The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

#5,203
#5,203
Turnover Darden.
Turnover Goose Givens.
Oranges rain down again.

Jackson with another made basket and then a charge (old rule... count the basket).

TN by 3
 
#5,206
#5,206
It's really sad. TN is about to beat #2 Kentucky. In a couple of months King will declare for the draft and Mears will step down as the HC. TN was so close to being a potential dynasty. Duke wasn't anything special and nobody knew who Gonzaga was.
 
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#5,208
#5,208
Thunder Good-Oil said:
It's really sad. TN is about to beat #2 Kentucky. In a couple of months King will declare for the draft and Mears will step down as the HC. TN was so close to being a potential dynasty. Duke wasn't anything special and nobody knew who Gonzaga was.
Click to expand...

So was Mears stepping down a surprise?

Only think I know is he had some health issues
 
#5,209
#5,209
BruinVol said:
So was Mears stepping down a surprise?

Only think I know is he had some health issues
Click to expand...

It wasn't publicly expected. It was also very unusual for players to skip their senior year as King did. It was actually declaring "Hardship" to be in the draft. Maybe it was an NBA requirement and players leaving had to petition that their family needed the financial support.

I don't know exactly when Mears officially stepped down. Cliff Wettig was the "interim" coach in 1977-78 so maybe Mears stayed on as the official head coach for much longer than "a few weeks". I suppose it's possible that he was technically still the head coach into 77-78 and was taking a leave of absence.

There wasn't nearly as much information made public at that time and his illness was a taboo subject. If Prozac was around in 1977 he could have become as legendary as Knight, Dean Smith, and many others. He was only 50 or 51 years old and had 399 wins iirc.

Stu Aberdeen was part of the whole package and left for, I think, Marshall. I don't know if his departure was imminent or was a result of Mears stepping down.
 
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#5,210
#5,210
Thunder Good-Oil said:
It wasn't publicly expected. It was also very unusual for players to skip their senior year as King did. It was actually declaring "Hardship" to be in the draft. Maybe it was an NBA requirement and players leaving had to petition that their family needed the financial support.

I don't know exactly when Mears officially stepped down. Cliff Wettig was the "interim" coach in 1977-78 so maybe Mears stayed on as the official head coach for much longer than "a few weeks". I suppose it's possible that he was technically still the head coach into 77-78 and was taking a leave of absence.

There wasn't nearly as much information made public at that time and his illness was a taboo subject. If Prozac was around in 1977 he could have become as legendary as Knight, Dean Smith, and many others. He was only 50 or 51 years old and had 399 wins iirc.

Stu Aberdeen was part of the whole package and left for, I think, Marshall. I don't know if his departure was imminent or was a result of Mears stepping down.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the answer

Such a wild time for the vols and from looking at the bio of Don DeVoe(the first vol coach I can recall in my lifetime) it doesn’t appear his hire would have given much of a boost of optimism for the program
 
#5,211
#5,211
BruinVol said:
Thanks for the answer

Such a wild time for the vols and from looking at the bio of Don DeVoe(the first vol coach I can recall in my lifetime) it doesn’t appear his hire would have given much of a boost of optimism for the program
Click to expand...

Devoe's connection to Bobby Knight made him attractive. I wonder if Coach K was considered. He would have been about 31 and had just taken Army to the NIT in his 3rd year.
 
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#5,212
#5,212
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Devoe's connection to Bobby Knight made him attractive. I wonder if Coach K was considered. He would have been about 31 and had just taken Army to the NIT in his 3rd year.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought

On DeVoe why on earth did he go from Va Tech to Wyoming?

I’m sure Va Tech wasn’t a great job at that time but surely Wyoming was either
 
#5,213
#5,213
BruinVol said:
Interesting thought

On DeVoe why on earth did he go from Va Tech to Wyoming?

I’m sure Va Tech wasn’t a great job at that time but surely Wyoming was either
Click to expand...
I guess u don't remember Wyoming used to be damn good in basketball. Fennis Dembo was one of my favorite players and an All-American for them in the mid to late 80s. Way after DeVoe
 
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#5,214
#5,214
The Dog said:
I guess u don't remember Wyoming used to be damn good in basketball. Fennis Dembo was one of my favorite players and an All-American for them in the mid to late 80s. Way after DeVoe
Click to expand...

I don’t.

When DeVoe went there in the 70s it appears to me their was no success
 
#5,215
#5,215
BruinVol said:
I don’t.

When DeVoe went there in the 70s it appears to me their was no success
Click to expand...
All I know is Fennis Dembo led Wyoming to the championship of the NIT, then the next year to the NCAA and to the Sweet 16, 2nd or 3rd team All-American and the cover of Sports Illustrated, got drafted by my Pistons and won a ring with 'em. I loved him when I was in high school
 
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#5,216
#5,216
BruinVol said:
Interesting thought

On DeVoe why on earth did he go from Va Tech to Wyoming?

I’m sure Va Tech wasn’t a great job at that time but surely Wyoming was either
Click to expand...

I have no idea. But I think that Va Tech had a very mediocre athletics program and maybe Wyoming bumped up his pay significantly.
 
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#5,218
#5,218
BruinVol said:
Crazy that DeVoe went 12-15 and 3-11 in the WAC at Wyoming the season before getting hired in Knoxville
wild
Click to expand...

It might have been a Jerry Green/Derek Dooley type of desperation hire. He erased any doubts by beating KY 3x in year #1 and winning the 1979 SECT. Then he earned more equity with the SEC regular season title about 3 years later.
 
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#5,220
#5,220
Who else did Tennessee interview at the time that DeVoe was hired from Wyoming?

It would be interesting to know if UT reached out to Army for permission to speak with Coach K at that time.
 
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#5,224
#5,224
Hey maybe these kids are waking up to the fact they signed to play for the worst coach in the SEC. Good for them
 
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