I wish that CCM would loosen up

#51
#51
utfan72408 said:
Yikes. Let's not get carried away. It is at least close. Heck, if it's not close, it's in favor of Mears.

Ray has him in overall win % by the way.

I wasn't around then, but everything I've read would suggest that Mears was more important to (and better for) UT basketball than Pearl.

Zjc, wherever you are, help me out here. I know you weren't around either, but you know about this stuff.



I mean that's 2 in 3 years. That's a little more than 'here and there.' It's plenty good enough. IMO you're overrating Pearl's recruiting classes. Pearl didn't actually have that many 4-5 stars if I remember correctly.
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The reason Mears never won a NCAA tourney game is because the tourney was an 8/16 team tourney when Mears coached.

It was much, much harder to make the tourney.

That's all I'm gonna say on the matter.
 
#52
#52
zjcvols said:
The reason Mears never won a NCAA tourney game is because the tourney was an 8/16 team tourney when Mears coached.

It was much, much harder to make the tourney.

That's all I'm gonna say on the matter.
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The other reason is Bernard King was injured and could not play in 1976 against VMI. With a healthy King, that team could have won the East Region.
 
#53
#53
zjcvols said:
The reason Mears never won a NCAA tourney game is because the tourney was an 8/16 team tourney when Mears coached.

It was much, much harder to make the tourney.

That's all I'm gonna say on the matter.
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It seems like Pearl was Mears' spiritual successor. Both elite promoters and Pearl revived many traditions from those days.
 
#54
#54
UTCVol said:
Yeah but I think Ware didn't start playing until mid-season last year. That is a fair point, though.

I'm just saying that roster-wise Pearl didn't leave Martin in a good position. CCM has not recruited PG well at all, too. That's probably my biggest grievance at this point.
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Ware isn't even a PG anyway. We don't need a 2 guard.
 
#56
#56
VolGee4 said:
Ware isn't even a PG anyway. We don't need a 2 guard.
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Jones would have been huge. I don't think he's the kind of PG CCM likes (as evidenced by the fact that he wasn't recruited out of JUCO) but he's a fantastic player.
 
#58
#58
UTCVol said:
Jones would have been huge. I don't think he's the kind of PG CCM likes (as evidenced by the fact that he wasn't recruited out of JUCO) but he's a fantastic player.
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Oh yea. I know about Jones, but he wouldn't have gotten in anyway.
 
#59
#59
It's amazing how people are completely underselling Bruce Pearl's achievements. He took over a mediocre roster during his first year as our coach, and led us all the way to the sweet 16! Not to mention, getting Tennessee to it's first ever Elite 8 performance, and we were even ranked #1 for the first time in school history under Pearl! He turned us into a powerhouse from the moment he became head coach. Yes, his last year as coach was a disappointment, but we still made the tournament. Plus we seemed to lack team chemistry, and our most talented players on the roster at that time were all Freshmen. He made a mistake, but he was one hell of a coach that breathed life into a dead basketball program. Tennessee basketball was at its best under Bruce, and I do miss him. With that being said, I still support our current Vols team, and coach Martin. However, it's time for Martin to prove he can get us to the big dance. If he can't do it next year, then it's time to cut the cord IMO. Too much talent to not be dancing.
 
#60
#60
AllVolForLife_16 said:
It's amazing how people are completely underselling Bruce Pearl's achievements. He took over a mediocre roster during his first year as our coach, and led us all the way to the sweet 16! Not to mention, getting Tennessee to it's first ever Elite 8 performance, and we were even ranked #1 for the first time in school history under Pearl! He turned us into a powerhouse from the moment he became head coach. Yes, his last year as coach was a disappointment, but we still made the tournament. Plus we seemed to lack team chemistry, and our most talented players on the roster at that time were all Freshmen. He made a mistake, but he was one hell of a coach that breathed life into a dead basketball program. Tennessee basketball was at its best under Bruce, and I do miss him. With that being said, I still support our current Vols team, and coach Martin. However, it's time for Martin to prove he can get us to the big dance. If he can't do it next year, then it's time to cut the cord IMO. Too much talent to not be dancing.
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That's a mouthful, but I agree with that
 
#61
#61
I think as basketball program we just need to be honest with are self. What are the Standards for Tennessee hoops? Is it just making the tourney or is it making final four runs?
 
#63
#63
utfan72408 said:
Yikes. Let's not get carried away. It is at least close. Heck, if it's not close, it's in favor of Mears.

Ray has him in overall win % by the way.

I wasn't around then, but everything I've read would suggest that Mears was more important to (and better for) UT basketball than Pearl.
That is an opinion that many Vol fans will have just based on sentiment alone for the old days under Mears. You can't be the greatest coach in Tennesee history if you didn't even win a tournament game. Pearl won many tournament games, and took us to within a pt. of the Final Four. He also took us to our 1st and only No. 1 ranking in school history. Those things far exceed Ray Mears accomplishments.
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#64
#64
87Vol said:
I, for one, would rather eat some serious crow and win big and go to NCAA tourneys, Sweet 16's, and beyond, rather than have sucky teams that go to the NIT.
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I would love for him to come back. I'm just saying, UT will never go back and take back what they said and did.
 
#65
#65
87Vol said:
That is an opinion that many Vol fans will have just based on sentiment alone for the old days under Mears. You can't be the greatest coach in Tennesee history if you didn't even win a tournament game. Pearl won many tournament games, and took us to within a pt. of the Final Four. He also took us to our 1st and only No. 1 ranking in school history. Those things far exceed Ray Mears accomplishments.
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Nonsense, because in the days Mears coached at UT, the NCAA tournament field was half the size of today, and only the SEC champion was invited, no SEC tournament where teams could play their way into the NCAA and no other at-large teams. Thus, Mears had only three SEC titles with invitations to the NCAA tournament because of the rules. And UK was dominant in Mears time at UT, winning nine SEC titles during Mears 14 years at UT. Now, because of the enlarged field, Pearl was able to get six invitations. Pearl (the cheater) had his accomplishments, but so did Ray Mears, "the father of UT basketball." You are comparing apples and oranges (no pun intended) in a sense.
 
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