I'm sure there are legitimate insiders who participate on this board. I'd love to know what's really going on.
Just my opinion ... I don't buy any of the NCAA theories. This team knows Pearl. If they've lost respect for him, it's for reasons outside the NCAA crap. And, absent some legit info from someone inside the program, I don't think this team's stopped respecting him.
For one thing, I look at Pat. Sure ... She's first and foremost a TENNESSEE supporter, but I think she has too much integrity to show up at men's games and try to pull the crowd into the game if she had no respect for Bruce. My gut feeling is he's a good guy. I think his team knows that.
Anyone who's a Bilas fan (count me in that group) would appreciate his take on the whole fiasco. (1) He wrote that Slive is stupid for doing what he did. I agree. Personally, I don't put much stock in conspiracy theories and don't believe there's an anti-TN contingent out to get the school. However, football in the SEC is king, queen, prince, etc. Coming down hard on Bruce was (I believe) Slive's way of trying to artificially create the impression he was something other than a large tool and taking some of the spotlight off the Newton/Auburn/Miss State mess. I'm not excusing or condoning Bruce, but I think the punishment FAR EXCEEDS the crime.
Bilas' other argument was that this rule is ridiculous. He has stated that if he was head of the NCAA, he'd burn the rulebook and start all over again (kind of like the tax code). Because the recruit was a junior, Bruce wasn't allowed to cook burgers in his back yard. IF the kid had been a senior, the grill could have been fired up. Who comes up with a rule like that? It's also stupid. Bruce certainly made his own bed when he knowingly broke the idiotic rule and lied about it. BUT, the rule itself is a disgrace. So, everyone loses.
Given all this ... I can't conceive of a college player suddenly getting so incensed that he bails on his team. So, I, personally, believe the entire respect/NCAA angle is ludicrous.
The team that dismantled a terrific Pittsburgh team was ferocious, fearless, and played team defense as well as any team I've seen in a long time. Where's that team?
Shots don't always fall. TN also doesn't have a playmaker that can consistently create his own shot. When defenses sag, life is tough for the men in orange unless someone can bust the zone.
BUT ... That blistering, withering defense that crushes spirits in the last 7-8 minutes of the game is gone. Take CofC ... Cremins is a good coach and had his kids ready to play. But, if the orange had played Pittsburgh-level defense against them, they would have folded. Why didn't we?
Where's the passion gone?
