Kellie Jolly Harper is coming home

#27
#27
bigorangepoppa said:
Tennessee just hired the Kay Yow Women's Basketball coach of the year, anyone see the irony in that phrase? The coach of the year is named after the former coach at NC State, where KJH was coach and fired from the position. Let's not rush to a quick judgement on her. It seems she learned after the NC State gig.
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Even more irony, KJH was apparently fired in purge led by Debbie Yow, sister of the namesake of the award KJH just won. Spooky irony.

So I'm on the support Kellie until proven different train, and I pray it works out for her and for us. But honestly, I don't think its a sure thing and will be a huge challenge for her. I worry that if she was going to be an exceptional coach, she would have been by now, 15 yrs in. On the other hand, she's never had the resources she will have here. Maybe she'll be able to move from solid good to great, I sure hope so.
 
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#28
#28
Benionsopinion said:
And for all you naysayers,here is a little food for thought. Kellie grew up in Sparta,Tennessee,the daughter of a successful high school coach. I'm sure that during that time,she absorbed many points in coaching,and I would bet that she took to it more so than some one who sat at Pat Summitt's side for thirty years.
During her playing career,she recovered from knee surgery in three months,and led a ten loss Lady Vol team to a national championship. Two years later,she suffered a sprained ankle in the national semi finals and spent something like 36 hours in the training room with Jenny Moshak to rehab the ankle so she could play in the championship game. And play she did.
There may have been tougher players as Lady Vols,but I don't remember one. That is something that has almost disappeared from this Lady Vol team. Instilling toughness to this team,along with some heart and confidence will help the entire team chemistry. If she can get the current Lady Vols and recruits to play with a semblance of her passion,this could become a very good team. No more nonchalance,but play always with heart and purpose.
Go Lady Vols!!
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Coach Harper was NOT my choice. But that is ok. Fillup didnt ask me. I will support her and pray she can turn the mess around that Holly Left.
Howsomever......................i would like to humbly submit that ALL of the "stuff" above has LITTLE to NOTHING on whether this is a good hire. So her blood runs orange. SO what. It has absolutely NO bearing on whether she will be a success or not. What school did Geno grad from. Mulkey, etc and on and on.?? If it were that simple, then Holly would still be the Coach. The Orange Blood certainly wasn't enough for her. Ask the other side of the House what they think about Coach Barnes. His Orange Blood was Burnt Orange for long time. He is walking on water presently because he is WINNING. Once he starts losing, they will want his head also. Business! That is what it is...….period.

The issue is really very simple. She is being paid to do a job. That job is to put a good product on the floor. Get them to class. Get them graduate. Get them be competitive. The vision of grandeur of turning this program around based on where she grew up and played for is silly and really misguided.

Can she Coach. Can she recruit. Can she instill. Kelly for sure has the CPS stare, glare but she will need much more to get this program back to even close to where it was. Good luck Coach KJH and I will re-instate my season tickets and be there supporting you. I just pray you have some of those plastic trash can practices early and often..............................
 
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#29
#29
orangefloyd said:
The AD doesn’t value women’s athletics.
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That is a pretty silly thing to say, especially multiple times. My failing memory seems to have recollections of not one but two of his daughters playing (not starin) during their UT experiences.... maybe just maybe he is better positioned to take a more complete fact set than you and make a reasoned risk/reward analysis and go with it.
 
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#33
#33
Ok Kellie, you weren’t my first choice. Or my second choice. Or my third...

That said, you’re here now and here’s your first test. Convince Jordan Horston to stay in her signed LOI.
 
#35
#35
orangefloyd said:
The AD doesn’t value women’s athletics.
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GUNTERSVOL said:
That is a pretty silly thing to say, especially multiple times. My failing memory seems to have recollections of not one but two of his daughters playing (not starin) during their UT experiences.... maybe just maybe he is better positioned to take a more complete fact set than you and make a reasoned risk/reward analysis and go with it.
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Actually, I think one takeaway from this search is indeed that someone doesn't "value" women's athletics quite as much. This from probably the most reliable "insider" on this board, one who really knows whereof they speak most of the time:
DeerPark12 said:
they "spoke" to about 12 people, but the reality is that most of them make enough money at their current spot that there wasn’t really a number that was feasible that would get them to move
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So there was a $ ceiling, a feasible amount. And an unfeasable amount, unlike the piggy bank shattering just yesterday (justifibly IMO) to keep Rick Barnes. This may not be directly a PF thing, and not necessarily a decision against women's sports. It may be, as long suggested by some of the more irritating posters on this site, simply a business decision. In the best of times WBB might break even, but will probably never be a money maker.

The value LV basketball has brought in the best of times was as an incredible brand ambassador for the university. I was hoping (probably foolishly) that would be valued highly enough to get the AD to open the wallet for a star hire for the LVs this time, given the desperate circumstances. But since a hard $ value can't be put on branding, it was never going to happen.

It doesn't mean Harper can't work out or that the LVs will never be an elite program again. It just means it will be a longer, harder climb than if Jeff Walz was looking for a house in Knoxville right now.
 
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#36
#36
While Holly did a lot to diminish Pat's legacy for the Lady Vol program, recruits still know the history of our program. Bringing in a legend with three National Championships during her career here with Pat can go a long ways towards restoring that attitude amongst the current and future Lady Vol's players.
 
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#40
#40
glv98 said:
Even more irony, KJH was apparently fired in purge led by Debbie Yow, sister of the namesake of the award KJH just won. Spooky irony.

So I'm on the support Kellie until proven different train, and I pray it works out for her and for us. But honestly, I don't think its a sure thing and will be a huge challenge for her. I worry that if she was going to be an exceptional coach, she would have been by now, 15 yrs in. On the other hand, she's never had the resources she will have here. Maybe she'll be able to move from solid good to great, I sure hope so.
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I agree...time to come together and pull for her. At the same time, we can't give anyone 7 years to prove it. Holly was given way too much time because of being a former player. The same standard can't apply to Kellie if she doesn't get it done. This is not a rebuilding project.
 
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#41
#41
bigorangepoppa said:
Tennessee just hired the Kay Yow Women's Basketball coach of the year, anyone see the irony in that phrase? The coach of the year is named after the former coach at NC State, where KJH was coach and fired from the position. Let's not rush to a quick judgement on her. It seems she learned after the NC State gig.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about that this morning. Coach Harper followed Kay Yow, was later fired by her new boss Debbie Yow, then goes to a mid-major and wins the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year award....that's quite a turn of events.

Hard to hold the NC State gig against her too much. That athletic department during those years was a national embarrassment.
 
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#42
#42
rkvdg said:
And for the record I think KJH has done a great job with much less talent. She paid here dues and learned from them. Not like some coach from around here who could get all the talent in the world but not coach them.
And remember LV basketball loses money. For those who what see the AD burn over the money spent on the 2 basketball coach's remember what the SEC commissioner told schools about were and how to spend money from the Tv contracts if they wanted to keep getting them.
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It's not a case for making or losing money. Most all sports at this level lose money. The question is in the case of our women's basketball program how much or how little do we want to lose. Sometimes it's better to "bite the bullet", and operate at a lessor loss than to quit all together. (which in this case, UT won't quit playing women's basketball)
 
#43
#43
stlvolsfan said:
I’m in St. Louis and I’d take Holly over KJH any day
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If you enjoy watching our ladies under perform and at times unable to play basic basketball, please see the UT Vandy highlights in Nashville, than Holly is your coach. Please stay in ST. Louis and we will welcome our new coach and give her a chance to be successful.
 
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#44
#44
VolBall09 said:
Honest question. Can anyone name one single coach that has made a miraculous, mid career, turnaround and gone from an average/below average coach to an elite level winner?
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I get questioning the hire, but labeling Coach Harper an average/below average coach? That's absurd. She's not been elite, but she's not been average or below average either.

Go read this for goodness sake:
The Kay Yow National Coach of the Year Award | College Basketball Awards | CollegeInsider.com
 
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#45
#45
Benionsopinion said:
And for all you naysayers,here is a little food for thought. Kellie grew up in Sparta,Tennessee,the daughter of a successful high school coach. I'm sure that during that time,she absorbed many points in coaching,and I would bet that she took to it more so than some one who sat at Pat Summitt's side for thirty years.
During her playing career,she recovered from knee surgery in three months,and led a ten loss Lady Vol team to a national championship. Two years later,she suffered a sprained ankle in the national semi finals and spent something like 36 hours in the training room with Jenny Moshak to rehab the ankle so she could play in the championship game. And play she did.
There may have been tougher players as Lady Vols,but I don't remember one. That is something that has almost disappeared from this Lady Vol team. Instilling toughness to this team,along with some heart and confidence will help the entire team chemistry. If she can get the current Lady Vols and recruits to play with a semblance of her passion,this could become a very good team. No more nonchalance,but play always with heart and purpose.
Go Lady Vols!!
Click to expand...

I am not happy about this hire:

Fulmer (and by extension, Tennessee) are running a certain risk with Harper. While she is a former player and familiar with the expectations at Tennessee, she also does not have the resume that would jump off the page to a program of its caliber. It’s also a question of why Tennessee would go to the lower ranks to hire a coach, when its reputation and support label it as a top-5 destination in women’s college basketball.

The Rick Barnes saga has everyone’s attention at the moment. But the Harper hire is a big test for Fulmer’s tenure. If he gets this one wrong, Tennessee women’s basketball is going to suffer for years to come.
 
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#46
#46
midtnvol2 said:
If you enjoy watching our ladies under perform and at times unable to play basic basketball, please see the UT Vandy highlights in Nashville, than Holly is your coach. Please stay in ST. Louis and we will welcome our new coach and give her a chance to be successful.
Click to expand...

Fulmer (and by extension, Tennessee) are running a certain risk with Harper. While she is a former player and familiar with the expectations at Tennessee, she also does not have the resume that would jump off the page to a program of its caliber. It’s also a question of why Tennessee would go to the lower ranks to hire a coach, when its reputation and support label it as a top-5 destination in women’s college basketball.

The Rick Barnes saga has everyone’s attention at the moment. But the Harper hire is a big test for Fulmer’s tenure. If he gets this one wrong, Tennessee women’s basketball is going to suffer for years to come.
 
#48
#48
TN1111 said:
I agree...time to come together and pull for her. At the same time, we can't give anyone 7 years to prove it. Holly was given way too much time because of being a former player. The same standard can't apply to Kellie if she doesn't get it done. This is not a rebuilding project.
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Agree right up until the last sentence. The house is a pile of rubble with a curl of smoke rising out of it. How is that not a rebuild?

I'm guessing you will cite the "talent" on the current roster. I see it as highly ranked but unproven potential which has translated into almost zero talent capable of winning SEC games. The development of potential into actual talent, especially when that potential has been so damaged by the previous staff, is now the Herculean task of KJH. May the basketball gods smile down on her and end our ongoing discussion of whether the LVs are need of a rebuild or not!
 
#49
#49
ShoalCreekVol said:
I get questioning the hire, but labeling Coach Harper an average/below average coach? That's absurd. She's not been elite, but she's not been average or below average either.

Go read this for goodness sake:
The Kay Yow National Coach of the Year Award | College Basketball Awards | CollegeInsider.com
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Fellow former winners include disgraced Coni Yori and a discretely removed from the list Kristy Curry. Spare me. The only coaching award that matters is the Naismith Coach of the Year award. The Kay Yow award almost always goes to a coach who makes a surprise tournament run. Doesn't mean a thing about her actual body of work. IMO the only awards she has won for coaching were mostly on name recognition alone from her time with the lady vols.
 
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#50
#50
ffitxela said:
It’s also a question of why Tennessee would go to the lower ranks to hire a coach, when its reputation and support label it as a top-5 destination in women’s college basketball.
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But that turned out not to be true, according to reliable insiders. Turns out current coaches don't consider it a top 5 destination any longer, interest was underwhelming. Partially due to a spending cap, partially due to timing, partially due to the tremendous damage HW did. So into the lower ranks we went.
 
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