If you told me at the beginning of the season we would wind up 7 points from the Final 4, I would have said you're nuts. The whole year has been a bonus and while I have levied some criticism towards Coach Barnes for not being able to win the big ones, I cannot lay blame to him for yesterday. Nor will I point fingers at the refs and believe we lost due to a (ESPN/NCAA/CBS) conspiracy. The players came up short and we just couldn't stop Godzilla.
Congrats to every coach and every player for your relentless commitment to our Basketvol program this year. The amount of time spent practicing, looking at game tapes, traveling across the globe, sleeping in hotel beds vs the comfort of your own beds, shooting free throws for hours at a time, late night flights, early am practices in the gym, weight training and oh yeah, studying. I applaud everyone and am hoping we can fill the holes left by the departure of Dalton and others who are moving on. What a special year to be a Vol. Thank you gentlemen.