Game Thread: LADY VOLS AT NO. 6/6 MISSISSIPPI STATE

[aurabass]

Holly will use the excuse that Westbrook didn't go to class if we lose by 30. Sure wish Holly would just resign for the good of the program.

Evina is a member of the All-Academic Team - I would bet she is a straight A student on the path to early graduation and graduate school.
Holly just wanted an excuse for being blown out by MS State = "Not my fault. These players need to learn to go to class. I don't want any academic failures on the team."
Even the UT Sports site knows she is an Academic award winner. I guess Holly missed that.

• Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year (2017).
• USA Today National Player of the Year (2017).
• USA Today All-USA First Team (2016, 2017).
• WBCA All-American (2017).
• Naismith All-American (2017).
• McDonald’s All-American (2017), tallying 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for the West.
• Played in Jordan Brand Classic (2017), finishing with eight points, four assists and three rebounds for the West.
• MaxPreps First-Team All-American (2017).
• Naismith Player of the Year Finalist (2017).
• Gatorade Oregon Girls Player of the Year (2016, 2017).
• Oregon 6A Female Basketball Player of the Year (2017).
• First-team All-State (2015, 2016, 2017).
• 2016 All-State Academic Team

The Gatorade Company, today announced Evina Westbrook of South Salem High School as its 2016-17 Gatorade Oregon Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Westbrook is the first Gatorade Oregon Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from South Salem High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Westbrook as Oregon’s best high school girls basketball player.

 

[JFP]

Evina is a member of the All-Academic Team - I would bet she is a straight A student on the path to early graduation and graduate school.
Holly just wanted an excuse for being blown out by MS State = "Not my fault. These players need to learn to go to class. I don't want any academic failures on the team."
Even the UT Sports site knows she is an Academic award winner. I guess Holly missed that.

• Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year (2017).
• USA Today National Player of the Year (2017).
• USA Today All-USA First Team (2016, 2017).
• WBCA All-American (2017).
• Naismith All-American (2017).
• McDonald’s All-American (2017), tallying 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for the West.
• Played in Jordan Brand Classic (2017), finishing with eight points, four assists and three rebounds for the West.
• MaxPreps First-Team All-American (2017).
• Naismith Player of the Year Finalist (2017).
• Gatorade Oregon Girls Player of the Year (2016, 2017).
• Oregon 6A Female Basketball Player of the Year (2017).
• First-team All-State (2015, 2016, 2017).
• 2016 All-State Academic Team

The Gatorade Company, today announced Evina Westbrook of South Salem High School as its 2016-17 Gatorade Oregon Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Westbrook is the first Gatorade Oregon Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from South Salem High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Westbrook as Oregon’s best high school girls basketball player.

The University of Tennessee is a prominent, celebrated place of learning and sports. The University deserves such student athletes as Evina Westbrook. She has earned what the University offers and what she receives from it
as to a splendid and successful future. Saying that, hard earned lessons now being learned by adversity may prove as valuable as all The University of Tennessee has to offer.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

No, I am not kidding. Sometimes the punishment is much worse than the crime. Everyone runs late from time to time. Are you always on time to work every day of your life? How the hell do you know how Pat handled every situation? I am sure there were several bleacher laps ran when Pat coached. I have my opinion, and you have your opinion.

And I am tired of being attacked by some of you that act you were one of her assistant coaches all those years. Pat didn't even suspend Candace a whole game for missing curfew the night before that game. So you might want to rethink your attack of me.

No, I think my comments pretty much were in line with reason. Yeah, Pat cut Candace some slack since the game was scheduled close to her home and a whole bunch of family and friends were there.... so having to start out on the bench was a pretty tough deal.... but not going to class and not sitting in the first couple of rows was non-negotiable... You might sell out but I bet nobody that played for her would.... maybe we should ask Kara or others....

 

[madtownvol]

All the Holly supporters must be over in the Pro Barnes forum now

There are no "Holly supporters". I am not sure why people keep insisting on that there is some significant portion of the fan base who are just pleased as punch with Holly and the current state of the LVs.

Is it some deep seated Southern need to have a McCoy to feud with?

The only debate is if Holly should be fired (i.e., forced to resign) now or at the end of the season. The extent of Holly's support is this - let her finish the season while the UTAD lines up the new coach to be announced right after Holly steps down. So, here is your feud: the Hatfields want to fire Holly now and the McCoy's want to fire hire in about a month.

 

[madtownvol]

No, I think my comments pretty much were in line with reason. Yeah, Pat cut Candace some slack since the game was scheduled close to her home and a whole bunch of family and friends were there.... so having to start out on the bench was a pretty tough deal.... but not going to class and not sitting in the first couple of rows was non-negotiable... You might sell out but I bet nobody that played for her would.... maybe we should ask Kara or others....

I concur. There many good reasons to criticize Holly but enforcing team rules is not one of them. Hasn't the constant complaint been that she is too lenient and does not hold players accountable. Now that she has done just that, it is a travesty.

From my understanding, CPS treated missing class as a non-negotiable team rules violation and she saw it as an important reason for the LVs 100% graduation rate.

 

[Orange_Mamba]

So did she skip or not? Because ESPN at one point said she was late and then they said she missed class altogether. But I agree on the rule if the class was skipped altogether. But one rule Id wish theyd change is the tattoo rule. Its stupid and archaic.

 

[madtownvol]

So did she skip or not? Because ESPN at one point said she was late and then they said she missed class altogether. But I agree on the rule if the class was skipped altogether. But one rule Id wish theyd change is the tattoo rule. Its stupid and archaic.

Faculty often have rules that if you are late by so many minutes, the tardiness counts as an absence. Also, varsity athletes have to give each of their instructors a letter detailing their travel obligations and team policies toward attendance. But ESPN was vague on the exact infraction. Evina took responsibility for it though.

 

[creekdipper]

So did she skip or not? Because ESPN at one point said she was late and then they said she missed class altogether. But I agree on the rule if the class was skipped altogether. But one rule Id wish theyd change is the tattoo rule. Its stupid and archaic.

Pardon my ignorance, but exactly what does the tattoo rule entail?

Thanks in advance.

 

[VOLPAT]

I did not know that Westbrook didn’t play and I was working during game. I caught Holly’s postgame - nothing unusual other than she did not seem upset they lost. She just said they would watch the tape and learn from it.

After sitting on the Lady Vols sideline for 20 plus years, watching film from this particular game won't make an ounce of difference. She gets it or doesn't get it. She even seems lost in press conferences and throws the players under the bus , instead of looking in the mirror. She has given years of service to the program and should be commended for it but she has reached her level of competence and it's not enough. She knows it or should know it. It's sad but true.

 

[lvocd]

She has given years of service to the program and should be commended for it but she has reached her level of competence and it's not enough.

Truth. And while she HAS been coach at Tennessee for decades, she hasn't "given" those years -- she was paid very well to be there. (People seem to forget that!) And when you look back at the years, Holly's money was the easiest to earn on Pat's staff. Pat, as far as I could tell, never expected much of anything from Holly except to be the one to be nice to the players if their feelings got a little too bruised by one of the stronger staffers.

I can't think of an easier way to make money for three decades, can you? Travel around with THE hardest-working head coach in the history of the women's game, basking in the aura of a woman who only had to be present in an arena for everyone to be touched by it? Pat did ALL the heavy lifting. Holly, in comparison, got paid for being the nice one. She's GREAT at being nice. And if Holly herself had ever even remotely thought she wanted to be a head coach, she'd have taken a job elsewhere at some point. But she knew she was doing exactly what she was capable of doing, and stayed. You might say, "She was showing her loyalty!" Could be. But she could also have known that being a head coach was too much for her. She would have been correct to think so.

Anyway, that was some eaaaaasy money, folks. So I can't feel TOO awful sorry for Holly. It was a helluva ride for her, but now it's time to get a more capable master of the game at the top of the program.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Pardon my ignorance, but exactly what does the tattoo rule entail?

Thanks in advance.

There can be no visible tattoos. If a player has one it must be covered. Geno at UCONN has the same rule.

Notice that Zaay Green always wears a long sleeve on her right arm, which is covered in tattoos.

Candace Parker also had a small tattoo on her right wrist. She always wore a sweat band on that wrist to cover it up.

 

[lvocd]

There can be no visible tattoos. If a player has one it must be covered. Geno at UCONN has the same rule.

Notice that Zaay Green always wears a long sleeve on her right arm, which is covered in tattoos.

Candace Parker also had a small tattoo on her right wrist. She always wore a sweat band on that wrist to cover it up.

Tattoos are so commonplace these days that the new radical, nonconformist choice would be to NOT get any tattoos.