2000-01=2008-09

#1
hatvol96

hatvol96

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#1
I hate to say it, but this team is 2000-01 V.2. Before anyone goes crazy, while I am certainly not Bruce's biggest fan, I am not comparing him to Uncle Jed. That disclaimer aside, this is again going to be a team people are going to believe in without evidence. We're going to keep saying they'll get it together, while every reasonable measure says we won't.
 
#2
#2
Yeah, as far as I can tell, there's very little improvement. About the only thing that I can point to is Wayne finally getting some consistency and playing like a big guy.
 
#3
#3
at this point in the season, it's gonig to be hard for me to see anything different, until shown something different.

against lesser talented teams we'll dominate. when we play more talented teams that can match up, we'll struggle. FL, KY, Memphis and maybe even ARK will all give us fits. and i'm sure there's a couple more clunkers in the conf. that will present a terrible match up for us.

what do you guys think......4-6 losses in the SEC this year?
 
#4
#4
I'm chalking a good portion of the Georgetown game to perhaps us being very difficult to prepare for on 24 hours' notice. It's mostly been downhill since then. We're very fortunate that the SEC is down.
 
#5
#5
jakez4ut said:
at this point in the season, it's gonig to be hard for me to see anything different, until shown something different.

against lesser talented teams we'll dominate. when we play more talented teams that can match up, we'll struggle. FL, KY, Memphis and maybe even ARK will all give us fits. and i'm sure there's a couple more clunkers in the conf. that will present a terrible match up for us.

what do you guys think......4-6 losses in the SEC this year?
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We'll know more on Saturday. A loss at UGA would be a disaster right now.
 
#6
#6
I think 11-5 to 10-6 is probable in the SEC this year. And the SEC is not that good this year.
 
#7
#7
hatvol96 said:
I hate to say it, but this team is 2000-01 V.2. Before anyone goes crazy, while I am certainly not Bruce's biggest fan, I am not comparing him to Uncle Jed. That disclaimer aside, this is again going to be a team people are going to believe in without evidence. We're going to keep saying they'll get it together, while every reasonable measure says we won't.
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Hope springs eternal.


Unfortunately, I have shifted from thinking this team will improve to hoping it will. I'm on the verge of losing hope though.
 
#8
#8
hatvol96 said:
I hate to say it, but this team is 2000-01 V.2. Before anyone goes crazy, while I am certainly not Bruce's biggest fan, I am not comparing him to Uncle Jed. That disclaimer aside, this is again going to be a team people are going to believe in without evidence. We're going to keep saying they'll get it together, while every reasonable measure says we won't.
Click to expand...

I had been avoiding this conclusion, but I fear that you're right. I could certainly see us limping into the Dance as a 7 or 8 seed (after losing to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals) and getting humiliated in the first round by a solid mid-major.
 
#9
#9
Let's just avoid pulling the plug on the coach over one down/transition/rebuilding/disappointing year. This isn't the NBA.
 
#10
#10
OWB said:
Yeah, as far as I can tell, there's very little improvement. About the only thing that I can point to is Wayne finally getting some consistency and playing like a big guy.
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I thought he was too. But last night he got out of position several times and got beat at crucial moments.
 
#11
#11
hatvol96 said:
I hate to say it, but this team is 2000-01 V.2. Before anyone goes crazy, while I am certainly not Bruce's biggest fan, I am not comparing him to Uncle Jed. That disclaimer aside, this is again going to be a team people are going to believe in without evidence. We're going to keep saying they'll get it together, while every reasonable measure says we won't.
Click to expand...

truth.

2000-01 without the Tony Harris-like antics, hopefully.
 
#12
#12
I was hopeful that this season would be more like the '06/'07 season where things were shaky at the start but steadily improved as the season went along... but it looks to be the opposite of that, if anything, so far this season.
 
#13
#13
I've begun hoping that the younger players will at least improve for next year.
 
#14
#14
Our only prayer is that a defensive light comes on at some point like it did last season.
 
#15
#15
Isn't it funny how much of the talk coming into this season centered around how much better the overall defense would be this season since the team would be more athletic and quick now that Lofton was gone?
 
#17
#17
tidwell said:
Isn't it funny how much of the talk coming into this season centered around how much better the overall defense would be this season since the team would be more athletic and quick now that Lofton was gone?
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thinking that too.
 
#18
#18
tidwell said:
Isn't it funny how much of the talk coming into this season centered around how much better the overall defense would be this season since the team would be more athletic and quick now that Lofton was gone?
Click to expand...

There were times - however brief - during last night's game where UT actually played fairly decent half-court defense. They simply can't sustain it for more than 2 or 3 possessions at a time. It's as if they have to be constantly reminded: "oh, yeah, we have to guard and box out - almost forgot there."
 
#19
#19
DowntownVol said:
There were times - however brief - during last night's game where UT actually played fairly decent half-court defense. They simply can't sustain it for more than 2 or 3 possessions at a time. It's as if they have to be constantly reminded: "oh, yeah, we have to guard and box out - almost forgot there."
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I couldn't agree more. There were a few possessions where they played desperation defense and even forced a turnover late when they had to and a 5 second call in OT. That shows they can do it. The difference is that past Pearl teams did it throughout the game instead of just "critical" times.
 
#20
#20
DowntownVol said:
There were times - however brief - during last night's game where UT actually played fairly decent half-court defense. They simply can't sustain it for more than 2 or 3 possessions at a time. It's as if they have to be constantly reminded: "oh, yeah, we have to guard and box out - almost forgot there."
Click to expand...
I hadn't really thought about it before Bilas said anything, but it did look like the defense was better following a possession in which they scored. It didn't hold true throughout the entire game, but I think it did more often than not.
 
#21
#21
I've seen 35 UT basketball seasons. From my view this one falls into the "average team" category that will just accomplish average things. Not a bad team but not a good one either. I am not expecting any more improvement the rest of the year. Just more of the same. Might be NIT bound rather than NCAA bound. Depends if the rest of the SEC improves throughout the year.

So, yes I agree its around the same caliber of the 00-01 team.
 
#22
#22
tidwell said:
Isn't it funny how much of the talk coming into this season centered around how much better the overall defense would be this season since the team would be more athletic and quick now that Lofton was gone?
Click to expand...

Yeah, we were supposed to be good on defense.
 
#23
#23
ZZ13 said:
I've seen 35 UT basketball seasons. From my view this one falls into the "average team" category that will just accomplish average things. Not a bad team but not a good one either. I am not expecting any more improvement the rest of the year. Just more of the same. Might be NIT bound rather than NCAA bound. Depends if the rest of the SEC improves throughout the year.

So, yes I agree its around the same caliber of the 00-01 team.
Click to expand...

I've been alive for 35 UT basketball seasons, and although I can't claim to remember the first few, neither this year or '00-'01 qualifies as "average" over that time period in my estimation.

20+ wins, a likely NCAA bid, and a shot at an SEC title is above the norm for the Volunteers during that span.
 
#24
#24
yeah, let's have a little perspective on this....this team will play in the post sesaon more than likely.

it wasn't that long ago that "post season play" and "tennessee basketball" were miles and miles apart. the simple fact we care enough to complain tells me how far this program has come.
 
#25
#25
cotton said:
I've been alive for 35 UT basketball seasons, and although I can't claim to remember the first few, neither this year or '00-'01 qualifies as "average" over that time period in my estimation.

20+ wins, a likely NCAA bid, and a shot at an SEC title is above the norm for the Volunteers during that span.
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I'll agree with that. Probably too few categories in my 3-tier rating scale. "Average to good", then.
 
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