Tennessee Lady Vols woes: John Adams on if Kellie Harper gets fired

How bad does it have to get for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers women’s basketball program for Kellie Harper to get fired? John Adams of @knoxnews joins to discuss.

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#ncaa #collegebasketball #tennesseevolunteers

How low do the lady vs have to go to fire Kelly Harper Let’s uh jump into that right now and it is our topic for four downs brought to you by Dynasty pulls and Spa so let me start you off with this we’re gonna hop in the hot tub

With Cooper Mae CP what should people do Cooper ma here hit like And subscribe yeah that’s right and uh John are you comfortable hopping in the hot tub with Cooper h CP here first down all right uh how bad is Tennessee’s final record have to be

To be a pretty big strike against Kelly Harper because we know it’s a postseason sport but you also can go five and 24 or something like Wade Houston did and that looks pretty darn bad so at what point does the regular season record really hurt Kelly Harper John

Well I just go back to the last coach uh Holly warley yes I often confused the two and called Kelly Holly uh Holly was there seven years she um was fired she went to the NCA tournament every year she went to three Elite eights and I thought Tennessee did need to make a

Change because the program was declining and Tennessee once had the preeminent program in college women’s college basketball obviously doesn’t anymore I don’t expect the next coach to be any come anywhere near uh matching Pat Summit that she’s one of the greatest coaches of all time but just out of respect what for

What Pat Summit did with this program it needs to do do more than what Kelly is delivering I I mean it’s just D but see I don’t know how low it has to go maybe it has to lose the rest of its games because Danny White gave her a contract extension after last

Season that tells me that the administration is fine if the lady vs make the NCA tournament reach the sweet 16 which it did I guess I look at this program differently than all the others at Tennessee because to me the program is Pat Summit and she’s no longer with us there’s a

Statue there prominently displayed P Summit to remind us what she accomplished eight national titles too many final fours to count but just out of respect for what she built I think it’s some cumbent on Tennessee to maintain a certain level of of confidence in the sport it’s just gradually falling into

Nothingness I mean I think it would make the NCA tournament well but if it if it didn’t make the NCA tournament to me you you would have to fire but I don’t think it will I just think it will muddle along Ted says uh well said John Adams uh I

Agree with everything you said Caleb as far as a regular season record Tennessee’s 12- seven I think the regular season record would te if we were talking about men’s basketball because of a point you brought up yesterday would be not making the tournament but Tennessee because they

Want them in the tournament so bad could win 17 games and get in the tournament so I don’t know that there’s really an answer to my question maybe it’s just stupid that that’s how Holly warlock got in her last year that Tennessee team John probably remembers had no business

Going to the NCAA tournament but they wanted the lady vs in the NCAA tournament sure and um agree no I agree Caleb it did Tennessee is such a brand name and so uh with the sport but the the brand name it’s it’s losing so much of its luster

Year by year and I don’t think I really don’t think the NCA cares nav Tennessee’s in the tournament no they don’t but here’s a a larger problem maybe slipped at that point that’s well they they might because here’s a larger problem and this is why I don’t know if

Danny White will make a move I think he will but John to bolster your point I’ll get to that in a minute to bolster your point the reason it may just be qualifying for the NCAA tournament maybe all that matters LSU it came out yesterday the women’s basketball program lost $7.8

Million despite all the hype behind Angel Reese and everything there that it’s it’s a it’s a money pit women’s basketball right now for most programs I think Danny White is seeing that and in an age of nil where you have to be a little more meticulous with your dollars

Is thinking is it worth investing heavily in women’s basketball when you just won’t get the financial return out of it well I that that leads us to Second down and this this sounds awful but Cooper May here second down does he does Danny watt really care I mean he’s

A money guy this sport even in the Tay day on under Pat Summit lost a million is that why he signed Tennessee uh Tennessee’s Kelly Harper up for a contract I mean does he really care at the end of the day or does he just want to cover his potential losses John

Because if you could break even that’s more money that you could spend on nil but you got to have it because of Title Nine yeah that may that could be how he he looks at it uh I just have a hard time justifying why when he gives uh

When he gives a coach an extension for making the sweet 16 of the NCA tournament that to me tells you all you needed to know if he would have been the co the ad when Holly warlick was in charge he wouldn’t have fired Holly Warick she was doing better than Kelly is

So why I mean it’s almost like I can’t expect a guy that’s not a Tennessee guy to understand what the lady balls mean to the community and he’s not a Tennessee guy it’s not a knock on him if he wants to save money so he can spend

More in nil and get another Nico nobody’s gonna complain uh Caleb do you think he look he views the lady vs way different than we do I guess is the question possibly but I’m just going to say that might be a good thing I think one of the reasons the lady vs are

Struggling right now is because the lady vs have this idea lady VA fan base has this idea of what they should be and it’s very Notre Dame and football esque and it’s the reason Notre Dame hasn’t won a national championship since 1989 is many of the

Fans you should do that talk sports that is a hot take maybe you just shouldn’t throw money at it anymore I mean because remember listen I a business I’ve I’ve had to make decisions of stuff I’m not throwing money at anymore well what I was actually going to things like the

Coaching hires itself if John remembers this when Dave Hart made the difficult decision and it was difficult to he basically Force Pat sum to turn the whistle over to Holly Warick that upset a lot of fans and I’m like guys y’all really want somebody who has this serious serious illness coaching on the

Sidelines that’s not you can’t have that and then when Fulmer tried to do a coaching search lady vs Community just hounded on him and said you’ve got to get a summit Protege you got to get a former Lady of all who played for Summit why why this is the stuff that derails

Programs this is what derailed Alabama until they hired Nick sain they kept saying oh we got to find a Bear Bryant’s Protege we got to find a guy who was tired to bear and I think the lady of all Community is more detrimental to the lady of all success than anything that

Could Poss they are more detrimental than anything to the lady of all success the lady all fan base that’s that’s a valid assessment and it’s true in some ways but that’s part of the fan base not all of the fan bases like that and now that it’s had two formul 8 evolves

Interal I mean Holly warlick was his lady v as you could get she played and starred for Tennessee team she was a longtime assistant coach under Summit tennessy had no choice but to hire her the transition was going to be traumatic no matter what it had to hire her I mean

It couldn’t it couldn’t say Pat you know it’s not a good idea for you to keep coaching and it wasn’t a good idea it wasn’t a good idea but then you can’t and then you’re going to say but we’re not going to appoint your assistant to replace you

Your longtime assistant no and that is what needed to be done and Tennessee gave her seven years and she won quite a few games she made the tournament every year three Elite eights as I said but the program was slipping okay so then Tennessee makes the decision I guess there was enough

Pressure from boosters Philip Fulmer I’m sure wanted nothing to do with women’s basketball oh I got to hire somebody Tennessee could have hired the Louisville coach who’s one of the best coaches in the country he wanted the job and he would have come here probably for

Probably for the same amount of money he was making at Louisville but as Caleb pointed out oh no you limit yourself when you say you got to get a lady V someone with uh Tennessee ties or even you limit yourself even when you say well you got to have a woman coach no

You got to have the best coach you can get if you want to do if you want to do credit to Pat summit’s Legacy and that’s kind of how I look at this I agree that Summit would would not back any of her former players just because they’re

Former players she would give you the honest assessment and say that’s a great coach that’s a okay Coach that’s a crappy coach don’t hire and I I yeah I just think again Pat Summit had an incredible positive impact on the University of Tennessee it went Way Beyond Sports everybody knew Pat

Summit is she was an incredible Goodwill Ambassador for the university for all of East Tennessee for the state agreed and and that’s what bothers me about the what’s happening with the program now it’s just it’s just going down down down it’s not falling off the

Map it’s a it’s a sad slow slide um is the sweet 16 the worst thing that could happen for the lady balls what down is that CP Tennessee Center Cooper May here third down I’m gonna ask each of us that question 60 seconds Dynasty pulls and Spas mention off the hook Sports get

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Ton and no one will ever notice mention off the hook Sports get $500 off mention off the hook Sports get $500 off Dynasty pulls and Spas go to Dynasty psand spas.com We’re stopped by that showroom in Athens Dynasty pools and spa.com Dynasty Pools and Spa so it’s back in 2008 that a School

Called Georgia Maybe you’ve heard of them won the uh SEC uh basketball tournament so they had to hold on to Dennis Felton because he got in the NCAA tournament I’m going to go ahead and tell you that Tennessee making the sweet 16 this year if they

Can even do that is the worst possible thing that could happen winning a championship’s the best right but not making the tournament or getting bounced in the first two rounds would be better because then you would definitely make a change John thoughts on that logic am right or wrong uh

Yeah I kind of agree with that but then here’s the other factor in it I’m not sure Tennessee cares that much so even if even if Kelly was the coach I mean if you said okay we this is not good enough Tennessee uh we’re not satisfied with the swet 16 we certainly

Aren’t satisfied with not making the tournament need to make a coaching change you fire Kelly Harper okay well then who do you hire you you got to go out and try and get one of the best coaches in the country or otherwise I guess just keep Kelly around you should have just kept

Holly around let me rephrase the question for Caleb if you want to be elite is the sweet 16 the worst thing that could happen for Tennessee’s lady ball program oh it’s absolutely the worst it’s as bad as you guys remember 2006 uh there was a rumor that schula could have kept his

Job if he had beaten Auburn that year yeah and I think I think every Alabama fan looks back and they’re like thank God Alabama lost to Auburn that game so I me it’s uh it’s it’s absolutely the worst if they go to the Sweet 16 you want them bounced out early yeah John’s

Been incredible at this time what down CP allc Center Cooper ma here fourth down okay last thing let’s say Tennessee makes the sweet 16 which is very possible even at the 12 and seven record because cuz we know that they’re going to be big time favorites over the first team they play

Because it is still women’s back well maybe not depending on their seating um but what do you think will ultimately forget the seating stuff just take that aside what do you think ultimately happens this year John if you were to predict based off we’re unsure if Danny

Wat even cares nearly as much as a lot of the fans do we know the fans can undermine a potential higher he knows that so how do you see this thing ending at the end of the day well I see Tennessee uh edging into the uh NCA tournament field just barely

Maybe by a game maybe last four in and then losing first or second game in the tournament and uh kayy Harper returning his coach I I okay let me get let’s I’m one second and then Caleb because you you you’re very tuned in with lady bosss that would be

Awful um that would just be purely awful to Pat summit’s Legacy and I think there’s going to be a change made I think that and the reason I think so is because Danny White’s been so quiet about it so I just get the feeling this is me on the outside looking in that

They they make a change Caleb you tell me sir I agree with you Dave I think I think they I John I agree that’s what happens but I think Danny White fires Kelly Harper and I’ve seen Danny White’s track record as a hire at Buffalo as a

Hire at UCF he found women’s basketball coaches at both of those programs that are doing very well we’re talking about we talk about him fundraising he’s the best coach hirer in the country of any athletic director and his track record proves it I think he knows that there

Are candidates out there right now that are really really good in coaching that would take the lady VA job in a heartbeat on a discount too and so I have more faith in him than I ever had for instance in John Curry in 2017 when I knew that John Curry didn’t know what

He was was doing when he didn’t fire but Jones I think Danny White’s a little bit different story and so I think that’s what they’ll doing what they should do and the biggest thing is I know we keep talking about the legacy of Pat Summit if Tennessee is going to be

Successful long term they have to let Summit rest in peace they have to bury Pat Summit and they have to actually think about the future of the program same way Alabama had to bury the Hat that’s what they finally said when they hired Nick Sav they can’t think about

Even SU Legacy because I even think part of the reason the program fell behind was Pat Summit was such a purist at the end canceling the series with Yukon over wasn’t that big of a recruiting violation Gina was doing I mean you can’t do things like that thinking I agree with that John

It’s it’s it’s a shame that uh Greg shano is not able to make the decision because uh right now he would probably be blaming out as a coach and Tennessee likes to hire their former coaches as athletic director so maybe he’d be making that decision thought I thr in

There I know you like that sorry uh when I when I keep talking about summit’s Legacy and how much it it means to the state and to the area and to the program I’m not saying Tennesse needs to recreate what pet Summit did I say you don’t forget about pet Summit you honor

Her Legacy but the program going forward has to be somebody else’s program from now it doesn’t have to have any it doesn’t have to have any Lady V connections to it it just needs to be make it on your own and that’s the best way to honor Pat

Summit and I just kind of feel like and maybe this is uh I don’t know maybe I’m being too sental sentimental here but I just admired her a lot for what she did and I just kind of think it Tennessee owes her that much and but again not you

Honor her by getting the best coach you can amen and you don’t worry about lady V’s past to how many Lady V coaches how many former lady Val players have been raging successes as a head coach uh would you say raging not Carol awson no not ra

Good yeah similar I’m with you and I would say this too about Pat Summit I have no doubt that she would make the hard decision let’s say she were the athletic director okay like she didn’t get sick but she didn’t want to coach anymore she would make the hard decision

In terms of I don’t think this is the person to hire just like she made the hard decisions and we can debate it she want to play Yukon anymore she knew that would hurt women’s basketball but she took a stand she did 15,000 media interviews asking the same question

Individ ually with each television station before or after practice she did all kinds of things that she didn’t want to do because she thought it was best for women’s basketball the program