Why Tenn is having problems recruiting and rebuilding.

[Tonyc]

A few years ago when Tenn lost out on Maya EDD and Caroline and took a class of every top player they could I talked about how recruiting all those top players who all played the same positions would hurt Tenn. It would hurt them because they didnt space their recruits over a couple of seasons. By not spacing recruits you could not build an on going chemistry from class to class. I also talked about how it would not allow Tenn to compete in the recruitng circles for 2-3 years. Well this is the fall out from it along with Pats illness. Tenn did not recruit a point guard in that big class. They didnt leave enough schollies open for the next couple of years. The class came in with little upclassman leadership and graduated leaving very little upclassman leadership. The biggest blow was Pat stepping down and she was the one if healthly that could attract top players.

Now other coaches are in the recruiting circles. Other teams are competeing for top players. Other teams can challange for a NC where before it was all about Geno and Pat. Some call it parity I call it lack of planning ahead.

Why has UConn has been great so long? Geno knows how to recruit by position. For the next 4 years on paper UConn has so much talent and imo no weaknesses on a roster that may be one of the greatest if not the greatest assembleages of players in the history of WCBB. We will know more after the next 2 years. The secret to this years class and UConns roster is Geno still has schollies he can offer. He can still compete for top players over then next couple of years. Why because one he has schollies to offer and two he has seniors graduating and needs to recruit for those positions. He hasnt locked himself out of the recruiting arena.

Looking at our roster this season and having Stef and Kiah in the post. Both terrific players. Then having Breanna who can play the post wing and maybe the 2 guard. Well how many teams would love to have one great post player? UConn has 3. Now next season Uconn will be looking for another post player to replace Stef when she graduates and one who can play behind Kiah and gain experience and step into the starting role the following season. What a luxary that is. Another thing to think about. That post player will have Breanna Morgan and KML supporting her. How effective will that post player be?

I got a little carried away with this post that started on Tenns problems with recruiting. But I want to make the corrolation between UConn and Tenn so fans could see WHY both teams are where theyre at right now. I dont think the UConn Tenn rivialry will ever be what it was. With Pat ill and Tenn and UConn where theyre at right now, well I dont think it would do anything but hurt what once was the building block for WCBB. JMO folks. Good luck with Sandy coming tonite.

Go Huskies
Tonyc

 

[stwainfan]

Just look Thursday night. This years class is real athletic.

 

[msf22b]

First-class analysis.
But I wouldn't count those guys out just yet.
Not this year or next but Tenn. will be back.
And I'm looking forward to the re-kindling of our annual game.
In the meantime, lets us relish this powerhouse team that Geno and the staff have produced for us.

 

[Stray Cat]

Good post and perspective Tony. It's also important that when you do get the talent that you develop and take advantage of it (i.e. making it to the FF, winning NC's). Tenn failed to do this with a top-ranked class and Hall of Fame coach who is now retired. And now they are trying to convince recruits that they can do with with a rookie head coach and team who's best returning player is a gun-ho, bricklayer. Not a very compelling reason to be excited as far as I am concerned, especially when so many other "safe" and established options are available.

 

[jsloanjr]

Great job Tony C, as usual........Geno has been on National TV more than and other coach in America the past 2 years with UCONN and Team USA......Every girl in America see's what and how he coaches and the type of players he wants on his team........50% of Team USA was UCONN players......Say no more!!

 

[FairView]

Thanks, Tony. It's posts like this that make the Boneyard so enjoyable for people like me. I don't have the knowledge base, memory or basketball mind to consider many of the ideas, observations and theories that come up in here. Having people who do that kind of thinking opens up an entirely new vision of the game for me. Thanks to you and the many other posters who expend the time and effort and who get conversations going.

 

[EricLA]

Just look Thursday night. This years class is real athletic.

Tennessee has almost always been athletic. In the past (up to the Parker yaers), it's been enough. Not any more. Tennessee hasn't landed a truly elite recruit since Candace Parker (and by "truly elite", I mean a rating of 98 or above per Hoopgurlz, or one of the top 2-3 players in most any given class). This is not to say Tennessee has not recruited really well. They have.

And Tenn certainly has landed their share of top 10 kids - Bjorkland, Baugh, Johnson, Stricklen, Gray, Massengale, Burdick, Graves and Tucker. All of them were top 10 kids (I'm not sure if i missed any since Parker's class, but i think i got them all). but none of those kids were in the same league as Harris, Charles, Prince, Moore, Lavender, EDD, Griner, Bone, Diggins, Ogwumike, Simms, Hartley, Thomas, KML, Williams, Stewart or Jefferson. Those kids were all either rated 98 or better, or were one of the top 2-3 kids in their class...

Now I totally disagree with Tony if he feels Tennessee is on the way out. But I think it's pretty clear that without getting the uber-elite players, Tennessee simply cannot challenge for a NC. Landing Davis and Russell would be a step in the right direction. If Tenn lands both of them, they could be challenging for a final 4 berth when those kids are juniors. I have no doubt Tenn fans will see it differently, but the reality is that even with first round draft picks Johnson and Stricklen (and they were also on the all rookie team), as well as former #2 Baugh, Tennessee was still incapable of getting past the elite 8.

Tenn has always had the athletes. Crash the O-boards and play stifling defense. That's what Tennessee has been known for in the past. But without at least 3 truly elite players on their roster, they simply won't be getting it done. And for the record, I'd argue that UCONN has 5 truly elite players on their roster at this time - Hartley, KML, and the entire freshman class of Tuck, Jefferson and Stewart. Tennessee doesn't have one single player on their team who is better than those 5. IMHO Graves is the best player on their team (she may not be the "best" this year, but she will be very soon).

Tucker was a HUGE get for Tennessee because up to that point, they'd swung and missed on everyone they went after, even 2nd tier JUCO players. She was the first elite player to take a chance on the new coaching staff. I think that, at least perceptually, opened the doors for other top kids to realize Tennessee was still going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Even if Tennessee lands Davis and Russell, they will need at least 1 or 2 more uber elite recruits to compete with UCONN 2+ years down the road. They'd need Wilson, Turner, Mitchell, or one of the other uber elite from that class (i'm not sure who will the best of that class)... just to have close to the talent UCONN has... And the way Duke has been recruiting, Tenn is looking up at them right now too.

 

[magical2]

Tennessee has almost always been athletic. In the past (up to the Parker yaers), it's been enough. Not any more. Tennessee hasn't landed a truly elite recruit since Candace Parker (and by "truly elite", I mean a rating of 98 or above per Hoopgurlz, or one of the top 2-3 players in most any given class). This is not to say Tennessee has not recruited really well. They have.

And Tenn certainly has landed their share of top 10 kids - Bjorkland, Baugh, Johnson, Stricklen, Gray, Massengale, Burdick, Graves and Tucker. All of them were top 10 kids (I'm not sure if i missed any since Parker's class, but i think i got them all). but none of those kids were in the same league as Harris, Charles, Prince, Moore, Lavender, EDD, Griner, Bone, Diggins, Ogwumike, Simms, Hartley, Thomas, KML, Williams, Stewart or Jefferson. Those kids were all either rated 98 or better, or were one of the top 2-3 kids in their class...

Now I totally disagree with Tony if he feels Tennessee is on the way out. But I think it's pretty clear that without getting the uber-elite players, Tennessee simply cannot challenge for a NC. Landing Davis and Russell would be a step in the right direction. If Tenn lands both of them, they could be challenging for a final 4 berth when those kids are juniors. I have no doubt Tenn fans will see it differently, but the reality is that even with first round draft picks Johnson and Stricklen (and they were also on the all rookie team), as well as former #2 Baugh, Tennessee was still incapable of getting past the elite 8.

Tenn has always had the athletes. Crash the O-boards and play stifling defense. That's what Tennessee has been known for in the past. But without at least 3 truly elite players on their roster, they simply won't be getting it done. And for the record, I'd argue that UCONN has 5 truly elite players on their roster at this time - Hartley, KML, and the entire freshman class of Tuck, Jefferson and Stewart. Tennessee doesn't have one single player on their team who is better than those 5. IMHO Graves is the best player on their team (she may not be the "best" this year, but she will be very soon).

Tucker was a HUGE get for Tennessee because up to that point, they'd swung and missed on everyone they went after, even 2nd tier JUCO players. She was the first elite player to take a chance on the new coaching staff. I think that, at least perceptually, opened the doors for other top kids to realize Tennessee was still going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Even if Tennessee lands Davis and Russell, they will need at least 1 or 2 more uber elite recruits to compete with UCONN 2+ years down the road. They'd need Wilson, Turner, Mitchell, or one of the other uber elite from that class (i'm not sure who will the best of that class)... just to have close to the talent UCONN has... And the way Duke has been recruiting, Tenn is looking up at them right now too.

 

[tnvolfan65]

Tennessee has almost always been athletic. In the past (up to the Parker yaers), it's been enough. Not any more. Tennessee hasn't landed a truly elite recruit since Candace Parker (and by "truly elite", I mean a rating of 98 or above per Hoopgurlz, or one of the top 2-3 players in most any given class). This is not to say Tennessee has not recruited really well. They have.

I agree that we haven't had a truly elite recruit since Parker.

And Tenn certainly has landed their share of top 10 kids - Bjorkland, Baugh, Johnson, Stricklen, Gray, Massengale, Burdick, Graves and Tucker. All of them were top 10 kids (I'm not sure if i missed any since Parker's class, but i think i got them all). but none of those kids were in the same league as Harris, Charles, Prince, Moore, Lavender, EDD, Griner, Bone, Diggins, Ogwumike, Simms, Hartley, Thomas, KML, Williams, Stewart or Jefferson. Those kids were all either rated 98 or better, or were one of the top 2-3 kids in their class...

This is a bit extreme, however. Johnson and Stricklen are every bit "in the league" of Harris, Lavender, Bone, BOTH Oqwumikes, Hartley, and Thomas. Baugh hasn't had a full season where she was healthy, much less 4 years in college to have a dog in this fight. (She was ranked #5 as well behind Moore, Angie, Jantel, and Pederson.) Gray had a life-threatening condition and left the program...I'm not sure why she is contiously brought up here in regards to busts or transfers. And Massengale and Burdick are entering their second year! Burdick played behind Johnson and Stricklen, and I expect her to shine this year. If she doesn't, we can talk about this again.

Now I totally disagree with Tony if he feels Tennessee is on the way out. But I think it's pretty clear that without getting the uber-elite players, Tennessee simply cannot challenge for a NC. Landing Davis and Russell would be a step in the right direction. If Tenn lands both of them, they could be challenging for a final 4 berth when those kids are juniors. I have no doubt Tenn fans will see it differently, but the reality is that even with first round draft picks Johnson and Stricklen (and they were also on the all rookie team), as well as former #2 Baugh, Tennessee was still incapable of getting past the elite 8.

I think you could say this about nearly any program, but I agree here as well.

Tenn has always had the athletes. Crash the O-boards and play stifling defense. That's what Tennessee has been known for in the past. But without at least 3 truly elite players on their roster, they simply won't be getting it done. And for the record, I'd argue that UCONN has 5 truly elite players on their roster at this time - Hartley, KML, and the entire freshman class of Tuck, Jefferson and Stewart. Tennessee doesn't have one single player on their team who is better than those 5. IMHO Graves is the best player on their team (she may not be the "best" this year, but she will be very soon).

I hope Graves is a beast, but like you said I don't think she will be the best player on the team this year. And I would take Massengale over Jefferson and Burdick and Graves over Tuck. Spani looked great last year before she got hurt. I think Stewart may be the best player on Uconn this year,

Tucker was a HUGE get for Tennessee because up to that point, they'd swung and missed on everyone they went after, even 2nd tier JUCO players. She was the first elite player to take a chance on the new coaching staff. I think that, at least perceptually, opened the doors for other top kids to realize Tennessee was still going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Our recruiting efforts are far from over for this class. Last season the only player I would really saw we swung and missed on was Hollivay. We landed a top 5 class. One of the JUCO posts might have been nice, but we didn't offer the major of one and the other went elsewhere for religious purposes. Not much you can do there...
Even if Tennessee lands Davis and Russell, they will need at least 1 or 2 more uber elite recruits to compete with UCONN 2+ years down the road. They'd need Wilson, Turner, Mitchell, or one of the other uber elite from that class (i'm not sure who will the best of that class)... just to have close to the talent UCONN has... And the way Duke has been recruiting, Tenn is looking up at them right now too.

Not with both of them. If we land Russell and Davis, we will be pretty stacked...

Massengale, Carter
Simmons, Tucker, Phillips
Burdick/Davis
Graves, Jones
Russell, Harrison, Moore

I don't see any glaring weaknesses there, and IMO could match up well with any team in the country. The gap between Tennessee's roster and Uconn's closes drastically.

First things first though...we have to secure some remaining targets in this class and get everyone healthy!

 

[msf22b]

I just can't understand the under-estimation of Tuck (even by our board) in the face of so much qualitative evidence.

 

[EricLA]

I just can't understand the under-estimation of Tuck (even by our board) in the face of so much qualitative evidence.

Couldn't agree more. Tuck has outplayed Graves in every way imaginable on every team they've been on. But let the tennessee fans have their delusions. And of course i expect Tennessee fans to disagree. Perhaps now that Pat is gone, they will start the yearly games again. If not, the only time we can look forward to demolishing them is in the NCAA's...

My point was, even if they land Davis and Russell, they are still way behind UCONN in terms of talent.

 

[stwainfan]

Eric I do agree that Tenn hasn't got that top player since Parker. I think Burdick will have a real good year. I look at this years class. I think Graves and Carter have the potential to be all-americans.

 

[magical2]

Couldn't agree more. Tuck has outplayed Graves in every way imaginable on every team they've been on. But let the tennessee fans have their delusions. And of course i expect Tennessee fans to disagree. Perhaps now that Pat is gone, they will start the yearly games again. If not, the only time we can look forward to demolishing them is in the NCAA's...

My point was, even if they land Davis and Russell, they are still way behind UCONN in terms of talent.

Props msf.Eric, etal Coaches and "BB Experts" around the country have continued to state around the country! Even with all of the SR accolades,USA performances especially this year,McD AA and other AA teams ,she has been under the radar! This may sound funny and even appear contrary to all I have stated Yet it makes sense to me!

She can be seen as Excellent and many not realizing that she is much more than that!
I think that Graves is a super player,but Tuck was a #1 ranked player and has comeback
from the USA 16 trials to that status<Stewart aside>

If TN gets Russell and Davis along with Tucker! TN should be ecstatic and props!
The problem for TN vs CONN is that even adding those players they would be adding them to a team that is far behind exhisting talent at UCONN for the next 3-4 years!
Ira

 

[alexrgct]

Not a knock on Massengale, but I wouldn't take her over Moriah Jefferson in a million years. Mo is the most compelling PG recruit in at least a decade for a reason.

 

[doggydaddy]

Not a knock on Massengale, but I wouldn't take her over Moriah Jefferson in a million years. Mo is the most compelling PG recruit in at least a decade for a reason.

I would ask the TN fan what exactly does Massingale do better than Jefferson?

I would also ask if that poster watched the U18 games and saw the difference in Tuck and Graves.

 

[tnvolfan65]

Not a knock on Massengale, but I wouldn't take her over Moriah Jefferson in a million years. Mo is the most compelling PG recruit in at least a decade for a reason.

JMO but while I think Jefferson is far more athletic and has the potential to be a great point guard, I think Massengale is far more experienced and a better floor general. She got thrown into the fire early last year after missing the entire preseason with injury, and has run numerous USA teams.

Practice reports say she is much more vocal this season and is commanding the team. That's hard to do as a freshman on a team full of seniors, but I think she knows she has to run the team this year and will rise in the discussion of best point guards in WCBB.

Jefferson has the benefit of playing behind Hartley and Doty, so that should help her adjust.

 

[UcMiami]

Interesting discussion.
I do think there is a certain level of 'luck' or 'randomness' or whatever you want to call it in college recruiting. Geno and Pat can 'plan' all they want, but a lot of the process really is beyond their control. I do think they have different recruiting approaches - Geno has always been quite selective in who he recruits and I have always had the sense that Pat was more open to recruiting a wider field. I think there have been years where TN ended up with lots of very talented players but not a very good team, and years where Geno ended up missing on his targets and being short handed. I personally have preferred Geno's approach (blue colored glasses, maybe) because with few exceptions, the teams he has put on the floor have had great chemistry, and I think there have been more years where TN has not had that chemistry.
The other issue with results is also injuries - and in that respect, both TN and Uconn have had disappointments that can never be planned for.
And as for large classes - TASSK was a large class that turned out very well, and the only reason there was not a large drop off when that class graduated was named DT.
Specific to TN's future - the next 10 days will be very interesting for 2013 and could be fabulous or a big disappointment. The next few years will be difficult whatever happens with the 2013 kids. It is a huge transition and with Uconn's own legend working towards the later portion of his career, I am interested to see how it goes in TN. We will be in the same place before too long.

 

[msf22b]

I think that a "performing monkey" could coach our current group to a final four.

 

[jdubct]

It seems likely that TN will get at least one of the two recruits mentioned. While it might occur a year sooner, I expect TN along with Duke and Uconn to be in the final four for the 2015 championship . I think that's a long time compare teams especially with 2014 class recruiting season remaining.

 

[Tonyc]

I dont see Tenn getting to the FF for a long time. 2015 imo is a little premature unless Tenn has 2 very very good classes come in and both classes will have to have very good post players. Couple that with a new coach, not Pat, and even if Pat were healthly that would be a difficult task. Holly stepped into an almost impossible position. A storied program that has lost its coach and a program that has a skelton roster of some good players and lack of post players and a go to player. No legendary coach, not much of a veteran roster to work with, and recruits not banging on the door to come.

 

[slimmer56]

I agree with Tonyc 100%, and I have said it all along. Tenn. seems to just bring in All-Americans for no rhyme or reason. Every year they just load up with no regard for chemistry. Chemistry ! That is the main reason we caught up with the Tenn. program, and they missed it. They thought the answer was to stack the deck with All-Americans at every position, every year. I thought the first couple of years when we beat them in the NCAA's they probably had better athletes than we did. I have said this many times before that those games with Tenn is what made me fall in love with UCONN and WCBB. Individuals do not win basketball games. Sheer athleticism does not win basketball games.
UCONN women win basketball games because they play as a team. Even our superstar girls are recruited out of high school to not be selfish, be coachable, and to play as a TEAM. Thanks Geno !

GO UCONN GO !

Slimmer

 

[Justavisitor]

A few years ago when Tenn lost out on Maya EDD and Caroline and took a class of every top player they could I talked about how recruiting all those top players who all played the same positions would hurt Tenn. It would hurt them because they didnt space their recruits over a couple of seasons. By not spacing recruits you could not build an on going chemistry from class to class. I also talked about how it would not allow Tenn to compete in the recruitng circles for 2-3 years. Well this is the fall out from it along with Pats illness. Tenn did not recruit a point guard in that big class. They didnt leave enough schollies open for the next couple of years. The class came in with little upclassman leadership and graduated leaving very little upclassman leadership. The biggest blow was Pat stepping down and she was the one if healthly that could attract top players.

I recall your going on and on about TN lacking the chemistry required to win a title back in 2007 and you continued to repeat this theme of "lack of chemistry" in 2008. You went on to state that TN would not make it past the elite 8 in 2008, as if 2007 were a fluke. These teams went on to win the title, going back to back. I recall the comments of how "the game had passed Pat by". Well, we see how that worked out.

Spacing recruits is indeed something that is necessary. You fail to mention that there was a class of 4 recruits (Vicki, Kelley, Angie, and Sydney). Two of those players spent their entire careers injured and never being able to endure the demands of college bball (due to multiple injuries). Angie was a sharp shooter and not unlike players that have played for UConn, her game didn't translate over to the WNBA (think Ann Strothers). With both players, I wouldn't go blaming the staff for lacking the ability to develop these players.

Moving on to the following year of 2009, you are correct that several wing players were brought in. However, you fail to mention that there was a point guard already expected to lead the team, Cait, and a point guard brought in to be her back up, Bass. Cait's injury propelled a freshman that should have been a career back up player to be thrust into the starting role at point guard. The following year, TN brought in 2 guards and one center. There were no wings brought in. One guard, who was slated to learn behind Cait and then take over the reigns at some point in her career, Lauren Avant, was derailed due to injuries sustained in a terrible car accident. Now, that's 2 point guards that were slated to be starters that never had the opportunity for their careers to blossom on the court. What would have happened the last 2 years had UConn not had Bria Hartley? Would you have blamed Geno for poor recruiting? Let's not forget that TN also added Williams who was being developed into a formidable back up point guard, but then she was derailed with the ACL tear.

At the center, TN planned well in having Baugh and Cain (who can plan for 2 elite centers being injured) and Faith Dupree as a back up (because no elite center is going to join TN with 2 elite centers already on the roster). Faith actually transferred for fear of playing time. Too bad she couldn't fore see the injuries.

All of these things left huge gaping holes in the potential line ups. It wasn't development and it wasn't planning. It was injuries. How would UConn have done without Hartley, without Dolson, without Doty, and without Stokes last year?


Now other coaches are in the recruiting circles. Other teams are competeing for top players. Other teams can challange for a NC where before it was all about Geno and Pat. Some call it parity I call it lack of planning ahead.

Really...did you forget about Baylor, Notre Dame, Tex A&M, Maryland, and Purdue?

Why has UConn has been great so long? Geno knows how to recruit by position. For the next 4 years on paper UConn has so much talent and imo no weaknesses on a roster that may be one of the greatest if not the greatest assembleages of players in the history of WCBB. We will know more after the next 2 years. The secret to this years class and UConns roster is Geno still has schollies he can offer. He can still compete for top players over then next couple of years. Why because one he has schollies to offer and two he has seniors graduating and needs to recruit for those positions. He hasnt locked himself out of the recruiting arena.

You do realize that TN's titles span over a longer stretch than UConn's right? The question should be how has TN remained relevant for so many years. The fact that you're still posting about TN tells me that they're still going to be relevant in the WCBB landscape for years to come. TN has schollies to offer too. TN has 2 seniors graduating too. We will soon find out if TN is "locked out" of the recruiting arena. STAY TUNED!

Looking at our roster this season and having Stef and Kiah in the post. Both terrific players. Then having Breanna who can play the post wing and maybe the 2 guard. Well how many teams would love to have one great post player? UConn has 3. Now next season Uconn will be looking for another post player to replace Stef when she graduates and one who can play behind Kiah and gain experience and step into the starting role the following season. What a luxary that is. Another thing to think about. That post player will have Breanna Morgan and KML supporting her. How effective will that post player be?

I will comment on this one after Tuesday.

I got a little carried away with this post that started on Tenns problems with recruiting. But I want to make the corrolation between UConn and Tenn so fans could see WHY both teams are where theyre at right now. I dont think the UConn Tenn rivialry will ever be what it was. With Pat ill and Tenn and UConn where theyre at right now, well I dont think it would do anything but hurt what once was the building block for WCBB. JMO folks. Good luck with Sandy coming tonite.

The jury is still out (PROBLEMS???). Hmmm, TN has already landed the #8 recruit with more to come. By the way Tony, has Diamond signed that UConn LOI yet?


Go Huskies
Tonyc

 

[diggerfoot]

I agree wholeheartedly with UcMiami's assessment, and think others may be deluding themselves a little. In terms of results, how can Tennessee's system be as deficient as some as hinting here when, without us in the way, they would have won something like 12 championships?! If there system is bad, that means we have the only viable one in all of WCBB. Anecdotally, I remember watching some team defense played by Tennessee in the mid to late nineties that left me very, very impressed. I did not see such team defense matched by UConn until 2000.

I agree with UcMiami that our recruiting system is better than Tennessee's, but also agree with UcMiami that sometimes things just go amiss, no system is absolutely perfect. Our worst stretch in recent times came because one class of three totally disappeared through transfers while the star player of a neighboring class never quite fit right in our system. Now even with our problems we did better than Tennessee with theirs, and I do attribute it to us having a better coach and system, but Tennessee does pretty darn well when their recruitment works out the way they intend it.

Even so, that now goes by the wayside with a new coach. Let's put it this way. Can a great coach do well for a previously unheralded program? Certainly, we've witnessed that twice here at UConn. Might a great coach also do well for a heralded program? Why not? We don't know if Warlick is a great coach or not, but if she is she certainly is not handicapped by inheriting a heralded program. I understand some people think that Summitt's presence gets in the way, but if Warlick is a great coach she will overcome that obstacle.

The timing of this post just seems all too convenient. Let's get in our licks now before we even see if Davis and Russell join Tucker as well, a threesome that bring different attributes to the table, and see if Warlick is capable of coaching them up or not. Come on now, even if Warlick proves to be a great coach there will be none better than Auriemma. We don't need to bolster our case through a priori assumptions.

 

[Kibitzer]

I posted about a week ago that this obsession with Tennessee is just ridiculous. We don't play them (their choice), they are not in our league (literally and figuratively), they are going through a difficult transition at both the AD and wcbb levels.

In my earlier post I made a dumb connection between Geno and the SEC and Nan pointed out my error. Well we can agree that the Big East (except bb) is a disaster but there will be no dancing in the streets of Storrs if the UConn football team were to have a steady diet of Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida and, yes, Tennessee.

The Tennessee LadyVols brand will continue to attract good recruits and the day will come when they are FF quality. Who knows, they may even be emboldened to come visit Gampel some day.

Maybe.

 

[Tonyc]

Why is it Just that your obviously a TN fan have dont know whats going on down there and I do. First half of what you've written isnt true and half dosnt make much sense. I guess now that TN fans dont have a free board they'll be coming over here. Lets see I can go on and on just like you did but I will refrain from copying posts after posts to show you your errors. Let me keep it short and to the point unlike you. Tenn wouldve never won back to back titles without Bobbit and Bobbits ability to shoot. Through her HS and AAU years she couldnt shoot. She developed a shot and knew how to run a team and bingo TN won back to back. Those back to back were Bobbits doing because without Bobbit Parker couldnt get it done on her own. But then we will never know.

Yes I didnt mention point guards because TN had no depth at the point thus no chemistry. Even with all those AAs they couldnt get the job done, thus underperforming. If you disagree remember Ball St. If you wanna talk about "IFs" How bout all of UConns injuries Svet Shea and UCOnn losing to ND, how bout Kalana and Mel and UConn losing to Stanford. Uconn did get to that point with injuries and Tenn didnt. BTW lets not forget EDD leaving UConn and how many records set without her. Just think what couldve been.

As far as Tuesday, we will see. Im hoping Mercedes goes to LVille. Davis after the way shes been treated by Tenn fans on the board, it wouldnt surprise me is she went elsewhere.

As for DD, she was a lock at UConn. What happened I dont know and if I find out it most likely will be from one of my Tenn fans. You might want to check with them they know, what dissary Tenn is in. BTW hope Tenn makes the NCAA and they end up in New England would love to meet you and I will save you a seat even if Tenn dosnt make it. Let me know if you would like to come.