Yeah, I certainly hope they don’t/didn’t feel that way. I thought Cuonzo was somewhat responsible for that on 2013-14 team as he took criticism of him and made it out like fans were after the players. I just don’t remember that being the case. I thought he deflected responsibility for the lackluster season they were having and then when they made that run they kind of started going at the fan base, which I thought was misguided. However, you are correct that it’s a problem if players feel that way.
100%. TN has enough mentally weak players on the team that have a ton of experience that it became the team’s overall identity. You could see them mentally crumble in the FAU game during that 18-2 run. San Diego State displayed the opposite against Alabama. When Alabama made a run and took the lead, SDSU’s mental toughness was the difference. TN mentally folded in the Louisiana game as well, the only difference was that they had built up an 18-pt cushion. If that game had been two minutes longer they would have lost it too.Well said!!! Social MediaAt this guys age and experience (supposed) his attention to it shows a really weak maturity level. One you can see this in his performance on the court. Looks to me to have a "give up" look about him when the chips are down.
I think that’s just his go-to answer because it explains things away without having people trying to delve further. It’s either that or this team truly didn’t care, which I highly doubt. How could someone in the Sweet 16 playing for a possible NC not want it? You don’t make it to that point without “wanting it”.
I concede comparing any college kid to one of the greatest competitors of all time is silly on my part but If MJ’s Hall of Fame speech isn’t enough then remember he was one of the first big whiners to NBA officials about every slight. Plus his feelings are hurt now because Barkley said he’s not a good GM. Which he isn’t! He’s an Alpha no doubt but he’s definitely not above reproach.
If you think Tennessee “wilted on the big stage” because of them being overly concerned about over-the-top social media posts, then you’ve missed out on the glaring fact that poor shooting is the one constant in the tournament that produces these losses. You might also be missing out on the fact that there is one 4 seed, two 5’s, and a 9. Lots of “wilting” by good teams.
I’m responding to what was said in the article (“FAU wanted it more” and referencing social media after the Colorado game. The author references “wilting” and RB mentions pulling players for “bad body language on the big stage”) and what I saw with my own eyes. I agree, poor shooting did us in. Had we hit the 8-10 bunnies in the first half, maybe we withstand the second half. We also let a much smaller team out rebound us and get many second chance shots. We also had defensive breakdowns that led to wide open threes. We also looked panicked and disjointed (wilted) during FAU’s 20-4 run and waiting too long to call a timeout.
Barnes did not throw players under the bus ... but you can watch the game and tell who had "body language" issues.
When has he ever been anything other than an incredible representative of UT ?!? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the young man be overtly emotional. He’s been about as stable as they come. Has he been an incredible defender & defensive rebounder 95%? YES… has he been up and down offensively? Yes… Has he played through obvious pain and injuries most of his career? Absolutely YES!
They p-layed good aggressive defense, but I have seen many times our players not trying to get offensive rebounds because they have already turned their bodies and head down court. Sometimes, one of our guards will stay around and get the offensive rebound and they wait for the other players to get back to the offensive court. However, despite our players getting back on defense from a missed shot, some teams are able to get fast break points on breakaways. In games were we did attack the boards for offensive rebounds, we get an easy layup. such as what happened when ON crashed the board and stuffed the rebound for an easy two. It seem that when we are aggressive at both ends of the court, we are more likely to win the big game.
