UConn vs Tennessee - see you in a couple years
- Thread starter HuskyNan
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Are they afraid Ayanna will dunk on them?
RockyMTblue2
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Absolutely true. They thought they would crush the walking wounded Huskies this year and took a humiliating loss instead. Harper wants no part of the Huskies for at least a while.
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Anyone who reads the Lady Vol blog understands that a significant percentage of the posters are not strong coach Kelly Harper fans. Particularly after LSU was able to have a strong year without many losses, reducing the out of conference schedule of top 20 teams, UConn in particular, seems logical.
meyers7
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Great news. Hopefully they can't ever figure out a schedule.
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Didn’t Joanne P McCallie (Duke) say something similar after UConn destroyed Duke during the 2014-15 season? To the effect of “it hasn’t been close so there’s no point in playing them”? And Tara has been ducking UConn for a while, too. Seems like some coaches would rather have an easy win than challenge and believe in their teams.
Carnac
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That too.
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Tenn pulling a page out of the Kim Mulkey playbook.
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How?
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A weak OOC schedule didn't seem to hurt LSU this year...as I'd thought it would. So...
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That playbook has won her 2 of the last 4 national championships with two different schools.
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Without knowing the historic strength of schedule (SOS) of every national-championship-winning team, we can’t really say how much LSU’s SOS impacted their ability to win the NC. There were plenty of teams that played weak schedules that didn’t win the NC this year, too. A team can get favorable matchups in the tournament and win it all or they can flounder against a lower seed and get booted early.
All I’m saying is that when coaches avoid playing a team in the regular season (by choice; I.e., NOT because of game limits, location, scheduling conflicts, etc.), it is more a condemnation of the coach’s belief in their team rather than a means to win a championship.
Carnac
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Remember, it was an executive at ESPN, I think her name is “Lola“, that wanted that series renewed. I don’t believe Geno did. No doubt she convinced UConn's president and AD that it might be a good idea ($$$) and financially beneficial for them if that series were to resume. Money talks!!! It always has. And don’t forget, whatever Lola wants……
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RockyMTblue2
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He did, but said more. He wouldn't play them without an apology. Then, years later, he got cornered by the game being proposed as a charity event and he folded much to the chagrin of many of us.
Carnac
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It must be pointed out that while some coaches see
I remember that Rocky!!! You've got a witness. Sometime around 2010-2011 at an NCAAT site UConn was playing at, then LV coach Holly Warlick approached Geno and asked him if he'd be interested in resuming the series. His response was "Are you going to publically apologize to Maya Moore and her mother?" Her response was "No, I can't do that" Geno left it there. I read about that exchange right here in the Boneyard.
That is where it stayed until that ESPN executive stoked the ashes.
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oldude
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I have always liked the intensity of UConn vs TN. I missed the games all those years it was gone and I thoroughly enjoyed the games when the “rivalry” was renewed, particularly when Paige, Azzi & Lou stepped up in successive years to rip the heart out of the LV’s.
Unfortunately, I fear the UConn-TN game is gone for good. Geno seems ambivalent and TN WBB is hanging by their fingernails, just short of permanent irrelevance, at which point they’ll want no part of an annual beat down by the Huskies.
Unfortunately, I fear the UConn-TN game is gone for good. Geno seems ambivalent and TN WBB is hanging by their fingernails, just short of permanent irrelevance, at which point they’ll want no part of an annual beat down by the Huskies.
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I have zero problem with this series never being renewed. I wasn't really in favor of it starting up again, the things that made UConn-Tennessee must watch basketball was gone a long time ago. Namely Pat Summitt is gone (may she rest in peace) and Tennessee is no longer a major power in wcbb, never mind the major power in wcbb. The original rivalry could not be duplicated, the present series was a pale shadow of what was one of the fiercest rivalries in all of sports.
huskeynut
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Not sad to see it go. I was not in favor of the renewal at all.
All those reason for not going forward have been stated.
But I will say I like Kelly Harper and what she is trying to do. A definite improvement. Hope she can hang on and keep the program going. Recruiting has not been good and that may undo Kelly in the long run.
All those reason for not going forward have been stated.
But I will say I like Kelly Harper and what she is trying to do. A definite improvement. Hope she can hang on and keep the program going. Recruiting has not been good and that may undo Kelly in the long run.
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Less orange is good for the soul…
Carnac
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Tara has been ducking us. Losing her 6'7" center (Lauren Betts) to the portal (UCLA) doesn't help either. Some coaches like to not only build their team's confidence during the preseason portion of their schedule but also get them in the habit of winning and EXPECTING to win. If you suffer a crippling 30-40 point loss, it can destroy everything you've built to that moment, and cause you to go back to square one.
If I were a coach, I don't think I could find any silver linings in getting the crap beat out of my team. I can certainly understand why some coaches would duck or are ducking UConn. You may see it differently, but I don't see what can be learned from a blowout loss.
The team's confidence is destroyed if nothing else, and their egos are deflated just a bit.So.....why schedule a UConn when you know that very thing is most likely to happen? Especially if you know your team has a zero chance of winning.
Other than using that game for recruiting purposes, or to fill your arena ($$$ - UConn still draws large crowds on the road), why do it?We don't like Kim's philosophy and practice of scheduling the weakest preseason schedule she possibly can, but she does not care what we think. It works for her, and you can bet she'll continue to do it as long as it does. There are plenty of other teams that can be scheduled without playing UConn, especially next season when they expect to have their entire roster back, healthy, and raring to go.
I like the idea of playing some new teams in the preseason that we have either not played before or in a long time. Since the BIG East has reduced the number of conference games from 20 to 18, that means Geno can schedule two more preseason games. Whoo hoo.
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