Kim Caldwell (Rookie Coach of the Year-WBCA) is named Head Coach of Iconic Lady Vols WBB

[Advol]

Times aren't changin'..............they have blew by us! Between NIL, Portal, et.all............the patients are running the asylum.
I loved the CPS era of structure, discipline and plastic trash can practices.
Those daze are gone. The 5 Stars today want money just to visit. Most would not play for CPS today. These youngins' want jack and want it now! Exactly what led Sabin to get out!
So you are stuck "payin" for not only a Coach, but a personality, a Prime Time that gets Cred instantly or can surround themselves with it!
It IS ALL about recruiting on the front end, butt you still have to Coach it, get them to class and teach the game. Having all 4-5Stars on the pine doesnt guarantee anything.............thank goodness it is still a TEAM game.
And of course it doesnt matter who they hire, "the" Mafia, Knoxnewsless and most this board wont like it.
"suck it up buttercup"

 

[RAVOL]

I don't know we're she falls on pecking order but Fortier sure can coach. If she works hard on recruiting Lady Vols would be back to Top 10 program. She is really good and our future recruits who have opened up recruitment would love her offensive sets. My opinion of course. In CHRIST Alone

Kellie went to the tournament 4x in 11 years at mid-majors, she’s been 9 out of 10. That’s immensely different and much more successful. She has 3 SW 16’s at flipping Gonzaga again that’s not equal to making the SW16 at UTK. Who did KJH beat at WCU or MO St remotely equivalent to Stanford? KJH can’t hang with Stanford now, Fortier has beaten them 4x in 8 tries. If you truly think those are comparable resumes you’re obtuse or intentionally contrarian.

 

[glv98]

Plays mean dirty slide Delta blues and B3 mouth organ.

For a minute I thought you were talking about Kim Mulkey!

 

[Brawlvol]

The gal at Marshall, Kim Caldwell is a heck of a coach and would be a great fit, only problem is she has not been at the top level yet, would not set right with our fan base. Wish she had a few years under her belt at a power 5 program. She is going to be a good one down the line.

 

[creekdipper]

That is literally the first time I've ever heard that KJH was reluctant on NIL. Hated every min of the Rickea Mercedes deal? She was there practically dancing! In fact, the staff has been begging for NIL help. Why wouldn't they? Why would KJH or any other functioning coach not want to go there on' NIL? That makes zero sense. If you mean the donors were stonewalling her, apparently that was true. But def not the other way around. Please don't add this to her sin list.

I'm sure there is a deleted tweet somewhere proving this.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Agree to disagree. What you describe, a few classes under the belt, sounds like the old model, and the mid pack SEC model. It's all different now. I feel like we've been promised a faster track with a big hire.

If the Va Tech players in the portal and the KY players in the portal all go to KY, they know what they have in Kenny Brooks. Again, I'm not saying on court wins in that period obviously. But we'll know quickly if we have a coach impact players want to come here for or not. Of course they don't have to be AA, and that system is badly discredited now anyway. But a solid core.

If not, if we're basically going with current roster plus a mid or two fm the portal, it will be a long, slow build that we could have kept Kellie for. And I'm in no way saying that coach doesn't deserve support. It just feels like what was the point.

Ok so how long does the new coach get? One maybe 2 years? If she doesn’t win a NC in year two like Mulkey then she isn’t any good? I cannot see the logic in basically saying we will know what we have almost immediately.

 

[Carp]

I don't believe Hammons comes here to coach. College job is 12 months a year, travel and restrictions.

At least in WNBA there is a time for rest and relaxation.
Also unless she is the GM she doesn't have to worry about offering contracts to free agents or re-signing the teams FA.

If you don't think College coaches have time for rest and relaxation you are fooling yourself.

 

[glv98]

Ok so how long does the new coach get? One maybe 2 years? If she doesn’t win a NC in year two like Mulkey then she isn’t any good? I cannot see the logic in basically saying we will know what we have almost immediately.

We'll know how much of a recruiting draw our new coach is immediately. See Kenny Brooks at KY. His best Va Tech players are in the portal, probably to follow him. The best KY players who went into the portal haven't gone elsewhere, and could well return to KY. They'd have a strong core to start the rebuild plus have proven Kenny can get players.

I wouldn't put any timeline on winning a single game, much less an NC. What I'm looking for immediately is someone who can get impact players. This was KJH downfall, and this is what we're being promised will be the improvement. And with our current roster, that can't wait.

 

[Rooster1]

Ok so how long does the new coach get? One maybe 2 years? If she doesn’t win a NC in year two like Mulkey then she isn’t any good? I cannot see the logic in basically saying we will know what we have almost immediately.

You are thinking correctly of course.

 

[creekdipper]

I was just about to post something along those lines...the Mulkey standard of a NC within two years is the only acceptable bar now.

Also, there should be multiple championships within the first eight years, preferably a back-to-back streak or two and/or a threepeat, just like Pat.

Anything less is substandard in restoring the Lady Vol brand to its rightful place in the hierarchy.

Down with the usurpers! Long Live the (Whether Queen or King or Undeclared)!

 

[Rooster1]

We'll know how much of a recruiting draw our new coach is immediately. See Kenny Brooks at KY. His best Va Tech players are in the portal, probably to follow him. The best KY players who went into the portal haven't gone elsewhere, and could well return to KY. They'd have a strong core to start the rebuild plus have proven Kenny can get players.

I wouldn't put any timeline on winning a single game, much less an NC. What I'm looking for immediately is someone who can get impact players. This was KJH downfall, and this is what we're being promised will be the improvement. And with our current roster, that can't wait.

Who promised you immediate impact recruits/players?

 

[Amb3096]

I was just about to post something along those lines...the Mulkey standard of a NC within two years is the only acceptable bar now.

Also, there should be multiple championships within the first ten years, preferably a back-to-back streak or two and/or a threepeat, just like Pat.

Anything less is substandard in restoring the Lady Vol brand to its rightful place in the hierarchy.

Down with the usurpers! Long Live the (Whether Queen or King or Undeclared)!

Damn, is this what happens when there is no more sunshine left to pump?

 

[glv98]

You are thinking correctly of course.

I was just about to post something along those lines...the Mulkey standard of a NC within two years is the only acceptable bar now.

Also, there should be multiple championships within the first ten years, preferably a back-to-back streak or two and/or a threepeat, just like Pat.

Anything less is substandard in restoring the Lady Vol brand to its rightful place in the hierarchy.

Down with the usurpers! Long Live the (Whether Queen or King or Undeclared)!

Pretty sure there's an inbetween. I've never set a timeline for anything but recruiting. The recruiting scene is so different now, and so much is possible. If that doesn't start with a bang, we'll know we're in for the long slow climb. Which will require alot of patience.

 

[creekdipper]

Who promised you immediate impact recruits/players?

Staley has a few for sale.

 

[creekdipper]

Damn, is this what happens when there is no more sunshine left to pump?

When we had no crawdads, we ate sand.

 

[creekdipper]

Pretty sure there's an inbetween. I've never set a timeline for anything but recruiting. The recruiting scene is so different now, and so much is possible. If that doesn't start with a bang, we'll know we're in for the long slow climb. Which will require alot of patience.

Patience? What's that?

 

[glv98]

Who promised you immediate impact recruits/players?

The firing of KJH for failure to do so. Also, and yeah it's folks in the know hearsay, but everyone claiming inside knowledge says DW ain't fooling around, swinging for the fences, etc. Didn't do this to hire a mid and wait 3 yrs to slowly climb.

That said, I think the last part is exactly what's likely to happen. We get the Syracuse coach, cross our fingers, and wait and hope.

 

[Majors]

Not so fast…..

Colorado:

143–103 (.581)

58–82 (.414)

Might need to check those last few years for the big picture. She has Colorado on the map. But your attempt is noted. Believe they call that a rebuild on the front end, results on the backend.

 

[Majors]

Yes, that's exactly what the local reporters are saying. Makes sense. We were told there was a last minute NIL drop a few days before KJH was fired. Apparently the mistrust the AD had for her was shared by donors.

Which explains the withholding from the beloved brand. More sad and unlucky news for KJH, but apparently she was the issue. No one is coming here without a bag, and the AD wouldn't have made the move wo a bag to offer.

She was always the issue. Her track record of closing kids showed her disconnect. Most saw it but others “deflected” as it couldn’t be her. It was always her.

 

[Ratvol]

Patience? What's that?

That's what doctors get rich off of...

 

[Rooster1]

Staley has a few for sale.

Who promised you immediate impact recruits/players?

 

[glv98]

She was always the issue. Her track record of closing kids showed her disconnect. Most saw it but others “deflected” as it couldn’t be her. It was always her.

I've said I was wrong and I was. She's such a great person and so beloved by her players, I didn't want it to be her. I didn't realize so many had given up on her. Again, I was wrong. Still feel awful for her, and still feel she had epic bad luck, esp w injuries.

 

[Rooster1]

Might need to check those last few years for the big picture. She has Colorado on the map. But your attempt is noted. Believe they call that a rebuild on the front end, results on the backend.

2016–17	Colorado	17–16	5–13	T–9th	WNIT Third Round
2017–18	Colorado	15–16	5–13	9th
2018–19	Colorado	12–18	2–16	12th
2019–20	Colorado	16–14	5–13	T–9th
2020–21	Colorado	12–11	8–8	6th	WNIT Quarterfinal
2021–22	Colorado	22–9	9–7	5th	NCAA First Round
2022–23	Colorado	25–9	13–5	3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2023–24	Colorado	24–10	11–7	T–5th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Colorado:	143–103 (.581)	58–82	47-82
Total:	244–216 (.530)

If CKH had those results after the first five years...... In the last 3 years, 3rd in the PAC12 was the pinnacle two years ago. Two consecutive SS appearances? Where has that story happened before? One should note that the latest run at Colo included 9 current seniors so another rebuild in order? And dont bother looking at her numbers prior to Colo, they aren't even close to these numbers.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

We'll know how much of a recruiting draw our new coach is immediately. See Kenny Brooks at KY. His best Va Tech players are in the portal, probably to follow him. The best KY players who went into the portal haven't gone elsewhere, and could well return to KY. They'd have a strong core to start the rebuild plus have proven Kenny can get players.

I wouldn't put any timeline on winning a single game, much less an NC. What I'm looking for immediately is someone who can get impact players. This was KJH downfall, and this is what we're being promised will be the improvement. And with our current roster, that can't wait.

Much of that depends on how much NIL is invested into the program. I mean you cannot expect whom ever is hired for their best players to just jump into the portal and follow them. That’s unrealistic.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Here’s my train of thought on Hammond.
1) She’s a helluva coach. She can develop players and she knows how to win on the biggest stage.
2) She’s got experience as a player, assistant, and a head coach.
3) The hire alone would boost the brand and marketing via the media coverage that comes with her hire—something the LV program needs right now.
4) Recruiting is her major albatross specifically because she’s never really been a recruiter. But I’d argue the Heupel effect here. CJH wasn’t known for his recruiting prowess, but he’s one Hell of a developer, which in the college game, regardless of sport, is arguably more important. And look at the success he’s had, and with that success, look at how recruiting has improved. So ultimately with success comes the recruits.

All that to say, I think Hammond is a solid get. My top two are her and the coach from USC (I can’t spell the name ha!). After that, I like the guy from Louisville and if we get past those two, I’m nervous.

So Hammon is the female basketball version of Gruden. Totally unproven at the college level. Got it. It’s precisely why she wouldn’t be a good hire.