College Hoops Around The Country [TN opponents, RPI, others]

#17,326
#17,326
Col_Cathcart said:
Would you say more Beard or Muss like if we were to compare him to current SEC coaches in terms of toxic personality traits?
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I would say worse as he never reformed himself.

When he was at USCw he beat Bruce Pearl and UT in both games. He found his soul mate though. I remember his new wife sitting behind the USCw bench at the game in Thompson-Boling. Afterwards she engaged in a shouting match with UT fans seated nearby - including giving them the double, middle finger salute.
 
#17,327
#17,327
Col_Cathcart said:
Would you say more Beard or Muss like if we were to compare him to current SEC coaches in terms of toxic personality traits?
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Beard hasn’t shown a toxic personality on the court so it’s odd you’d include him. O’Neal was a constant stream of profanity on the sidelines to the extent that fans were complaining. He coached like an angry belligerent drill sargent. Not sure there’s currently a good comparison as times have changed such that athletes won’t sign up for that any longer and will hit the portal if it starts happening.
 
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#17,328
#17,328
knoxvol52 said:
Although I enjoy reading the post on whether Kevin O'Neill sucked or not.

How bout the job the Mayor Fred Hoiberg is doing at Nebraska?

Has turned the corner with that team and has an Assassin in Tominga..
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He needs to find a better basketball school and cash out. Maybe his old job at Iowa State opens up after this year. Iowa State in whatever is left of the Big 12 will be a better opportunity than Nebraska in a very tough Big 10. Otzelberger’s star is shining bright as well so maybe ISU will be hiring.
 
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#17,329
#17,329
walkenvol said:
Beard hasn’t shown a toxic personality on the court so it’s odd you’d include him. O’Neal was a constant stream of profanity on the sidelines to the extent that fans were complaining. He coached like an angry belligerent drill sargent. Not sure there’s currently a good comparison as times have changed such that athletes won’t sign up for that any longer and will hit the portal if it starts happening.
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TN needed that drill instructor coach in 1994 and it was still an effective approach 25 years ago. His act wouldn’t fly today. But that isn’t what I originally addressed. I indicated that most UT fans were disappointed when he scurried off to Northwestern and that he was a good coach that had the TN basketball program trending in the right direction. Jerry Green owes much of his success to KO. But CJG really underachieved with what he had.
 
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#17,330
#17,330
Thunder Good-Oil said:
had the TN basketball program trending in the right direction. Jerry Green owes much of his success to KO. But CJG really underachieved with what he had.
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I can agree with this 100%. My impression was his management and the donors were fine with his departure and were exhausted with his caustic personality. However, I suspect it didn’t matter when he left as he proved to be incapable of sticking anywhere more than a few seasons.
 
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#17,331
#17,331
walkenvol said:
I can agree with this 100%. My impression was his management and the donors were fine with his departure and were exhausted with his caustic personality. However, I suspect it didn’t matter when he left as he proved to be incapable of sticking anywhere more than a few seasons.
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His 3 year tenure reminds me of Kiffin’s one year. Controversial and especially shocking when they left. Both were asses.

KO’s departure would have been far more palatable had TN made a homerun replacement hire. That's another similarity with Kiffin. Jerry Green and Derek Dooley. Although Jerry Green was a better coach than Bab’s kid Precious was.
 
#17,332
#17,332
walkenvol said:
Beard hasn’t shown a toxic personality on the court so it’s odd you’d include him. O’Neal was a constant stream of profanity on the sidelines to the extent that fans were complaining. He coached like an angry belligerent drill sargent. Not sure there’s currently a good comparison as times have changed such that athletes won’t sign up for that any longer and will hit the portal if it starts happening.
Click to expand...
I included them as examples of toxic on and off because it wasn’t obvious to me in what ways and contexts KO was toxic. I wanted to span the spectrum.

That said, I’m a little troubled by how someone always seems to jump to defend/excuse Beard on here. Not you specifically, but there’s always someone.
 
#17,333
#17,333
O'Neill took over from a 5-22 team which was one of the worst I can ever remember in the SEC. That wasn't getting fixed very quickly and UT was a tough sell for basketball as a football school with a football AD who cared very little about what was happening in Thompson-Boling Arena. I thought O'Neill was doing a solid job of breaking the program down and then building it back up. A lot of the players who were a part of the 20 win seasons were there because of his recruiting or the groundwork he laid. He did seem to be destined to flame out with his personality.

I still think his hire was a solid one for the moment, but we pissed away a chance to hire Bill Self to follow him ("I can't hire the guy from Oral Roberts.") and take the baton for a really great group of athletes in place at the time.
 
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#17,337
#17,337
roberthunter said:
He says he forgot them, then blamed it on his "company going out of business." Strange.
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He did say last week that South Carolina would be ranked after they beat us. And then two days later he lost his job. Maybe he did just simply forget them. I will give him the benefit of the doubt this time. I wouldn't be surprised if he submitted a nearly identical Top 25 this week to the one he submitted last week, just moving a few teams around.
 
#17,338
#17,338
Was "The Messenger" his primary job? Isn't he still employed as an on-air college bball analyst for CBS?

I believe that it was a simple mistake, it just seems weird to throw out excuses when knowing about college basketball is still his primary job, regardless of whether one publication he worked for shuttered.
 
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