Kellie Harper officially announced as Lady Vols BB Coach...

#26
#26
VolBall09 said:
This is what I have been saying. You couldn't pay me to join a staff where one of my equals was married to my boss. Just a recipe for disaster. Hoping part of the deal was that she must hire a staff that does not include her husband.
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Agree 100% but I'm not counting on this last part.
 
#27
#27
BowlBrother85 said:
Agreed but I still think he could have done better than Kellie Jolly Harper (Courtney Banghart at Princeton, perhaps?). Even with the limited budget, he had better options than this.
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For whatever reason, I always felt the hire would have LV connections. Given the connection between Phil and Pat, it just made sense to me he would seek out those ties. Keeping that in mind, I would have preferred Nikki Fargas, with the hope of her bringing Micki back with her. Not saying she was the best candidate in the world, but with what I felt Phil was looking for, I thought her a better choice. But like I said, it is what it is. All we can do now is hope KJH is ready to lead the LVs back to the top.
 
#28
#28
BowlBrother85 said:
Agree 100% but I'm not counting on this last part.
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Same, I think it is a good sign he wasn't announced at the same time, but I suspect he will be on her staff. It's difficult that they're a package deal, what if she can't coach without him? Or possibly he's just been riding her coattails and collecting two nice salaries. Surely with this pay raise he can be Mr. Mom and she can hire actual assistants and run the program like the business that it is.
 
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#31
#31
BowlBrother85 said:
Same here... this program is just a little too much up it's own butt with nostalgia... where honoring the past and doing things a certain way is just as important as winning itself. This is a very unimpressive hire. Even with a small budget to work with (below $800K), Fulmer could have done better if he had been willing to hire outside of the "family".
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I largely agree. However, that doesn't mean that Kelly can't have great success here. Nothing would be better than a former star player putting a winning program back together. But it's not a sure thing.

Honestly, there's nothing magic about staying within the Summitt family. It's a nice touch, but more limiting than relevant. I love what Pat Summitt accomplished here, and what she represented. But I think we are tempted to build her up into something more than she was. She was a pioneer in women's sports. She almost single-handedly put women's basketball on the map. But she had no superpowers. She mostly just worked incredibly hard and had laser focus. And she also did a lot of her winning when there wasn't much other competition. Not a negative against Summitt. Just reality.

I'm more interested in finding the best available candidate with the best track record. If that happens to also be a former LV, then that's an extra bonus.
 
#32
#32
Caspian said:
I largely agree. However, that doesn't mean that Kelly can't have great success here. Nothing would be better than a former star player putting a winning program back together. But it's not a sure thing.

Honestly, there's nothing magic about staying within the Summitt family. It's a nice touch, but more limiting than relevant. I love what Pat Summitt accomplished here, and what she represented. But I think we are tempted to build her up into something more than she was. She was a pioneer in women's sports. She almost single-handedly put women's basketball on the map. But she had no superpowers. She mostly just worked incredibly hard and had laser focus. And she also did a lot of her winning when there wasn't much other competition. Not a negative against Summitt. Just reality.

I'm more interested in finding the best available candidate with the best track record. If that happens to also be a former LV, then that's an extra bonus.
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Didn't have superpowers? I'm not sure about that, lol. She was the most intimidating woman I've ever met, and I'm not a small guy.
 
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#35
#35
BowlBrother85 said:
Agreed but I still think he could have done better than Kellie Jolly Harper (Courtney Banghart at Princeton, perhaps?). Even with the limited budget, he had better options than this.
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Not necessarily...... all of our options come with risks.... Kellie obviously was a wanted woman bc even after failing at N.C. state.... Missouri state came calling right away.....she just won coach of the year.... I would have had specific quslestions and if she answered them correctly then she would be one of my top choices.
 
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#37
#37
It would not matter who was hired, someone would be disappointed. There is no crystal ball, but she did coach up some girls that are not as talented to a sweet 16. She will have more to work with, so lets hope for the best. Beside, she has more emotion that Holly (albeit that bar is not very high)
 
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#38
#38
Weezer said:
Didn't have superpowers? I'm not sure about that, lol. She was the most intimidating woman I've ever met, and I'm not a small guy.
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I'm sure that stare could be interpreted as a superpower. You know, I never met her after she attained success and her reputation. But I took a tennis PE class from her at UT in 1975 during her second year as LV coach. She wasn't intense or demanding. No laser stares. She just seemed like a personable, low-key, young woman teaching a tennis class. I did get a "good shot" comment from her for a volley I got past her at the net and down the line during a doubles match. My moment of glory.
 
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#39
#39
Weezer said:
The statement was wanting to see Westbrook coached by a PG. Holly Warlick was one of the greatest PGs in Lady Vol history. In fact, which Pat assistant do you think probably worked with KJH the most when she played here?

This isn't me puffing my chest over Holly, this is simply stating facts. And FTR, Holly was an excellent assistant to Pat. She just wasn't meant to be a HC.
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The way in which the game was played (and the complexity of offensive sets) was totally different between Warlick's and KJH's era. The PG as coach on the floor/QB really was not a thing in Holly's era.

It was for KJH: Here is a nice quote by CPS about KJH (poached from the LV facebook page):


In her 2012 book, “Sum it Up,” written with Sally Jenkins, Summitt wrote this about Harper: “She invariably called the right play at the right moment, and sent the ball to the right place, but more than that, Kellie had a quality that everyone on our team drew from: heart. … At her first team meeting as a freshman, Kellie had showed how willing she was to do what I asked. We had a plush blue leather sectional sofa that the kids loved to sink into. I marched in and said, ‘First things first, sit up straight and look me in the eye.’ Kellie sprang up from the blue cushions and sat so ramrod straight, I thought she might salute.”
 
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#47
#47
orangefloyd said:
He said she had won big at every stop which is an utter falsehood. Trying to polish a turd.
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Not exactly. This was what Fulmer actually said... "Kellie has proven to be a winner at every stop in her career, taking three programs to the NCAA Tournament..." Now, if by being "a winner" he simply meant that she had finished with a winning record at NC State? That is true (70-64)... and she did take them to the NCAA Tournament once. Of course, that is not the whole story as her stint there was unsuccessful and she was fired. I don't like this hire either but let's get it right. Phil wasn't lying.
 
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#50
#50
One of my favorite Vols, hate to see her put herself in this position. Maybe she is ready, it's for sure she knows what she signed up for. ?This is the other side of the world from Missouri State. I will be watching anxiously hoping she gets it right.
 
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