Diamond in her own words

#2
#2
Diamond is gracious (and wise) enough to keep her deepest truths to herself. While the curious public always WANTS to know the “whys” behind decisions, that curious public certainly isn’t entitled to receiving them.

I find Diamond’s reserve on some matters refreshing. In an era when most young people feel compelled to (over)share nearly EVERY.SINGLE.THOUGHT.AND.EVENT. in their minds and lives, I think it’s great that DeShields is holding a little of herself back. She doesn’t owe anyone any explanations.
 
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#3
#3
P.S. I could not possibly BE more proud that Diamond DeShields is a LVFL, and am looking forward to her coming back to Knoxville now and again to inspire her younger “sisters” to keep working hard.

She has really matured and blossomed since moving into pro-level sports and real life, and so my gut tells me that Diamond could end up being a VERY important alumni piece in the puzzle of Lady Vol Basketball Future.

Love me some Diamond DeShields!!! She is kicking butt already in the W playoffs!!!
 
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#4
#4
lvocd said:
P.S. I could not possibly BE more proud that Diamond DeShields is a LVFL, and am looking forward to her coming back to Knoxville now and again to inspire her younger “sisters” to keep working hard.

She has really matured and blossomed since moving into pro-level sports and real life, and so my gut tells me that Diamond could end up being a VERY important alumni piece in the puzzle of Lady Vol Basketball Future.

Love me some Diamond DeShields!!! She is kicking butt already in the W playoffs!!!
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I agree but when she meets my Mystics all bets are off😜
 
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#5
#5
Diamond was great in her first playoff game. Not just her offense, but her defense as well. There isn't a smoother player in the open court. Phoenix tried several times to deny Sloot the ball on inbound plays, and Diamond was able to bring the ball up and initiate the offense without missing a beat. She also had some great assists in transition and overall played a high IQ game.

Also, shout out to Mercedes, who played Fowles evenly in the Seattle win where Howard was limited to 1 made FG. She's looked very good this year, considering she was in danger of being cut off not for Stewart's injury.
 
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#9
#9
mlindsay said:
I definitely disagree that she isn’t a LVFL, she most certainly is!
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Yea, she's a Lady vols.. A great one. She left the team same way just like every other players who skip their final yr. That is her choice, and if u have a child who complains to u about her situation in schoolwat would u say to her? Diamond u will always be loved by me!
 
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#12
#12
positive press from three former famous LV in a few weeks. may even be an assist in closing the women being recruited.

all good,
 
#15
#15
We always knew Diamond had all-world level talent. So glad to see her game maturing, and I think she’s barely scratched the surface in terms of how good she can be. Scary for opponents.

Also, I’m loving the fact that former LVs in the W are thriving and putting people on notice. It makes the playoffs more exciting to watch when we can cheer on former LVs. It’s good for the LV Brand, too, as we enter this new era.
 
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#16
#16
ttharpe said:
We always knew Diamond had all-world level talent. So glad to see her game maturing, and I think she’s barely scratched the surface in terms of how good she can be. Scary for opponents.

Also, I’m loving the fact that former LVs in the W are thriving and putting people on notice. It makes the playoffs more exciting to watch when we can cheer on former LVs. It’s good for the LV Brand, too, as we enter this new era.
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I could see it in Diamond when she was 12-13 years old.

I see it in Jordan...Give me Horston over a summer and ....
 
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#17
#17
Coach Jumper said:
Seriously???..,Holly could have coached harder as well!
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What’s funny is you feel so comfortable critiquing Holly now that she’s gone. But when she was HC you often toed the line and tried to play devil’s advocate. Remember your whole “perfect storm” campaign? I would have welcomed your current critique when DD was actually on the team.
 
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#18
#18
NoBackBoard said:
Never thought I’d agree with Holly but she was right when she said Diamond could have worked harder at Tennessee.
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And been seriously injured in all likelihood. From the article: "And then there was that leg. When she'd arrived in Knoxville three years earlier, she'd had surgery to repair that stress fracture in her left leg. She'd rehabbed while sitting out the year mandated by the NCAA because of her transfer, but when she was finally cleared to work out, she began, again, to feel pain. She told her coaches. She told the training staff. She got X-rays and MRIs, all of which came back clean. A bone scan revealed another stress reaction, this time in her ankle. When DeShields elected to attend physical therapy sessions off campus, she argued with the coaching staff over what shoes she could wear."

She came into a UT with a lingering legacy of stress fractures and stress reactions (the latter is where the bone is highly inflamed and stressed but not quite broken- but it hurts the same), That is a tough injury to overcome because it usually has to do with muscle imbalances or foot problems (over pronation) that put undue stress on the tibia. And once that cycle of inflammation starts, playing with the injury is a game of Russian roulette. You have to manage the work load or you have broken leg. Her debate over shoes makes a lot of sense because footwear can make a huge difference in stress loads are transferred from the foot to the leg.

I know this problem well because its a major issue for soccer players because soccer cleats provide little support or stability and those who have pronation problems or small form glitches in their running style are prone to this injury. It really can inhabit a player's mobility and effort levels. The outmoded term "shin splints" makes it seem like a nuisance but it is a very painful and complex injury to cope with.

Holly obviously knew about DD's problem and so her scapegoating statement is particularly bogus.
 
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#19
#19
NoBackBoard said:
What’s funny is you feel so comfortable critiquing Holly now that she’s gone. But when she was HC you often toed the line and tried to play devil’s advocate. Remember your whole “perfect storm” campaign? I would have welcomed your current critique when DD was actually on the team.
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With tongue firmly planted in cheek.
I was also trying to make the jump from AAU to collegiate coaching.
Attempting such a feat,,, I would have "toed the line" for Lizzie Borden

BTW, look back at one of my original threads..."Coach Jumper: Prediction: Diamond WILL be a Jumper again"
In it I called for CHW's firing....That was the one that Holly held against me in denying Meme Jackson's request.

It took all I had to back Holly.
 
#20
#20
NoBackBoard said:
Never thought I’d agree with Holly but she was right when she said Diamond could have worked harder at Tennessee.
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There is zero doubt in my mind that Diamond would have worked harder in college if she played for a qualified coach.

Holly should shed some of that insight inwards instead of critiquing those players she failed to properly coach.
 
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#21
#21
Amb3096 said:
There is zero doubt in my mind that Diamond would have worked harder in college if she played for a qualified coach.

Holly should shed some of that insight inwards instead of critiquing those players she failed to properly coach.
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The thing I remember about Holly coaching up DD..... DD was being held out and sitting on bench with Holly ! Holly was trying to talk to DD about certain situations as the game went on .... This was a complete waste of time as Holly’s explanation of anything going on that court would only prove ( Without A Shadow Of Doubt ) that the coach was a complete _____ and I would not do anything that woman said ! But to just play BB like she knew it should be played ! JMO

If anyone wants to question this assertion? It did not take Evina but a couple of years to say : “ There needs to be some changes “. Drop the mike and go to a team with a good coach !
Again .... JMO
 
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#22
#22
PRG said:
The thing I remember about Holly coaching up DD..... DD was being held out and sitting on bench with Holly ! Holly was trying to talk to DD about certain situations as the game went on .... This was a complete waste of time as Holly’s explanation of anything going on that court would only prove ( Without A Shadow Of Doubt ) that the coach was a complete _____ and I would not do anything that woman said ! But to just play BB like she knew it should be played ! JMO

If anyone wants to question this assertion? It did not take Evina but a couple of years to say : “ There needs to be some changes “. Drop the mike and go to a team with a good coach !
Again .... JMO
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On the Evina thing, we have been over this a number of times and Smallvol in another post documented Evina's exact quote. Her statement that some changes needed to be made did not specifically reference Holly; she referred to "off the court stuff" and "the staff." Evina has been so demonized for a misquote that it would be best not too keep perpetuating that false narrative JMO.
 
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#23
#23
madtownvol said:
On the Evina thing, we have been over this a number of times and Smallvol in another post document Evina's exact quote. Her statement that some changes needed to be made did not specifically reference Holly; she referred to "off the court stuff" and "the staff." Evina has been so demonized for a misquote that it would be best not too keep perpetuating that false narrative JMO.
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I agree about the rehash and blaming a young woman for not accepting the situation she was playing in .... I was just answering another post about the ineptitude of our coaching situation! Two of the best players to ever suit up in Knoxville (JMO ) having to deal with not having the guidance to develop a championship program ! My second day in college..... I knew this was not high school and I was going to become a better player! I can’t imagine how these kids felt as they started to realize that their dreams and hopes of championships was never going to happen!!!! Boy would I be P____d !đŸ˜±
 
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#24
#24
gule said:
Calling her a LVFL is an insult to every player who ever was, imho. DD is a great talent, nothing more.
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So I guess Grant Williams and Jordan Bone aren’t VFL either since they left a year early. DD had every right to leave, especially since her coach was inept. She made the right decision for her just like grant and jordan made for themselves.
 
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#25
#25
Did Williams and Bone go around promising that they would stay to recruits and teammates? Then break their words?
 
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