Stephanie Watts commits to Southern Cal

[Darth_Vol]

No female teams ever make the kind of hire you are describing..... they always hire a young up and coming coach..... top assistant....or just had a real successful season..... no one is going to over pay for a coach that is settled somewhere and making over a million per season to coach.

Again, if you're holding Tennessee to the same standard as other "female teams" then great job Phil. Just don't be surprised when the 2nd best coach from the MVC does no better than her predecessor...

 

[volbeast33]

Again, if you're holding Tennessee to the same standard as other "female teams" then great job Phil. Just don't be surprised when the 2nd best coach from the MVC does no better than her predecessor...

I think she will get all the support here that she needs to be successful but no female team is going to pay 2 million to hire a coach especially one that has never ever won a championship.

 

[madtownvol]

I've admittedly never been a sunshine pumper, but my hyper-criticism really began seven years when they went for the safest choice to replace Pat. Even then, I at some level I at least understood the mindset behind the hire, but I could never get behind it as I knew the Lady Vols would never really be relevant as long as she was leading. So what do they do after they (eventually) made the move from Holly? The same damn mistake, going cheap with the safest most convenient hire. Fans shouldn't be surprised at the results to come, but the program will never be elite again until the athletic department is ready to get serious about it.

If Kellie does lead the program back to championship contention and regular Final Fours I'll be the first in line to eat crow. But to borrow a quote the great Charles Barkley: I might be wrong, but I doubt it...

Holly had been a life long assistant with zilch experience at being HC when she was handed the reigns. KJH has an entirely different track record. And yes, her overall win % is middle of the pack and yes, there is the NC failing. So, I get the underwhelmed response. But, many others are banking on her being an up and comer who is the right fit for the program. As I mentioned before, Bill Belichek bombed at Cleveland before becoming a legend at New England. Would it be hard to say, well, "I will wait and see" instead of coughing up negavol balls all the time?

 

[Lucy]

I don't think that Darth_Vol is Holly, but I must say that I was intrigued enough by her/his negativity that I took some time to peruse a fair number of her/his past posts. After about 45 minutes of time spent without finding a post that had a hint of a positive attitude toward the Lady Vols basketball team and the coaching staff (both recently past and present), I just gave up. I'm not sure why anyone with such a pervasively negative attitude toward the program even bothers to follow them.

Jim

Come on now. Let’s be fair.
If your face had been blown off and you had to wear black metal and leatherette 24/7 you would be cranky too!
Dum, dum, dum, Dum de dum, dum de dum!

 

[therickbol]

Horston is not a better all around player than Evina. She may very well start her first year, but it would have been alongside the far more experienced Watts not over her. As for Massengill, just stop.

Watts would likely be the best player on the team with the current roster, certainly in the top two with Davis. If you seriously think she wouldn't be starting over the current options at PG, we have much bigger problems to worry about with our new head coach....

Houston coming out of HS is most definitely better than EW. Better all-around player. That's not to say she is better as a freshman than EW is as a junior.

 

[sisaq]

I don't think that Darth_Vol is Holly, but I must say that I was intrigued enough by her/his negativity that I took some time to peruse a fair number of her/his past posts. After about 45 minutes of time spent without finding a post that had a hint of a positive attitude toward the Lady Vols basketball team and the coaching staff (both recently past and present), I just gave up. I'm not sure why anyone with such a pervasively negative attitude toward the program even bothers to follow them.

Jim

okk

 

[sisaq]

I don't think that Darth_Vol is Holly, but I must say that I was intrigued enough by her/his negativity that I took some time to peruse a fair number of her/his past posts. After about 45 minutes of time spent without finding a post that had a hint of a positive attitude toward the Lady Vols basketball team and the coaching staff (both recently past and present), I just gave up. I'm not sure why anyone with such a pervasively negative attitude toward the program even bothers to follow them.

Jim

I think he/she made a fake name from Uconn just to follow vols .. But to me it doesn't make sense. I will never follow another team that I'm not a fan just to be negative among them.

 

[Hoya Saxa]

Holly had been a life long assistant with zilch experience at being HC when she was handed the reigns. KJH has an entirely different track record. And yes, her overall win % is middle of the pack and yes, there is the NC failing. So, I get the underwhelmed response. But, many others are banking on her being an up and comer who is the right fit for the program. As I mentioned before, Bill Belichek bombed at Cleveland before becoming a legend at New England. Would it be hard to say, well, "I will wait and see" instead of coughing up negavol balls all the time?

There are a lot of similarities between the track records of coaches Warlick and Harper. Both were fantastic players for Tennessee back in the day. Both were fired for cause in their only attempts at coaching a P5 team. Both were hired to coach Tennessee for only two reasons: they were both cheap (which allows the AD to funnel more money into the two revenue sports), and both were part of the Pat Summitt coaching tree (to appease a large segment of the fan base). The biggest differences between the two is that Coach Warlick has a much better win/loss record, and Coach Warlick has proven herself to be a far better recruiter of top talent over the years. But yes, I will wait and see.

 

[sisaq]

No, there's no similarities okkk... Warlick was handed a high profile program with all Macdonalds stars, and a well known school that recruits because of the name. While coach K. didn't get fired from a school like that.

 

[Smallvol#1]

I've admittedly never been a sunshine pumper, ......

If Kellie does lead the program back to championship contention and regular Final Fours I'll be the first in line to eat crow. But to borrow a quote the great Charles Barkley: I might be wrong, but I doubt it...

I believe you. And I also believe you would be happy to eat crow if the Ladys got back to, and stayed at, prominence. Let’s both hope you have to eat it; I’ll provide salt, sauce, and moral support if you do. And FULL glass of a beverage of your choice!

(But I still wonder, did you create that positive post or were you hacked?)

 

[Smallvol#1]

I think he/she made a fake name from Uconn just to follow vols .. But to me it doesn't make sense. I will never follow another team that I'm not a fan just to be negative among them.

No. Darthie is no troll and no uconner. He’s just Darth and really is a LV supporter (just a little different than most of us in expressing it). Think of him as unique; sort of like a @gule .

Speaking of which, we have a new troll on site. Wonder if a rename of one who got banned?

 

[GBOTango]

I don't have any doubts about her coaching ability. I have doubts about her ability to get players. I'm not sure how the Lady Vol legacy plays into the equation anymore.

 

[NoBackBoard]

I don't have any doubts about her coaching ability. I have doubts about her ability to get players. I'm not sure how the Lady Vol legacy plays into the equation anymore.

She was able to retain all of our incoming freshmen. While not technically a “get”, it does show she can appeal to star recruits.

 

[madtownvol]

There are a lot of similarities between the track records of coaches Warlick and Harper. Both were fantastic players for Tennessee back in the day. Both were fired for cause in their only attempts at coaching a P5 team. Both were hired to coach Tennessee for only two reasons: they were both cheap (which allows the AD to funnel more money into the two revenue sports), and both were part of the Pat Summitt coaching tree (to appease a large segment of the fan base). The biggest differences between the two is that Coach Warlick has a much better win/loss record, and Coach Warlick has proven herself to be a far better recruiter of top talent over the years. But yes, I will wait and see.

You left out that Holly and Kelly are both carbon-based life forms.... the similarities are really endless.

 

[creekdipper]

You left out that Holly and Kelly are both carbon-based life forms.... the similarities are really endless.

Also both blonde, female, native Tennesseans, born in the same century, and both terrestrial. And then there is the rhyming connection with the names.

This is just too bizarre to be a coincidence.

 

[lvocd]

Also both blonde, female, native Tennesseans, born in the same century, and both terrestrial. And then there is the rhyming connection with the names.

This is just too bizarre to be a coincidence.

Rumor has it that they both drink water and drive automobiles, too. It's like we're watching an episode of "The Twilight Zone."

 

[JohnWardForever]

Comma missing above.

Naut. Taint.

 

[creekdipper]

Naut. Taint.

Let's not go there!!!!

 

[POLOinDC]

No, there's no similarities okkk... Warlick was handed a high profile program with all Macdonalds stars, and a well known school that recruits because of the name. While coach K. didn't get fired from a school like that.

Harper has been handed the same thing as Warlick and now look, the roster has been decimated. Tennessee was set up for a competent high profile coach to come in and keep the recruiting going, but nooooooo Tennessee decides to take the city bus to Walmart to purchase a coach out of the discount bin...SMDH

 

[Amb3096]

Harper has been handed the same thing as Warlick and now look, the roster has been decimated. Tennessee was set up for a competent high profile coach to come in and keep the recruiting going, but nooooooo Tennessee decides to take the city bus to Walmart to purchase a coach out of discount bin...SMDH

I think Evina would have left no matter who the coach was. Mimi may have been Team Holly, so there's no guarantee she would have stuck around.

 

[teacherdean]

Yep...another one bites the dust.

Time to regroup and cast the line again.

Well the first month of the offseason couldn't have gone much worse. The roster is significantly weaker than when she took over, and that's coming off a 19 win season. She just whiffed on a terrific opportunity to help alleviate that. It was a perfect situation for Watts, and Kellie couldn't close. Instead she is going a million miles away to a team that didn't even make the postseason. Very disappointing...

It is way too early to throw in the towel and think that things have gone to hell in a hand cart, because it has not. We have some good players that remain and five good players coming in. Again, KJH took a bunch of freshmen, sophomores, 2 juniors and one senior and almost made it to the elite 8. The MSU's defense against Stanford was great, however, the offense was lacking. KJH took a bunch of no stars and played way beyond what their potential was suppose to be. Give her a chance and see what happens and quit sweating everything that does not go as planned or the way we wish it to be.

 

[creekdipper]

Yes, this assertion that the roster has been "decimated" is, quite frankly, beyond ridiculous.

The Lady Vols have a roster that includes some of the highest-rated players in the country...a roster that would be the envy of most schools. There are many question marks re: how long it will take the team to gel and play up to its potential, and there are a lot of new chess pieces on the board. But this defeatist attitude is bizarre. Imagine if every coach and fan base just lay down and played dead due to a couple of transfers. What if Notre Dame had just given up on their season two years ago when they lost a star player for the season...instead of pulling together to win a championship. Practically every major school has seen transfers over the past decade. Welcome to the New Age.

We ought to be looking forward with excitement to the new era and enjoying this new look team instead of wringing our hands about what might have been. We've got a group of talented young ladies who are hungry to win. Let's get squarely behind them and leave the mooning over the departed to those who love misery.

 

[Darth_Vol]

No. Darthie is no troll and no uconner. He’s just Darth and really is a LV supporter (just a little different than most of us in expressing it). Think of him as unique; sort of like a @gule .

This is why you're my favorite poster...

 

[Darth_Vol]

Houston coming out of HS is most definitely better than EW. Better all-around player. That's not to say she is better as a freshman than EW is as a junior.

So great you can't even spell her name right? EW is the most talented point guard this program has ever seen and critics will see just how good next season when she and Dangerfield lead UConn to an easy title. Horston will be a fine player for Tennessee, but I don't see those same skills in her...

 

[madtownvol]

Yes, this assertion that the roster has been "decimated" is, quite frankly, beyond ridiculous.

The Lady Vols have a roster that includes some of the highest-rated players in the country...a roster that would be the envy of most schools. There are many question marks re: how long it will take the team to gel and play up to its potential, and there are a lot of new chess pieces on the board. But this defeatist attitude is bizarre. Imagine if every coach and fan base just lay down and played dead due to a couple of transfers. What if Notre Dame had just given up on their season two years ago when they lost a star player for the season...instead of pulling together to win a championship. Practically every major school has seen transfers over the past decade. Welcome to the New Age.

We ought to be looking forward with excitement to the new era and enjoying this new look team instead of wringing our hands about what might have been. We've got a group of talented young ladies who are hungry to win. Let's get squarely behind them and leave the mooning over the departed to those who love misery.

Yeah, I saw that posters' hyperbole and had to laugh at the extent to which the doom and gloom crowd will go to pronounce KJH a failure before the first tip of next season.

The LVs; have a top two ranked recruit coming in plus some other quality freshman; an AA candidate in Davis; a star in the making with Zaay Green; a proverbial diamond in the rough with Rae who is going to be a high impact player; KK, Massengale all have tons of potential.

That decimated line-up will wreak some devastation next season.