Coach Kellie Harper fired

[AthensVol2007]

Yeah national championship games (1998 against us) are not relevant…… idiot.

However, my point isn’t for LA Tech. It’s that TIMES CHANGE. Tennessee will never be as dominant as they were. ASK GENO why he’s not trying to win national championships I guess. We’re not LA Tech, we are Tennessee and have been competitive in the SEC. Very different.

She was never less than 3 games out of first place, that’s not competitive. Couple that with all but 1 season she lost to SCar so 3 games is really 4 with the head to head factored in. She also only played Scar 2x in the regular season once (this year) or she’d have likely been 4-5 games out of 1st. On 2 occasions her top 4 finishes you’re so proud of resulted in being 6 games out of a tie for 1st, again that’s not competitive.

Run along Jon and polish up your resume.

 

[Tnphil]

No you couldn’t.

I'd get a good friend Mark Campbell at Union University and another good friend Kevin McMillan at UTM and guarantee they'd best 12-37.

 

[AthensVol2007]

None of you CKJH backers ever address the 12-37 complaint. 49 games against ranked teams and her teams won TWELVE.

Care to discuss?

That’s competing man, you can’t win them all Jon says .

 

[Lucy]

Live look at Lucy preparing her NO statement..

Impressive from the coward who has me blocked.

 

[spojo13]

I think you and glv98 are cofusing this poster for volstylexxx who mentioned Joni and Robin, not TNPhil.

 

[JohnnyPayne]

Everyone but you views 4th as unacceptable. You can have low standards, we won't.
I mean let's just put the bar on the floor
Yay?
That's one way to frame it. I'd call it the worst defensive coaching job to closeout a game I've ever seen. Kellie is 100% to blame for that collapse.
Only 4 in a row? She should probably recruit more consistently.
20 wins in genuinely embarrassing for this program. How do you not see that?

Now let's hear about the record against ranked opponents...

Everyone including me wants a higher finish. It’s obvious that at least half the people who care think our down year is acceptable. That’s the real world, not fantasy land.

I disagree about the South Carolina game. A player who has never made a 3 banks in a prayer. There’s been enough discussion, but there’s no one who disagrees that we were unlucky and the result changes perception.

4th 1st round draft pick in a row I’m not sure (hopefully someone can research). But this may be an all-time record. How do you even argue this topic….? Stick with the others.

20 wins is not enough and definitely the best argument to make. The excuse I’d make (admittingly) is that our best player being our caused us to be 4-4. And I would love to have gotten the South Carolina & NC State wins. But we didn’t. I’m not afraid to admit failure and have high expectations. Are you afraid to give credit which counters your argument?

 

[Tnphil]

No I just question if u have any sense or would say “let’s hire Joni Taylor”

That makes zero sense....Would you?

 

[therealitytheory]

Again, nobody is willing to discuss the facts of what I have brought up. You and others have a great liberal political career ahead of you if you choose.

Are you that dense? A half dozen people at least have conceded your facts...and have written them off as being mediocre and/or unacceptable . Wake up.

 

[VolFuture]

I think you anmd glv98 are cofusing this poster for volstylexxx who mentioned Joni and Robin, not TNPhil.

TNPhil blasts but gives no solutions. Ik how to read. Volstyle jumped in.

12-37 12-37 gotcha! Haha y’all Kellie lovers GOTCHAAAAAA

U CANT DEFEND U CANT DEFEND

Then goes to say anyone could do it here but won’t name names

 

[VolFuture]

That makes zero sense....Would you?

omfg give me 5 coaches u would approve or stfu and get out my mentions

 

[Volstylexx]

Right after you discuss:
4th in the SEC (KJH worst finish)
NCAA Tournament
First round win
Banked buzzer beater from the SEC Championship hame
4th Consecutive 1st round WNBA draft pick
20 wins

You explain that fairly and I’ll comment on the ranked opponents.

You can’t reasonably combat on what I posted. That’s hilarious.

Really man?? This is not the hill you want to die on. It's been combatted both reasonably* and unreasonably for weeks. It's fine that you view those bullet points as positives, but most die hard LV fans aren't. But since you want someone to combat it, here you go:

1. 4th in the SEC (KJH worst finish)
- Lady Vols have 35 combined SEC titles in program history. 18 Regular season titles and 17 Conference Tournament titles. Kellie Harper has won ONE conference title in her entire 20 year coaching history (2006-2007 Western Carolina Southern Conference Champs)

2. NCAA tournament
- Lady Vols are the only team in NCAA history to play in every NCAA tournament. Kellie continued that tradition but was clearly trending down, and quickly. The Lady Vols spent over half of the season NOT even in consideration on the bubble. She did make back to back sweet 16's. That is the floor for the Lady Vol brand, NOT the ceiling. TN went to 27 (TWENTY SEVEN) straight Sweet 16's from 1982-2008. When we failed to reach the S16 in 2009 it sent shockwaves through women's basketball. We then went to 7 straight S16s again from 2010-2017.

3. First round win
- What is this? We are not the sisters of the poor university. WE ARE THE TENNESSEE LADY VOLS. (see #2 for clarification)

4. Banked buzzer beater from SEC Championship game
- see #3, see #1. Zero SEC titles in her tenure at TN, but yes, we were a banked shot away from playing for one in 2024. YAY!

5. 4th Consecutive 1st round WNBA draft pick
- Imagine having a team in 2023 that had TWO top 10 draft picks and only making the S16. Imagine having a top pick AND the ACC's leading scorer on your team in 2024 and not making it past game one (see #2 above). This is (my personal) biggest indictment against Kellie. ALL that talent and yet she couldn't coach them anything past a S16.

6. 20 wins
- 20 wins and lots of losses. Kellie's 25 losses over the last two years is the highest percentage of losses over a two year span in 48 years of Tennessee basketball history. You have to go all the way back to Pat Summit's first two years with the LV's to find a higher 2 year losing percentage.


NOW, it's your turn. I'm waiting, and I need to get to bed soon.. so be thorough but quick.

 

[spojo13]

TNPhil blasts but gives no solutions. Ik how to read. Volstyle jumped in.

12-37 12-37 gotcha! Haha y’all Kellie lovers GOTCHAAAAAA

U CANT DEFEND U CANT DEFEND

Then goes to say anyone could do it here but won’t name names

But you said he said to hire Joni Taylor, and he didn’t. I know how to read too! Thanks!

 

[BisonVol]

TNPhil blasts but gives no solutions. Ik how to read. Volstyle jumped in.

12-37 12-37 gotcha! Haha y’all Kellie lovers GOTCHAAAAAA

U CANT DEFEND U CANT DEFEND

Then goes to say anyone could do it here but won’t name names

Why does anyone on here have to name names? Nobody on this board is making the hire.

 

[summertown vols fan]

Everyone including me wants a higher finish. It’s obvious that at least half the people who care think our down year is acceptable. That’s the real world, not fantasy land.

I disagree about the South Carolina game. A player who has never made a 3 banks in a prayer. There’s been enough discussion, but there’s no one who disagrees that we were unlucky and the result changes perception.

4th 1st round draft pick in a row I’m not sure (hopefully someone can research). But this may be an all-time record. How do you even argue this topic….? Stick with the others.

20 wins is not enough and definitely the best argument to make. The excuse I’d make (admittingly) is that our best player being our caused us to be 4-4. And I would love to have gotten the South Carolina & NC State wins. But we didn’t. I’m not afraid to admit failure and have high expectations. Are you afraid to give credit which counters your argument?

Those 4 players wasn’t Harper players she inherited them and they are the only reason she had the record she did. She can’t recruit and can’t coach and a change had to be made or the fallout from keeping her would’ve put the program behind many years

 

[VolFuture]

But you said he said to hire Joni Taylor, and he didn’t. I know how to read too! Thanks!

I never said he did I said he abstains. I said would he be the type to advocate for JonI Taylor bc I would laugh at him if that were the case

 

[Tnphil]

omfg give me 5 coaches u would approve or stfu and get out my mentions

LMAO....you responded to me not the other way around. You are a big person to tell me to stfu behind a keyboard. Shows who you are. Congrats.

 

[spojo13]

I never said he did I said he abstains. I said would he be the type to advocate for JonI Taylor bc I would laugh at him if that were the case

So you were just being hyperbolic and attributing something to a poster that you had no idea about. Gotcha!

 

[VolFuture]

LMAO....you responded to me not the other way around. You are a big person to tell me to stfu behind a keyboard. Shows who you are. Congrats.

Bc u literally are trying to clown those for supporting Kellie… offer better or lay off

 

[Probably_in_Class]

Everyone including me wants a higher finish. It’s obvious that at least half the people who care think our down year is acceptable. That’s the real world, not fantasy land.

I disagree about the South Carolina game. A player who has never made a 3 banks in a prayer. There’s been enough discussion, but there’s no one who disagrees that we were unlucky and the result changes perception.

4th 1st round draft pick in a row I’m not sure (hopefully someone can research). But this may be an all-time record. How do you even argue this topic….? Stick with the others.

20 wins is not enough and definitely the best argument to make. The excuse I’d make (admittingly) is that our best player being our caused us to be 4-4. And I would love to have gotten the South Carolina & NC State wins. But we didn’t. I’m not afraid to admit failure and have high expectations. Are you afraid to give credit which counters your argument?

Your job as a coach is to prepare your team for ingame situations. Being up late in a game is EXACTLY one of those situations. Not only did she fail to properly prepare them, she failed to properly manage them during a high pressure ingame situation. Cardoso's 3pt% is irrelevant. No one should be open and the team should have been able to do that in their sleep. If you want to point to why most of us are looking to improve, that moment is precisely why.

I did like a 2 second search, and UConn has done it for at least 10 years in a row. It is far from an all-time record to be at 4. I guess four in a row is a minor accomplishment. You can have that.

I'm happy to give credit where it belongs. Kellie is a great player, ambassador, and person. I believe we can do better though for a women's basketball coach.

 

[Lucy]

He inherited a nightmare situation and has quickly gotten the program in the best position it’s been in since 2007. Context matters.

So in two more years if he hasn’t beaten GA and ALA are we going to fire him for being mediocre?
I like JH just trying to point out the double standard.

 

[Raebo]

Well, I would hope whoever the hire is that we would support them for at least a year before we rip them. I know that won happen.
No matter who is hired some posters will immediately say that is a terrible hire for whatever reason. But they will try to cover their base by saying, “I hope I’m wrong”, but really they hope they are right so they can come here and gloat about how smart they were saying, see, I told you”.

 

[Voluble2]

12-37 against ranked teams....The teams that matter. Anyone that knows the business understands her days were numbered.

This ^^^

It was the obvious move. She was not competitive against the group of teams she was hired to beat. In the past we would have waited until the wheels came off and made rebuilding extremely difficult, but we have a better AD who is proactive now.

Hiring a replacement will be a crapshoot, but as much as we wish it were otherwise, we have seen Kellie's ceiling.

Usually you have to cycle through a few coaches before you find the one you are looking for. Keep in mind this will be the first REAL coaching search we have had where we consider all candidates. Before we artificially limited ourselves in various ways hoping to hold onto the past. Getting it right on the first try is a low percentage play. But the sooner you start prospecting, the sooner you find your diamond.

I am not sure who would make the best coach, but what you won't see is someone hired who has already failed at a major conference on their last go around, or someone who has never coached before (as some here are promoting). And short of offering access to Dolly's wardrobe closet, you won't see someone like Mulkey.

White will consult with a LOT of people in the industry, and whoever he hires will be well regarded by those in the profession, even if they aren't being touted on the message boards.

Last time around I thought Wes Moore should get the job. This time there does not seem to be so obvious a choice. It will be fun speculating though.

 

[therealitytheory]

Time to hit the rack. It's great to be a Tennessee Vol. Even greater today....thanks DW.

 

[Volstylexx]

No I just question if u have any sense or would say “let’s hire Joni Taylor”

Or Robin Prigen

In the event your reading comprehension is that poor, your own question was "Name a coach you think could do that." Both of those coaches could have absolutely WITHOUT question went 12-37 with the rosters Kellie had... so I don't know why it's so funny for them to be mentioned. No amount of complaining and "TELL ME WHO WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER" is going to change the fact that at the end of the day, Kellie's record is what it is. She owns it. There is no hypothetical what if's. It's HER record, and it got her fired.

 

[Tnphil]

This ^^^

It was the obvious move. She was not competitive against the group of teams she was hired to beat. In the past we would have waited until the wheels came off and made rebuilding extremely difficult, but we have a better AD who is proactive now.

Hiring a replacement will be a crapshoot, but as much as we wish it were otherwise, we have seen Kellie's ceiling.

Usually you have to cycle through a few coaches before you find the one you are looking for. Keep in mind this will be the first REAL coaching search we have had where we consider all candidates. Before we artificially limited ourselves in various ways hoping to hold onto the past. Getting it right on the first try is a low percentage play. But the sooner you start prospecting, the sooner you find your diamond.

I am not sure who would make the best coach, but what you won't see is someone hired who has already failed at a major conference on their last go around, or someone who has never coached before (as some here are promoting). And short of offering access to Dolly's wardrobe closet, you won't see someone like Mulkey.

White will consult with a LOT of people in the industry, and whoever he hires will be well regarded by those in the profession, even if they aren't being touted on the message boards.

Last time around I thought Wes Moore should get the job. This time there does not seem to be so obvious a choice. It will be fun speculating though.

Exactly....Good post