bleedingTNorange
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- Jan 9, 2012
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"Briefly, just as an observation we'd like to share, one of the most interesting things to see play out in preseason practice is how Martin handles Stokes. Understand here, we're not being critical, but in the not-so-recent past at Tennessee, if you were a star basketball player, there was essentially a guarantee that you were going to get treated as such by the head coach.
That's not the case now. Far from it. In our opinion, nobody on the team gets pushed as hard in practice by the head coach as Stokes does by Martin. And we don't mean in a negative, confrontational way. Rather, Martin constantly prods his best player about the tiniest defensive miscues; not hedging hard enough, not being quick enough to drop off and give help, not picking up a switch, etc. Offensively, you almost get the impression that someone would have to come into the gym with a 2x4 and hit Stokes with it before Martin would give him a whistle after he takes a hard foul going to the basket.
In short, watching how Martin works with Stokes, constantly challenging the best player on his team to be even better and never, ever allowing him to take a shortcut, gives you a small glimpse into what makes him potentially special as a head coach. As a player, when you see the best guy on the team get held that accountable by the head guy, even about the tiniest details, it sends a strong message."
- Rob Lewis
That's not the case now. Far from it. In our opinion, nobody on the team gets pushed as hard in practice by the head coach as Stokes does by Martin. And we don't mean in a negative, confrontational way. Rather, Martin constantly prods his best player about the tiniest defensive miscues; not hedging hard enough, not being quick enough to drop off and give help, not picking up a switch, etc. Offensively, you almost get the impression that someone would have to come into the gym with a 2x4 and hit Stokes with it before Martin would give him a whistle after he takes a hard foul going to the basket.
In short, watching how Martin works with Stokes, constantly challenging the best player on his team to be even better and never, ever allowing him to take a shortcut, gives you a small glimpse into what makes him potentially special as a head coach. As a player, when you see the best guy on the team get held that accountable by the head guy, even about the tiniest details, it sends a strong message."
- Rob Lewis
