Rickea Jackson Minutes

[Majors]

I too have been baffled and disappointed in how CKH has handled this situation. As I posted before, if the issue really is RJ's practice work rate or attitude, handing down with "an indefinite suspension" seems like massive overkill. Unless RJ really lashed out a coach or player, it is hard to fathom icing your star player, who had been performing well--not only scoring, but rebounding, passing, and working hard on defense (with the one exception of the opening game). Player management and motivation is a big part of the coaching game and this does not seem like the way. Then CKH signaled she is back in the good graces, then more or less iced her again in the next game, and then expected her to save the team against Stanford. That more like playing a mind game on a player and its seems to be about as counterproductive as possible.

Those "lost games" from RJ's perspective, were ones where the LVs could have gelled around a starting a line-up and crystallized the emerging chemistry between Jordan H. and and Rickea. That entire project has now fallen further behind schedule.

If the LVs go on a run and make it far into the NCAA tournament , CKH will come out looking great (see her tough love solidified the team!) but if things don't gel, she will have put herself in a precarious position.

Well said

 

[glv98]

if the issue really is RJ's practice work rate or attitude, handing down with "an indefinite suspension" seems like massive overkill. Unless RJ really lashed out a coach or player, it is hard to fathom icing your star player, who had been performing well--not only scoring, but rebounding, passing, and working hard on defense (with the one exception of the opening game).

Or walked out of practice? Whatever happened, KJH has made a point of taking it public. Couldn't get a tiny peep about an injury or recruit, but decided this needed to be public. Also made it ongoing by holding RJ out a half in a subsequent game. As if to say RJ has to prove herself all the time. I have no idea if she brought this on herself, but it has to e brutal for RJ. And as you mentioned, the project of knitting the team together.

My totally uneducated guess from the scant evidence is that RJ was extremely unhappy by the early play and losses and not happy with the revolving door substitution pattern. And said so. Whatever happened, this break would be a good time to clear the air and start over.

Those "lost games" from RJ's perspective, were ones where the LVs could have gelled around a starting a line-up and crystallized the emerging chemistry between Jordan H. and and Rickea. That entire project has now fallen further behind schedule.

The lost games have also played heck with our possible seeding in the tourney (14 people typing to tell me we won't make it anyway). Leaves us way less wiggle room in SEC games.

 

[madtownvol]

Whatever happened, this break would be a good time to clear the air and start over.

100%. They need to starting firing out of the restart gate. As you note, the wiggle room is just about gone.

 

[Coach Jumper]

no argument that this needs to be "finished"

 

[mudcat1973]

aggressive post, but yes many have said since the IU game she’s not buying into the team, coaches or both. Not sure sending her packing is the answer but it does seem they aren’t on the same page.
It seems we have a veteran coaching staff learning this situation as they go.

this need let her work her wayback to starter or come off bench as 6,7,8 player in rotition . Jackson and coaches need to work out how they fit for jackson and the rest of the team.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

I too have been baffled and disappointed in how CKH has handled this situation. As I posted before, if the issue really is RJ's practice work rate or attitude, handing down "an indefinite suspension" seems like massive overkill. Unless RJ really lashed out a coach or player, it is hard to fathom icing your star player, who had been performing well--not only scoring, but rebounding, passing, and working hard on defense (with the one exception of the opening game). Player management and motivation is a big part of the coaching game and this does not seem like the way. Then CKH signaled she is back in the good graces, then more or less iced her again in the next game, and then expected her to save the team against Stanford. That's more like playing a mind game on a player and it seems to be about as counterproductive as possible.

Those "lost games" from RJ's perspective, were ones where the LVs could have gelled around a starting a line-up and crystallized the emerging chemistry between Jordan H. and and Rickea. That entire project has now fallen further behind schedule.

If the LVs go on a run and make it far into the NCAA tournament , CKH will come out looking great (see her tough love solidified the team!) but if things don't gel, she will have put herself in a precarious position.

But, you don't know what Rickea's purported misdeeds are. How can you pass judgement on Harper when you don't even know the cause of the benchings?

 

[youcancallmeAl]

My totally uneducated guess from the scant evidence is that RJ was extremely unhappy by the early play and losses and not happy with the revolving door substitution pattern.

Key word in that sentence is uneducated.

 

[lvocd]

All I know for sure is that this, or any, coaching staff would not bench Rickea Jackson unless there was a reeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly damn good reason.

Kellie knows full well that lots of people already have her in the crosshairs so, I mean, come on! She wouldn’t be risking her family’s and her staff’s financial and personal futures just because she’s stubbornly clinging to a painfully public disciplinary plan. I imagine she, her husband, her staff, her team, her boss, Rickea’s parents, AND Rickea Jackson all signed off on it.

Rickea HAS looked, at times, (not consistently) unhappy on the court during this period. But then, a great competitor WOULD. I’m sure much of it is feeling embarrassed that everyone knows she somehow effed up bad enough to have created the situation. Yeah, that’s rough, and I hate it for her AND the program.

But it is what it is. If Kellie feels that whatEVER reason started this is worth risking losing her dream job over — perhaps THE best coaching job in the sport — then Ima gonna trust it must be worth it.

Perhaps Kellie is putting Rickea, and not herself, first here. Perhaps one day we’ll read a story in which a 40-year-old Rickea Jackson says that this was the most difficult, yet most important, lesson in her young life and that she is grateful to Kellie Harper for having had the guts to help her learn it.

Time will tell, of course, but I have no reason to suspect either mere stubbornness or stupidity on Kellie’s part behind all this. Pretty sure it’s love.

 

[37620VOL]

It's tough to put my finger on it but my biggest concern with the RJ situation is how unconventional it is. It seems to be managed on a minute-by-minute basis. I've never seen it done this way before. Usually you're out until you earn your way back, but when you back, you're 100% back. I don't get it.

 

[glv98]

All I know for sure is that this, or any, coaching staff would not bench Rickea Jackson unless there was a reeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly damn good reason.

Kellie knows full well that lots of people already have her in the crosshairs so, I mean, come on! She wouldn’t be risking her family’s and her staff’s financial and personal futures just because she’s stubbornly clinging to a painfully public disciplinary plan. I imagine she, her husband, her staff, her team, her boss, Rickea’s parents, AND Rickea Jackson all signed off on it.

Rickea HAS looked, at times, (not consistently) unhappy on the court during this period. But then, a great competitor WOULD. I’m sure much of it is feeling embarrassed that everyone knows she somehow effed up bad enough to have created the situation. Yeah, that’s rough, and I hate it for her AND the program.

But it is what it is. If Kellie feels that whatEVER reason started this is worth risking losing her dream job over — perhaps THE best coaching job in the sport — then Ima gonna trust it must be worth it.

Perhaps Kellie is putting Rickea, and not herself, first here. Perhaps one day we’ll read a story in which a 40-year-old Rickea Jackson says that this was the most difficult, yet most important, lesson in her young life and that she is grateful to Kellie Harper for having had the guts to help her learn it.

Time will tell, of course, but I have no reason to suspect either mere stubbornness or stupidity on Kellie’s part behind all this. Pretty sure it’s love.

I have zero doubt that Kellie's motives and intentions are pure as the driven snow. She's never given us reason to think otherwise. I don't doubt she wants to do what's best for RJ, the team, and her own career, 100%. Unfortunately, all the good intentions in the world don't make her decisions right.

It's tough to put my finger on it but my biggest concern with the RJ situation is how unconventional it is. It seems to be managed on a minute-by-minute basis. I've never seen it done this way before. Usually you're out until you earn your way back, but when you back, you're 100% back. I don't get it.

Exactly. This is why I'm beginning to wonder if it's been handled correctly. We just can't seem to get "it" behind us.

Of course I acknowledge that KJH has crucial bits of info we don't have. But it still doesn't mean she's right. I don't really care who's right or wrong, I just want it over.

 

[Volfan2012]

It's tough to put my finger on it but my biggest concern with the RJ situation is how unconventional it is. It seems to be managed on a minute-by-minute basis. I've never seen it done this way before. Usually you're out until you earn your way back, but when you back, you're 100% back. I don't get it.

I know it needs to be resolved one way or the other. It certainly is concerning and I'm sure it is tough on the players as well. They know she is one of the top two players on the team and when she is not getting the kind of minutes those players get everyone knows it. They know things are not 100 percent corrected when were still doing what were doing every game. Next game is the 27th and if we come out with Rickea still sitting on the bench as the game starts then I guess this is going to be with us through the SEC as well. I am certain I have never seen a case like this where it drags on through three four weeks. Usually you do get back 100 percent in that length of time or your gone for good. I don't see no in between.

 

[Majors]

I have zero doubt that Kellie's motives and intentions are pure as the driven snow. She's never given us reason to think otherwise. I don't doubt she wants to do what's best for RJ, the team, and her own career, 100%. Unfortunately, all the good intentions in the world don't make her decisions right.

Exactly. This is why I'm beginning to wonder if it's been handled correctly. We just can't seem to get "it" behind us.

Of course I acknowledge that KJH has crucial bits of info we don't have. But it still doesn't mean she's right. I don't really care who's right or wrong, I just want it over.

How many games was Miles suspended last season, 1? She was for the MS State game for "disciplinary reasons" after that she played on. No two situations are the same, but the RJ is getting excessive and personal at this point. Didn't play verses VT and UTC, came off the bench late the 3rd vs. UCF when the game was out of reach. Is her practice attitude more than Miles intoxication at the wheel?

 

[alexvol]

I too have been baffled and disappointed in how CKH has handled this situation. As I posted before, if the issue really is RJ's practice work rate or attitude, handing down "an indefinite suspension" seems like massive overkill. Unless RJ really lashed out a coach or player, it is hard to fathom icing your star player, who had been performing well--not only scoring, but rebounding, passing, and working hard on defense (with the one exception of the opening game). Player management and motivation is a big part of the coaching game and this does not seem like the way. Then CKH signaled she is back in the good graces, then more or less iced her again in the next game, and then expected her to save the team against Stanford. That's more like playing a mind game on a player and it seems to be about as counterproductive as possible.

Those "lost games" from RJ's perspective, were ones where the LVs could have gelled around a starting a line-up and crystallized the emerging chemistry between Jordan H. and and Rickea. That entire project has now fallen further behind schedule.

If the LVs go on a run and make it far into the NCAA tournament , CKH will come out looking great (see her tough love solidified the team!) but if things don't gel, she will have put herself in a precarious position.

Very,very well put !!

 

[glv98]

Next game is the 27th and if we come out with Rickea still sitting on the bench as the game starts then I guess this is going to be with us through the SEC as well.

To be fair, we seemed to be moving toward resolution at Stanford before it got weird. I think KJH kind of couldn't start her bc it would look like yeah, bring her back for the hard game. But she put RJ in quickly, then things other than coach's decision limited her minutes. KJH said postgame she had wanted RJ to have more touches in the 4th qtr.

If things go well during the break, I think she starts again on the 27th. But if not starting and still gets starter mins, at least that's progress. We just don't need another set back. And we need Rickea on the court, relaxed, settled in, and even having a little fun. That would be real progress.

 

[madtownvol]

But, you don't know what Rickea's purported misdeeds are. How can you pass judgement on Harper when you don't even know the cause of the benchings?

Well, Kellie says it is nothing outside of basketball - I take that statement at face value and that would seem to imply effort or attitude in practice.

So, the saga begines with RJ's sudden and quite drastic "indefinite suspension" (which signals that something severe is going on) to RJ scoring 17 pts. in 15 minutes, after a 2 game hiatus (Whoo, whatever it was seems to have been resolved, maybe it was not so bad after all, time to move on!). But wait, what has RJ done now because in the very next game, Kellie only played RJ nine minutes (in garbage time).

That UCF game is the hard one that is really hard to understand. That decision does not signal a clear trajectory for working your way back in.

It is hard to figure the logical progression in Kellie's player management decisions-- "Okay, you are a such blight to the team I can't play you and might never play you again despite you being the star; Then we have okay, you are back on track; to oops you have been a little bad so I am punishing you again. Then in the Stanford game, okay, you are now back in my good graces but gosh darn why did you run out of gas in the 4th quarter after hardly playing over the last five games?

I have no doubt Kellie is convinced that she is doing the "right" thing and that her "principals" are a hill worth dying on but but that does not mean that her drawing a line in the sand, covering it up and then faintly redrawing it has been the optimal way to handle a crucial player management problem.

Time will of course tell how this all plays out but I firmly believe that the yo-yoing punishment of RJ cost games against VA tech and Stanford. I worry the ramifications may carry forward (I hope not) but Kellie needs to find a definitive resolution.

As I think you know, I have been very, very pro-Kellie since she was announced but I think she may have backed herself into a corner here and I do hope she and the team can get out of it.

 

[Volfan2012]

To be fair, we seemed to be moving toward resolution at Stanford before it got weird. I think KJH kind of couldn't start her bc it would look like yeah, bring her back for the hard game. But she put RJ in quickly, then things other than coach's decision limited her minutes. KJH said postgame she had wanted RJ to have more touches in the 4th qtr.

If things go well during the break, I think she starts again on the 27th. But if not starting and still gets starter mins, at least that's progress. We just don't need another set back. And we need Rickea on the court, relaxed, settled in, and even having a little fun. That would be real progress.

I would think at about the three minute mark of the first quarter it would be goodbye Darby or Walker and in comes Jackson and Powell. I'm wondering how Powell lost her starting job to Walker the stats that were supposed to be using does not bare that out. It would have to again be a practice issue and not a performance issue because easy to see the performance on the court of Jackson and Powell far outdistances Darby and Walker.

 

[Majors]

As I think you know, I have been very, very pro-Kellie since she was announced but I think she may have backed herself into a corner here and I do hope she and the team can get out of it.

Nothing wrong with being honest.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

Well, Kellie says it is nothing outside of basketball - I take that statement at face value and that would seem to imply effort or attitude in practice.

So, the saga begines with RJ's sudden and quite drastic "indefinite suspension" (which signals that something severe is going on) to RJ scoring 17 pts. in 15 minutes, after a 2 game hiatus (Whoo, whatever it was seems to have been resolved, maybe it was not so bad after all, time to move on!). But wait, what has RJ done now because in the very next game, Kellie only played RJ nine minutes (in garbage time).

That UCF game is the hard one that is really hard to understand. That decision does not signal a clear trajectory for working your way back in.

It is hard to figure the logical progression in Kellie's player management decisions-- "Okay, you are a such blight to the team I can't play you and might never play you again despite you being the star; Then we have okay, you are back on track; to oops you have been a little bad so I am punishing you again. Then in the Stanford game, okay, you are now back in my good graces but gosh darn why did you run out of gas in the 4th quarter after hardly playing over the last five games?

I have no doubt Kellie is convinced that she is doing the "right" thing and that her "principals" are a hill worth dying on but but that does not mean that her drawing a line in the sand, covering it up and then faintly redrawing it has been the optimal way to handle a crucial player management problem.

Time will of course tell how this all plays out but I firmly believe that the yo-yoing punishment of RJ cost games against VA tech and Stanford. I worry the ramifications may carry forward (I hope not) but Kellie needs to find a definitive resolution.

As I think you know, I have been very, very pro-Kellie since she was announced but I think she may have backed herself into a corner here and I do hope she and the team can get out of it.

Mad, you have a lot of credibilty with me. I agree this is unusual and it could be that something is amiss. There may not be a good explanation for the way Kellie is handling this. But there might be. I'm gonna withhold criticism until I think I know enough to comment. It's useful to review the time line as you did, and it gives credence to your comments. But I respectfully disagree that we should draw any conclusions - other than we both want the situation resolved, and quickly.

 

[glv98]

drawing a line in the sand, covering it up and then faintly redrawing it has been the optimal way to handle a crucial player management problem.

Causes the player to serve out the yo yo punishment in such a public way - oh she didn't play much tonight, must have been dogging it in practice again. It's like she can get out of the doghouse, but not too far. And everyone is watching.

I would think at about the three minute mark of the first quarter it would be goodbye Darby or Walker and in comes Jackson and Powell. I'm wondering how Powell lost her starting job to Walker the stats that were supposed to be using does not bare that out. It would have to again be a practice issue and not a performance issue because easy to see the performance on the court of Jackson and Powell far outdistances Darby and Walker.

Great question, and another tough coaching decision. Of course you want to encourage and reward good hard practice. But what if Edie Darby is the hardest working darn Lady Vol in history? Should she start at PG at Florida? At some point you have to give your team its best chance to win. That's what all the hard practice is for.

Maybe no accident that the two who apparently struggle w practice are newcomers. Maybe they are having to adjust to new, more intense practice. But you would have thought that would have gotten worked out in the many preseason practices. For all this to suddenly crop up a few games in is weird.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I am about to go Sherlock Holmes into this ... It IS TIME to get this settled

 

[Majors]

Great question, and another tough coaching decision. Of course you want to encourage and reward good hard practice. But what if Edie Darby is the hardest working darn Lady Vol in history? Should she start at PG at Florida? At some point you have to give your team its best chance to win. That's what all the hard practice is for.

That's why I question Justines lack of playing time. Is she not practicing well? Once she opened it to RJ she opened it up to others on why they are not playing. The "practice" seems like something to feed the why she is sitting without addressing the true issue.

 

[Coach Jumper]

That's why I question Justines lack of playing time. Is she not practicing well? Once she opened it to RJ she opened it up to others on why they are not playing. The "practice" seems like something feed the why she is sitting without addressing the true issue.

this concerns me too

 

[Volfan2012]

Causes the player to serve out the yo yo punishment in such a public way - oh she didn't play much tonight, must have been dogging it in practice again. It's like she can get out of the doghouse, but not too far. And everyone is watching.

Great question, and another tough coaching decision. Of course you want to encourage and reward good hard practice. But what if Edie Darby is the hardest working darn Lady Vol in history? Should she start at PG at Florida? At some point you have to give your team its best chance to win. That's what all the hard practice is for.

Maybe no accident that the two who apparently struggle w practice are newcomers. Maybe they are having to adjust to new, more intense practice. But you would have thought that would have gotten worked out in the many preseason practices. For all this to suddenly crop up a few games in is weird.

See where it goes from here. JMO I like Powell for at least 25 a game and Jackson for 30 if she can handle it. She was going for more in the Stanford game wasn't physically able to go the minutes she was going to get to play. Wofford not to concerning as far as winning the game I would think. They are ranked the second best team in the Southern where Chattanooga was number five and we won that one by thirty. I think we should still see 25 out of Jackson and Powell as well. We need to win that Florida game can't lose to a NET 81 even on the road if your planning on an NCAA invite. Going to look a little scary if we see the same players getting to play that we've seen lately some of them are not our best players. Were going to need to play our best players to get anywhere this season needs to start now.

 

[madtownvol]

That's why I question Justines lack of playing time. Is she not practicing well? Once she opened it to RJ she opened it up to others on why they are not playing. The "practice" seems like something to feed the why she is sitting without addressing the true issue.

I can sort of understand Justine's situation. Opening with a tough schedule worked against her because she is a freshman who needed more adjustment time. She looked really lost and overwhelmed in her early appearances but has been showing solid signs of development. JP really needs an off season of strength and conditioning work to be able show her full potential but she seems on track to have some good opportunities as this season rolls on.

 

[Volfan2012]

I can sort of understand Justine's situation. Opening with a tough schedule worked against her because she is a freshman who needed more adjustment time. She looked really lost and overwhelmed in her early appearances but has been showing solid signs of development. JP really needs an off season of strength and conditioning work to be able show her full potential but she seems on track to have some good opportunities as this season rolls on.

She is going to be a great player but right now she is like 9th or 10th in the rotation and you can see why. She needs some work defensively and certainly needs more strength to play the game she needs to play in the SEC. I'd like to see her get in for a three four minute stretch sometime during the home games. On the road I'm playing about 8 players the entire 200 minutes.