Cuonzo Feeling Unwanted

#101
#101
sirbeauris said:
First post ever just to celebrate this post. Cuonzo was a great man, but was garbage as a coach. He had 2 NBA players on his team, and only lucked into the Sweet 16 by drawing easy opponents. He could have Kentucky's players every year, and will still lose to the likes of East Tennessee School for the Blind, early in the season. And although the easy way out is to play the race card, race had nothing to do with it. Being a lousy basketball coach has everything to do with it. Cal will make the NCAA tourney a couple of times with Cuonzo at the helm, but will never make it past the Sweet 16. And they will lose a couple of games early in the season that they shouldn't. You can count on that.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say he's lousy as a coach... but he wasn't ready yet for the SEC or a fan base that can fill up a 20,000 seat arena. He got his OJT and moved over to an easier job.

If he hasn't developed his in-game skills... I completely agree. The Sweet 16 is his ceiling and he'll not get there often.
 
#102
#102
johnnybravo said:
Fans didn't want him here.
Administration didn't want him here.
He didn't want to be here.
Was never a good fit.
Click to expand...

Making the NCAAT and not losing a bunch of the pre-SEC games would have boosted his popularity level. Even if he could have advanced to NYC in the NITs it would have been different. Cuonzo wasn't up to the UT job. I hope that he does well at Cal.
 
#103
#103
bowlinggreenvol said:
Now it's changed to the 2nd time since 2008. Guess he still missed the 2010 E8 run. SW16 in 2008 lost to UofL, 2010 E8 and 2013 SW16. Is it really that hard? Why have a clueless and lazy "journalist" spend time writing an article if they're not even going to spend time writing the article properly?
Click to expand...

On Twitter the writer said that he was thinking about Cal's S16s and had made a mistake. Then Basilio invited him to be on his show to defend his article and the guy is too skeered to accept.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#104
#104
People forget he was not winning games, he was constantly underperforming with a roster that had great players on it, thats why people signed the petition. I'm sure there were some racists who signed it, as there are racist all over the country but the majority of fans who signed were not happy about the performance on the court. Please do not read more then was actually there. Race had nothing to do with him losing. UT fans are as passionate about sports as any fans in the country. Also Martin did not start winning consistently until after the petition came out! It was then that he went on a winning streak and sneaked into the tourney. And when they started winning I cheered and was happy with him as a coach, too bad it actually took threats of being fired to motivate him and his team. I thought the petition was silly, and I did not sign it, but it sounds like the fans motived his butt by doing so. Also he did not recieve one direct threat his whole time while in Knoxville - sounds like someone who can't block out the noise and let it get to him. This happens with many fanbases - just look at Philly fans or Alabama fans... Some people are not thick skinned and can't take passionate fanbases. Glad Martin found a school that fit more with his personality but please this article is sensational...
 
#107
#107
I didn't like the petition and I didn't like how Cuonzo was disrespected by the fanbase.

But everyone and their mother knows that if he had won more basketball games no one would have said a damn thing. To argue that it was racially motivated is asinine. Not that there are no racists to be found in Tennessee, but acting like that was the majority opinion or a significant contributing factor is just so disrespectful to the state and the people living in it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#109
#109
The actions of a handful of vol fans, (death threats?) should not reflect our entire fan base. That's stereotyping. As far as the petitions, they were over the top but not necessarily unwarranted. He sucked here, plain and simple with a very talented roster his last year. He made the tournament by the skin of his teeth and was in the first round game to even make it into the tournament. Got a decent first round win, but let's not forget that Mercer knocked off Duke for us. Duke would of stomped us and we'd still say Cuonzo sucked here bc he did.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#110
#110
iKrager said:
Had he won, or had he won the way Pearl did? He was the SEC's best coach not named Billy Donovan or John Calapari and also took us to a Sweet 16 by year 3.

He didn't win like Bruce Pearl, and he coughed up games that Bruce Pearl wouldn't.

That whole "he didn't win here" is a bunch of crap.
Click to expand...

1 year ?
 
#111
#111
volbeast33 said:
We are talking about a sport that is mostly black..... When everyone listed their favorite UT player of all time there was not a single white guy listed as a favorite player... My favorite coach right now of my pro teams is black Mike Tomlin.... Could some idiot have said something racial towards him or his family? Sure there are idiots every where but what he went through at UT had zero to do with race and everything to do with losing our coach Bruce Pearl.... If he came around after Buzz the heat would not have been near as bad.
Click to expand...

You're right with that too. Racists have no place as fans in sports or they would just go insane. Sports are primarily black players and baseball is a good mix. I'm not buying this racist fan talk. Win and no one cares.
 
#113
#113
I am sick and tired of this racism garbage. We had been to 7 consecutive tournaments before he got here. He missed the first two tournaments and seemed well on his way to missing again before the petition started. His team didn't try hard until after the pressure started to build to fire him. If we had been to the tournament in his first two years he would still be here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#114
#114
vols 30 said:
True. Cuonzo is the one selling the racial BS, and apparently many are buying it
Click to expand...

Its not bs when its true. His family received racist threats.

Also a lot of the personality, fit, and can't understand him criticisms are coded racist bs.

ajvol01 said:
Revisionist history.

He made 2 NITs prior to his final year.

If he didn't have the personality of an empty shoebox he'd probably still be coaching here.
Click to expand...

Where were the teams picked preseason? Did Maymon not miss the second year? Most people thought we got snubbed. Maymon had been our best player the year prior.

Thunder Good-Oil said:
He had three guys on the roster that were getting NBA contracts and TN flamed out twice in the NIT and was an NCAAT bubble team that had to win a play-in game. Then in the NCAAT, drew a mediocre opponent and Duke to make the S16. But Duke folded against a mid-major giving TN an easy draw and all of a sudden CCM is a great coach? Then CCM uses planes supplied by UT for recruiting purposes to shop around for another job. His 4th team at UT was going to struggle to get more than 10 wins and then he pretends to be a victim. Well played Zo, well played.
Click to expand...

So you count players as professionals even before they develop? Stokes had to mature. He came in early. Richardson was a unheralded recruit that Martin developed. McRae averaged 1.8 ppg before Martin. They weren't great players from day 1 like UK players. Its called developing a program. He would have won more than Tyndall last year with Thompson at pg and Richardson at his natural spot.

Dallasbowlin said:
Hope he is successful, good man, but a horrible offensive coach. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

Tyndall is a horrible offensive coach. Martin is Steve Kerr in comparison.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6 people
#115
#115
Another thing, it was all those college basketball dickheads at ESPN who said we shouldn't be in in the tournament in Cuonzo's first two years and almost kept him out of the tournament his third year. Had there been a few more upsets in mid major tournaments we wouldn't have gotten in. Perhaps its Joey Lunardi, Jay Billas and the tournament committee who are racist.
 
#116
#116
If Butch Jones was black, the entire national media would have been calling us racist after the Florida game.
I watched almost every single one of Cuonzo's games; the only consistent basketball came after the petition to fire him.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#117
#117
k-town_king said:
Its not bs when its true. His family received racist threats.

Also a lot of the personality, fit, and can't understand him criticisms are coded racist bs.



Where were the teams picked preseason? Did Maymon not miss the second year? Most people thought we got snubbed. Maymon had been our best player the year prior.



So you count players as professionals even before they develop? Stokes had to mature. He came in early. Richardson was a unheralded recruit that Martin developed. McRae averaged 1.8 ppg before Martin. They weren't great players from day 1 like UK players. Its called developing a program. He would have won more than Tyndall last year with Thompson at pg and Richardson at his natural spot.



Tyndall is a horrible offensive coach. Martin is Steve Kerr in comparison.
Click to expand...

You seem to know everything. Would you mind letting me know what next week's winning Powerball numbers are?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#118
#118
Well we have a new coach let's see how he does. Our last coach was a complete disaster but you people still loved him. That petition was wicked & down right stupid. There are things handle situations like this, it's called administration. You people hated the coach & the players didn't take it that well. So when a player comments about this situation, it's safe to say they know what the *ell they are talking about.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#119
#119
k-town_king said:
Its not bs when its true. His family received racist threats.

Also a lot of the personality, fit, and can't understand him criticisms are coded racist bs.



Where were the teams picked preseason? Did Maymon not miss the second year? Most people thought we got snubbed. Maymon had been our best player the year prior.



So you count players as professionals even before they develop? Stokes had to mature. He came in early. Richardson was a unheralded recruit that Martin developed. McRae averaged 1.8 ppg before Martin. They weren't great players from day 1 like UK players. Its called developing a program. He would have won more than Tyndall last year with Thompson at pg and Richardson at his natural spot.



Tyndall is a horrible offensive coach. Martin is Steve Kerr in comparison.
Click to expand...
They ignore the facts, it's hopeless for them. It's ironic, that's the exact fanbase that is put in the negative spotlight. No wonder they don't like the article.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#121
#121
iKrager said:
Is that all you can come up with when facts support his argument?
Click to expand...

I didn't see facts, just opinions. So my reply was appropriate.

Fact is he had three guys that now have NBA money in their bank accounts and CCM only has two NIT flame outs and an NCAAT bubble lottery winner that beat a couple of mid-majors on the way to a Sweet 16.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#122
#122
How about some facts about the petition? Somehow, according to the ESPN article, there were 40,000 UT fans running him out of town. Who administered this petition? How many times were people allowed to be counted? Who policed it to make sure that voting was exclusively by UT fans? What exactly did the petition say... was there anything about firing Cuonzo in it or was it worded that Pearl should be brought back if there was an opening (as Cuonzo was stoking the fire under his hot seat by under performing against the opponents)?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#123
#123
Thunder Good-Oil said:
How about some facts about the petition? Somehow, according to the ESPN article, there were 40,000 UT fans running him out of town. Who administered this petition? How many times were people allowed to be counted? Who policed it to make sure that voting was exclusively by UT fans? What exactly did the petition say... was there anything about firing Cuonzo in it or was it worded that Pearl should be brought back if there was an opening (as Cuonzo was stoking the fire under his hot seat by under performing against the opponents)?
Click to expand...
How could you hire Bruce when there was a coach still coaching?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#124
#124
iKrager said:
How could you hire Bruce when there was a coach still coaching?
Click to expand...

It happened when CCM was struggling to win games three years in. Before Bruce, TN was hiring a new coach about every 3 or 4 years, so it was safe to assume that there could be a change approaching.

But the point is... did the petition say anything at all about removing Cuonzo Martin -or- was it worded that if a new coach was to be hired they wanted Bruce back?

VN's contribution to the Bring Back Bruce mess:
http://www.volnation.com/forum/tennessee-vols-basketball/214048-petition-rehire-bruce-pearl.html
 
Last edited:
#125
#125
Cuonzo is like Kiffin the gift that keeps on giving. Hes going to continue to drag Tennessee through the mud until there are no more reporters to run the story. Were things perfect when he was here, no of course not but EVERY FAN BASE IN AMERICA HAS A FEW CRAZY FANS WHO MAKE UP 1%. This journalist decided he was going to paint the entire UT fan base as a bunch of racist rednecks and he is dead wrong. Guys dont for a second think this article had any intentions other than trying to hurt Tennessee and if you dont believe me I would encourage you to look up some od Mr. Medcalfs work. In fact look up his incident while he was in college, then go back and tell me if the article has any merit.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top