Russell Smith reporting Kellie Jolly-Harper has been hired

[MSUDuo]

Your thoughts on Jackie Stiles as Kellies replacement?

She'll need to want it. She's been battling health issues so that's a driving factor. I wouldn't be surprised if we went a different direction.

 

[MSUDuo]

I’m not them, but I think their offensive stats are what most concern me about the hire. They averaged less points per game than we did. Granted, it’s different schedules, so transitive property is hard to go on. However, against a tougher schedule, we did put up more points with better athletes. They shot 33% from 3, which is the same as we did. The most concerning stat to me was the assist to turnover ratio, which was the exact same as our at 0.9. They rebounded well though! Their defense did seem to be better than ours, but not much different than our team on the offensive side.

If she can keep this core group together, she'll win right away. Recruiting at that level will be her challenge

 

[madtownvol]

Nice read on KJH

Next Lady vol coach

I hope everyone can get past their fantasy picks and rally around Kellie. I know one thing will change for next season; the LVs defensive intensity will be at another level and the team won't have lackadaisical starts. So there will be improvement.

 

[MSUDuo]

I want to hate Tennessee since this is the second coach you've "stolen" from us but I can't because I loved those coaches.

This sucks...

 

[madtownvol]

If she can keep this core group together, she'll win right away. Recruiting at that level will be her challenge

Yes, recruiting will be a big test and also the staff she puts around her.

 

[spojo13]

Yes, recruiting will be a big test and also the staff she puts around her.

I think recruiting and having a coherent offense will be the biggest test to her succeeding. I have no doubts she’ll improve upon our abysmal defense, but I am not sold on the other two aspects.

 

[Bigorangefaninga]

People got their wish of keeping it in the family and what happens when she fails also? Will we continue to hire based on the family or go out and get the best coach possible? People keep making excuses about her time at NC State, but talking to coaches at that level she isn’t that level of a coach and that was her problem, not the administration or backstabbing or anything else. She was suited for a Missouri State type team and win ever so often and be good to go, now she will be Lady Vols head coach and she better be ready to win or you can stuff this program down with ODU and the second all time winningest program in women’s basketball with La Tech! Sadly really none of Pat’s coaching tree has been Much more than mediocre, so hopefully Kellie turns that around. But I have my doubts that the Lady Vol program will even get back to Ms State or USC level now. Hopefully football starts winning again soon because it would suck to have both of our top programs in men’s and women’s sports suck!

 

[GameTime]

I'm optimistic....

Good night Vol Nation....

 

[xtpsrh08123]

We will never be Tennessee again. Fulmer gave 2 ***** about this coaching search. Quick and convenient and cheap.

 

[lvocd]

I want to hate Tennessee since this is the second coach you've "stolen" from us but I can't because I loved those coaches.

This sucks...

Thank you for loving the Harpers and making them feel so respected and appreciated. I know it had to have been THE most difficult decision of their lives to leave MSU, and I imagine that if it had been ANY other program that had come calling she’d have turned it down. But the prospect of coaching on The Summitt was, understandably, just too special to pass up.

I truly am sorry for the MSU players, university and fans, and I will be hoping your next coach is even more successful than Kellie was.

 

[spojo13]

I just keep looking at the stats this year at Missouri State hoping to find some semblance of a clue that maybe Kellie’s teams won’t end up being stuck in bad offensive basketball mode, but I’m not seeing it. I really hope we didn’t just pick the same system in a different package. Please, Kellie surround yourself with great assistants!

 

[CannonVol80]

Don't tell us that if we don't like the hire we aren't true fans... who do you think you are? STHU

The comment wasn't whether you "like" the hire or not, it was regarding the support of the new coach! If you are so invested in your belief that you know more about the needs of the program and what it takes to be the coach, and that investment causes you to publicly belittle the new coach and the AD for hiring her before the team has even played a single game under her tutelage, then JohnnyPayne may not be the one who needs to "STHU" as you so eloquently stated. A true fan will support the team and the coach! And, before you respond by saying that a being a true fan doesn't mean not giving voice to reasonable critisism or prevent someone from having an opinion, let me just say that I, personally, feel that all goes out the window once the hire has been made and a true fan gets behind the coach and the team. To do otherwise just shows that one cares more about the" righteousness" of one's own opinion than they do the team and, I submit that is not the definition of a true fan, no matter what you want to believe.

Jim

 

[PRG]

I don’t like proclaiming freshmen as keys to any season because we have done that for years now. I really like Horston’s game in high school, but I did Evina’s, Diamond’s, Tea’s, Mercedes’s, Cierra’s, and Ariel’s as well. Holding onto players I agree is a key, but I think the bigger key is implementing a system that works on the offensive and defensive side. I hope Kellie can bring that or hire someone who will.

Agree with the FRESHMAN thing ! But if E does leave ? And Horston does not come.

That leaves Massengill and Green as our guards !!!!!!!!!! This would be a problem !
Not sure about the Aussie player. This is why Horston is the key to next year ..... JMO

 

[spojo13]

The comment wasn't whether you "like" the hire or not, it was regarding the support of the new coach! If you are so invested in your belief that you know more about the needs of the program and what it takes to be the coach, and that investment causes you to publicly belittle the new coach and the AD for hiring her before the team has even played a single game under her tutelage, then JohnnyPayne may not be the one who needs to "STHU" as you so eloquently stated. A true fan will support the team and the coach! And, before you respond by saying that a being a true fan doesn't mean not giving voice to reasonable critisism or prevent someone from having an opinion, let me just say that I, personally, feel that all goes out the window once the hire has been made and a true fan gets behind the coach and the team. To do otherwise just shows that one care more about the" righteousness" of one's own opinion than they do the team and, I submit that is not the definition of a true fan, no matter what you want to believe.

Jim

Oh boy! As I predicted, here come the true fan police! How do you define support? Never disagreeing with the choices made by the coach or the program? As I stated earlier, people process change in different ways. It doesn’t mean you are right or they are wrong. I hope for the best, but I can see why people would be apprehensive to this hire.

 

[spojo13]

Agree with the FRESHMAN thing ! But if E does leave ? And Horston does not come.

That leaves Massengill and Green as our guards !!!!!!!!!! This would be a problem !
Not sure about the Aussie player. This is why Horston is the key to next year ..... JMO

Oh I completely get where you are coming from about the players and where we would be if they leave. I just think the most important thing is for the coach to put them in a system that enhances them, instead of putting them in a badly obsolete system.

 

[CannonVol80]

Oh boy! As I predicted, here come the true fan police! How do you define support? Never disagreeing with the choices made by the coach or the program? As I stated earlier, people process change in different ways. It doesn’t mean you are right or they are wrong. I hope for the best, but I can see why people would be apprehensive to this hire.

If you can't see the difference between "disagreeing with the choices made by the coach or the program" and some of the toxic spewing that has occurred on this board over the last eight or so hours, then no amount of explanation is going to make a difference. Your comment about hoping for the best while still having reservations is more than appropriate (not that you need my approval), but that is not the type of attitude that my post/reply was meant to address. Sometimes some things are better left unsaid/untyped!

Jim

 

[VolNExile]

Set back set back set back, set back set back set back, sigh, man what a let down shows the value of Lady Vol program to a football coach.

BS BS BS BS BS BS

Good Lord, what is your agenda, anyway?

 

[spojo13]

If you can't see the difference between "disagreeing with the choices made by the coach or the program" and some of the toxic spewing that has occurred on this board over the last eight or so hours, then no amount of explanation is going to make a difference. Your comment about hoping for the best while still having reservations is more than appropriate (not that you need my approval), but that is not the type of attitude that my post/reply was meant to address. Sometimes some things are better left unsaid/untyped!

Jim

Agreed that sometimes people take things too far, but you painted with a very broad brush with your statement. I can see a difference now that you pointed it out; however, neither the original statement nor yours pointed out a very justifiably real reason some people may not be 100% onboard with this hire.

Thanks for the clarification though

 

[Catbone]

So we gon be the jolly vollies?

 

[creekdipper]

"Support tbe new coach" is crystal clear. You want him/her to succeed even if you didn't support the choice of the coach.

Lots of us didn't agree with ("support") the choice of Holly to succeed Pat, but we didn't actively pull against her from the start. We still attended games, cheered for the team, and, yes, even clapped for Holly when she was introduced. And overlooked her negatives such as poor communication skills as long as the team was winning...even when we felt they could be better.

We sure didn't rant and carry on about the death of the program before the first game was played.

If anything is regarded by the rest of the wbb world as a "laughingstock," it's the gloom and doom crowd...which HAS been described on some othet fan boards as "a bunch of lunatics and psychos."

Regardless, we're all having fun now in our various ways.

 

[sport3500]

Congratulations to Harper and it will be interesting to see who is on her staff besides her husband.

 

[Bigorangefaninga]

Oh boy! As I predicted, here come the true fan police! How do you define support? Never disagreeing with the choices made by the coach or the program? As I stated earlier, people process change in different ways. It doesn’t mean you are right or they are wrong. I hope for the best, but I can see why people would be apprehensive to this hire.

These are the same people chirping before when most of us could see after 2 years Holly didn’t learn a thing from Pat and was a lousy coach! Only took how many more years of being fed poop and being told it was something else for them to finally see it was also poop!

 

[ocoandasoc]

Nikki Fargas was the runner-up. No "big names" were ever in the mix.

 

[VolNExile]

Geeze all, just get in there and pull for the players AND the staff as if they were family members!

Remember when your future Lady Vols were 8, 10, 12? It’s like that. Pull for the success of the team, which includes the players AND the staff, and try to keep your OMG’s to yourself, at least for a while.

Note: no one hired you to be coach. Perhaps that is not a coincidence. lol

 

[spojo13]

"Support tbe new coach" is crystal clear. You want him/her to succeed even if you didn't support the choice of the coach.

Lots of us didn't agree with ("support") the choice of Holly to succeed Pat, but we didn't actively pull against her from the start. We still attended games, cheered for the team, and, yes, even clapped for Holly when she was introduced. And overlooked her negatives such as poor communication skills as long as the team was winning...even when we felt they could be better.

We sure didn't rant and carry on about the death of the program before the first game was played.

If anything is regarded by the rest of the wbb world as a "laughingstock," it's the gloom and doom crowd...which HAS been described on some othet fan boards as "a bunch of lunatics and psychos."

Regardless, we're all having fun now in our various ways.

That is fine for you, but there are a lot of people who will need to see something more than blind faith before they get 100% back on board. Of course, we all wanted Holly to do well, but when it became clear that she wasn’t up to the task, there were still people yelling that she has to be supported no matter what. I mean it’s great for those who have the time and money to throw at something that is no longer enjoyable, but the rest of us plebeians have to pick and choose what brings us joy or not. It got to where a lot of people didn’t find that joy anymore, which in a way is like a death. I think it’s great that Kellie was your chosen one from the beginning, and it is much easier to get on board with her. However, there will be a contingent who wonder if she will be capable of sparking that joy again. iIt doesn’t mean their love for what Pat built and this program is less than yours or the other “true fans.” It also isn’t the opposite of what your definition of support is. It’s just a different kind is all.