John Adams doesn’t hold back

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
And he’s right

Kellie Harper is likeable, but Lady Vols should have made winning more of a priority

Tennessee is making the leap of faith with the belief that one former Lady Vols point guard could do what another couldn't — restore the women's basketball program to national prominence.
UT has hired Missouri State coach Kellie Harper to replace Holly Warlick, who was fired after seven seasons as the Tennessee women's basketball coach, the university announced Tuesday.
The hire was in keeping with UT's track record. Harper is a woman, a former Lady Vol, and her contract won't break Tennessee's bank.
But her résumé comes up short for a program that won eight national championships under former coach Pat Summitt, who coached Harper when she was Kellie Jolly.
It might be a risky hire, but Tennessee is a regular riverboat gambler when it comes to hiring.
Fulmer was hired as AD in December 2017 even though he had never been an athletic director. He promptly hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt as his football coach. Pruitt had never been a head coach.
Harper has plenty of experience as a head coach. She was successful at Western Carolina and has done fine at Missouri State, which made the Sweet 16 this past season.
But in her only coaching job at a Power 5 conference school, she was fired after four seasons at N.C. State.
At Tennessee, she will be recruiting to a program with more resources and tradition than N.C. State. She also will be recruiting to a program with higher expectations.
Warlick averaged 24 victories in her seven seasons as head coach. Her teams reached the Elite Eight three seasons.
But after UT won 19 games and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past season, Fulmer fired Warlick. He made the right call. However, when you make a decision of that magnitude, you need to be prepared for what comes next.
As for Fulmer, he seemingly was just ready to hire a former Lady Vol. That's rather limiting for a job as big as this one.
If you fire a coach with Warlick’s record, you’re expected to hire someone with a better record and greater potential. Tennessee didn’t do that.
That doesn’t mean Harper has no chance of exceeding what Warlick did. Maybe, she will bring out the best in a talented roster that underachieved and lead Tennessee to the Final Four.
Sometimes, the AD with no experience becomes an administrative guru. Sometimes, the first-time head football coach becomes a star.
Sometimes, a program renowned for having to fire the coaches it hires, gets lucky.
The fan base certainly will be pulling for Harper. She’s a Tennessee native and a Lady Vol, best remembered as the steady point guard on UT’s three national championship teams from 1996 through 1998. She’s also very likable — as is Warlick for that matter.
This isn’t about liking, though. It’s about winning.
And, in the case of the Lady Vols, it’s about winning at the highest level. Fulmer apparently has faith Harper can do that.
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#5
#5
I'm not going to subscribe just to read the damn article.
This is what I see:

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#8
#8
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#12
#12
If the quoted passage is any indication of the larger editorial, Adams sounds like a fan ranting on a call-in show.
Adams did not hold but he did not make much sense either but I will try to parse:


KJH is likeable (Unlike me and So I am kinda jealous)
KJH's record comes up short for a program that has 8 NCs (yeah, then technically so would anyone but Geno)
This is risky hire because we don't know it will work out (yeah, that is called uncertainty and it comes with this thing called the future. And sometimes proven coaches don't translate their success to other programs)
Holly's teams had terribly underachieved so Fulmer had to make change but he needed to be better prepared (so was he supposed to know the new coach before the search began? in a free market system, what exactly was he supposed to do? He can't wave a magic wand and make all the top coaches suddenly come to UT)
But maybe Harper will do great and even get the team to the final four (but I sure hope not because it will be harder to draw readers to my contrarian columns).

I am guessing Adams is a reader and poster on this board because it looks like he aggregated VolNation comments to put this thoughtless "thought piece" together.
 
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#13
#13
nuclear_explosion.jpg
 
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#14
#14
Big Orange Rob said:
Adams being Adams - be negative about everything. Ignore him.
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How is he wrong?
You fire a coach with a record of 172–67 and hire a coach who's one stop at a power 5 job had a 70–64 record.
You don't do that, period. Kellie gives the blue hairs the feel goods and thats great but heres the truth, UNTIL THIS PROGRAM IS READY TO MOVE ON AND STOP LIVING ON PAT SUMMITT'S NAME IT WILL ONLY BE MEDIOCRE. This USED to be a great program but it turned into a museum for Pat, now I have nothing for respect for Pat and what she did here but it's time to move on. This place is so set in it's ways its disgusting, the fact that you have a few women running around saying they will never stand for a man coaching the womens game but preaching equality in sports. Do you hear yourselves? The older part of the Lady Vol fan base is the most arrogant, delusional collective group of people in sports today. Move on and let the program grow, you guys act like some weird a$$ gate keepers for the shrine of Pat, so again MOVE ON.
 
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#16
#16
Volsfaninva917 said:
How is he wrong?
You fire a coach with a record of 172–67 and hire a coach who's one stop at a power 5 job had a 70–64 record.
You don't do that, period. Kellie gives the blue hairs the feel goods and thats great but heres the truth, UNTIL THIS PROGRAM IS READY TO MOVE ON AND STOP LIVING ON PAT SUMMITT'S NAME IT WILL ONLY BE MEDIOCRE. This USED to be a great program but it turned into a museum for Pat, now I have nothing for respect for Pat and what she did here but it's time to move on. This place is so set in it's ways its disgusting, the fact that you have a few women running around saying they will never stand for a man coaching the womens game but preaching equality in sports. Do you hear yourselves? The older part of the Lady Vol fan base is the most arrogant, delusional collective group of people in sports today. Move on and let the program grow, you guys act like some weird a$$ gate keepers for the shrine of Pat, so again MOVE ON.
Click to expand...

Apparently, Wes Moore and Kelly Graves (Oregon) were contacted but declined to pursue any negotiation.
 
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#18
#18
Holly loved the Lady Vol program as much as anyone could. She needed to learn offensive sets, which you would have thought would have been obvious to her, and needed a tougher approach as a coach, which doesn't seem to be her nature. The development of the players wasn't there, the chemistry wasn't there, and without a doubt, the program was making way to many firsts in negative ways to allow Holly to be retained. Hate it for her, but that's the way it is in big time college athletics. AD Fulmer knows what it takes to compete in the SEC. I trust his judgement in his coaching hires. Look at the physical development of the football team. They are getting bigger and stronger, Pruitt has put together what seems to be a great staff and I think we will see the results soon. KJH was just named the Kay Yow Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. Let's give her and Fulmer the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Let's quit bashing and start supporting as we should.
 
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#19
#19
If I want to read homer takes I can easily find them on VN. Adams is no homer and that’s why a lot of people don’t like him. I think his writing style can be annoying, but there’s nothing wrong with considering his point of view
 
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#23
#23
bigorangepoppa said:
Holly loved the Lady Vol program as much as anyone could. She needed to learn offensive sets, which you would have thought would have been obvious to her, and needed a tougher approach as a coach, which doesn't seem to be her nature. The development of the players wasn't there, the chemistry wasn't there, and without a doubt, the program was making way to many firsts in negative ways to allow Holly to be retained. Hate it for her, but that's the way it is in big time college athletics. AD Fulmer knows what it takes to compete in the SEC. I trust his judgement in his coaching hires. Look at the physical development of the football team. They are getting bigger and stronger, Pruitt has put together what seems to be a great staff and I think we will see the results soon. KJH was just named the Kay Yow Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. Let's give her and Fulmer the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Let's quit bashing and start supporting as we should.
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One comment::
"but that's the way it is in big time college athletics"
This is the way it is in any kind of business or most social activities, be it sports or sales or anything, even preaching (gotta have a congregation). Socially, if your garden club members don't show up to meetings etc., then a new president is in order (sounds sorta like government too don't it?) If you can't or don't produce, you are replaced.
 
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#24
#24
golfballs said:
If I want to read homer takes I can easily find them on VN. Adams is no homer and that’s why a lot of people don’t like him. I think his writing style can be annoying, but there’s nothing wrong with considering his point of view
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That is if you enjoy following gloom and doom, and are not influenced by a continual dose of negative crap. I wonder if this guy has to travel around with security or in disguise. I couldn't imagine even going to the grocery store if I were him. I would be afraid of a tomato in the face or worse. Or, maybe his crap has worn so thin in Knoxville that no one pays the slightest bit of attention to him anymore.
 
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#25
#25
savannahfan said:
That is if you enjoy following gloom and doom, and are not influenced by a continual dose of negative crap. I wonder if this guy has to travel around with security or in disguise. I couldn't imagine even going to the grocery store if I were him. I would be afraid of a tomato in the face or worse. Or, maybe his crap has worn so thin in Knoxville that no one pays the slightest bit of attention to him anymore.
Click to expand...
Last sentence is your answer.🍊🍊
 
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