Penny Hardaway admits he regrets the Rick Barnes incident

#51
#51
-Two teams, two coaches, and two fan bases from the same state that seem to hate each other.
-One of the most-watched college bball games of all time (2008)
-Memphis was a quad 1 opponent in at least the last 2 match ups
-More exposure to TN HS recruits

UT's marketing can easily hype this rivalry as a must-see event, which would get fans and recruits excited.

I will say that if the teams themselves legitimately do not want to play each other, then no arguments from me. Their say should pull the most weight imo.
 
#52
#52
Chris4Vols22 said:
-Two teams, two coaches, and two fan bases from the same state that seem to hate each other.
-One of the most-watched college bball games of all time (2008)
-Memphis was a quad 1 opponent in at least the last 2 match ups
-More exposure to TN HS recruits

UT's marketing can easily hype this rivalry as a must-see event, which would get fans and recruits excited.

I will say that if the teams themselves legitimately do not want to play each other, then no arguments from me. Their say should pull the most weight imo.
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Oh, make no mistake. They absolutely despise us but Memphis wants to play UT because it benefits them. Definitely helps their exposure to TN HS athletes. I believe UT is pretty well known across the state so I’m not sure how that benefits us. (Shelby County doesn’t count.) We never have had a ton of success in Memphis recruiting and a game every now and then isn’t solving that. We can get plenty of Quad 1 games without playing them and most are perfectly happy with our TV exposure without playing those slugs. Fortunately I think Rick Barnes has the same opinion of them.
 
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#53
#53
If it would bring a Michael Brooks or Tony Harris or Jarnell Stokes level of talent to TN regularly, then I’m all for it. But that’s not going to happen except every decade or two. About once a decade if adding a Chism or Lang W or JP Prince.
 
#54
#54
Delmar said:
Oh, make no mistake. They absolutely despise us but Memphis wants to play UT because it benefits them. Definitely helps their exposure to TN HS athletes. I believe UT is pretty well known across the state so I’m not sure how that benefits us. (Shelby County doesn’t count.) We never have had a ton of success in Memphis recruiting and a game every now and then isn’t solving that. We can get plenty of Quad 1 games without playing them and most are perfectly happy with our TV exposure without playing those slugs. Fortunately I think Rick Barnes has the same opinion of them.
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I can't imagine that Barnes is as fazed as you and others on this topic. I guarantee you all TN recruits are equally aware of the existence of UT and Memphis; it's more about showcasing the rivalry and actually benefitting from a typically strong recruiting area. Our last few players that grew up in Memphis have been good ones, and there's no good reason to avoid going after them if there's mutual interest. That would make the match ups even better.

Yes, I know we're not going to struggle getting quad 1 matches, but the options are pretty limited for an in-state rivalry. Again, all the ingredients for a great series.
 
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#55
#55
Chris4Vols22 said:
I can't imagine that Barnes is as fazed as you and others on this topic. I guarantee you all TN recruits are equally aware of the existence of UT and Memphis; it's more about showcasing the rivalry and actually benefitting from a typically strong recruiting area. Our last few players that grew up in Memphis have been good ones, and there's no good reason to avoid going after them if there's mutual interest. That would make the match ups even better.

Yes, I know we're not going to struggle getting quad 1 matches, but the options are pretty limited for an in-state rivalry. Again, all the ingredients for a great series.
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The key words in your post are “mutual interest”. From everything I’ve heard, there isn’t any interest on Rick Barnes’ part. If there was, it would have already been scheduled. He has no respect for One Cent after the debacle in Memphis. He’s not “fazed” in the least by Hardaway. He just doesn’t like him and UT does not need him. Simple as that.
 
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#56
#56
At least he is showing maturity and owning his past mistakes. None of us are perfect.
 
#59
#59
Thunder Good-Oil said:
If it would bring a Michael Brooks or Tony Harris or Jarnell Stokes level of talent to TN regularly, then I’m all for it. But that’s not going to happen except every decade or two. About once a decade if adding a Chism or Lang W or JP Prince.
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Prince, Stokes and Brooks actually were from Memphis. Chism's high school is 50 miles from Memphis.
 
#63
#63
Penny is Memphis's problem not Tennessee's, in my opinion, his antics are not welcome by any power 5 conferences, such that they remain way down the list on the conference expansion lists
 
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