TONS of great comments in this thread. I want to take a slightly different take which I will get to in a minute.
First, are fans over reacting? Not really, but it may be that they are putting too much blame on the coaches. Tennessee fans were thrilled when they heard Diamond was "coming home". Just go back and look at Margo's video. They were thrilled when they landed Cooper. These were 2 players that were supposed to lead them in the present and in the future.
Fast forward and you have Harper saying thanks, but no thanks, to Tennessee, and she specifically mentioned the toxic chemistry on the team as one reason, if not the main one. Short of booting players off the team, there is not much the coaches can do to address the chemistry problems on the team. I have no idea what players, if any, are thinking of transferring. Graves and Moore are seniors and graduating after this year. Carter, Jones, and Reynolds are all juniors. It would seem unlikely that they would transfer, altho Carter and Jones are RS Juniors so maybe they could opt to graduate and leave early.
Deshields, Dunbar, Middleton, Russell and Nared are all sophomores or RS sophomores. I have no idea who, if any, might consider transferring. Point is that until I hear something concrete, I can't assume anyone is leaving.
The point I wanted to address had to do with the coaching. "With all that talent" is a lament we hear all the time. Same should be said about Duke. BUT... you have at least 2 players on that team who are a pretty big problem and it's not hard to read between the lines to figure out who it is. IF the coaches cannot get them under control, then it's time to cut them loose. THAT is on the coaches. To struggle along and continue to see recruiting drop because you have problem players and toxic chemistry is a recipe for disaster 2 years + down the road.
BUT... look at all the close games. The games Tennessee lost to Kentucky, Missisisppi State, and SC were all by just a couple points, and the loss to aTm was only by 5 points. My point is that they were right in those games. I do not disagree that they need to change up the offense, but why aren't people saying the same thing especially about Kentucky and SC and aTm - teams who ONLY beat Tennessee by 1, 6, and 5 points respectively?
Yes I get it - those teams don't have double digit losses this year. BUT the lack of offense is NOT something that is unique to Tennessee. Which brings me to my final point - there are probably about 10 college coaches I'm aware of who teach offense that is creative and revolves around ball movement and passing and not around a guard dribbling around the perimeter for 30 seconds, and NONE of those coaches are in the SEC. Teams like UCONN, ND, Baylor, Maryland, Oregon State, OSU, Louisville, Depaul, Stanford, Dayton, Wisc Green Bay, WVU - and I'm sure there are others. IMHO none of them teach offense as well as UCONN, but to a greater or lesser degree, all these teams run something other than a guard dribbling the ball around waiting to jack up a shot. And I cannot tell you how many times I see a player, usually a guard, take a terrible shot as they try to create something out of nothing. Awful decisions and it happens ALL THE TIME.
Tennessee's problem is similar to every other team in the SEC. And there just aren't that many teams who teach motion offense with tons of passing, ball reversal, movement without the ball, etc. So unless they are willing to fire Holly, eat her 5 year salary extension and buy her out, and go after Jabir, or some other coach like that who's up and coming and has a modern day offense to bring, it won't matter what they do...
