Confessions of a Rogue LV Fan

[lcjeff]

More proof that not all LV fans are like those posters on the Summitt.

Welcome to the board, RandomFan85!
Welcome back, Jeff. I've missed reading your posts but am glad to see you're still around.

Thanks!I don't post a lot anymore but I still keep up w/WCBB.I'm glad that Maria's Minions have their own private playground.She basically doesn't want anyone there who dares challenge her opinions,or anything else for that matter,whether it be of a political or sports-related matter.I'll gladly follow board guidelines,but I'm not going to play cheerleader just to be popular.
What UT did was give us a younger version of the same thing.Pat is and will always be a legend.BUT,her biggest fault is NOT ADAPTING TO CHANGING TIMES.She tried one by studying the Villanova system.God bless her,she almost put me to sleep several times while at the games.I was a season tix holder,and it was like watching the DMV at work.Little movement,and no one seemed to know what to do next.
Holly is basically doing what Pat did.You CANNOT rely just on rebounding and defense.That worked pre-2000.You have to be able to develop a system based on what you have,and be able to use talent efficiently.Sloppiness is often a result of a lack of discipline and direction.We often look confused,and how many times do we lose possession due to lack of concentration?I promise you this......if DeShields had gone to UConn,Geno would have already had a "come to Jesus" meeting w/her about her lack of control.
I was one of the few who wanted Kim Mulkey or Jeff Walz as the new head coach.Newer vision is exactly what UT needed,but they wanted to keep it "in the family".But until we start beating the giants again,we'll just have to sit back and watch DVR's of what we once were.

 

[Icebear]

lcjeff, you are correct DeShields would have earned a lot of pine time if she tried to play at CT the way she did last night.

 

[huskyrob1]

i guess perception is reality.

You're right! The perception and reality is UCONN has 8 national championships and might get #9 and #10 the next two years.

 

[UcMiami]

Jeff - I replied to rogue and will to you ... I don't think TN had a viable choice to go away from Holly last year - just too complicated with emotions and honoring Pat by 'continuing her legacy'. In a few years things will be a little less fraught with emotions.
As you say - I think pre 2000 you could win it all purely with talent and discipline and TN had both, but there is more talent available now and it is more widely distributed, and their are a lot more good coaches with real offensive systems and more diverse defensive schemes. There are a number of old school coaches still in the game that haven't really evolved beyond that one trick approach. They have lots of wins to their name but limited success in the post 2000 world of WCBB.

 

[Boxerpups4me]

So yes, I am a LV fan. So much that I was a paying member of the Summitt until just recently. But, that board is not worth the cost for a number of reasons I care not to share. I realize that I can never reveal my true identity after today because I do live in Tennessee where speaking negatively of the LV's is a crime punishable by hanging without a trial by jury. But I do have some confessions to make:

1. On UCONN: As much as it sucks for us LV fans, I believe UCONN is putting a very special team on the floor this year. Ask Baylor and BG, anything can happen, but I would be absolutely shocked to see anyone but UCONN cutting down the nets in our back yard. I just hope that if I keep putting this in writing and keep telling myself this now, it will hurt less in April, right? Oh and BTW, I am pretty sure that I am the only person in the state of Tennessee that isn't convinced UCONN is going to waste away and die in the AAC. Even if the AAC is a terrible conference.

2. On Tennessee: Where to start? Quite frankly I think that the best thing for us would have been a breath of fresh air so to speak after Pat's retirement. Yes, I realize that Holly led the team to the E8 and a regular season championship. I'm not calling for her to be fired by any means. Holly was an outstanding and loyal assistant coach and yes she should have been rewarded for being such. However, it would be nice to see a coach whose vocabulary includes more than two words: Defense and Rebounding. A leader with a different perspective could have done us wonders.

3. On Recruiting: M. Russell is a good pickup for us, but as a #1 recruit, she is not the game changer that #1's like Moore, EDD, Parker, and Stewie are. She and Graves are a strong front court, but the only way they will ever get the ball is by rebounding Simmons and Massengale's bricks. It doesn't appear that our back court players are every going to learn how to get them the ball. I hope I am wrong, but I think it's the same song, different verse when it comes to our back court this year.

I wanted to post and address your concerns because I think you are a true Lady Vol fan, and like myself is/was also unhappy with the way things are being run at "The Summitt". The thing that really pissed me off was the owner, Josh Woodward, posting a sticky thread threatening legal action if anybody put their "premium" content on other boards. This is silly because most of what they call "premium" content will come out regardless of whether it's posted on "The Summitt" or not. First off, I constantly check the Boneyard, and Volnation and I NEVER see any content that Maria posts put on these sights, so to post that seemed to be a little pretentious and prissy. Kind of like Woodward trying to show his big boy pants and trying to show people who the boss is, MC is like this as well and it is VERY offputting. I was unimpressed and I'm sure they have lost many subscribers to their draconian posting policies. Bottom line is, the site isn't nowhere near worth 10 dollars a month, maybe 5, but that's still stretching it. Not all Summitt posters are bad and the majority are cool and are diehard Lady Vol fans, but there is a small minority there who make Lady Vol fans look bad, but of course they are too arrogant to know it.

I did want to take the opportunity and thank HuskyNan for being very welcoming to me and other Lady Vol fans. Volnation and Boneyard are two forums where you can be free to post what you like and not face some sort of "public" shaming. Now, Boneyarders can be tough, especially DoggyDaddy and a few others, but that's to be understood. I am a Lady Vol fan posting on a rivals boards, so I don't expect my opinions to be met with rosy optimism lol, and to all the Boneyarders who have been nice to me, thanks, I appreciate it.

Now, with this said, I don't consider myself a "rouge Lady Vol fan", rather a very unhappy former subscriber of the Summitt. I fully support Holly and I think she is the right coach to lead this team back to elite status. Were there other coaches out there who could have come in and been very successful at UT? Yes, of course. My personal choice was Rick Insell out of MTSU. Anyway, Holly has done a great job so far with great recruiting and against expectations, winning the SEC last season. It's been proven that following a legend is almost an impossible task, but Holly so far is doing a job of it.

As far as your 3rd point, Ill have to disagree with you a bit there. Massengale last night showed us why she plays Team USA basketball, was recruited heavily by UCONN and was the best PG in her class. I hope she can continue that kind of domination because she played like an AA last night. Russell needs more time to adjust to the college game and get more weight on strength on her. Once she does that, watch out, and no I'm not saying she will be the type of game changer that Moore, Holdsclaw, Parker, EDD, Taurasi and Griner were, but those players don't come along very often, so let's give Russell a break and let her adjust. It's just way to early to write her off..

 

[triaddukefan]

this is both comedy and a farce....UCONN fans are supporting a fake TN fan's criticism of their own team while telling the real LV fan that they just don't understand. LOL it's actually funny to me. seriously....

 

[HuskyNan]

LV fans, you're all welcome here as long as you remain civil. I would warn just you that the UConn fans' tolerance for LV-related topics might wane if there are too many threads on Tennessee but for now you guys are fine. Even the cranky fans.

As for the LVs and the coaching situation - I found it rather alarming that a team that needed to improve its offensive efficiency brought in......(wait for it).......a former Rutgers coach. Villanova's offense looks like a fast break compared to the Scarlet Knights'. (sorry, RU friends) IMO, what Tennessee needed to do was pry open the checkbook and pay Nikki Caldwell whatever she wanted to go to Knoxville. But, water under the bridge now. Good luck to you guys going forward.

 

[Boxerpups4me]

LV fans, you're all welcome here as long as you remain civil. I would warn just you that the UConn fans' tolerance for LV-related topics might wane if there are too many threads on Tennessee but for now you guys are fine. Even the cranky fans.

As for the LVs and the coaching situation - I found it rather alarming that a team that needed to improve its offensive efficiency brought in......(wait for it).......a former Rutgers coach. Villanova's offense looks like a fast break compared to the Scarlet Knights'. (sorry, RU friends) IMO, what Tennessee needed to do was pry open the checkbook and pay Nikki Caldwell whatever she wanted to go to Knoxville. But, water under the bridge now. Good luck to you guys going forward.

HuskyNan, I don't think their intention was to bring in Law to improve offense efficiency, rather she was brought in because she is a great recruiter. I don't think Tennessee's style is anything like Rutgers, rather it's a more of a wide open run and gun type of offense. Granted, it's been a little sloppy to watch this year, but I'm sure Holly will address it..

 

[doggydaddy]

Boxer pups - "Boneyarders can be tough, especially DoggyDaddy and a few others,"

It's just tough love. You will thank me later.

 

[LadyVols9]

thanks Husky Nan. "civility" is my middle name. duly noted!

 

[Geno-ista]

I remember a few years ago when Alexis Jones chose Duke over Tenn... ... and some of the fans were saying that it wasnt that big of a deal.. that she was would have been just a luxury recruit as they would already have massengale, simmons... and carter. I know that Im biased... but Jones is way better than any guard on TN's roster..... bet they wish that had been able to snag her now

Jones is terrific- was one of the only Duke players U Conn had trouble with last year. She is awesome.

 

[UcMiami]

I wanted to post and address your concerns because I think you are a true Lady Vol fan, and like myself is/was also unhappy with the way things are being run at "The Summitt". The thing that really pissed me off was the owner, Josh Woodward, posting a sticky thread threatening legal action if anybody put their "premium" content on other boards. This is silly because most of what they call "premium" content will come out regardless of whether it's posted on "The Summitt" or not. First off, I constantly check the Boneyard, and Volnation and I NEVER see any content that Maria posts put on these sights, so to post that seemed to be a little pretentious and prissy. Kind of like Woodward trying to show his big boy pants and trying to show people who the boss is, MC is like this as well and it is VERY offputting. I was unimpressed and I'm sure they have lost many subscribers to their draconian posting policies. Bottom line is, the site isn't nowhere near worth 10 dollars a month, maybe 5, but that's still stretching it. Not all Summitt posters are bad and the majority are cool and are diehard Lady Vol fans, but there is a small minority there who make Lady Vol fans look bad, but of course they are too arrogant to know it.

I did want to take the opportunity and thank HuskyNan for being very welcoming to me and other Lady Vol fans. Volnation and Boneyard are two forums where you can be free to post what you like and not face some sort of "public" shaming. Now, Boneyarders can be tough, especially DoggyDaddy and a few others, but that's to be understood. I am a Lady Vol fan posting on a rivals boards, so I don't expect my opinions to be met with rosy optimism lol, and to all the Boneyarders who have been nice to me, thanks, I appreciate it.

Now, with this said, I don't consider myself a "rouge Lady Vol fan", rather a very unhappy former subscriber of the Summitt. I fully support Holly and I think she is the right coach to lead this team back to elite status. Were there other coaches out there who could have come in and been very successful at UT? Yes, of course. My personal choice was Rick Insell out of MTSU. Anyway, Holly has done a great job so far with great recruiting and against expectations, winning the SEC last season. It's been proven that following a legend is almost an impossible task, but Holly so far is doing a job of it.

As far as your 3rd point, Ill have to disagree with you a bit there. Massengale last night showed us why she plays Team USA basketball, was recruited heavily by UCONN and was the best PG in her class. I hope she can continue that kind of domination because she played like an AA last night. Russell needs more time to adjust to the college game and get more weight on strength on her. Once she does that, watch out, and no I'm not saying she will be the type of game changer that Moore, Holdsclaw, Parker, EDD, Taurasi and Griner were, but those players don't come along very often, so let's give Russell a break and let her adjust. It's just way to early to write her off..

Boxer - thanks for the explanation of your arrival here and for a nicely balanced post. I agree on your assessment of Russell - early days but I think she will be good and no one should expect any player to reach the lofty heights of those you list based on a high school ranking.
I will just offer a mild disagreement on your assessment of Massengale - she did have a good game but until she strings together a number of them in a row I don't see as part of the upper rank of college guards - I haven't seen her be both a facilitator and a scorer and think she will end her career closer to a Simmons than a Sims - that is not bad, just not really good.