Mitchell is going to have problems recruiting high profile players in the future. Something's not right within the program and it's causing multiple players to leave and recruits to back out of commitments. That alone will be used against UK by other schools recruiting the same players as UK. My guess as long as Mitchell is coach these issues will remain, and UK will be looking at some lean years in women's basketball until something changes.

The sad thing about this situation is, except for the Yow years back in the 1970s, UK was irrelevant in hoops ball until Mitchell arrived on campus. He built the program into one that had ranked teams and was in the hunt for SEC championships. And now everything appears to be crashing down around him.

Mitchell is going to have problems recruiting high profile players in the future. Something's not right within the program and it's causing multiple players to leave and recruits to back out of commitments. That alone will be used against UK by other schools recruiting the same players as UK. My guess as long as Mitchell is coach these issues will remain, and UK will be looking at some lean years in women's basketball until something changes.

The sad thing about this situation is, except for the Yow years back in the 1970s, UK was irrelevant in hoops ball until Mitchell arrived on campus. He built the program into one that had ranked teams and was in the hunt for SEC championships. And now everything appears to be crashing down around him.

 

And it happened so fast. It's very unfortunate.

Im just going by what was said from someone who knows people involved. They said more than one person has mentioned Epps attitude as terrible and assistant coaches were fed up with Mitchell not doing anything to her.

 

Dont shoot the messenger. It could be false, I have no clue.

Or maybe Mitchell was seen by the girls as playing and having favorites. Different rules for different people.

 

Do coaches let star players get by with more than an ordinary player? maybe Mitchell was letting Epps get by with more.

 

I still dont believe it was due to Mitchell staying home more with a new baby. I call bull on that.

Maybe it more accurately could be described as disengaging with the critical aspects that the HC, and only the HC can take care of. With the disengagement the demanding HC appears to be "more, and more a jerk" and the players begin to distance themselves as a defensive, coping mechanism. Finally, they individually desire more from their playing/college experience and look for nirvana elsewhere. One leaves, and then the domino effect. All smart enough to not slam the door on the way out. The phrase..."loose lips, sink ships" seems appropriate. But, in this case, tight lips have had the same affect.

 

A major quandry, and one that will be very hard to turn the ship around. A previous poster suggested that perhaps the best thing for UK and Mitchell's future career would be his departure. The more I think about it, the more credibility that observation becomes. Wonder if I am all prunes in my thinking?

Maybe Mitchell should have gone to NKU and UK kept Whitaker.

For those of you that know me personally will know I have been very quiet on this and for good reason. But I will tell you this. Any problem that UK has now, has nothing to do with Epps. @magicfan217 speaks the truth.

Herald this morning has article noting interview Lindsey Corsaro(sp?) gave with ESPNW about her recent UK decommit. The 6'1" All-American had originally committed as a sophomore and multiple assistant coaching staffs ago. Forgive me for paraphrasing, but I have no clue how to attach the article. She said, they originally wanted a major culture change (???????) and many girls left. Then assistant coaches left, taking those relationships with them.

 

She did not throw Mitchell directly under the bus and even thanked him for granting the release, stating he wants what is best for the players.

UK recruit explains to ESPN why she bolted Mitchell’s program | Lexington Herald-Leader

 

“Initially, they were making a culture change,” Corsaro told ESPNW, “and girls who didn’t fall in line with that culture left.”

I will go with my original thoughts.

So what kind of culture change are we talking about?

 

What in the culture change made so many want to leave?

So what kind of culture change are we talking about?

 

What in the culture change made so many want to leave?

 

Look at this for face value. She said that they were committed to a culture change, and said the assistants that were there( or two of them to make this clear) were alot of why that was going on along with Coach Mitchell. Now those two assistants who recruited her( Amadou and Whitaker) were no longer there they were concerned. Now why were they concerned? Who were the coaches that was there before to have created a program that needed a culture change you say? Go back a few years and you tell me who the coaches were and what players were there? Sometimes the answers are right in front of our face is we look close enough.

Whatever the reason-- it's embarrassing.

Look at this for face value. She said that they were committed to a culture change, and said the assistants that were there( or two of them to make this clear) were alot of why that was going on along with Coach Mitchell. Now those two assistants who recruited her( Amadou and Whitaker) were no longer there they were concerned. Now why were they concerned? Who were the coaches that was there before to have created a program that needed a culture change you say? Go back a few years and you tell me who the coaches were and what players were there? Sometimes the answers are right in front of our face is we look close enough.

 

So reading between the lines, was the culture change that was mentioned just a play on words used in the recruiting circuit to draw players in and make them feel they could have an immediate impact. Now this has back fired because Mitchell is bringing back former coaches (Who left to go to Arch Rivals at the time) who he blamed cultural problems around?

So reading between the lines, was the culture change that was mentioned just a play on words used in the recruiting circuit to draw players in and make them feel they could have an immediate impact. Now this has back fired because Mitchell is bringing back former coaches (Who left to go to Arch Rivals at the time) who he blamed cultural problems around?

 

No. Nothing like that.

Matthew Mitchell: What I Have Learned

 

Since the last time I spoke publicly on April 27, much has happened in our program. I have to be honest, there have been some very, very difficult moments these past two weeks. Players transferring, recruits decommitting and a complete turnover of our coaching staff was not what I had hoped for nor expected at the end of the 2015-16 season. All of that happening put our remaining players, our remaining staff, the media and our loyal and devoted fans in a state of confusion.

 

I have had to look in the mirror and ask myself an important question, “How did all of this happen?” How could we have success in the classroom, in our community and on the court during the 2015-16 season and simultaneously have players and coaches wanting to leave at an alarming rate?

 

While it’s impossible for me to know every detail, what I do know is this: through all of the upheaval and all of the painful moments, I have learned lessons that will stay with me forever and will ultimately make me a much better coach.

 

Among the many things that I have learned in this experience, there is one that really sticks out that I want to share with you. Upon much reflection, I now know that over the past four years there were certain things that I thought had become automatic in our program because of our previous success. I’m not talking about “kicking back, not working and believing things would just happen” kind of automatic. Many players, coaches and support staff have worked very hard over the past four years. We achieved results in the classroom and on the court that most programs would be very pleased with.

 

What I now clearly see is my failure to get what was in my head and in my heart to enough people to prevent something like this from happening. Good intentions are worthless if they are not communicated effectively. I needed to be more involved in the details of our success and communicate that to people more effectively. I am grateful to so many people who have taken the time to listen, provide constructive criticism and share wisdom gained from their experience in an effort to help me improve.

 

I am grateful to the countless number of people in the Lexington community and around the country who have supported me during this difficult stretch. I have received prayers, handwritten notes, phone calls, text messages, people just stopping me for a word of encouragement, you name it. I have had incredible support and I am so very thankful for that! During the most difficult times, those words of encouragement and the strength I gain from God have kept my vision clear.

 

While I know I can and will improve, I also know that the foundation of this program is very strong. We will be more committed than ever to our program’s Winning Tools: Honesty, Hard Work and Discipline, and use those tools to improve our program and make it stronger than ever before.

 

Our players, their parents, our staff and our administration are determined to make this program better than ever. We will not give in to negativity. We will not be discouraged by rumors of some scandal that does not exist. We will stay laser-focused on building our roster for 2016-17, diligently planning and organizing for a great summer of growth and communicating all of the positive realities that exist at Kentucky. I have never been more determined to get our program to the top. We will get there!

 

Thanks to everyone in the Big Blue Nation who has shown their unwavering support. The players who have stayed together with us through this tough time gain strength from your love. You are a huge part of why they are here and they need you. Please keep it coming, BBN! We will honor that love and support with an effort that will continue to make you proud of our program.

 

Finally, I thank God for giving me this opportunity to grow as a person. I will learn from the lessons He is providing!

 

‘til the Battle is won!

Matthew Mitchell