Tina Thompson to UVA

[Plebe]

I'll use this moment as the excuse to share one of my favorite commercials of all time. Tina doesn't speak a word but she is money:

 

[eebmg]

I'll use this moment as the excuse to share one of my favorite commercials of all time. Tina doesn't speak a word but she is money:

That made my day. Thanks.

 

[j66kicker]

I wonder whether she had to agree to not accept Texas transfers for a specified time period as part of her taking the VA job?

Haha - I was thinking maybe she PROMISED a couple transfers

 

[southie]

I'll be curious to see if Collier and others stay committed to Texas after

Collier and Prince aren't "committed"; they signed LOI's last November. And, both were committed to Texas several years ago when Thompson wasn't even on the coaching staff.

 

[Plebe]

Collier and Prince aren't "committed"; they signed LOI's last November. And, both were committed to Texas several years ago when Thompson wasn't even on the coaching staff.

Commitments can be verbal or written, contractual or otherwise.

"... stay with Texas" would be alternative verbiage.

 

[Plebe]

That made my day. Thanks.

There's a whole series. Another one starring Tina:

 

[psconn]

Tina always came across pretty well in interviews and was a good player in her WNBA days. She has a lot of playing experience and while it doesn't always translate to winning, name recognition goes a long way. The ACC is a tough conference with ND, Louisville, NCState but there is potential for UVA to be in the middle of the conference if they can get a few good recruits.

"Good" player?

 

[eebmg]

There's a whole series. Another one starring Tina:

Hilarious.

 

[triaddukefan]

Kinda surprised that a program with UVA's history would reach for an assistant coach for her first HC job. That being said.... I wish Thompson luck...... but not THAT much luck

 

[Dillon77]

"Tina Thompson will be my position coach [at Texas], and that will be amazing for me," Collier said last week after speaking on a panel at the espnW: Women + Sports Summit. "When she played with the Comets and Cynthia Cooper, just seeing how smooth her game is, I feel like I can pick up from that."

"I want to become versatile like that, to have that overall game because it can help you in the long run," said Collier, a 6-foot-5 post player. "I feel like her being the woman that she is outside of basketball, she can help me with life skills as well."

No. 2 prospect Charli Collier wants to stay close to home and play for Texas Longhorns

Collier and Prince aren't "committed"; they signed LOI's last November. And, both were committed to Texas several years ago when Thompson wasn't even on the coaching staff.

Commitments can be verbal or written, contractual or otherwise.

"... stay with Texas" would be alternative verbiage.

Southie: When you used the word "committted" above, were you referring to a verbal commitment?
If so,
- Tina Thompson joined Karen Alston's staff as an assistant in 2015;
- Sedona Prince verbally committed in 2016 (see link below); and,
- Charli Collier did it again in 2017, citing the quote Orangutan posted earlier.

Texas women's basketball gets verbal from 6-7 Liberty Hill post | Hookem.com

 

[Orangutan]

Charli Collier did it again in 2017, citing the quote Orangutan posted earlier.

From the article I cited: "Collier originally gave the Longhorns a verbal commitment as an eighth grader."

 

[DeeHusky]

Congrats to Tina!! These hires lately are shockers! - I hope she does better than both her Comets teammates (Cooper and Swoopes) as they are all legends in playing, but coaching not so much! Think she’ll be great in recruiting.

 

[southie]

Sedona Prince originally committed to Texas as a freshman in high school (shortly after Charli committed as an 8th grader). She later decommitted (after Charli did). Then, Sedona re-committed in 2016 (Fall of her junior year in high school).

 

[JellyBean]

Pretty sweet hire for UVA. Now all she has to do is hire the right staff members around her and let the process begin.

 

[WLT1717]

Tina always came across pretty well in interviews and was a good player in her WNBA days. She has a lot of playing experience and while it doesn't always translate to winning, name recognition goes a long way. The ACC is a tough conference with ND, Louisville, NCState but there is potential for UVA to be in the middle of the conference if they can get a few good recruits.

She was a great player, full stop.

 

[Bigboote]

She still has 7 months to go before the early signing period in November, during which she could change her mind. If I was Tina Thompson, one of the first things I might do is to drive over to Rural Retreat, VA, just about an hour away, and introduce myself.

I must be missing something -- Rural Retreat? Is that where Brunelle's forebears are from? It's nowhere near Greene County, and it's a whale of a lot further from Charlottesville than an hour (maybe an hour from Tech?). I don't think there's much in Greene County that's more than half an hour from the UVA campus.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Well I made two blunders in my first post. I referred to Tina as a good player in no way to slight her and admit she was much better than good, she was great. She deserves the HOF accolades. Still, my bad for the poor choice of words.

Also I failed to mention FSU as the other of the top teams in the ACC along with ND, Louisville and NC State. It's a tough layer to crack but BC, Clemson, and Pitt are starting with new coaches as well. The UVA brand may be a bit ahead of those 3 and it's the best academic school of that group which could play to Tina's advantage. UNC has name recognition but Hatchell is in the last stages of her career. JPM has underwhelmed me coaching with all her talent but I can't recall if she's had more than a season or two when one or more of her potential impact players hasn't been injured for most or all of their games.

An argument could be made the ACC and Pac-12 are the strongest conferences for women's basketball. Thompson has her work cut out for her but it's not a bad job at all.

 

[oldude]

I must be missing something -- Rural Retreat? Is that where Brunelle's forebears are from? It's nowhere near Greene County, and it's a whale of a lot further from Charlottesville than an hour (maybe an hour from Tech?). I don't think there's much in Greene County that's more than half an hour from the UVA campus.

I must have had a senior moment. I meant to say Ruckersville.

 

[JSB60]

My favorite thing about Tina Thompson is when Karen Aston was asked if she had any matchup advantages with UCONN and she said she thought Tina Thompson could take Chris Dailey.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone as universally admired and respected among coaches and former players as Tina Thompson. She wasn't just a good or a great player. She is a legend. Entered the W rather underrated, much like teammate Cynthia Cooper, but was absolutely critical to the Comets dynasty.

That's the second Texas assistant coach in three years who has graduated to head coach, after Travis Mays went to SMU two years ago.

This may be a testament to the Texas renaissance under Karen Aston, but I get the sense she could use some stability in her staff. I'll be curious to see if Collier and others stay committed to Texas after Thompson's departure.

And Virginia is one of those schools that could foster a great basketball program. It is close to Washington, D.C. and the excellent talent there, as well as not far from the fertile basketball talent in the Carolinas and farther south. And Virginia has the reputation not only as an excellent academic program, but also as a solid sports university within the ACC. I think Virginia could challenge UNC and Duke, as well as U of South Carolina for regional talent right off the bat.

Only hope that our once-recruit at the post can rethink her commitment to Texas and come home to the Constitution State!

 

[Charliebball]

 

[Dillon77]

And Virginia is one of those schools that could foster a great basketball program. It is close to Washington, D.C. and the excellent talent there, as well as not far from the fertile basketball talent in the Carolinas and farther south. And Virginia has the reputation not only as an excellent academic program, but also as a solid sports university within the ACC. I think Virginia could challenge UNC and Duke, as well as U of South Carolina for regional talent right off the bat.

Only hope that our once-recruit at the post can rethink her commitment to Texas and come home to the Constitution State!

Fairfield (et al):
As an ND fan, I spend a fair amount of time observing other ACC teams and agree with all your points. However, Tina and the Cavaliers not only have to challenge traditional rivals for that talent pool, but up and coming programs like North Carolina State (led by Wes Moore) and Virginia Tech (led by Kenny Brooks). And you've got to think (hope) that Clemson will be pushing hard with a new coach.
And then there are the SEC teams that also reach into that neck of the country.

That's why Charlie's post of her first offer -- in Milwaukee! -- makes sense, as well. Going to have find talent regionally, but also elsewhere. Luckily, UVA has that kind of academic and overall reputation. And you've got to think, Tina will rely on her Texas connections, as well as her fellow WNBA alums for tips.

Should be an interesting ....

 

[DefenseBB]

Ah @Dillon77 my dear ND colleague I appreciate the chuckle "you've got to think (hope) that Clemson will be pushing hard with a new coach" lest we forget that coach is Amanda Butler and when was the last time she nabbed a top recruiting class?

The one caveat I want to caution everyone on here is the track record or more specifically, the lack of track records of any great player making a great coach. Most recently was Sheryl Swoopes who crashed and burned. Of all the top coaches out there right now, Kim Mulkey is probably best player and successful coach combo in WCBB with Dawn Staley second (ironically a Virginia alum) and then a distant third is maybe Holly Warlick...Other than that, I can't think of any top-notch players who have made the successful transition (hence all my sneers at my fellow BYers who think DT or Sue Bird should come in sight unseen and replace Geno). The game usually comes organically (easily) for the great players that when trying to teach or coach, they get frustrated or miss the subtle points less skilled players need to understand.

Normally, I would be shocked that a top program is giving it's reins to an unproven entity but given the sad state of affairs at UVa and what lack of success a "proven winner" in Joanne Boyle had as pedigree prior to UVa, I sort of understand why-what do they have to lose? If Tina was the reason all these bigs went to Texas and she can convince others to come to Virginia, the real and only question is her game x's and o's-something she better know how to do as clearly Karen Aston was "game coach challenged". Time will tell.

 

[Charliebball]

Should I assume that UVA has those same strict academic standards for WBB athletes as Stanford etc.........?

 

[bbsamjj]

Ah @Dillon77 my dear ND colleague I appreciate the chuckle "you've got to think (hope) that Clemson will be pushing hard with a new coach" lest we forget that coach is Amanda Butler and when was the last time she nabbed a top recruiting class?

The one caveat I want to caution everyone on here is the track record or more specifically, the lack of track records of any great player making a great coach. Most recently was Sheryl Swoopes who crashed and burned. Of all the top coaches out there right now, Kim Mulkey is probably best player and successful coach combo in WCBB with Dawn Staley second (ironically a Virginia alum) and then a distant third is maybe Holly Warlick...Other than that, I can't think of any top-notch players who have made the successful transition (hence all my sneers at my fellow BYers who think DT or Sue Bird should come in sight unseen and replace Geno). The game usually comes organically (easily) for the great players that when trying to teach or coach, they get frustrated or miss the subtle points less skilled players need to understand.

Normally, I would be shocked that a top program is giving it's reins to an unproven entity but given the sad state of affairs at UVa and what lack of success a "proven winner" in Joanne Boyle had as pedigree prior to UVa, I sort of understand why-what do they have to lose? If Tina was the reason all these bigs went to Texas and she can convince others to come to Virginia, the real and only question is her game x's and o's-something she better know how to do as clearly Karen Aston was "game coach challenged". Time will tell.

A fair reservation to have. While Swoopes may have crashed and burned, Cynthia Cooper was actually a "decent" college coach (220-163 career record, took Prairie View A&M to two NCAA tournaments and USC to one). Stephanie White hasn't succeeded at Vandy yet, but she did lead the Fever to a WNBA finals (how much of that is simply having Catchings on the team is a fair question.) Sandy Brondello has been a better than avg. coach for the Mercury. Will be interesting to see how Katie Smith fares with the Liberty. Coquese Washington started out strong at PSU but has faded since.

Unlike Minnesota's hiring of Whalen, Tina Thompson does have high-level college coaching experience and I would expect great recruiting contacts. Will be interesting to see how she fares and what staff she hires.