Stephanie White finalist for Vanderbilt job
- Thread starter TC4THREE
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Article in star says she has her radar on a few selected college programs if they were interested in her. Wonder if Purdue is one. If we had a savvy AD, I would think you would look in to her interest. SW is a major basketball talent and would be a large upgrade at Purdue.
I would do a lot more than look in. The women's program has fallen off the face of the earth from their national championship days. Girls have transferred out in alarming numbers. Use some of that Big Ten money to buy out the current coach and go get White.
Winning. Stephanie White is a winner. And, her history should give her a boost in recruiting.
I also think it might be time for a change, however, Sharon was definitely a "winner" as a head coach everywhere she went. I don't see any quality of White that exceeds our current coach. ...and please don't resort to "anything would be better", because that is not a good argument. Sharon has shown to be a good X & O coach when she gets the talent. I think her major shortcoming is her recruiting. White has good X&O skills (I assume) but she has never recruited in the D1 college game. Hence my caution about bringing her into Purdue WBB as a head coach.
I think Steph brings the national exposure of being on ESPB and BTN commentating that SV does not. Steph also is much smoother talking to people. SV seems to me to be a "take it or leave it" type of scholly presenter that just doesn't seem to make it today.
I think you have a valid point about SW being a smoother and more polished person when interacting with recruits and with recruits families. I don't knw that her talent will translate into better recruiting. It seems like it should, but I'd like to see it in action first.
also think that recruiting in the women's game is slightly different in that long term relationships seem to pay off. The guys seems to let all schools start from scratch. Women tend to value the longer contact period. I also think assistant coaches play at least as much a part in recruiting as the head coach. We might want to look hard at the assistants. In fact, our assistant coaches might be the reason why recruiting seems to have picked up a bit.
All this is just my speculation and has little factual support behind it. (Thought I had better qualify my posts since some on here take them for more than they are).
I'm not sure that I agree that SV was a "winner." Being a head coach at Maine certainly doesn't qualify anyone as being a winner, and her tenure at IU wouldn't either. Also, neither one of those positions would qualify her as an elite coach.
I was in favor of SV when she arrived. However, she has been here plenty long enough for anyone watching to know she is not taking us back to national prominence.
I am also a Morgan Burke fan. He improved every facility we have (every one was in shambles when he took over) and has kept us in the black. However, he has allowed SV to become comfortable with "below expectations is ok as long as you do it ethically" (my thoughts, not MB's words).
Thank them both for their service and accomplishments, but it is time for a change and Steph White would certainly be at the top of my list.
I am also a Morgan Burke fan. He improved every facility we have (every one was in shambles when he took over) and has kept us in the black. However, he has allowed SV to become comfortable with "below expectations is ok as long as you do it ethically" (my thoughts, not MB's words).
Thank them both for their service and accomplishments, but it is time for a change and Steph White would certainly be at the top of my list.
Here recruiting is her shortcoming? I don't agree with that. She's had plenty of talent. She just can't put it together. Her recruiting, according to ESPN rankings, 2011-2015:
3 5*s, 7 4*s, 7 3*. And this year has a 5* and 3* coming in. That's a solid roster of talent. And she's yet to get out of the 2nd round. Her shortcomings appear to be coaching and not recruiting.
Interesting. Who were the 3 5-star players of which you speak? Not trying to be a jerk. I just don't remember who they were. I am thinking that they did little or no actual playing at Purdue, but I make that statement without looking up the details, so odds are I am wrong. 2011-2015 eliminates a couple kids I was thinking of.
Top 25 classes will not get you to the sweet-sixteen, right? You need top 15 classes at least. She hasn't been able to recruit at the level needed to get into the S16 until this past year - the class of 2015. I expect it to pay dividends in about another year or two, since women's basketball is upper class driven for the most part. Maybe she is turning it around. I hope so, but I will need to see this class followed by many more top 10 classes.
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Just a quick update. The all-knowing internet says SV has brought in a top 25 class for 9 years in a row. However, her 2015 class was the best one for her ever at #7 ESPN or #13 at another service. This 2015 class had 3 5-star players. (one was Cooper, who is showing up a year late). If these are the 3 5-star kids you are thinking about, then sorry, that recruiting stat doesn't really provide much sand in the she-can-recruit but can't-coach argument. If those kids are not the ones you are thinking about, then I revert back to my original statement that I might be wrong. Top 25 classes will not get you to the sweet-sixteen, right? You need top 15 classes at least. She hasn't been able to recruit at the level needed to get into the S16 until this past year - the class of 2015. I expect it to pay dividends in about another year or two, since women's basketball is upper class driven for the most part. Maybe she is turning it around. I hope so, but I will need to see this class followed by many more top 10 classes.
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So.. Vandy just signed BOTH the only coach to lead Purdue to a basketball national championship in my lifetime AND the captain of that team, each with professional coaching credentials and experience in television/media.
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After seeing our team fall to "common" I have lost a lot of interest. The difference between great and good in NCAA WBB hasn't helped either. I still follow the ladies but I think I need something to change for me come back some. I don't dislike our head coach but I would be excited if these two coaches were coming our way instead of the Vandy way. That's just me but I need a new bump and a personality change. I think there would have been a lot of new excitement here if we were going this direction instead of staying on this slow, no-thrills boat.
Firing Versyp and replacing her with Steph would have been a ballsy and aggressive move. Morgue doesn't do ballsy and aggressive.
On the bright side, it is Vandy not UConn. If she has some success there, the new AD (assuming he/she is not totally worthless) should be able to lure her back home in a couple years if Versyp continues to underperform.
former boilers/coaches must like the sec, as dunn officially comes out of retirement to join uk's staff.
Once again MB fails Purdue on his way out the door. He is content with every team at Purdue on the downswing while he is retiring. What a joke the athletic department and BOT have become.
I am not a fan of SV, but I do recognize her accomplishments. At Maine, she had a very good record (98-51), and won the conference championship something like 3 times in a row. That winning percentage is better than Lynn Dunn's overall record (65% vs 63%)..
I know Maine is not a powerhouse program, but never the less, she was a winner there. She also took over an IU program that was in the dumps, and engineered the second biggest turn around in IU athletic history, taking them to a winning record and an NIT berth. She had a far, far better collegiate record at the point we hired SV than Stephanie White has.
White has just about zero college coaching experience, and no experience in recruiting. That is why I am hesitant to declare White as some sort of savior we somehow missed getting. Personally, I hope S White becomes the second coming of John Wooden, and starts beating the crap out of UConn.
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It's not about hiring a known savior, because that is almost never possible. It is about looking for signs of potential to be GREAT versus picking a safe, inexpensive choice with fair to good accomplishments. Versyp was the safe choice. She did not cost a lot of money. She was not likely to be looking at Purdue as a stepping stone to the next job and, as far as I know at the time, she had never really failed at anything basketball related. Vanderbilt's hire of Stephanie White, however, gets them a coach who, as a player was more successful than Versyp; someone who has a National Championship ring; someone who has WNBA coaching experience and has taken a team to the WNBA finals; someone who has national exposure as a basketball commentator on ESPN; someone whose personality and abilities as a communicator are superior to Versyp's; and, someone who can bring, as a member of her staff, a coach who has won a National Championship and also has national television exposure, along with a history of having played at Vandy, coached as an assistant in the premiere women's college basketball program in the state and, at that time, in the nation. This adds up to many more qualifications which strongly suggest a great possibility for outstanding recruiting results. There are no guarantees, but I do not see how anybody could doubt that White and Peck are highly likely to have far more success in recruiting top national prospects than Versyp has ever had or will ever have. Add to that a proven knowledge of x's and o's and a demonstrated ability to motivate players (even pro players who are often harder to motivate than college players) and Stephanie White is the kind of bold, reach for the brass ring, kind of choice that I wish Burke and Daniels had the wisdom, guts and gumption to pursue. Give Stephanie and Carolyn the three or four years that it takes for a college women's basketball coach to make the program her own and I expect to see Vanderbilt consistently in the Top Ten and challenging for the Final Four. Purdue will continue to be mediocre at best and Purdue fans will only be able to think about what might have been. I don't think that it is possible to deny the enormous difference in the two hires.
I graduated from Purdue. I bleed gold and black. I attended the first basketball game ever played in Mackey Arena.. I bought my first Purdue Women's Basketball season tickets a couple of years before Purdue went to the first of three Final Fours (in 8 years) and I held my season tickets continuously through the first 7 years of Sharon Versyp. During one stretch, I did not miss a home game in three years. I traveled to post season games, including all three Final Fours. I used to be excited to watch and follow Purdue Women's Basketball. Now, I am more excited about watching and following Vanderbilt Women's Basketball. That makes me very sad. I wish Burke, Daniels and the Board of Trustees had cared about the program and that they had felt the desire to keep it great, instead of only safe and cheap.
I graduated from Purdue. I bleed gold and black. I attended the first basketball game ever played in Mackey Arena.. I bought my first Purdue Women's Basketball season tickets a couple of years before Purdue went to the first of three Final Fours (in 8 years) and I held my season tickets continuously through the first 7 years of Sharon Versyp. During one stretch, I did not miss a home game in three years. I traveled to post season games, including all three Final Fours. I used to be excited to watch and follow Purdue Women's Basketball. Now, I am more excited about watching and following Vanderbilt Women's Basketball. That makes me very sad. I wish Burke, Daniels and the Board of Trustees had cared about the program and that they had felt the desire to keep it great, instead of only safe and cheap.
I am not a fan of SV, but I do recognize her accomplishments. At Maine, she had a very good record (98-51), and won the conference championship something like 3 times in a row. That winning percentage is better than Lynn Dunn's overall record (65% vs 63%)..
I know Maine is not a powerhouse program, but never the less, she was a winner there. She also took over an IU program that was in the dumps, and engineered the second biggest turn around in IU athletic history, taking them to a winning record and an NIT berth. She had a far, far better collegiate record at the point we hired SV than Stephanie White has.
White has just about zero college coaching experience, and no experience in recruiting. That is why I am hesitant to declare White as some sort of savior we somehow missed getting. Personally, I hope S White becomes the second coming of John Wooden, and starts beating the crap out of UConn.
Yep I agree that Stephanie White is virtually unproven in college. I think that's one reason why she went after Carolyn Peck to be on her staff. Those two together do intrique me though. I think they will have an appeal to recruits also as they are likeable and known in the basketball world. I won't be surprised if they get some Indiana HS players their way. I do think that would be an upside to what we have been getting here lately but it's just "what ifs" now. They were part of the great times here so I think people will obviously feel like we should be their stop. Fans tend to dream about the good ole days when things have swayed. I'm included there.
I agree that the potential is there for White & Peck to be a great combination. Like you, I will be cheering for them to be successful.
I just caution about expectations here. Peck was HC for one year, no, two years (Correction from Old Gold - Thanks). She had kids who pretty much understood the game and won regardless of who coached. I don't credit Peck with building that team, or for that matter, giving them the core skills that allowed them to win the NC. As for White vs Versyp as a player, yes, no comparison. Does that translate to coaching? Many time it does not. It may take White & Peck a while to get going, and they will experience a learning curve.
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Agreed. That's why it would have been gutsy and visionary. Not how we roll.I agree that the potential is there for White & Peck to be a great combination. Like you, I will be cheering for them to be successful.
I just caution about expectations here. Peck was HC for one year, no, two years (Correction from Old Gold - Thanks). She had kids who pretty much understood the game and won regardless of who coached. I don't credit Peck with building that team, or for that matter, giving them the core skills that allowed them to win the NC. As for White vs Versyp as a player, yes, no comparison. Does that translate to coaching? Many time it does not. It may take White & Peck a while to get going, and they will experience a learning curve.
White and Peck hire Joy Cheek away from Ohio State adding more experience at high level programs. Cheek played and coached at Duke. Obviously money is not an issue for White who is almost certainly already making more, and perhaps much more, than SV.
Yep, By the last year of a six year contract she will be pushing $1 million. Those who do not follow WBB don't have a clue how highly regarded she is.
I don't know much about women's hoops, but I do know Steph is a winner. Morgue? Not so much. This really is a great finishing touch for his Purdue tenure.
Steph is going to rob the state of Indiana blind in recruiting. Just watch.
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