Asst coach Samantha Williams will not be retained

[AllVols3]

I’m more worried about not losing any of our own…. I think with our wide open offense that we will see improvement from several of our current Lady vols… I do think she will probably add a few… won’t be what our fanbase considers stars but will fit our system very well.

Her system without elite players won't cut it. If she brings 2-3 from Marshall, the coach and her team are in for a Rude awakening , imo . We shall see how it works out.

 

[AllVols3]

I think she will make the tourney…. I liked this hire but she had to prove she is the one…. It will take more than one off season though.

Well I'm glad someone thinks that. I don't see how anyone could tell at the present time. If she doesn't do well in the portal, I'm not as sure as you are about making the tournament.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Wonder how much they are willing to spend on a coach/recruiting coordinator. So will the coach have 2 or 3 assistants?

Should be four at some point, quickly…or three and a liaison to the AD a’la Jon Harper.

 

[creekdipper]

That’s on the previous staff…. If they had built a solid foundation for the program than they would still be here.

Here we go....

 

[chandler bing]

If we were playing Marshall’s schedule this year ( rather than an SEC schedule) I’d agree with you. I hope we make the tournament ( and I think we will) but to call someone dumb and a moron for expressing concern that we may not make the tournament is just refusing to be realistic.

Elite coaches finish at the top of their conference year after year consistently. If Coach Caldwell isn't making the tourny and isn't contending for SEC titles consistently, i am sure she will be the first to admit she has not met her own expectations, Danny White's expectations, or a program like UT's expectations. If you believe that it is acceptable for a UT lady vol's bball team to not make the NCAA tournament without some extenuating circumstances like massive injuries to several starters or some terrible team drama, then i don't what to tell you. I hate bringing up UCONN again, but this years team lost 3 of it's best players and another player was also lost for the season and they still made it to the final four this year, making excuses for Coach Jolly and Coach Warlick is just weak as hell.

 

[VolTull]

I think Caldwell will bring her Marshall staff with her for next season.

That would make sense. I imagine that the conversation between Kim and DW would have had to include this as a strong possibility.

 

[glv98]

That would make sense. I imagine that the conversation between Kim and DW would have had to include this as a strong possibility.

Would a full staff who had no recruiting experience or connections on this level make sense? How? I get not wanting Sam around, but for God's sake hire a recruiter who's been there before. We're acting like lack of experience is a virtue.

 

[VolTull]

Would a full staff who had no recruiting experience or connections on this level make sense? How? I get not wanting Sam around, but for God's sake hire a recruiter who's been there before. We're acting like lack of experience is a virtue.

Settle. It's all going to be OK. Maybe great. Let the wonders of Kim unfold.

 

[glv98]

Settle. It's all going to be OK. Maybe great. Let the wonders of Kim unfold.

Thanks for the advice, I'll unsettle and question as I please. And I realize it's just a fan message board, none of us have any effect whatsoever on "letting" the wonders unfold. That's far beyond our pay grade.

 

[lvocd]

Would a full staff who had no recruiting experience or connections on this level make sense? How? I get not wanting Sam around, but for God's sake hire a recruiter who's been there before. We're acting like lack of experience is a virtue.

We simply don't know yet whether or not she'll have any big-time experienced recruiters. Maybe she's had people reaching out to her that would knock our socks off on staff announcement day. So we may as well wait to see if there's reason to be upset before assuming she's gonna hire a junior high gym teacher. Who knows?! I'm excited to see if she is hiring someone with Sam-level experience. Nothing is impossible.

 

[glv98]

We simply don't know yet whether or not she'll have any big-time experienced recruiters. Maybe she's had people reaching out to her that would knock our socks off on staff announcement day. So we may as well wait to see if there's reason to be upset before assuming she's gonna hire a junior high gym teacher. Who knows?! I'm excited to see if she is hiring someone with Sam-level experience. Nothing is impossible.

This is no wait and see situation. I don't care who calls me chicken little, if you see the quality SEC players who could help us being snapped up right and left by our rivals, you have to worry. We know the portal by now, it waits for no one. And we've never needed it as badly as right now. Someone has to be on it tomorrow lining up visits, should have already happened.

 

[LVBGOTN]

according to Coach Sam’s online handles, she’s officially gone. any word on Coach Joy?

 

[Dak1219]

Coach Caldwell made the tournament in year 1 taking over a team that went 17-14 the year before and the leading scorer, Roshala Scott (17.4 ppg) transferred to JMU where she averaged 21.0ppg this year. So if you are dumb enough to believe that Coach Caldwell can't make the tourni in year 1 or year 2 with a roster of UT \ SEC level players mixed in with whoever she is able to land out of the transfer portal with UT's branding and tradition, resources, and NIL behind her, you are clearly a moron. She went 26-7 in her first year at Marshall with a dogshit roster and she went 17-1 in her conference. Making the tourny is going to be easy for someone like Coach Caldwell, and in the future just making the NCAA tournament won't be considered an achievement anymore. It is sad how far have we sunk, making the tourny should be expected as the standard, not making a tournament is atrocious. Uconn hasn't missed making a NCAA tournament since 1989, that is 35 years in a row. We used to be like that under Pat, making the tournament at UT is the standard.

Used to be like that under Pat? We are still like that because we have never missed the tournament in any year. How do you think UConn got their start?

 

[Dak1219]

I love Sam but I can also see why a new coach wants to completely turn the page with a fresh start. I'm hoping this also means we have an excellent recruiter lined up

Hopefully she doesn't think she can bring in D-2 level assistants and think they gonna get it done at this level. They have to be able to connect with recruits quickly and if they have never really spoken to this caliber player we are 5 years away from elite recruits again. That would be awful for fans. I hope she is connecting with that list of 2025's that have us on their finalist list.

 

[Dak1219]

Coach Caldwell made the tournament in year 1 taking over a team that went 17-14 the year before and the leading scorer, Roshala Scott (17.4 ppg) transferred to JMU where she averaged 21.0ppg this year. So if you are dumb enough to believe that Coach Caldwell can't make the tourni in year 1 or year 2 with a roster of UT \ SEC level players mixed in with whoever she is able to land out of the transfer portal with UT's branding and tradition, resources, and NIL behind her, you are clearly a moron. She went 26-7 in her first year at Marshall with a dogshit roster and she went 17-1 in her conference. Making the tourny is going to be easy for someone like Coach Caldwell, and in the future just making the NCAA tournament won't be considered an achievement anymore. It is sad how far have we sunk, making the tourny should be expected as the standard, not making a tournament is atrocious. Uconn hasn't missed making a NCAA tournament since 1989, that is 35 years in a row. We used to be like that under Pat, making the tournament at UT is the standard.

How many teams does the Sunbelt send to the NCAA tournament because of the quality and depth of that league. Asking for a friend.

 

[BruisedOrange]

This is no wait and see situation. I don't care who calls me chicken little, if you see the quality SEC players who could help us being snapped up right and left by our rivals, you have to worry. We know the portal by now, it waits for no one. And we've never needed it as badly as right now. Someone has to be on it tomorrow lining up visits, should have already happened.

Caldwell did not win at the previous levels by having the tallest team, or the players everyone else coveted, or by end of season were considered the best individually in their league. So we know that the kinds of players who make her system successful do not match up with the traditional recruiting grid.

Until we've seen a season of recruiting and play, seen what types of persons and players Caldwell believes helps her enact her program, we are overreaching as fans to presume which players should be playing for Caldwell. She knows what she's looking for, and by this time next year we'll know, too, and have our basis for praising or criticizing.

 

[glv98]

Caldwell did not win at the previous levels by having the tallest team, or the players everyone else coveted, or by end of season were considered the best individually in their league. So we know that the kinds of players who make her system successful do not match up with the traditional recruiting grid.

Until we've seen a season of recruiting and play, seen what types of persons and players Caldwell believes helps her enact her program, we are overreaching as fans to presume which players should be playing for Caldwell. She knows what she's looking for, and by this time next year we'll know, too, and have our basis for praising or criticizing.

Players she could get away with in much smaller settings are unlikely to get the same results on this level, esp without the 2, 3, 4 yr plan the AD said we absolutely will not be on. We don't know her system, but we know all too well the talent level of the SEC and what type player is needed to be successful there. And we need some more of those.

 

[BruisedOrange]

If there's anything we've learned from past experiences with coaches in other sports, 100% buy-in from the players who stay is absolutely necessary. How much more with coaching staff? Coach Sam excelled in recruiting certain types of players for what has become the new standard for women's basketball teams. Maybe what Caldwell wanted in her players were features, capabilities, attitudes that Coach Sam had never been called on to look for. Maybe she didn't have the radar for finding those players. And, if so, it wouldn't be hard to understand that she might not have 100% buy-in to offer CKC. And thus they part, as happens dozens of times in every sport every season.

Try to remember what we were thinking and posting about Barnes when he arrived (coasting into retirement was the common fan accusation), and him recruiting some 3-star chess champion who was headed to an Ivy League team: "he's too short to play inside in the SEC, and if he wasn't why weren't other schools recruiting him?" But Barnes knew he wanted Grant Williams--for reasons none of us could see from our perspective or the stats--and he was proved correct.

Didn't Heupel at the last minute pick up some QB from VaTech who had already gotten beat out of the starting position there by an underclassman? The best we fans could say about that move was "not much eligibility left, but maybe a decent stop-gap backup if he can learn the system quick enough." I'm pretty sure every fan was glad we ended up with Hendon Hooker.

We put ourselves through all this gut-wringing consternation speculating on things we don't control or yet have enough relevant data to understand. All these coaches, including Kim Caldwell, know what kind of player excels under their style of coaching. They know what skill sets are needed to excel in their style of play.

By this time next April, we will understand a lot more, just as we did with other Tennessee coaches after their first full season.

 

[Memvol44]

Visiting does not mean they were going to commit. Most transfers will take multiple visits before picking someone

Multiple.." how much money"

 

[Probably_in_Class]

Prove you have no reading comprehension abilities without just stating it. You did. Prove you are a jerk, you did that too.

He was trying to tell you, pretty clearly until you popped off like a crazy person, that this exact discussion is already happening in the 2024 transfer portal thread. Your question, while reasonable, was not worthy of an entire new thread. You could have simply asked, "It looks like Coach Sam Williams won't be retained. Anyone have an idea how that will impact recruiting?" in the the already ongoing discussion about recruiting. There was no need for a whole new discussion about an assistant coach.

 

[BigBadVol]

Some of you are such clowns. You act as tho you know exactly how the program should be run. Some have stated this is make or break for DW lol. Now, some of you are saying who CKC should retain or hire. It’s mind numbingly stupid.

 

[Majors]

Live and die with your own troops not someone else's.

That’s some Sun Tzu philosophy on a Monday morning

 

[Majors]

Some of you are such clowns. You act as tho you know exactly how the program should be run. Some have stated this is make or break for DW lol. Now, some of you are saying who CKC should retain or hire. It’s mind numbingly stupid.

It’s a great time to be alive and a Tennessee fan.

 

[JohnWardForever]

How is this hard to understand? The new coach will have her own staff. That's the way it works. SOME former UT recruits won't like the new atmosphere. Those wouldn't be able to cut it anyway. Out with the old, in with the new. Let's GO! Forward.

 

[glv98]

How is this hard to understand? The new coach will have her own staff. That's the way it works. SOME former UT recruits won't like the new atmosphere. Those wouldn't be able to cut it anyway. Out with the old, in with the new. Let's GO! Forward.

Not hard to understand at all. GOing forward, who is the new recruiting coordinator, do they have experience and contacts on this level, and are they on the phone this morning lining up visits to make up for the crucial weeks already lost in the portal since 4/1?