The news about Lavender came from several sources within the program as reported by Chris Harry who is employed by the UAA and another reporter with close ties to the program. So unless she changes her mind between now and the start of the season in November, and I doubt that is likely to occur at this relatively late stage unless there are even greater internal issues than what has been alluded to previously, this team just got significantly better.
That's huge for the program. Still worried about the recruiting situation with an interim coach but luckily we have a pretty full roster.
She definitely looked around and heard some pitches, but I think Kiki has a big pull with her and so do the other young women. This is HUGE for Kelly Rae also , if we get off to a great start then it might get SS thinking of her as a long term option. The girls love her also
She seems very likeable. I am curious to see the offense this season. I know when Kelly coaches last season she mentioned that she focused on defense and Cam on the offense. Also curious to see when we hire an assistant... it's gotta be hard to hire a good one for a staff that isn't a guarantee to be there in a year. I would love to go get Melanie Balcomb.
Nice little interview. Seems Lavender is definitely back, and I like what she says about the Defense. Also, from the interview and what I have seen on highlights, Alberte Rimdal is going to be a very nice surprise this season for people...IMO.
The fact that the coach left in the late preseason and none….none…of the players left, including some very high level talent, says something. I’m not sure what it says but it definitely says something.
It's all a strange situation. Cam resigning abruptly. Lav entering the portal, but staying. The relative silence about the whole thing. Very tight lipped and very odd.
Honestly, there really is a benefit to carefully putting a team together and building their chemistry. Even if they didn't like the coach, they clearly all seem to like one another. Silly as it sounds, I think that played into the fact that nobody transferred. Lav is very close with Kiki, Nina and Faith. They do enjoy playing together and have a good feel for one another. Also, timing is key..maybe had this happened right after the season, I don't doubt that maybe some of the incoming freshman wouldn't be here and maybe zippy would jump back in the portal. Kiki could've gone pro. Lav would have had all summer to be courted by baylor, lsu, Maryland, nc state, Oregon, ect. Things may look different. But it happened with this strange timing which may end up to our benefit. I hope they have tons of success this season.
Chemistry and culture are the two things I think they have been building the last 4 years. It goes a long way. No doubt they were quite lucky with the timing, but the silence is quite shocking. Cam's resignation has barely registered a blip in the news. In a year or so it will be fascinating to see what comes out. He and the staff have built a very nice roster. Hoping Kelly pulls it all together and breaks through with the program. It's been way too long.
Clearly, the new coach wasn't the problem, at least from the players' perspectives. That's a good sign. I hope she puts together a great season, one that turns a lot of heads among high school prospects.
Kinslow has a TikTok video claiming he was fired for abuse, and another saying she had anxiety and depression from being a Div 1 athlete. Saw it on Ainslie Lee's Twitter (not sure who she is but obviously some connection to the school and program). It shouldn't be taken lightly, but she is a transfer who didn't get a lot of minutes posting on TikTok of all places. If it was abuse though, you would think there would have been an investigation like Syracuse is currently having. My take from reading on here and Twitter is he was harder on some of the girls than others. I have a suspicion Lavender left after Cam was fired/resigned. I am sure it is somewhat like Syracuse in that some players probably supported the coach and some did not. Luckily for us, they seem to all like each other and Kelly though and are sticking it out. By comparison Cuse lost 11 players before investigating, and that investigation is actually still ongoing. TikTok TikTok I've also seen Ariel Johnson's mother Tweet some very negative things. Again, she is a transfer so there probably is a little bias there. I would be curious to know what players like Lav, Kiki, Zada, Kristina, Manu, etc think because if it is a bad environment they have been in it for several years.
East; I want to preface this be saying I have NO inside intel on our Women's Basketball program and the majority of you have forgotten more than I know about our team. With that said, this sounds like a situation where the "vocal minority" on the team were really upset with how Coach Cam was treating their kids and forced Stricklin to make a decision. He then gave Coach Cam a choice, "you can either resign or I am going have to fire you". And I agree with what has been posted previously, that Lavender went into the Portal because Cam resigned, not because of some verbal abuse she received.
I go away for a couple of weeks .... I really, really hope Finley has a good year, gets to that 20-win threshold and an NCAA berth. Doing that makes it hard for Stricklin to replace her, which is good because I don't trust Stricklin's hiring decisions when it comes to women's sports. So I hope Finley is able to capitalize on what y'all have been telling me Newbauer built and get the job for a while. I think that would be the best thing for the program.
I am really curious as to what bar Stricklin is looking at this season. What amount of wins could win Kelly the job permanently? That could vary depending on who else may or may not show interest. If a Hammon, Smesko, or Goestenkors shows interest is 20 enough, or is it seen more as an expectation with the team handed to her? Holding onto Lavender is her first big win. That has to score her some points. Obviously anything less than 20 and it's going to be hard to see her being given the job, but she has a big win already under her belt with Briggs. If she can secure a good signing class it would further help her and show some real potential for stability. This year is going to be fascinating. It could go south in a hurry. On the flip side, it could go surprisingly well and garner some nice attention. If Kelly pulls it off, it is a great storyline.
I do hope Kelly succeeds but what are the measurements of success? Unlike football at Div 1 schools and the occasional basketball school, women’s basketball is not a revenue producing sport. It seems to me that the goal should be to create a healthy environment for women to excel and treasure their college years. We do. It know what happened with Cam but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say whatever it was should not have happened. I have and will continue to support the sport at UF and will avidly follow the outcomes but will also continue to believe that W-L, while of course important, is secondary to the culture surrounding the team and the experience that the young women have playing at Florida. The fact that Lav decided to stay seems a big step in the right direction.
I guess that measurement is skewed by the leniency Stricklin showed Newbauer. It would be a tough -- a very tough -- sell if he got rid of Kelly for anything better than .500, wouldn't it? I don't think he's shown any willingness in his hires to really swing for fences, so as much as I'd like UF to bring in a big name, I don't think that's Stricklin's MO. So with that said, if Finley can reach the same level of success as Newbauer -- or a step or two better -- I think Stricklin has a tough time replacing her with anyone but a home-run hire.
