Pretenders Masquerading as Contenders

#101
#101
volfeeva said:
This was supposed to be the Vols rebuilding year after losing players to the draft and the portal. I think Barnes has worked some magic to find some players that make a pretty good team. The talent level in the SEC is close that any given team almost needs to score on every possession if they expect to win. The Vols need to get mentally tough to play on the road
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There is no such thing as a "rebuilding year" any longer for a program with our tradition, resources, and universal access to the transfer portal.
 
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#103
#103
Vols410 said:
Man, imagine saying this years ago lol.
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Yeah, what Pearl started and Barnes has developed is a program that is probably just a tier, maybe two, below the modern blue bloods. Tennessee has always been upper crust in the SEC, historically, but the conference raising its profile has been the rising tide. Tennessee has taken advantage and committed resources toward being a national brand in basketball.
 
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#105
#105
LibertyVol said:
My concern is shooting. If Milicic and Ziegler shoot average to better than average then we are a contender. If not, then we are a pretender. Of course, I have a tendency to see problems as opposed to everything through rose colored glasses.
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We have an insane amount of reliance on 3 players. ZZ, Okpara and Lanier in that order. EIther of them is out for an extended period we are boned because we literally don't have a replacement for them.

ZZ goes down we are done.... end of story
Okpara goes down we are in a bad way but there is a chance some combination of Philips and Dubar can fill his minutes with Milicic playing more minutes at the 5.
Lanier we at least have Gainey and if ZZ and Milicic pick up some shooting slack he can be more easily covered up.

But really, we lose either of those 3 we are in a bad way, lose 2 and we are totally hopeless. If you look at most other contenders they have more depth and can absorb the loss of any singular person for the most part. Part of our problem is the lack of scholarship players part by design and part by the early-midseason defection of Carr.

A more interesting thing is next season this team totally turns over... we return 3-4 players maximum 3 posts and a guard and only one of them is a current starter. I am really surprised we didn't pick up a reclass or overseas guy to get ready for next year. Maybe no one we were interested in was available.
 
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#106
#106
pimo1 said:
We have an insane amount of reliance on 3 players. ZZ, Okpara and Lanier in that order. EIther of them is out for an extended period we are boned because we literally don't have a replacement for them.

ZZ goes down we are done.... end of story
Okpara goes down we are in a bad way but there is a chance some combination of Philips and Dubar can fill his minutes with Milicic playing more minutes at the 5.
Lanier we at least have Gainey and if ZZ and Milicic pick up some shooting slack he can be more easily covered up.

But really, we lose either of those 3 we are in a bad way, lose 2 and we are totally hopeless. If you look at most other contenders they have more depth and can absorb the loss of any singular person for the most part. Part of our problem is the lack of scholarship players part by design and part by the early-midseason defection of Carr.

A more interesting thing is next season this team totally turns over... we return 3-4 players maximum 3 posts and a guard and only one of them is a current starter. I am really surprised we didn't pick up a reclass or overseas guy to get ready for next year. Maybe no one we were interested in was available.
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We rely heavily on Igor's rebounding. If he would be more aggressive on the offensive end, that could carry us forward. Felix's rim protection is elite, and teams are going to be scheming more now against the lobs
 
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#107
#107
BernardKingGOAT said:
We rely heavily on Igor's rebounding. If he would be more aggressive on the offensive end, that could carry us forward. Felix's rim protection is elite, and teams are going to be scheming more now against the lobs
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I think Igor is the most 'replaceable' of the 4 as far as what we have on the roster. There is a universe where some combination of Dubar and Phillips could replace the production of Milicic. Okpara's role is not replaceable by any healthy member of our roster. Losing any of our starters would hurt. But the 3 I named, I think, are the most irreplaceable. Thats my take.
 
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#111
#111
volfeeva said:
Losing to unranked Vandy , blown out by 40 pts at Florida suggest this is maybe a rebuilding year in spite of tradition and the portal
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Seems very dramatic. You'd have a better point if we were 2-2, but we are 16-2. So what do all those wins suggest?

And even if those two losses did suggest a rebuilding year, it still wouldn't be excusable, which was my point.
 
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#116
#116
NEO said:
BS!

We have an excellent AD now.

Your attitude and view of our school is disgusting.

You view us like the ugly girl at prom who is just lucky to be asked. I don’t view UT that way.

Our school was a number 1 team under Pearl. We can be a number one team under the next guy and I trust Danny White to make an excellent hire.

The way you view our program is disgusting. It’s why we had crsp like Dooley for FB.

Our next coach will be just as good. He may not have decades of padded regular seasons stats but he will do just as well or better.
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Oh...so now the regular season matters and you are fine with just being ranked #1? Newsflash, CRB just set the record at UT for consecutive weeks at #1.

Sounds like you are cultivating your own kind of cultish admiration for the next guy and how great he will be...lol. One could almost say you are a true believer hoping against hope since actual reality shows the guy who follows a highly successful HOF coach usually doesn't do as well.
 
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#119
#119
volfeeva said:
This was supposed to be the Vols rebuilding year after losing players to the draft and the portal. I think Barnes has worked some magic to find some players that make a pretty good team. The talent level in the SEC is close that any given team almost needs to score on every possession if they expect to win. The Vols need to get mentally tough to play on the road
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A rebuilding year in which we signed one freshman? I don't think so. The coaching staff had a goal of restocking the roster with portal players to combine with a returning older group from the get go. Next year seems to be more of a rebuild plan.
 
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#121
#121
BernardKingGOAT said:
That poster did say he would rather have Rick Pitino as coach
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MinisterofDef#92 said:
Only the most ignorant of VN posters (and that's saying something) or a troll would deny the success we have achieved under CRB - which one are you?
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Kings of the regular season.

And yeah this is where Barnes disciples start saying causal fan etc etc yet here we are in the regular season still watching the same games as the supposed hardcore fans.

You are all the same. We expect better and u thrn make it personal.

You are all just posters like us. Ur not coaches. Your not paid. You’re not special. You have an opinion just like us and nobody is paying for your opinion either.

You’re just a meaningless poster on a free fan site worshipping your mediocre coach. A coach who has not nor ever will hoist the NC. It’s just a fact.
 
#122
#122
NEO said:
Kings of the regular season.

And yeah this is where Barnes disciples start saying causal fan etc etc yet here we are in the regular season still watching the same games as the supposed hardcore fans.

You are all the same. We expect better and u thrn make it personal.

You are all just posters like us. Ur not coaches. Your not paid. You’re not special. You have an opinion just like us and nobody is paying for your opinion either.

You’re just a meaningless poster on a free fan site worshipping your mediocre coach. A coach who has not nor ever will hoist the NC. It’s just a fact.
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Won't disagree with any of your last two paragraphs

We did make an EE last year. Do I want them to win it all? Heck yes, as much as anyone. Do I expect better year in and year out? If it's possible, of course I do. Having great regular seasons is such an advantage at seeding time for the NCAA tournament. That's why it's important to have a great coach and team builder like Barnes

BTW, didn't you say you would rather have Pitino than Barnes?
 
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#123
#123
BernardKingGOAT said:
Won't disagree with any of your last two paragraphs

We did make an EE last year. Do I want them to win it all? Heck yes, as much as anyone. Do I expect better year in and year out? If it's possible, of course I do. Having great regular seasons is such an advantage at seeding time for the NCAA tournament. That's why it's important to have a great coach and team builder like Barnes

BTW, didn't you say you would rather have Pitino than Barnes?
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In their prime I would pick Pitino over everyone. His teams were fun to watch. Now? He is still a great coach but the drive is gone. Dude is 72.

Barnes is not in his league. Won championships at multiple schools. Is he a good person? Probably not. But I don’t care about coaches on a moral level as long as it’s not illegal or a Penn State scenario. That is unacceptable. Cheating on his wife? Horrible husband but he isn’t paid to be a great husband.
 
#124
#124
BernardKingGOAT said:
Won't disagree with any of your last two paragraphs

We did make an EE last year. Do I want them to win it all? Heck yes, as much as anyone. Do I expect better year in and year out? If it's possible, of course I do. Having great regular seasons is such an advantage at seeding time for the NCAA tournament. That's why it's important to have a great coach and team builder like Barnes

BTW, didn't you say you would rather have Pitino than Barnes?
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A troll is a troll. They make reference to “your” coach. It’s almost like a choice is made for every poster and @NEO chose red.

IMG_6166.jpeg

Hence, they have been allowed behind the green curtain and have developed an intimate relationship with the Great Oz. Which is fine, this is an open forum without a Husky Nan to rescue the thin skinned and insecure.

If you participate and are seeking the next Dean Smith, yer father smelt of elderberries. Bill Self? Mark Few? Bruce Pearl? Rick Pitino?

Hate to tell you but both the red and blue pills are both placebos. There is only one path…

IMG_6167.jpeg
This is the Way
 
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