Bruce Pearls honeymoon is over. Its time to be a real coach. Will that ever happen?

#26
#26
Vercingetorix said:
Search for Hat's comment about overhearing an NBA scout saying something about how Pearl's system is built around alley cats, and wondering how much success he'd have running it with fat cats. It's proven to be a pretty prophetic statement.

Add in the fact that we don't have any perimeter shooters anymore, and that half-court defense is not a part of the Pearl system, and you've pretty much got what we are now.
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:thumbsup: agreed 100%. i remember going back the first two years under Pearl, the comment he made about the 3rd year.....how will this team being on top of the mountain? it's a lot easier to climb the mountain than it is to stay on top of it.

Pearl knew then what we see now.

that said, the youth on this team.....so many new parts.....collectively they just aren't very good yet.

they will get better. Pearl is fine in my book.
 
#27
#27
This team will great in 2 years time. This year it is going to be painful. Sigh. At least we have beaten all the teams we should have but 1
 
#30
#30
dickens821 said:
This team will great in 2 years time. This year it is going to be painful. Sigh. At least we have beaten all the teams we should have but 1
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I'm ok with growing pains in losing, but someone breaking school records and dropping 54 on us is not acceptable.
 
#32
#32
If any of you were fans of the Vols BB program in the '80s and '90s this thread is completely unnecessary. Some of us have been waiting a long time for the passion surrounding this program right now. Be upset, that's fine. Do NOT be absolutely ridiculous in your expectations for UT basketball.

THINK before you post. Hisory and actuality do count. Always check your references.
 
#35
#35
roswellvol said:
If any of you were fans of the Vols BB program in the '80s and '90s this thread is completely unnecessary. Some of us have been waiting a long time for the passion surrounding this program right now. Be upset, that's fine. Do NOT be absolutely ridiculous in your expectations for UT basketball.

THINK before you post. Hisory and actuality do count. Always check your references.
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I agree, it is nice that we are competitive at least.
 
#37
#37
roswellvol said:
If any of you were fans of the Vols BB program in the '80s and '90s this thread is completely unnecessary. Some of us have been waiting a long time for the passion surrounding this program right now. Be upset, that's fine. Do NOT be absolutely ridiculous in your expectations for UT basketball.

THINK before you post. Hisory and actuality do count. Always check your references.
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Stop living in the past. Sure - that was great to say Pearl's first year but eventually you need to get over that crap. I'm pretty sure Florida sucked at football and basketball before the 90s - I guess they shouldn't complain if they suddenly start losing in either as well. That's a horrible mentality - hopefully our team doesn't have the same.
 
#40
#40
roswellvol said:
If any of you were fans of the Vols BB program in the '80s and '90s this thread is completely unnecessary. Some of us have been waiting a long time for the passion surrounding this program right now. Be upset, that's fine. Do NOT be absolutely ridiculous in your expectations for UT basketball.

THINK before you post. Hisory and actuality do count. Always check your references.
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I was a student during the Wade Houston era. Sat through a lot of really, really bad basketball. And I don't think it's unnecessary or ridiculous to question whether we're seeing the limits of what we can expect from Bruce Pearl as a coach.

He's had an amazing run just putting some life back into Tennessee basketball, but now that we're into the fourth year, it's pretty clear that as a coach he's got some pretty glaring deficiencies. Whether they are fatal or not remains to be seen.
 
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#41
#41
Meeks was unbelievable but when you can shoot and no one guards you a big night will happen. Until we play intense half court defense we will lose more often than we should. Jimmy Dykes said it appears some of the Vols are not upset at being scored on. Pretty accurate observation. Pearl has his work cut out for him and he knows it.
 
#42
#42
Vercingetorix said:
I was a student during the Wade Houston era. Sat through a lot of really, really bad basketball. And I don't think it's unnecessary or ridiculous to question whether we're seeing the limits of what we can expect from Bruce Pearl as a coach.

He's had an amazing run just putting some life back into Tennessee basketball, but now that we're into the fourth year, it's pretty clear that as a coach he's got some pretty glaring deficiencies. Whether they are fatal or not remains to be seen.
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well said. still think this team is young and getting to know itself....but i agree with your assertion here.
 
#44
#44
I wish we could develop a mean streak. I think that is the biggest missing element right now. We are soft.
 
#45
#45
Old teams played with heart. Lofton had heart, J smith, Bradshaw, watson. there is very little heart on this team. tyler smith has some, and wayne is coming on but thats it. Why has JP not showed improvement? maze? Hopson is not living up to the hype. yes i know he is only a freshman. There is no motivation from the sidelines. Im not saying pearl is a bad coach. he has done great thing for the program but it time to win some big games. We shoul at worst have 2 losses with this team. We have talent, soft but we have talent.
 
#46
#46
ole_orange said:
I don't understand why he did great with lesser talent, and now that he has big time prospects he is losing?
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because basketball IQ has dropped significantly. here's the thing. you see teams w/ lesser talent beat teams w/ all kinds of talent. why is this? because the guys who have lesser talent are usually students of the game. they know they don't have the ability that the other guys have but they out smart them.
 
#47
#47
Pearl's star isn't shining as brightly---he needs to recruit some players who can rebound and play D against good teams--not a bunch of finesse 3 point shooters. That will not cut it in the SEC.
 
#48
#48
Vercingetorix said:
Search for Hat's comment about overhearing an NBA scout saying something about how Pearl's system is built around alley cats, and wondering how much success he'd have running it with fat cats. It's proven to be a pretty prophetic statement.

Add in the fact that we don't have any perimeter shooters anymore, and that half-court defense is not a part of the Pearl system, and you've pretty much got what we are now.
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Absolutely agree. I don't have a great understanding of the game as do many on the board, but I would really like to see Pearl modify his system. My favorite brand of basketball was UNLV under Jerry Tarkanian; those teams certainly pressed and played strong transition basketball, but they also played very good defense. Perhaps not the best defense around, but much stronger than what we see with the current system. I would love for Pearl to run a similar system at UT.
 
#49
#49
i guess you guys have never coached or been on a young team.
bottom line is it takes a long time to figure out a team this young...that is a fact...and even though there are people like Wayne and Tyler and JP that have experience its just not a team right now.
 
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