(WBK) Briggs, teammates defend Kelly Rae Finley in first team media since Newbauer scandal

It shouldn't be an absolute. If we look good but miss the tourney by an eyelash in her first season, after fielding years of bad teams, that shouldn't be a firing offense. A coach always needs to be given a chance to put her stamp on a program.

 

If she's exonerated, she should get this year and next regardless, as long as she reaches the same levels as Newbauer did. Not a huge hurdle, but she deserves at least as much a chance as her predecessor got.

If she ends up implicated, then she should be gone regardless.

 

I agree, but if a situation arise where potential better opportunities comes up, hiring a big name Coach, do you gamble and keep Finley or hire the new coach ?

 

Being liked by the players is one thing, but Kelly's resume as it stands is not credible for an SEC head coaching job regardless of the situation IMO. I think she would need a top 25 season to have a realistic shot at the full-time job. We potentially have the players to do it 1-4, but the 5 probably holds us back.

Even with the portal now, the next few years figure to be a rebuild regardless. A year with an interim coach will probably set the program back several years in recruiting.

Catching fire early and making this program look like a prime destination for transfers is the only path I see for her to keep the job. In press she and the players gave the right answers about the atmosphere within the program, but we have to see how it translates to the court.

 

I think her resume does lack, but at the same rate she has the opportunity to win the job. Even if she wins this year, she merely had a a hand in assembling the talent. I want to see her bring in an elite player to know we will continue the upward trajectory in talent. So far she has done everything she needs to do, particularly getting Lavender back. No reason 20 wins shouldn't be attainable with our talent. Virtually everyone is back AND healthier, plus more talent and depth. If she can nail down Darianna Littlepage-Buggs in the class and get us over 20 wins and to the NCAA it will be hard to not let her have a go at it, assuming nothing implicates her in any abuse. I am curious though if we have any outside candidates start showing interest in the job. No way I think we hire a man next but if say Gail Goestenkors, Chris Daily, Becky Hammon, or maybe even a Delisha Milton type shows interest the situation gets very interesting. If Kelly goes to the NCAAs but Hammon is willing to come, would be hard to pass that opportunity up. Going to be fascinating to watch it all play out. Would probably even argue that Plank is more qualified than Kelly on paper.

 

Plank is very well qualified to be Head Coach. She has proven herself with her track record. Kelly does not have a track record. That makes the situation kinda strange, if not awkward. Did Plank just want to ease back in to coaching after being out for three years? Is she happy/comfortable mentoring Kelly? Did the administration know they had a problem when they hired Plank and was she insurance? If we had hired Plank instead of Cam four years ago we would have been excited.

No matter, I am looking forward to a very interesting season, one I hope will be a lot of fun for all concerned.

 

A big name like Carolyn Peck?

 

The link you posted is a nice 26 min video. I had not seen the press conference til last night. I thought they all handled themselves well.

A few takeaways...

Zippy is going to be fun to watch, not only as a great defensive player but as a spark for the rest of the team as well.

The girls seem genuinely confident that this team is much better than people think, and I tend to agree based on the talent level.

With the talk of the athleticism in the post, the defensive focus, letting the girls play to their strengths, and the addition of Plank... I definitely think we are going to be much more of a full court press and push the tempo kind of team which should be fun to watch.

I had wondered if Zippy would play more point and allow Kiki to play more 2, but it seems the other way around.

The girls obviously like and want Kelly, and don't agree with Kinslow so Kelly may have a legit chance to win this job.

I think we probably have 4 starters solidified:
1. Kiki
2. Zippy
3. Lavender
4. Jordyn
The post comments were encouraging but there was no mention of anyone that stood out to me. This is probably the key to the season. We will be better regardless, but if someone emerges here we will be really good.

Manu was mentioned for her energy/leadership/IQ. She will probably get pretty good minutes as a glue player for us.

Only thing I wish someone had asked would have been what each of the new freshmen bring to the table.

Side note... I heard some very encouraging things from the Miami scrimmage! The girls also seem excited and happy. Hopefully they have a great season. It'll be here soon.

 

I don’t want SS back if this incident makes it even harder for him to do his job. So far, as a whole, we are slipping, and he has been rewarding mediocrity.

If he returns, maybe this gives him some fire, due to realizing that he needs a win.

Mr Nice Guy ain’t gonna cut it!

 

Here is what puzzles me: if our coach did all of these awful things to these women, why isn't the rest of the team complaining? Serious question.

Something seems amiss.

 

I don't think it's as bad as the Kinslows portrayed it to be, but obviously something happened. It's an odd situation with so little information. The University hasn't helped itself with the silence IMO.​

 

This is somewhat why I think the SS bashing is over the top. IMO it's clear coach was out of bounds and needed to go, but also clear there were mixed signals and differing opinions/viewpoints from the players themselves. Looks to me like the Kinslow aspect has to be measured a little differently as well. There's always two sides, and sorting that out is rarely as cut and dried as we might like it to be.

 

I think Striklin made a bad miscalculation in handling the situation the way he did. Whatever his reasons were, the lack of information came across as trying to either sweep it under the rug or just hope it went away on its on. His continued lack of visibility tells me a lot. I am not so sure he will be here much longer. My disdain for the man has more to do with other aspects. Soccer fell apart under his watch. Volleyball has taken a step back. Women's tennis has not been up to Florida standards. Even baseball and softball seem to have taken a slight step back. Men's tennis may be the only sport we are better in under his watch, and that hire was made before his arrival. When you add all that up and throw in the football situation this year (how Dan was allowed to keep Todd on is beyond me), the fact that he has hired only male coaches for female sports which doesn't look good when it's a track record, and then the WBB fiasco... it's hard for me to find anything he has done good. One could argue the facilities are improving, but I suspect any AD after Foley stepped down would have done the same. He needs the WBB situation to die down, and he needs Mike and Kelly to both have good seasons, IMO. He also needs to just come out of hiding and address the situation head on.

 

Disagree about VB. Just got back a few minutes ago from beating Tennessee 3-1, a team that some have predicted a Final four team. We have been dealing with assorted injuries all season long. I wouldn't count the Gators out in the post season.

 

Gator Volleyball hasn't taken a step back. It's been among the best in the nation consistently under Coach Wise. One reason it doesn't appear that way is because the other SEC programs decided they needed to build their own programs into powers, after being absolutely owned by Mary Wise for years.

 

Not saying they are bad. This season hasn't been their best and UK has passed us up, as well as others catching up. Still hoping Mary eventually gets a title, but not sure I have much faith in it. Regardless, at best VB is maintaining while a fellow SEC school is passing us, and Mary wasn't a Striklin hire either so still don't see anything Striklin has done to improve athletics.

 

FYI Kentucky lost to S. Carolina tonight.

 

I saw that earlier.

 

Generally love your posts....but man I have issues here.
First, I think we just approach his handling of womens hoops from a different place. That's ok, there is so much gray area that it's difficult to really argue either side IMO.
But the other sports issue I strongly disagree, and here's why. I think most would say an AD essentially has the role of having the right head coach in place, and insuring that coach has the assets in place to be successful (facilities, budget, academic support,etc).
So lets look at the sports you pointed out.
Volleyball- Was a hair away from the final four last season, Mary Wise is a hall of fame coach in every sense of the word. So what would you have SS doing differently regarding volleyball? Can't imagine you want a different coach.
Baseball- A national seed last year, Sully considered one of the best, #1 recruiting class, a brand new stadium. What would you have SS doing differently for baseball
Softball- SEC champ, #3 national seed, Tim Walton one of the best, great team coming back and recruiting next 3 classes as good as it's ever been anywhere, stadium improvements make for a top facility. What would you have SS doing differently for softball
W Tennis- Coach T has 4 national titles and 11 SEC titles. Nobody has been more critical than me, but this is the last year of his contract and I believe he either gets the fire back or retires. FYI, they should be pretty darn good this year. Also the tennis complex is getting major renovations, phase 1 will be done by this spring. Waiting on his contract to run out seems like the smart thing to do IMO. Would you have fired a 4 time National champ coach?
Soccer- The program was going down before SS arrived, he just inherited a delicate situation. Becky earned the right to go out in a dignified way and that's what happened. Probably a year too late, but covid may have played into that. I like the direction with Amato, and they are getting new facilities being built as we speak.
You said "one could argue facilities are improving".....that's just a massive understatement. And he has spearheaded the fundraising that has kept that process financially sound, even thru covid.

My point being, you can't take a snapshot of a disappointing ending like the baseball season and somehow project that on the AD. What could he have possibly done to alter that scenario? IMO we always have to look at the overall program and determine what, if anything, we think should have been done differently. There will always be debatable points here and there....but looks to me like most of the programs have or are getting great facilities and the coaches are either rolling or under scrutiny.