Could be the biggest underachieving team in UT history

#276
#276
VolArmy74 said:
I wouldn't. Honestly, having lived through Mears time, he underachieved vs the talent he had on campus. Especially in the post-season. Mears had a lot of very good teams here but never a really great one, even though he had great talent. Bruce was more successful in the lower ranks, had a higher peak at Tennessee and has worked miracles at Auburn. The SEC is more competitive in this era than it was in the Mears era too. Mears was 0-4 in the big tournament and 4-8 overall here in the post season. Ernie and Bernie losing to VMI hurts to this day.
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I don't know that the SEC is any more competitive now vs then. We'll agree to disagree
 
#278
#278
Thunder Good-Oil said:
It’s a false narrative to suggest that KY and TN were the only SEC schools to take basketball seriously. And comparing NCAA records is being ignorant to the differences... not only was there only one bid per conference for most of Mears’ time at TN, but teams were not seeded at all. Games weren’t even televised. There are nearly twice as many teams in today’s NCAA field as were in the NCAA plus NIT in the 1960s. Mears was forced out as TN broke through onto the national stage while Pearl put TN even further back than where it was when he started. Mears was 50 years old when his career ended. He could have gone another 20.
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It's not a false narrative at all. Most of the league never even went to the NCAA tournament before the 1980s. They were content to play in tiny, mostly empty arenas and let Kentucky run roughshod over the league while they focused on football. That went on for 40 years outside of Tennessee trying to compete.

Unfortunately Mears career here was filled with what might have been rather than what actually was. There's another thread on here about our most underachieving season and the simple fact it that is 1975-76. That is the 2nd most loaded team we've ever fielded and it produced a 1st round loss to VMI and no SEC title. The next year was the most loaded team we've ever had and it at least won the SEC before flopping in the NCAA tourney. That team had 3 of the top 8 or 10 players ever to play at Tennessee on it and lost in the first round.

Pearl did no such thing regarding leaving us worse than he found us. He took over a disaster from Buzz Peterson and took Tennessee to the highest level it's ever been at as a basketball program. His floor was 19 wins and an NCAA appearance. The roster was in decent shape when Cuonzo arrived and Tennessee finished 2nd in the SEC in year one. The only ones who screwed us then was the UTAD for not vigorously defending Pearl. Frank Haith the very next season was found to have lied to the NCAA on three different occasions about 100s of thousands of dollars being spent illegally recruiting, strippers, drugs and yachts for recruits etc and Missouri who'd just hired him basically told the NCAA to stick it, as did Miami who they were investigating. Haith got 8 games. Pearl had already served 8 games his final year for a bump violation that turned out to hot have happened, then the spineless coward UTAD was complicit in finishing him off.
 
#279
#279
USAFgolferVol said:
I don't know that the SEC is any more competitive now vs then. We'll agree to disagree
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As I pointed out in the post above, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, and Ole Miss never even went to the NCAA tournament before the 1980s. Alabama never went first in 1976 as the Mears era was ending. Vandy has 3 conference titles in their entire history. Miss State had one NCAA appearance before the 1990s. LSU had some success in the 50s before Mears and not again until the late 70s into the 80s once Mears was gone. They literally let Pete Maravich shoot 50 shots a game for several years in a row with no concern at all towards playing winning basketball.

Since Mears left Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Miss State, LSU, Kentucky and Florida have been to the final four with 3 of those teams winning national titles. All 14 SEC teams have been to the sweet 16 in the last 25 years, The SEC was at best the 5th and usually the 6th best conference in basketball for most of Mears' career. Now it's usually 1st to 3rd at worst. In 2018 we had 8 teams in the NCAA T. There are good coaches and top level facilities all over the league now. There are 6 coaches in the league right now who've got a final four on their resume. The SEC post 1980 got way more competitive, there's just no way around that fact.
 
#280
#280
VolArmy74 said:
As I pointed out in the post above, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, and Ole Miss never even went to the NCAA tournament before the 1980s. Alabama never went first in 1976 as the Mears era was ending. Vandy has 3 conference titles in their entire history. Miss State had one NCAA appearance before the 1990s. LSU had some success in the 50s before Mears and not again until the late 70s into the 80s once Mears was gone. They literally let Pete Maravich shoot 50 shots a game for several years in a row with no concern at all towards playing winning basketball.

Since Mears left Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Miss State, LSU, Kentucky and Florida have been to the final four with 3 of those teams winning national titles. All 14 SEC teams have been to the sweet 16 in the last 25 years, The SEC was at best the 5th and usually the 6th best conference in basketball for most of Mears' career. Now it's usually 1st to 3rd at worst. In 2018 we had 8 teams in the NCAA T. There are good coaches and top level facilities all over the league now. There are 6 coaches in the league right now who've got a final four on their resume. The SEC post 1980 got way more competitive, there's just no way around that fact.
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Only 32 teams went to the NCAA up until 1979. Then it was only 48 before 1984. In the 1970s only 2 SEC teams went to the NCAA. You're solely using the success in the NCAA as your barometer. I stand by my opinion
 
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#282
#282
zjcvols said:
2011...you mean when we were predicted to finish 11th in conference and finished top 4?
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That was Pearl’s last year when we lost 15 games with a player who now starts for the current first place team in the NBA East
 
#283
#283
SGMVols said:
That was Pearl’s last year when we lost 15 games with a player who now starts for the current first place team in the NBA East
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The same team that got bounced by Michigan in the 1st round of the NCAAT.
 
#284
#284
VolArmy74 said:
It's not a false narrative at all. Most of the league never even went to the NCAA tournament before the 1980s. They were content to play in tiny, mostly empty arenas and let Kentucky run roughshod over the league while they focused on football. That went on for 40 years outside of Tennessee trying to compete.

Unfortunately Mears career here was filled with what might have been rather than what actually was. There's another thread on here about our most underachieving season and the simple fact it that is 1975-76. That is the 2nd most loaded team we've ever fielded and it produced a 1st round loss to VMI and no SEC title. The next year was the most loaded team we've ever had and it at least won the SEC before flopping in the NCAA tourney. That team had 3 of the top 8 or 10 players ever to play at Tennessee on it and lost in the first round.

Pearl did no such thing regarding leaving us worse than he found us. He took over a disaster from Buzz Peterson and took Tennessee to the highest level it's ever been at as a basketball program. His floor was 19 wins and an NCAA appearance. The roster was in decent shape when Cuonzo arrived and Tennessee finished 2nd in the SEC in year one. The only ones who screwed us then was the UTAD for not vigorously defending Pearl.
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Fact is King didn’t play in the VMI game.

Fact is Reggie Johnson was a skinny freshman in 1976-77 that had to play as an undersized center.

Fact is those 2 teams defeated Kentucky 4 of 5 straight and and is probably the only team in the NCAA that has ever won 5 straight over KY. The 2 in 1977 were KY’s only SEC losses that year. Fact is KY is the winningest program in the NCAA both by percentage and by number of wins.

Fact is Pearl left behind a blazing mess of a dumpster fire and his lies to his UT bosses were worse than those he made to the NCAA
 
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#285
#285
SGMVols said:
That was Pearl’s last year when we lost 15 games with a player who now starts for the current first place team in the NBA East
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Jesus I’m getting old you’re right 2012 was Cunozo’s first team.
 
#286
#286
I’ll Never forget going into Pitt and winning convincingly and Jay Bilis was on call and said “based on resume Tennessee should be #1 in the country” and then it went all downhill
 
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#287
#287
zjcvols said:
I’ll Never forget going into Pitt and winning convincingly and Jay Bills was on call and said “based on resume Tennessee should be #1 in the country” and then went all downhill
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That was such a gut punch. I remember we had finally won a tournament in the Preseason NIT (beating #7 Villanova) and then yeah #3 Pitt and it was like man we are good. Then we lost at home to freakin Oakland and everyone chalked it up to a letdown. Then Charlotte. Then USC. And then it was like WTF is going on. At the time I was pretty clueless about all the behind the scenes stuff, but then when it got more coverage the collapse suddenly made more sense.

Gave me big time flashbacks of 2001, Green's last year where his team started hella strong and fell apart.
 
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#288
#288
zjcvols said:
2011...you mean when we were predicted to finish 11th in conference and finished top 4?
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We beat a top 5 Villanova in the preseason NIT and then beat Pitt at Pitt. I don't believe we were predicted as 11th in the SEC that year. Maybe we were. We were loaded

Regardless, it's a heightened form of ignorance and stupidity to claim this team as the biggest underachievers of all time
 
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#290
#290
jeff1vol said:
Exactly. When he plays the tougher teams, his record is barely. 500. Not exactly HOF worthy. Like I said, he's an average coach that will give us average results. And that's fine with most Vol fans.
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what "tougher" teams? you realize that the schedule is spread out with tough teams all season long...unless you think playing Vandy in SEC tourney or some midmajor in NCAA 1st round is "tougher" compared to playing UK, Florida, etc in February
 
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#291
#291
NEO said:
You are gonn get destroyed on here but you are right.

He is an average coach and his record proves it.

Wins is not the measuring stick. Winning ratio and titles is the measuring stick. His average wins per season and all time final 4s and championships is very average.

He will never be an elite coach. He will be the same guy he was at texas. We will never be bad not great. We will peak in the sweet 16 and maybe occasionally get to the elite 8. It's just who he is.
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so who would you think would be a better choice who is realistic?
 
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#293
#293
NEO said:
I will be honest. Rick Pitino.

I could have easily said a coach who didn't get in trouble with the ncaa but I have been a Pitino fan since I was kid.

I am no longer a Kentucky fan as i can't stand Calipari but i loved watching Pitino go full court press back in the day. His teams always brought it.
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LMAO yes a cheater who choked with NBA talent in the NCAA and tried to use university funds to get an abortion for his mistress he knocked up in a restaurant closet when he finished the deed in less than 30 seconds....what a joke lol
 
#296
#296
NEO said:
Wes Miller.

He would take the job too I think.
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I mean, that would maybe be a fun gamble on a guy with some unknown upside, especially for someone who already has their mind made up that Barnes can’t win big here, but Miller is a major, major risk. Pushing Barnes out in favor of a guy who has made the NCAAT once in nine chances won’t settle well with fans.
 
#299
#299
cncchris33 said:
I mean, that would maybe be a fun gamble on a guy with some unknown upside, especially for someone who already has their mind made up that Barnes can’t win big here, but Miller is a major, major risk. Pushing Barnes out in favor of a guy who has made the NCAAT once in nine chances won’t settle well with fans.
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He asked a two fold question: better and who we could get.

There are plenty who are better but getting them is the second part.

Nobody doing well is going to come to TN and leave a basketball conference.

If Brad Stevens heads back to the ncaa that could be a possibility but he will be offered every job in the world.
 
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