The Contract

[Majors]

I’m sorry, we’re just going have to disagree here. Winning does not cure all in the modern era of recruiting. Look at some of the schools that top players have gone to in almost every sport, they aren’t all winning at a high-level and never would’ve considered some of those schools before NIL became a thing.

I’m not going to name names, that’s not fair to anybody. But I will say there are players on the rosters at LSU, Louisville, USC and Texas that received first year NIL guarantees the last two years that were higher than the total for Tennessee’s entire team, outside of Rickea. And if you check some of those names, you’ll see that Tennessee was in their final 2-4 schools.

Then we can disagree

Get the leadership right, the rest takes care of itself. Those schools mentioned understand.

 

[Chippo]

As has been stated several other places, the NIL situation has been very good as far as retaining players or even getting them out of the portal. You just haven’t had very many boosters with deep pockets willing to give it to a high school kid. Supposedly there are now commitments to change that. If not, the next coach won’t have success either.

A high school kid shouldn't get NIL money until
They are in a college program for a year and can prove themselves worthy of the money. JMO.

 

[Weezer]

I have done contract work (electrical) on a small scale. Anything from installing/replacing a bulb, a breaker, a single-pole switch, up to the occasional industrial job where higher voltages, and heavier and very expensive equipment are involved. In the former, it's get in, get out; with the latter, the i's must be dotted and the t's crossed. Of course, the paper-work must be combed through, the insurance payments up to date, on both ends, and so forth; but even in those costlier jobs, there's a mutual reliance on trust, wherein changes, add-ons, etc., are handled over a cup of coffee. Simple as that. However, this is not to sound naive, because even in the best of circumstances one can get burned, literally or figuratively: I was at Lawrence Livermore Labs (1986) when a ground-short protest by a young subordinate was overruled by the high-voltage supervisor, who opted for expedience, and ordered the re-start. The resulting explosion literally blew the reinforced concrete roof off that building, and started multiple electrical fires down the line. True story.
So, do a good job, and, by all means, Read The Fine Print!
__________________________________________________________________________________

I was one of the happy fans when Kellie Jolly Harper was hired. She got the job, she did her best. Her best, regardless of a seemingly continuous run of injuries and bad luck in general, wasn't deemed good enough. I can live with that.
And, apparently, at season's end last year there was a meeting with the boss. This is where I believe that the fine print, million-dollars-plus dilemma that the Harpers are now experiencing, began. Which goes without saying, to me at least, that this was when our beloved Coach Kellie was officially put on the hot seat. Because, why would anyone in her right mind have otherwise agreed to such a contract? Or ultimatum? So, while I await the "that's just the way contracts are written" - - - "It's just standard contractual language" lecture, I have a question:

Who is Kellie's agent?

The buyout drops with the passing of each contract year. Kellie was hired in April, so I'm guessing April is the beginning of a new contract year, thus dropping the buyout.

 

[glv98]

I’m sorry, we’re just going have to disagree here. Winning does not cure all in the modern era of recruiting. Look at some of the schools that top players have gone to in almost every sport, they aren’t all winning at a high-level and never would’ve considered some of those schools before NIL became a thing.

I’m not going to name names, that’s not fair to anybody. But I will say there are players on the rosters at LSU, Louisville, USC and Texas that received first year NIL guarantees the last two years that were higher than the total for Tennessee’s entire team, outside of Rickea. And if you check some of those names, you’ll see that Tennessee was in their final 2-4 schools.

The player the LVs just lost to the trainwreck at Oregon of all places would be a prime example of this.

 

[TrippieRedd]

You can view as an excuse or not, but the reality was that they were consistently outbid the last two years for high school players. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that Tennessee finished in the top two or three for seven different players the last two years?

You can’t sit there and honestly say we lost those players due to just NIL.

We have sucked, that’s the biggest thing. Kellie just couldn’t recruit. 5 top 100 players the last 5 years.

Two of which aren’t on the team anymore

 

[Majors]

You can’t sit there and honestly say we lost those players due to just NIL.

We have sucked, that’s the biggest thing. Kellie just couldn’t recruit. 5 top 100 players the last 5 years.

Two of which aren’t on the team anymore

Can’t forget how to recruit if you never had a reputation as a recruiter.

 

[lfvol]

You can’t sit there and honestly say we lost those players due to just NIL.

We have sucked, that’s the biggest thing. Kellie just couldn’t recruit. 5 top 100 players the last 5 years.

Two of which aren’t on the team anymore

Top 100 in WBB is far different than football. You need a roster with multiple top ten recruits. They don’t have to come from the same class but you aren’t going to be elite only getting kids 30-150. What you get are pretty good skills without the athleticism, good athleticism but lacking skill and projects.

 

[DeerPark12]

You can’t sit there and honestly say we lost those players due to just NIL.

We have sucked, that’s the biggest thing. Kellie just couldn’t recruit. 5 top 100 players the last 5 years.

Two of which aren’t on the team anymore

You’re free to believe whatever you want. I posted what I know to be an absolute fact. You can take it our leave it.

When you consistently finish as runner-up for players, you can obviously recruit, but something is missing close the deal. If you want to stick your head in the sand and ignore what that thing is, that’s your business.

 

[CoryDallasLV]

You’re free to believe whatever you want. I posted what I know to be an absolute fact. You can take it our leave it.

When you consistently finish as runner-up for players, you can obviously recruit, but something is missing close the deal. If you want to stick your head in the sand and ignore what that thing is, that’s your business.

As someone who coaches recruits, let me ask you and any parent on this board who has kids playing ball who are being recruited by D1/P5 schools and coaches...Do you think every single kid is without a doubt choosing the highest bidder regardless of their financial situation, whether they even like the coach, campus, teammates, etc.? Do you think that is happening with every single recruit and parent? You think every parent is allowing that or all the kids are making those decisions? Say there is a kid who loves a particular school and the coaches, but then this other school might offer $10-$25k do you think they are all gonna jump if they don't need the money? I say $10-$25k or less even, because do you really think there is that much money being thrown around for every top 50 recruit in women's basketball? Where is the incentive, and in reality what is anyone getting out of that in college women's ball right now. There isn't going to be a return on investment outside of a very few special players. Most of those special players can get their money on their own regardless of almost any school they choose. I know some recruits have been lost due to NIL at every school, but it isn't all of the or even the majority for most schools. It absolutely happens that kids are bought and bribed to a certain extent, but don't act like every decision of every recruit is fueled by that. It isn't. There isn't that much money flying around out there. Not for women. Not yet, and I stress yet.

 

[DeerPark12]

As someone who coaches recruits, let me ask you and any parent on this board who has kids playing ball who are being recruited by D1/P5 schools and coaches...Do you think every single kid is without a doubt choosing the highest bidder regardless of their financial situation, whether they even like the coach, campus, teammates, etc.? Do you think that is happening with every single recruit and parent? You think every parent is allowing that or all the kids are making those decisions? Say there is a kid who loves a particular school and the coaches, but then this other school might offer $10-$25k do you think they are all gonna jump if they don't need the money? I say $10-$25k or less even, because do you really think there is that much money being thrown around for every top 50 recruit in women's basketball? Where is the incentive, and in reality what is anyone getting out of that in college women's ball right now. There isn't going to be a return on investment outside of a very few special players. Most of those special players can get their money on their own regardless of almost any school they choose. I know some recruits have been lost due to NIL at every school, but it isn't all of the or even the majority for most schools. It absolutely happens that kids are bought and bribed to a certain extent, but don't act like every decision of every recruit is fueled by that. It isn't. There isn't that much money flying around out there. Not for women. Not yet, and I stress yet.

No, I don’t think that’s the case for everyone.

I think the previous staff made some big recruiting mistakes by aiming as high as they did without a back up plan. I think there were medium tier players they could have gotten with without an NIL guarantee to complement the big fish they were in on until the end. But they elected not to do that, which was obviously a mistake.

Do I think many of the players in the top 25 are making their final decision based on how much money they are getting? I absolutely do.

 

[Coach Jumper]

No, I don’t think that’s the case for everyone.

I think the previous staff made some big recruiting mistakes by aiming as high as they did without a back up plan. I think there were medium tier players they could have gotten with without an NIL guarantee to complement the big fish they were in on until the end. But they elected not to do that, which was obviously a mistake.

Do I think many of the players in the top 25 are making their final decision based on how much money they are getting? I absolutely do.

This is where the NCAA athlete has to learn,,,money should follow them not the other way around...The one things I respect CC for is she brought the fame to Iowa and the money,,,not the other way around

 

[CoryDallasLV]

This is where the NCAA athlete has to learn,,,money should follow them not the other way around...The one things I respect CC for is she brought the fame to Iowa and the money,,,not the other way around

Juju Watkins knew that too. She was already getting deals in high school and knew she could get them anywhere and especially in Los Angeles. Sarah Strong too. NIL didn’t factor in her decision a single bit.

 

[mtsuraider06]

You can view as an excuse or not, but the reality was that they were consistently outbid the last two years for high school players. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that Tennessee finished in the top two or three for seven different players the last two years?

We absolutely lost Madison Booker and ADR to NIL money.