That was my sort of thought. UF has rarely spent well on WBB. An assistant coach of this pedigree makes me think she is at least in line for an interview for the job.
She has been out of coaching and basketball at home since 2017. Certainly a great college playing career, great experience as an assistant coach at Stanford and the WNBA and a 2 year stint as a HC. Like the scouting role she played, which will likely be helpful now. Certainly two NCAA championships and an Olympic Gold as an assistant coach are worthy achievements. However, we hired an unemployed coach that had been out of basketball and home since 2017. She was available. Likely good for both parties given the events.
Does anyone know if there’s any truth to Cam being under some big investigation? Also heard there is a reporter reaching out to former players & parents to confirm verbal and physical abuse (like making players stand against the wall and throwing basketballs at them).
Lol, they don't practice in a dungeon, far away from outsiders prying eyes. You can't just do crazy shit during practice without anyone else knowing. If that was the case then Kelly Rae Finley and any other coach who stood by and did nothing for years should also be fired. Highly unlikely that he was "lining kids up against the wall and throwing balls at them" Very bobby knight esque. You would also certainly think if anything like that was happening, there would have been a much more visceral reaction by former players online after his announced resignation.. I think people are disappointed that there isn't more of a story here. If you want to read a good story about an abusive coaching staff who was enabled by the athletic dept, read up on Sharon Versyp
Here's the story Former Florida women’s basketball players detail abuse under Coach Newbauer - The Independent Florida Alligator
I still wish someone got a side from current players. Most of the players publicly complaining about abuse have had multiple transfers now. I am not saying there wasn't any abuse by any means, but there needs to be some better reporting on what exactly happened. Still some of these accusations are very troubling, but it concerns me more that either UF did nothing or the staff around him did nothing to stop it. Not sure how Kelly can stay long term if she was present during any of this, and did not come forward until almost 5 years into the program. Some of the story is common stuff... not renewing scholarships etc... and Kinslow is constantly transferring. Throwing basketballs at players is a whole different ballgame. Not doubting some abuse took place, but some of this article is more just disgruntled players. Being forced out sucks but that is not abuse. I just really can't see how UF doesn't hire an all new staff if it really was this bad though.
Concur that you would like to hear the perspective of some current players (not happening) but the fact the roster stayed largely intact following Newbauer's dismissal speaks volumes to me. I believe the Lorenzen statements are the most credible in the article given her status as a multiyear starter and team captain who among the interviewed had the least likely axe to grind within the program. Haley's statements “if you came into our locker room, sometimes, you could feel the tension... and you could just feel people were afraid. People just weren’t themselves” speak to me of an old school coaching style completely out of synch with todays athlete and a man not handling the pressure of consecutive losing seasons well. I always found Cam a bit of an odd duck even before his July removal with the over the top social media campaign trumpeting the dorky happy family atmosphere which apparently was at great odds with the reality of what was going on behind the scenes. I would like to trust that Stricklin and the UAA staff did their due diligence in vetting this guy especially given the fact he was being promoted from Belmont to a P5 program but I have to now question how thorough a background check was performed? I am sure Stricklin and Tealer are inundated with input from disgruntled players and family members so I am not concerned the action to dismiss Newbauer did not occur earlier than it did as it does take time to work through any fair investigative process. The fact Stricklin extended Newbauer's contract to 2025 is pretty much standard in order to help in recruiting and provide the appearance of program stability. However, IF there was an active investigation ongoing into issues within the program when the contract was extended that would be troubling. Finley will get her shot this season to prove her worth. Anything short of vast team improvement and minimal player exodus from the program will likely lead to her departure as well.
Yeah, shame on the admin if they didn’t take the players seriously early enough, even if they eventually did the right thing.
Wow, pretty bad behavior if even half of it is true. Coach Finley needs to show a turnaround quickly and show that her players believe in her.
Why are you still defending him? You defended him when the team stunk -- repeatedly told me to go cheer for Clemson when I tried to point out what a BAD COACH he was. Now that this stuff is coming out about the horrid culture he create and perpetuated -- with sources, with quotes, with examples -- you're wishing they did a better job of showing Cam's side of the story, insulting players who were a part of the program. You want people saying that Cam wasn't that bad? That there's other sides of him berating players and throwing balls at them? While he was driving the program to its lowest point in 35 years, he was treating players bad, and you want the OTHER side of the story? So someone can say "well, he never threw a ball at me" and that's enough? I know you love the program -- that's very clear. So why in the world do you still defend this asshole? He was a terrible, horrible, over-his-head coach, and apparently he was a terrible, horrible over-his-head person. Why do you still give him the benefit of the doubt?
Not to mention that article says at least one former Butler player warned UF players when they reached out to find out about their new coach.
He didn't care about the girls.. The higher ups only cared about the games. Much like a lot the people in this forum. You won't give credibility to the article because the current players aren't saying anything? Better reporting? Haley Lorenzen or the other's statements weren't credibile enough for you? Current players are trying to move on and get it done. Why would you expect any response from them to compromise or subject themselves to your scrutiny while they are trying to get ready for the season? They read this forum just like you do..The only thing that upset you in this article was the throwing of the balls? Wow... Well that was awful, but ALL of what he did to those the players was awful.... Glad he is no longer there to threaten ANY of them any longer.. Players, coaches and trainers alike.
It clearly appears he crossed the line into abuse. Throwing balls at players is clearly not acceptable. And the fact that players were afraid of him is not good. Hard to see how Kelly survives this and SS has a huge black stain That being said this is an awful reporting job by the Alligator. It claims Cam was racist because he said he can’t touch a players hair. What? Was he supposed to touch it (and then get sexual harassment claims). Stuff like that reduces the credibility of the report My base case is he was a tyrant who wasn’t a good basketball coach. Basically a bad version of Bobby Knight. Which is no longer acceptable in today’s age.
You need to reread is all I can tell you. No where did I defend him. I said I would like all perspectives. I also stated that I thought if it's truly this bad that everyone associated with knowing about it should be gone.
I made my feelings clear on Cam long ago and the latest revelations only cement that. I took all kinds of grief here for saying Cam wasn’t the guy years ago. But east isn’t saying the stuff didn’t occur, only that we just heard from one side. We haven’t heard from UF as to why they didn’t find the initial stuff credible enough to do a real investigation, why all the girls stayed if our new coach was complicit, and what Cam’s version was. None of those are unreasonable questions, even if they don’t change the substance one iota. Heck they could make the story worse if UF knew it was bad and didn’t do anything, or promoted someone who was truly complicit. I will also say that I have never been an SS fan, if he truly swept this under the rug and it’s as bad as it appears, he deserves to be gone. Just no place for that anywhere, but especially at a place like UF.
Again... reread. Everyone associated should be gone. That doesn't mean the article wasn't very poorly done. Highlighting the actual abuse is fine, but some of it was a bit much.
