This team is really bad. Coach Ezell talks a big game, but has failed to back it up. Gone thru assistant after assistant and continues to recruit very poorly. Lost Whitson from DB because of the party habits of current players. Had one of the best of all time in Tarter and failed to put anything around her. Time for a change.

She recruited Tianna Tarter, played for a SoCon championship last year and it’s time for a change? I don’t know about all that. Maybe some players aren’t taking things as serious or are partying too much this year, but I don’t know about firing someone and paying a buyout just yet.

Besides Tarter and Haynes Overton who else has she recruited that has been a great player

There are lots of reasons to criticize Ezell. I don't think she is a great recruiter or in-game coach and I hate the way she acts on the sidelines. However, she has increased the overall profile of women's basketball at ETSU (BTW: Ezell doesn't like them to be called the "lady bucs") and until the fans bail on her I think we should keep her. I don't think we should be buying out contracts for women's basketball, it just doesn't produce enough revenue and the upside isn't good enough to justify that.

She had more resources than her predecessor ever had and she has failed, miserably. Guess the good news is I'm sure Franklin High could use a girls basketball coach and she can come back home.

Individual awards:

ETSU individual awards

FWIW...........on ESPN minus at ~1:15 vs. Wooferettes.

When this team has faced adversity this season, they haven't responded well. Today is another example of that. Just not very disciplined.

So being nosey I decided to do a very simplistic comparative analysis of Brittney Ezell's six years against the six years prior to her arrival just to see the numbers. So here we go.
Brittney Ezell Postseason Karen Kemp Postseason
Year Wins Losses Year Wins Losses
2013-2014 9 21 2007-2008 22 12 NCAA
2014-2015 21 12 WNIT 2008-2009 20 11 NCAA
2015-2016 16 14 2009-2010 22 9 NCAA
2016-2017 16 14 2010-2011 19 12
2017-2018 20 13 2011-2012 8 22
2018-2019 10 21 2012-2013 8 18
92 95 1 99 84 3

The formatting here is a little off, but based on the statistics available at etsubucs.com, the prior six years produced three consecutive NCAA tournaments as opposed to one NIT berth, seven more wins, 11 less losses. Three 20 win seasons as opposed to two. In each staff's four best years, Karen Kemp averaged 20.75 wins per season in her final six years while Ezell's four best years averaged 18.25. In terms of losses, Kemp's four best years lost two fewer games per year on average at 11 per vs. Ezell's 13.25. On average, Brittney Ezell has won 15.33 games per year and lost 15.83 games per year while Karen Kemp in her final six years won 16.5 games per year and lost 14 games per year.
So in a business predicated on winning and getting to the postseason, ETSU women's basketball in the metrics that truly matter the most have NOT been as successful as the previous six years in terms of Total wins, average wins per season, and NCAA tournament appearances, which in this case would coincide with conference championships. Bottom line, six years and the results aren't there. Time for a change.

While I can see all that, one could argue that this year is a case of postpartum depression - the "partum" part meaning the parting of Tianna Tarter. Altho Haynes-Overton is the real deal, she's not the floor general Tarter was. I think this team needs to find a "new identity". I don't know what that is, or could be, but as I said way back early on, those shoes just can't be filled by one person. I'd lean towards at least one more year. And altho your stats we'll assume are accurate, Ezell has certainly done A LOT to lift the visibility of the program. Further........did you take into account the rough schedule this year, and more recently? Without going back to look, I'd bet over the last 6 years the SOS has been *way* stronger. Maybe do something like look up the season-ending RPI of all those years. Just sayin'..........

And honestly...........I just can't imagine Scott Carter reeling in a great get (and of course I could very easily be wrong on that) - but maybe Sander can still weigh in.

(03-07-2019 09:11 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  So being nosey I decided to do a very simplistic comparative analysis of Brittney Ezell's six years against the six years prior to her arrival just to see the numbers. So here we go.
Brittney Ezell Postseason Karen Kemp Postseason
Year Wins Losses Year Wins Losses
2013-2014 9 21 2007-2008 22 12 NCAA
2014-2015 21 12 WNIT 2008-2009 20 11 NCAA
2015-2016 16 14 2009-2010 22 9 NCAA
2016-2017 16 14 2010-2011 19 12
2017-2018 20 13 2011-2012 8 22
2018-2019 10 21 2012-2013 8 18
92 95 1 99 84 3

The formatting here is a little off, but based on the statistics available at etsubucs.com, the prior six years produced three consecutive NCAA tournaments as opposed to one NIT berth, seven more wins, 11 less losses. Three 20 win seasons as opposed to two. In each staff's four best years, Karen Kemp averaged 20.75 wins per season in her final six years while Ezell's four best years averaged 18.25. In terms of losses, Kemp's four best years lost two fewer games per year on average at 11 per vs. Ezell's 13.25. On average, Brittney Ezell has won 15.33 games per year and lost 15.83 games per year while Karen Kemp in her final six years won 16.5 games per year and lost 14 games per year.
So in a business predicated on winning and getting to the postseason, ETSU women's basketball in the metrics that truly matter the most have NOT been as successful as the previous six years in terms of Total wins, average wins per season, and NCAA tournament appearances, which in this case would coincide with conference championships. Bottom line, six years and the results aren't there. Time for a change.

Please. All those years under Kemp were in the ASun and Ezell has been in the SoCon. Big difference there. She finished fourth in the league at 8-6 and played a brutal OOC schedule, something with a SOS in the 20’s nationally. If my bosses came and complained about it to me and I were her, I would go schedule a bunch of patsies next year that I could beat.

But no, she hasn’t done that. She’s scheduled the toughest schedule anyone ever has here, and I’ll bet Scott Carter and Noland expected that from her. She’s also brought the Vols in here soon to be TWICE. That hadn’t been done before she came.

So while I agree, the program isn’t where any of us want it, it isn’t time for a change yet either. If any of you guys have a couple hundred thousand you want to give, then I’m sure Scott Carter would listen at least briefly, but until then, no one else is looking for a change.

SoCon women's basketball has been horrible for awhile. Mercer is going to win the tourney and go in as a 16, barring an upset, Florida Gulf Coast will be a 14 and Mercer a 16. Last season, Mercer was a 13, FGCU a 12, year before both were a 13. Here's the deal, Brittney Ezell has had far more resources in terms of money and facilities and has not gotten it done. The numbers cannot be disputed, in a cycle and a half of recruiting she has ONE NIT berth and in the previous six there were three NCAA berths in a time that saw the Gulf Coast women ranked in the AP and USA Today Coaches top 25 at times.
I realize the money situation is what it is at ETSU, but if we're looking at results, all Ezell really has accomplished is a viral post game rant, and a bunch of cliches. Basically, she's Butch Jones with longer hair and less knowledge of X's and O's.
And since this is solely based on numbers, I ran some more. In the same "weak A-Sun" you mentioned, Ezell inherited a 15-15 team and and went 23-38 as a member of the A-Sun. In her time at Belmont, she went 42-51 as a head coach, her best year being an 18-14 season. Belmont is about to win their fourth straight conference title in women's basketball and will be seeded way higher than Mercer this year.
So Richard Sander's marquee hire, he didn't hire Randy Sanders, he gets credit for Steve Forbes but let's be honest with ourselves, Scott Carter had that connection as he WORKED AT TENNESSEE when Coach Forbes was there. That was his connection and relationship, not ol' Dickard.
So Brittney Ezell for her career:
2010-2011 11 20
2011-2012 12 18
2012-2013 18 14
2013-2014 9 21
2014-2015 21 12
2015-2016 16 14
2016-2017 16 14
2017-2018 20 13
2018-2019 10 21
14.77777778 16.33333333
Five winning seasons in one bid leagues, an overall sub .500 head coach in her career and sub .500 at ETSU with one WNIT appearance. That's it. Both programs, one after she left and one before she got there had performed better against better competition and that can't be disputed.
She hasn't brought the Lady Vols to town, Scott has because he knows Phil Fulmer to the point he's allowed to call him Phillip.
The OOC schedules may have been tough, but those don't determine conference championships, winning during the conference does and the bottom line is she hasn't gotten it done after six years and that can't be disputed. Zero conference titles, zero NCAA tournament appearances. She's had enough time. Steve Forbes inherited a mess and has been to multiple postseasons and wins more than 20 games annually.

More comparisons. So Belmont, the first two years after she left were sub .500, year three, 24-9, won the OVC and had wins over Troy, Wake Forest, and UAB. Pretty good OOC wins.
ETSU in year three under Ezell, 16-14 though in year two they did make the WNIT. Belmont has continued to get better and flourish, they were a 12 seed last year and are projected to be a 12 seed again this year. Maybe Brittney can come home, visit the family out in Wilco and take in the Lady Bruins at Kings Dining and Entertainment in Cool Springs. She's never been. Not as a player, not as a coach. We hired someone to take over our program with a losing record as a head coach and it shows. She belongs at Ezell-Harding not ETSU.

I tried to find a metric that would paint Ezell in a better light. Head to head competition.
She was .500 against ETSU as Belmont's head coach. 2-2 record.
Progress I guess, something she's at least .500 at.

Wasn't this predictable given the schedule?

Played:
Cincinnati on the road
Michigan State on the road
Radford on the road (#1 in the Big South and 22-6 with a 14 game winning streak)
Troy (#3 in the Sunbelt and 21-7 overall)
South Carolina on the road (Currently ranked 12th)
Western Kentucky on the road (17-13 and 4th in CUSA)
Rutgers on the road (21-8 and 3rd in the Big 10)
South Alabama (20-8 and 5th in the Sunbelt)
Tennessee on the road,
Etc.

16 non conference games, 10 on the road if my count is correct.

Player confidence is a terrible attribute to lose.

I have no idea what the expectations are for the program. It is possible that the current state of the program is fine. I do not think the out of conference schedule is the problem as most mid majors would lose those game. More problematic I think is the team finishing middle of the pack in a mid major league that is not that good overall. But that could be meeting expectations. Just do not know.

(03-08-2019 04:55 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  I have no idea what the expectations are for the program. It is possible that the current state of the program is fine. I do not think the out of conference schedule is the problem as most mid majors would lose those game. More problematic I think is the team finishing middle of the pack in a mid major league that is not that good overall. But that could be meeting expectations. Just do not know.

Most mid majors would lose those games, but would most mid majors play them in a single season?

(03-08-2019 07:15 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-08-2019 04:55 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  I have no idea what the expectations are for the program. It is possible that the current state of the program is fine. I do not think the out of conference schedule is the problem as most mid majors would lose those game. More problematic I think is the team finishing middle of the pack in a mid major league that is not that good overall. But that could be meeting expectations. Just do not know.

Most mid majors would lose those games, but would most mid majors play them in a single season?

This must mean the program is meeting expectations. They just need to schedule weak teams.

(03-08-2019 07:57 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  

(03-08-2019 07:15 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-08-2019 04:55 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  I have no idea what the expectations are for the program. It is possible that the current state of the program is fine. I do not think the out of conference schedule is the problem as most mid majors would lose those game. More problematic I think is the team finishing middle of the pack in a mid major league that is not that good overall. But that could be meeting expectations. Just do not know.

Most mid majors would lose those games, but would most mid majors play them in a single season?

This must mean the program is meeting expectations. They just need to schedule weak teams.

You may be correct, I don't know. While I wish they were headed to the NCAA, they finished tied for 3rd in the conference after playing a difficult and demoralizing out of conference schedule.

My point is that, given this schedule, the results/record shouldn't have come as a surprise.

(03-08-2019 08:02 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-08-2019 07:57 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  

(03-08-2019 07:15 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-08-2019 04:55 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  I have no idea what the expectations are for the program. It is possible that the current state of the program is fine. I do not think the out of conference schedule is the problem as most mid majors would lose those game. More problematic I think is the team finishing middle of the pack in a mid major league that is not that good overall. But that could be meeting expectations. Just do not know.

Most mid majors would lose those games, but would most mid majors play them in a single season?

This must mean the program is meeting expectations. They just need to schedule weak teams.

You may be correct, I don't know. While I wish they were headed to the NCAA, they finished tied for 3rd in the conference after playing a difficult and demoralizing out of conference schedule.

My point is that, given this schedule, the results/record shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Then they should start scheduling weaker ooc teams.