot on".

 

[Fiftyish]

Very good article. Writer makes some accurate points. Only quibble I have is his comment, "Historically, Tennessee is still the most prestigious program." I'm not buying that.

 

[Topdawg]

Nathanael Rutherford has written a balanced article. He is factual and postulates that the rise of other teams rather than the decline of the Lady Vols accounts for their current predicament. Some of us may use the same data and conclude otherwise.

Three ingredients are necessary for success. It starts with players who have good high school level skills and athleticism and a desire to work hard to get better. It takes a coach who can help in their skill development and more importantly, teach players to work together to win. Third, the coach and the players have to build a culture of excellence, mutual support, and a desire to win. If you can't do these three things consistently, should you be worried about what other programs do?

 

[HuskyNan]

Would have been nice to tip the cap to the historical powers Old Dominion, La Tech, USC, and Texas. And Stanford has been a top program for a couple decades, not just the last few years.

I'm not sure I buy the premise of the article, though. It's not just the rise of other programs; Tennessee's slide has an awful lot to do with coaching, both PHS and HW, and a lot to do with recruiting. Geno says that there aren't as many kids in each class that he thinks are recruitable, due to the issue Rhonda Rompola brought up, but the LV coaches obviously don't agree and they appeared to sign talent without regard to team chemistry. If it were simply a matter of there being more talented teams to compete with the LVs then Tennessee should have been able to beat less talented teams but lose to the more talented ones. That's not the case here.

The coaching is bad at Tennessee and so is the chemistry. There needs to be a new coach and that coach needs to find kids that are willing to wholeheartedly buy into the coach's system, whatever that may be. Until then, hiding behind the excuse that Tennessee isn't able to keep up with more talented teams (how many teams are more talented than this year's LV squad?) is just avoiding the fact that the foundation of the program is shaky and needs to be shored up. It needs to be done soon or the shine will be off the LV name and kids will no longer even look at Tennessee as a destination.

 

[JavaMan]

Would have been nice to tip the cap to the historical powers Old Dominion, La Tech, USC, and Texas. ...

Exactly! Tennessee made the biggest mark after the original historically prestigious teams set the bar. They deserve credit for that, and for the level of dominance they reached. But, that's ancient history. Now they're just another dusty, dog-eared page in the book. Their accomplishments have been surpassed, their dominance eroded, and their prospects destroyed. Good night Irene!

 

[vtcwbuff]

C'mon guys. Everyone knows that women's basketball didn't exist until Pat Summitt invented it. If it weren't for her Geno would be selling shoes somewhere in New Jersey.

I know that to be true because I read it on an orange message board.

 

[SWHuskyFan]

I think judging the talent level on the LVs by their high school rankings is silly at this point. I don't see a lot of talent on their roster. Nearly everyone has glaring holes in their game. They have some athletes but they can't shoot. They have some size but Russell is slow and can't pass and Graves can't seem to figure out a way to score. Nearly everyone on their roster has a serious flaw in their skills. I just don't buy that they're this uber talented team that just can't put it together due to coaching or chemistry. Those are both bad but I think they also lack in several areas. They don't have anyone who passes well and they almost universally have shooting issues. Hard to win with those flaws. Do I think they could improve with better coaching and chemistry? Sure. Do I think they could win a NC with better coaching and chemistry? No.