OT: Lady Vols fire coach Harper

[MGSA99]

5 seasons. Never past Sweet 16. And you got to believe not playing defense on SC on the last shot in the SEC Tournament was the dagger.

 

[MADHAT1]

Harper posted a 108-52 record in her 5 years.
She had 4 years left on her contract after having it extended 5 years in 2023
her buyout is supposedly 50% of reaming years of that $5.5 million extention.

 

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

We'll take her.

 

[eso1989]

I'm very surprised, especially with that kind of buyout. They better have someone really good lined up already and I suspect it would have to be someone already employed as a head coach at another power conference school. I could see the Vols going after the Louisville coach or Lawson (Duke).

IMO their recruiting fell off quite a bit since the Holly tenure. Besides Jackson (a transfer), Harper was unable to identify and secure top talent from high school or the portal since her arrival. The players she had though played very hard for her even if they didn't always execute in the clutch.

Makes me wonder if the AD suggested she make changes in the coaching staff and given that her husband is one of her top assistants, that was problematic. Never a great idea to have a spouse on the staff...

 

[Knight Time Fan_rivals]

I'm very surprised, especially with that kind of buyout. They better have someone really good lined up already and I suspect it would have to be someone already employed as a head coach at another power conference school. I could see the Vols going after the Louisville coach or Lawson (Duke).

IMO their recruiting fell off quite a bit since the Holly tenure. Besides Jackson (a transfer), Harper was unable to identify and secure top talent from high school or the portal since her arrival. The players she had though played very hard for her even if they didn't always execute in the clutch.

Makes me wonder if the AD suggested she make changes in the coaching staff and given that her husband is one of her top assistants, that was problematic. Never a great idea to have a spouse on the staff...

Well the spouse stuff is pure speculation, I assume, and I don't 100% agree with the principle since we have it at Arizona, they have it at Alabama, and probably others where we just don't realize it.

I would agree that the spouse needs to be qualified - for example, Adia's spouse here at Arizona, Salvo Coppa, has extensive experience coaching in Europe and his father is a legend in international basketball circles.

I suspect, without reading any articles, that the recruiting issue is at the nub, as well as (in general) success not up to Tennessee standards. I had read that the fan base was restive; even though attendance dropped off, the fan base is still pretty large and has a history and tradition equaled by very few programs in any sport.

 

[ScarletteK80]

We'll take her.

Better than what we have.

 

[MADHAT1]

Better than what we have.

Strive to find even better
Harper had a winning record, but Tennessee is a blue blood and should have
been able to recruit the best players and be a title contender .

CW might not be the right one, but with all of Rutgers drawbacks compared to the Vols, would Harper be able to do better.
Taking a look at Kellie Harper's coaching record before Tennessee, I wonder if Tennessee got the best available.

Western Carolina:

97–65 (.599)

62–32 (.660)

NC State: 70–64 (.522) 23–39 (.442)

Missouri State:

118–79 (.599)

78–30 (.722)

 

[RUcrazee]

MO their recruiting fell off quite a bit since the Holly tenure. Besides Jackson (a transfer), Harper was unable to identify and secure top talent from high school or the portal since her arrival. The players she had though played very hard for her even if they didn't always execute in the clutch.

100% Agree

They've been searchin' for the entire post Pat era. Too bad Nicki Fargas was at LSU when the spot opened up for Holly. Nicki couldn't recruit to LSU but she wouldn't have had to worry about that at Tennessee. The recruits came for Holly because of the Tenn tradition. Nicki is a good coach who would've won there with the talent.