The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

#2,501
#2,501
So I think I'm at a weird place with college basketball. I still like it, but honestly after the last season it's going to be really hard for me to get excited about the regular season again. If anything, last season sort of added to the notion of how little the regular season actually means. It sucked doing that well and literally having almost nothing to show for it. And I know college basketball has been a tourney sport for years, but last year really seemed to hit it home for me.

We spend all those weeks at #1, and those wins, and it all comes undone in the last 3 weeks. That really sucked. And yeah if the ball bounces our way we make the Elite 8 which would have been better and maybe we beat Virginia and make a FF and that changes everything....but it didn't happen. So the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" doesn't matter. Then you have a team like Auburn, who sort of dances around with being above average all season and looks like they're going to be disappointing, and suddenly they get hot and in end up the Final Four. That just kind of pissed me off. And other teams that have done that have ticked me off.

So now I'm in this mode that I really don't even care that much about the regular season, just do well enough to make the NCAAT and then hope you get hot in late February/early March. And that sounds way less of a buy in, but it's just honestly where I am. It sucks but last season took a lot of me and I really don't feel like going through 3 months of great only to see it gone with little to show.

I realize this all kind of sounds frontrunner and fairweather but that's not really what I'm going for. I guess bottom line, I'm kind of fed up with college basketball right now. With how last year ended and then you got Wade reinstated at LSU and just got a 5 start recruit and Hardaway is at Memphis and pulling in a #1 class, and here we are still seeming to have some struggles with recruiting. And I realize the season doesn't start for months and by then I may change my mind, but I honestly don't think I'll be as dialed in this year and it really has little to do with us probably taking a step back. I think even if Grant and Bone came back I'd feel the same way.

The TL;DR version: VSF and college basketball are going through a rough patch.
 
#2,502
#2,502
VolsSportsFan said:
So I think I'm at a weird place with college basketball. I still like it, but honestly after the last season it's going to be really hard for me to get excited about the regular season again. If anything, last season sort of added to the notion of how little the regular season actually means. It sucked doing that well and literally having almost nothing to show for it. And I know college basketball has been a tourney sport for years, but last year really seemed to hit it home for me.

We spend all those weeks at #1, and those wins, and it all comes undone in the last 3 weeks. That really sucked. And yeah if the ball bounces our way we make the Elite 8 which would have been better and maybe we beat Virginia and make a FF and that changes everything....but it didn't happen. So the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" doesn't matter. Then you have a team like Auburn, who sort of dances around with being above average all season and looks like they're going to be disappointing, and suddenly they get hot and in end up the Final Four. That just kind of pissed me off. And other teams that have done that have ticked me off.

So now I'm in this mode that I really don't even care that much about the regular season, just do well enough to make the NCAAT and then hope you get hot in late February/early March. And that sounds way less of a buy in, but it's just honestly where I am. It sucks but last season took a lot of me and I really don't feel like going through 3 months of great only to see it gone with little to show.

I realize this all kind of sounds frontrunner and fairweather but that's not really what I'm going for. I guess bottom line, I'm kind of fed up with college basketball right now. With how last year ended and then you got Wade reinstated at LSU and just got a 5 start recruit and Hardaway is at Memphis and pulling in a #1 class, and here we are still seeming to have some struggles with recruiting. And I realize the season doesn't start for months and by then I may change my mind, but I honestly don't think I'll be as dialed in this year and it really has little to do with us probably taking a step back. I think even if Grant and Bone came back I'd feel the same way.

The TL;DR version: VSF and college basketball are going through a rough patch.
Click to expand...
I feel your frustration and have to admit I felt a little cheated the way the season ended.
But I still think that college basketball is the greatest sport ever invented and the regular season was one of the most enjoyable I've ever had the privilege to watch.
I've adjusted my expectations and thinking on our NEAR future. I do think our coach is doing what he was hired to do. He's building a program the way it should be done with high character young men, without breaking the rules.
Do I think this coach can win a Natty? No, but I do think he could build a solid program and hand it over to a coach that could. that part is up to the farther uppers.
Personally, I think Barnes does and has always burned his teams out by the time March rolls around. Some would say his teams peak too soon and always have. Some of that is because of the kind of players he recruits. For the most part he leans toward the under the radar, hard nose blue collar types with a worker mentality and a strong desire to get better in their craft. He can occasionally find those attributes in the more skilled players like he has in James.
With more players like James appearing on the horizon, who knows what could happen. A longer experienced bench of blue collars and 2 or 3 players like James, a little more luck and favorable calls and who knows.
But, that's what college basketball is all about.
 
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#2,503
#2,503
Namorto1 said:
Total speculation but it seems to me James will play a lot of point (call it point guard or point forward) next year offensively and let Turner defend the PG defensively. A lot of screens will be set for Bowden on baseline and for his patented curls. I agree and am less concerned with our perimeter play. Post play we have no idea. Clearly our margin of error next year is going to be smaller, but thankfully college basketball has so much transition and roster changes year to year it isn’t as if we are the only team dealing with good players leaving. I’m praying Burns can give us 10 pts per game and 6 boards with some low post presence, Fulkerson gives us hustle points and scrappy play. (Barnes seems to believe in Fulky). And the other bigs just play hard and don’t play timid or afraid. I hope Barnes pushes the tempo even more next year. Grant isn’t going to be around to bail us out when the offense stalls.
Click to expand...
Agree. The bolded is what mostly concerns me.
 
#2,504
#2,504
VolsSportsFan said:
So I think I'm at a weird place with college basketball. I still like it, but honestly after the last season it's going to be really hard for me to get excited about the regular season again. If anything, last season sort of added to the notion of how little the regular season actually means. It sucked doing that well and literally having almost nothing to show for it. And I know college basketball has been a tourney sport for years, but last year really seemed to hit it home for me.

We spend all those weeks at #1, and those wins, and it all comes undone in the last 3 weeks. That really sucked. And yeah if the ball bounces our way we make the Elite 8 which would have been better and maybe we beat Virginia and make a FF and that changes everything....but it didn't happen. So the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" doesn't matter. Then you have a team like Auburn, who sort of dances around with being above average all season and looks like they're going to be disappointing, and suddenly they get hot and in end up the Final Four. That just kind of pissed me off. And other teams that have done that have ticked me off.

So now I'm in this mode that I really don't even care that much about the regular season, just do well enough to make the NCAAT and then hope you get hot in late February/early March. And that sounds way less of a buy in, but it's just honestly where I am. It sucks but last season took a lot of me and I really don't feel like going through 3 months of great only to see it gone with little to show.

I realize this all kind of sounds frontrunner and fairweather but that's not really what I'm going for. I guess bottom line, I'm kind of fed up with college basketball right now. With how last year ended and then you got Wade reinstated at LSU and just got a 5 start recruit and Hardaway is at Memphis and pulling in a #1 class, and here we are still seeming to have some struggles with recruiting. And I realize the season doesn't start for months and by then I may change my mind, but I honestly don't think I'll be as dialed in this year and it really has little to do with us probably taking a step back. I think even if Grant and Bone came back I'd feel the same way.

The TL;DR version: VSF and college basketball are going through a rough patch.
Click to expand...
I think that frustration is fair. I predict it will also wear off as the sting of last year subsides.
 
#2,505
#2,505
Namorto1 said:
Total speculation but it seems to me James will play a lot of point (call it point guard or point forward) next year offensively and let Turner defend the PG defensively. A lot of screens will be set for Bowden on baseline and for his patented curls. I agree and am less concerned with our perimeter play. Post play we have no idea. Clearly our margin of error next year is going to be smaller, but thankfully college basketball has so much transition and roster changes year to year it isn’t as if we are the only team dealing with good players leaving. I’m praying Burns can give us 10 pts per game and 6 boards with some low post presence, Fulkerson gives us hustle points and scrappy play. (Barnes seems to believe in Fulky). And the other bigs just play hard and don’t play timid or afraid. I hope Barnes pushes the tempo even more next year. Grant isn’t going to be around to bail us out when the offense stalls.
Click to expand...
I can't see Burns being a 10/6 guy this season especially if we play up tempo. He's a RS-FR and still at a hefty 272 and unless we slow it down for him could be spent just playing 10 minutes.

If we could get Plavsic cleared(I'm not optimistic) it would benefit greatly. He likes up tempo is built to run at 7 ft and can play the 4/5. would also give the option to redshirt ORN or play him spot minutes. kent is still an unknown. Pons is never going to average 10+ a game. Really can't see fulky playing anymore than the 5 unless he finds a shot other than a layup or dunk in the summer.

I think we're set at the 123 with 4 guys splitting time. Adding a grad to the mix would be ideal.
going to be interesting to see what Barnes comes up with in the next 5 months. History says he'll find a way to win 19 or 20 regular season.
 
#2,506
#2,506
VolsSportsFan said:
So I think I'm at a weird place with college basketball. I still like it, but honestly after the last season it's going to be really hard for me to get excited about the regular season again. If anything, last season sort of added to the notion of how little the regular season actually means. It sucked doing that well and literally having almost nothing to show for it. And I know college basketball has been a tourney sport for years, but last year really seemed to hit it home for me.

We spend all those weeks at #1, and those wins, and it all comes undone in the last 3 weeks. That really sucked. And yeah if the ball bounces our way we make the Elite 8 which would have been better and maybe we beat Virginia and make a FF and that changes everything....but it didn't happen. So the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" doesn't matter. Then you have a team like Auburn, who sort of dances around with being above average all season and looks like they're going to be disappointing, and suddenly they get hot and in end up the Final Four. That just kind of pissed me off. And other teams that have done that have ticked me off.

So now I'm in this mode that I really don't even care that much about the regular season, just do well enough to make the NCAAT and then hope you get hot in late February/early March. And that sounds way less of a buy in, but it's just honestly where I am. It sucks but last season took a lot of me and I really don't feel like going through 3 months of great only to see it gone with little to show.

I realize this all kind of sounds frontrunner and fairweather but that's not really what I'm going for. I guess bottom line, I'm kind of fed up with college basketball right now. With how last year ended and then you got Wade reinstated at LSU and just got a 5 start recruit and Hardaway is at Memphis and pulling in a #1 class, and here we are still seeming to have some struggles with recruiting. And I realize the season doesn't start for months and by then I may change my mind, but I honestly don't think I'll be as dialed in this year and it really has little to do with us probably taking a step back. I think even if Grant and Bone came back I'd feel the same way.

The TL;DR version: VSF and college basketball are going through a rough patch.
Click to expand...


Give me 3 months of being elite over 3/4 days of catching lightning in a bottle.


Frank Martin and Bruce Weber still suck.
 
Last edited:
#2,508
#2,508
BruinVol said:
Give me 3 months of being elite over 3/4 days of catching lightning in a bottle.


Frank Martin and Bruce Weber still suck.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way, even though team success is ultimately judged over the final 3 weeks of the season, fair or not.

Before March, Bruce Pearl was considered by many to have slightly underachieved at Auburn relative to the talent he had amassed there. Fast forward one month, and he is once again the media darling because of what his team did in March.

On February 26th, Bruce Pearl had a collective 88-71 (.553) record as AU head coach, and Auburn sat at 18-9 and 7-7 in SEC play with games still to play against Bama and UGA on the road and Tennessee and Miss St at home. Those final four games could have solidified their spot in the NCAAT or put them squarely on the bubble. They caught fire, won 12 straight to finish 4th in the SEC standings, won the SECT, and landed in the Final Four. That is the thing that gets remembered though, I guess.
 
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#2,509
#2,509
cncchris33 said:
I think that frustration is fair. I predict it will also wear off as the sting of last year subsides.
Click to expand...

Likely.

I think a big problem I have is it's frustrating to watch places like Auburn, South Carolina, etc. being able to get into a Final Four and mostly because they got hot. Is it too much to ask that we get that just once at least? The closest it's happened is 2010. And it's not just a Barnes thing, Pearl's best teams at Tennessee underachieved in the NCAAT. We've had 2 teams in the past 11 years that were arguably the best teams in UT history and both didn't make it past the Sweet 16.

I don't think Auburn or SC are better basketball schools than us, but they have a FF and we don't.
 
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#2,510
#2,510
I know Michigan isn’t so say a “blue blood” but there inability to hire any of their “top” coaches makes me so happy we kept Barnes away from ucla. It also scares me of what we will have to resort to when the day comes Barnes retires.
 
#2,511
#2,511
VolsSportsFan said:
So I think I'm at a weird place with college basketball. I still like it, but honestly after the last season it's going to be really hard for me to get excited about the regular season again. If anything, last season sort of added to the notion of how little the regular season actually means. It sucked doing that well and literally having almost nothing to show for it. And I know college basketball has been a tourney sport for years, but last year really seemed to hit it home for me.

We spend all those weeks at #1, and those wins, and it all comes undone in the last 3 weeks. That really sucked. And yeah if the ball bounces our way we make the Elite 8 which would have been better and maybe we beat Virginia and make a FF and that changes everything....but it didn't happen. So the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" doesn't matter. Then you have a team like Auburn, who sort of dances around with being above average all season and looks like they're going to be disappointing, and suddenly they get hot and in end up the Final Four. That just kind of pissed me off. And other teams that have done that have ticked me off.

So now I'm in this mode that I really don't even care that much about the regular season, just do well enough to make the NCAAT and then hope you get hot in late February/early March. And that sounds way less of a buy in, but it's just honestly where I am. It sucks but last season took a lot of me and I really don't feel like going through 3 months of great only to see it gone with little to show.

I realize this all kind of sounds frontrunner and fairweather but that's not really what I'm going for. I guess bottom line, I'm kind of fed up with college basketball right now. With how last year ended and then you got Wade reinstated at LSU and just got a 5 start recruit and Hardaway is at Memphis and pulling in a #1 class, and here we are still seeming to have some struggles with recruiting. And I realize the season doesn't start for months and by then I may change my mind, but I honestly don't think I'll be as dialed in this year and it really has little to do with us probably taking a step back. I think even if Grant and Bone came back I'd feel the same way.

The TL;DR version: VSF and college basketball are going through a rough patch.
Click to expand...

This is gonna be a long one, fellas.

Very nice post, VSF, and I concur with a lot of this. I think the wounds from last season are still fresh for a lot of us but once September rolls around we’ll probably be counting down the days til basketball season tips off.

Looking back on last year I can now say I’m cool with how everything turned out. It took me awhile to put things into perspective but I have nothing but great memories from last season. The best thing I did was delete the volnation shortcut on my iPhone. The constant bad takes and negativity from the bandwagon fans who flooded our discussions had gotten out of control. I don't think the mods did a very good job of limiting the redundant threads that took over the b-ball forum, either. Sure, it sucked losing in the Sweet 16 after a dream season but at the end of the day we had the pleasure of watching what might have been the most talented team in school history. Being number 1 for 5 weeks was extremely rewarding, especially for all of us who stayed loyal and never missed a game despite going through one of the lowest points in school history not all that long ago. Cheering for any other team was never an option for us (unlike the duke/vol fans).

To your point about the Wade scandal, I think that’s what I’m frustrated with more than anything in college basketball. The NCAA is out of control right now. All of these blue bloods like UNC, Louisville, Syracuse, etc. have always been untouchable, which sucks, but I’m numb to it at this point. However, it bothers me to no end when guys like Will Wade (and even Bruce Pearl about 18 months ago) get a slap on the wrist by the same governing body that hit our program with 2 show cause penalties in less than 5 year’s time, and for much less than what these guys are getting away with lately.

UNC got caught creating new classes and adding a new major specifically to keep athletes academically eligible and it went on for over 10 years. Will Wade was caught on tape talking about “a strong ass offer” he made to a recruit’s family for “way more than the rookie minimum.” I honestly don’t even care about boosters paying players and families—stuff like this happens at almost every school, I saw it first-hand when I was in college, we all probably did. But the NCAA completely decimating our program because Bruce lied about a barbecue and because of something that Tyndall was accused of doing before he ever coached a game at Tennessee is complete ******** when guys like Wade get a free pass.

Sure, they’ve come down harder on other schools (See IU/Kelvin Sampson), but considering the extent of our violations, no other basketball program has ever caught the same wrath that ours has. Since 2003 only five head coaches at power 5 schools have gotten show cause penalties and two of them were our coaches. During the same span guys like Jim Calhoun and Rick Pitino had free reign.
 
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#2,512
#2,512
I love college hoops. My biggest problem w it is the corruption. As for the regular season I think it’s important to just enjoy the ride. I don’t think college football is any better. While you might not end the season on a loss, is winning the camping world bowl any better than losing in the S16?
 
#2,513
#2,513
There are about 30, 35, maybe 40 programs that have had more post season success than TN. Making the Sweet 16 shouldn't be taken for granted. It'd be great to get there every other year and eventually they'd take an additional step or two.
 
#2,514
#2,514
golfballs said:
I love college hoops. My biggest problem w it is the corruption. As for the regular season I think it’s important to just enjoy the ride. I don’t think college football is any better. While you might not end the season on a loss, is winning the camping world bowl any better than losing in the S16?
Click to expand...

No
 
#2,515
#2,515
Namorto1 said:
Total speculation but it seems to me James will play a lot of point (call it point guard or point forward) next year offensively and let Turner defend the PG defensively. A lot of screens will be set for Bowden on baseline and for his patented curls. I agree and am less concerned with our perimeter play. Post play we have no idea. Clearly our margin of error next year is going to be smaller, but thankfully college basketball has so much transition and roster changes year to year it isn’t as if we are the only team dealing with good players leaving. I’m praying Burns can give us 10 pts per game and 6 boards with some low post presence, Fulkerson gives us hustle points and scrappy play. (Barnes seems to believe in Fulky). And the other bigs just play hard and don’t play timid or afraid. I hope Barnes pushes the tempo even more next year. Grant isn’t going to be around to bail us out when the offense stalls.
Click to expand...
Good post.

Burns and Kent are the X factors. Imo Also looking forward to seeing what kind of numbers a healthy Turner with more minutes can put up.
 
#2,516
#2,516
golfballs said:
I love college hoops. My biggest problem w it is the corruption. As for the regular season I think it’s important to just enjoy the ride. I don’t think college football is any better. While you might not end the season on a loss, is winning the camping world bowl any better than losing in the S16?
Click to expand...

No. But I've always had my own head canon about how college football postseason lines up with college basketball.

New Year's Six Bowl = Final Four. I guess you could take it one step further and say a spot in the CFP = Final Four, but I think making one of the other 2 bowls is still a pretty big deal. Maybe the non playoff bowls in the NY6 are like making the Elite 8.

Citrus, Outback, Gator, maybe Music City and Liberty = making the NCAAT. I added the last 2 because while traditionally I think the Gator has more tradition and bigger name, those 2 actually have bigger payouts than the Gator.

Making any other bowl = NIT.
 
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#2,519
#2,519
VolsSportsFan said:
So I think I'm at a weird place with college basketball. I still like it, but honestly after the last season it's going to be really hard for me to get excited about the regular season again. If anything, last season sort of added to the notion of how little the regular season actually means. It sucked doing that well and literally having almost nothing to show for it. And I know college basketball has been a tourney sport for years, but last year really seemed to hit it home for me.

We spend all those weeks at #1, and those wins, and it all comes undone in the last 3 weeks. That really sucked. And yeah if the ball bounces our way we make the Elite 8 which would have been better and maybe we beat Virginia and make a FF and that changes everything....but it didn't happen. So the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" doesn't matter. Then you have a team like Auburn, who sort of dances around with being above average all season and looks like they're going to be disappointing, and suddenly they get hot and in end up the Final Four. That just kind of pissed me off. And other teams that have done that have ticked me off.

So now I'm in this mode that I really don't even care that much about the regular season, just do well enough to make the NCAAT and then hope you get hot in late February/early March. And that sounds way less of a buy in, but it's just honestly where I am. It sucks but last season took a lot of me and I really don't feel like going through 3 months of great only to see it gone with little to show.

I realize this all kind of sounds frontrunner and fairweather but that's not really what I'm going for. I guess bottom line, I'm kind of fed up with college basketball right now. With how last year ended and then you got Wade reinstated at LSU and just got a 5 start recruit and Hardaway is at Memphis and pulling in a #1 class, and here we are still seeming to have some struggles with recruiting. And I realize the season doesn't start for months and by then I may change my mind, but I honestly don't think I'll be as dialed in this year and it really has little to do with us probably taking a step back. I think even if Grant and Bone came back I'd feel the same way.

The TL;DR version: VSF and college basketball are going through a rough patch.
Click to expand...
I know how you feel- went through the same thing after the Preds reached the Stanley Cup finals. When they were floundering along, I would watch maybe 3 out of every 4 games. Then they had their big run, and now it’s like, let’s just get the regular season over with. Probably have watched less than 10 games the last two years until the playoffs. Still hasn’t subsided.

I don’t chalk it up to being a fair weather fan, because I was more into it in non playoff years than now. I think you just put a lot of hope and emotion into these big runs, and if you aren’t a fan of these teams that are there every year, like Duke or the Patriots, it can take awhile to get back in it if you fall short.
 
#2,524
#2,524
BruinVol said:
Hockey and college basketball are very different. In a One game setting anything can happen. 7 games series actually tell us who the better team is
Click to expand...

Yeah but that wasn't his point. Both have pretty long regular seasons that the results can be pretty much trashed in the playoffs. And the 7 game series isn't always true.

Ask the Lightning about that.
 
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