The Official #15 Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech Game Thread, 3:00 PM ET, SEC Network+

[PEPPERJAX]

Will probably get fired after this season.

Ok thanks
I don't know much about TN TECH hoops.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

After 6 years Barnes has TN firmly in the top 25 with a loaded roster including the number 1 point guard in the country. After 6 years Bruce left TN desperate to find a coach and with uncertainty as to how the NCAA was going to dole out probation and punishment due to a coach that was just caught cheating and was about to be sent off to Show Cause Land. Which one did the better job is a no brainer. It’s even more obvious considering what each started with. Haters gonna hate though.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Their respective records at UT tell the facts that you are incorrect and you are just lying to yoursel, abs others. An elite 8 is better than 1 sweet sixteen. 3 sweet sixteens are better than 1. A winning % of .6777 is better than .570….. at UT. But keep pounding that drum.

With a top 5 salary, I think it reasonable to expect much better results but you don’t so good for you.

Zero NCAA investigations is better than a program swirling down a toilet without a coach after 6 years.

 

[vols 30]

After 6 years Barnes has TN firmly in the top 25 with a loaded roster including the number 1 point guard in the country. After 6 years Bruce left TN desperate to find a coach and with uncertainty as to how the NCAA was going to dole out probation and punishment due to a coach that was just caught cheating and was about to be sent off to Show Cause Land. Which one did the better job is a no brainer. It’s even more obvious considering what each started with. Haters gonna hate though.

True. Haters gonna hate, and especially refuse to recognize what a coach accomplished

 

[JCP201]

True. Haters gonna hate, and especially refuse to recognize what a coach accomplished

Don't understand why people keep arguing about Pearl. He is not coming back here-- and Barnes has got us in a great situation with recruiting plus we know he won't get us in trouble.

 

[Pride85]

Their respective records at UT tell the facts that you are incorrect and you are just lying to yoursel, abs others. An elite 8 is better than 1 sweet sixteen. 3 sweet sixteens are better than 1. A winning % of .6777 is better than .570….. at UT. But keep pounding that drum.

With a top 5 salary, I think it reasonable to expect much better results but you don’t so good for you.

But how many times do you need to post it? You are someone who would find something to complain about if we made the final four every year. Keep wringing your hands and gnashing your teeth. I really do like the ignore button.

 

[Pride85]

Hey genius, they abolished divisions in SEC basketball when Mizzou and A&M joined.

Don't confuse the monkeys with facts. Itakes their brains short circuit.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Their respective records at UT tell the facts that you are incorrect and you are just lying to yoursel, abs others. An elite 8 is better than 1 sweet sixteen. 3 sweet sixteens are better than 1. A winning % of .6777 is better than .570….. at UT. But keep pounding that drum.

With a top 5 salary, I think it reasonable to expect much better results but you don’t so good for you.

Very telling that you present their respective winning %'ages as a simple "apples to apples" comparison...lol

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

True. Haters gonna hate, and especially refuse to recognize what a coach accomplished

Looks to me like everything Pearl accomplished is being recognized - both the good and the bad which definitely includes the state of the program when he left it.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Their respective records at UT tell the facts that you are incorrect and you are just lying to yoursel, abs others. An elite 8 is better than 1 sweet sixteen. 3 sweet sixteens are better than 1. A winning % of .6777 is better than .570….. at UT. But keep pounding that drum.

With a top 5 salary, I think it reasonable to expect much better results but you don’t so good for you.

The last 4 years (what earned him that Top 5 salary), his winning percentage is 71%, which is better than 68% from Pearl.

 

[Caculator]

Why do losers pine for the fat fookin cheater?

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Why do losers pine for the fat fookin cheater?

It’s the same folks that keep hoping we rehire kiffen. At this point it’s just pathetic.

 

[ColinS]

Don't understand why people keep arguing about Pearl. He is not coming back here-- and Barnes has got us in a great situation with recruiting plus we know he won't get us in trouble.

Agree. But does it make any less sense than those that act like Barnes is the God of coaches and untouchable. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

those that act like Barnes is the God of coaches and untouchable.

I realize you're using the device of hyperbole to make a point. But I can't recall anyone on this board saying anything remotely similar to that. We all realize that Barnes is not perfect, nor is he God of coaches or untouchable. He isn't John Wooden or Coach K or Dean Smith. He probably isn't going to take us to the FF - who knows? - but he has the program relevant again after a notable abscence, consistently in the top 20 and sometimes the top 10, is recruiting on a level unseen at Tennessee before, has been running a solid and classy program, and has given us something we've desperately needed - stability. He is competing on the national stage without letting the NCAA wolf in the door. That's what he gets paid top 5 money for. He's worth all of it, if you ask me, no matter what he does in the tourney.

 

[ColinS]

I realize you're using the device of hyperbole to make a point. But I can't recall anyone on this board saying anything remotely similar to that. We all realize that Barnes is not perfect, nor is he God of coaches or untouchable. He isn't John Wooden or Coach K or Dean Smith. He probably isn't going to take us to the FF - who knows? - but he has the program relevant again after a notable abscence, consistently in the top 20 and sometimes the top 10, is recruiting on a level unseen at Tennessee before, has been running a solid and classy program, and has given us something we've desperately needed - stability. He is competing on the national stage without letting the NCAA wolf in the door. That's what he gets paid top 5 money for. He's worth all of it, if you ask me, no matter what he does in the tourney.

I'm not being literal just pointing out how people go to extremes on Barnes.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Agree. But does it make any less sense than those that act like Barnes is the God of coaches and untouchable. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

I believe you are mistaking the reaction to certain posters (1 in particular)...from my perspective you have had a number of batsh*t crazy narratives for years (e.g., CRB is lazy and coasting to retirement, CRB can't recruit, CRB is paid too much which probably comes from posters who complained for years we would not pay for a known football coach - lol, etc...) combined with blatant omission of contextual facts (e.g., the state of the program when CRB took over) which results in other posters calling them out and rightfully so. The one fair criticism is CRB's lack of postseason success but, again, some context is needed as it relates to UT IMO (e.g., it was not reasonable to expect CRB to make the tourney in year 1 or 2, Fulky not playing in Rd1 last year, etc...).

At the end of the day, we have one of the best (not perfect...don't get it twisted) coaches of all time coaching our team and he took a dumpster fire (and, yes, when national media is reporting about your racist fans/boosters and the roster is depleted it is a dumpster fire - not going to engage anyone to debate this) and quickly turned us into a ranked team on the court with expectations set at making the tourney every year. Lastly, CRB has built a program known for developing and shaping the character of these young men while growing his reputation for putting players in the league.

 

[ColinS]

I believe you are mistaking the reaction to certain posters (1 in particular)...from my perspective you have had a number of batsh*t crazy narratives for years (e.g., CRB is lazy and coasting to retirement, CRB can't recruit, CRB is paid too much which probably comes from posters who complained for years we would not pay for a known football coach - lol, etc...) combined with blatant omission of contextual facts (e.g., the state of the program when CRB took over) which results in other posters calling them out and rightfully so. The one fair criticism is CRB's lack of postseason success but, again, some context is needed as it relates to UT IMO (e.g., it was not reasonable to expect CRB to make the tourney in year 1 or 2, Fulky not playing in Rd1 last year, etc...).

At the end of the day, we have one of the best (not perfect...don't get it twisted) coaches of all time coaching our team and he took a dumpster fire (and, yes, when national media is reporting about your racist fans/boosters and the roster is depleted it is a dumpster fire - not going to engage anyone to debate this) and quickly turned us into a ranked team on the court with expectations set at making the tourney every year. Lastly, CRB has built a program known for developing and shaping the character of these young men while growing his reputation for putting players in the league.

You don't have to convince me Barnes is a good coach and a great hire at the time. I just don't think he is the end all though. We will be fine after he decides to retire or whatever. The narrative that he is the only reason we are not SEC bottom feeders(more hyperbole I guess) is silly. Like I have said a million times, we have everything needed to be a successful program. There is a lot of well deserved praise out there for Barnes but the lack of NCAA Tournament wins is fair criticism too. As I said the truth is always in the middle.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

You don't have to convince me Barnes is a good coach and a great hire at the time. I just don't think he is the end all though. We will be fine after he decides to retire or whatever. The narrative that he is the only reason we are not SEC bottom feeders(more hyperbole I guess) is silly. Like I have said a million times, we have everything needed to be a successful program. There is a lot of well deserved praise out there for Barnes but the lack of NCAA Tournament wins is fair criticism too. As I said the truth is always in the middle.

Bsrnes has 3 NCAAT wins at TN and one loss was by one point and another loss was in OT. The 3 seasons when TN didn’t play were throw away years. The first 2 coming after starting with a dumpster fire of a program and a cancelled COVID year. The one where TN was 0-1 was COVID restricted.

Of the 3 teams that TN lost to in the NCAAT, Purdue lost to the National Champion (in OT), Loyola won 2 more times and was in the Final Four, and Oregon State won 2 more games and was in the EE. It’s a single elimination tournament and Purdue was a 3 seed, Loyola was under seeded as an 11 and OSU was under seeded as a 12. Those are unfavorable draws. Luck is a huge factor as are injuries (Kyle Alexander).

The Barnes can’t win in March narrative is tired. He’s 6-4 in the SECT with 2 finals. Half on TN’s in the last 40 years. The only UT coach that has been to 2 SECT finals in the modern era. Barnes is exceeding TN’s historic results in basketball.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

You don't have to convince me Barnes is a good coach and a great hire at the time. I just don't think he is the end all though. We will be fine after he decides to retire or whatever. The narrative that he is the only reason we are not SEC bottom feeders(more hyperbole I guess) is silly. Like I have said a million times, we have everything needed to be a successful program. There is a lot of well deserved praise out there for Barnes but the lack of NCAA Tournament wins is fair criticism too. As I said the truth is always in the middle.

Of course there are other good coaches out there but the point is we actually got one (after our well documented struggles with coaching searches in multiple sports) but that's not the point which is that we give credit to those who actually accomplish something (to the winners go the spoils) versus pointing out that someone else could have done something.

I agree we have a lot of key factors for success but that didn't seem to help Cuonzo or Tyndall. Regarding the bottom feeders narrative you referenced, I am on the board a lot but I missed that one somehow.

 

[ColinS]

Bsrnes has 3 NCAAT wins at TN and one loss was by one point and another loss was in OT. The 3 seasons when TN didn’t play were throw away years. The first 2 coming after starting with a dumpster fire of a program and a cancelled COVID year. The one where TN was 0-1 was COVID restricted.

Of the 3 teams that TN lost to in the NCAAT, Purdue lost to the National Champion (in OT), Loyola won 2 more times and was in the Final Four, and Oregon State won 2 more games and was in the EE. It’s a single elimination tournament and Purdue was a 3 seed, Loyola was under seeded as an 11 and OSU was under seeded as a 12. Those are unfavorable draws. Luck is a huge factor as are injuries (Kyle Alexander).

The Barnes can’t win in March narrative is tired. He’s 6-4 in the SECT with 2 finals. Half on TN’s in the last 40 years. The only UT coach that has been to 2 SECT finals in the modern era. Barnes is exceeding TN’s historic results in basketball.

I was referring more to his average career numbers in the NCAA. Not horrible but not good. He has continued the same trend here but the sample size in his games with us is small. This narrative becomes tired when he wins a higher percent of NCAA games. Sorry, but that's how this works and how it has always worked.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I was referring more to his average career numbers in the NCAA. Not horrible but not good. He has continued the same trend here but the sample size in his games with us is small. This narrative becomes tired when he wins a higher percent of NCAA games. Sorry, but that's how this works and how it has always worked.

When his teams are marginal or on the bubble talent-wise but are getting into the NCAAT 80-90% of the time then the NCAAT wins will be harder to accumulate. What is a better NCAAT result? 0-0 or 1-1? He’s never had a blue blood program but has done well staying near the top of 4 of the P-6 conferences loaded with good teams. One more score versus Purdue and versus Chicago and Barnes potentially already has 2 deep NCAAT runs at TN. The NCAAT is single elimination and TN has had bad luck with draws that looked good on paper but turned out having opponents far better than their seeds would suggest. The coaching has been good enough. The luck has been bad - but that is TN’s basketball history.

 

[Vols8086]

When his teams are marginal or on the bubble talent-wise but are getting into the NCAAT 80-90% of the time then the NCAAT wins will be harder to accumulate. What is a better NCAAT result? 0-0 or 1-1? He’s never had a blue blood program but has done well staying near the top of 4 of the P-6 conferences loaded with good teams. One more score versus Purdue and versus Chicago and Barnes potentially already has 2 deep NCAAT runs at TN. The NCAAT is single elimination and TN has had bad luck with draws that looked good on paper but turned out having opponents far better than their seeds would suggest. The coaching has been good enough. The luck has been bad - but that is TN’s basketball history.

Your post sums up what ColinS and others (myself included) have said about the extreme lengths people go to defend him. Just say that you refuse to place any blame on Barnes at all for anything. That would save you time in typing out that nonsense and would just let others know you aren't open minded about anything even remotely critical about him.

Marginal or on the bubble talent wise? Barnes is recruiting at an extremely high clip here the last few years, and his other teams had a guy who will have his jersey number in the rafters at TBA and was the best player in the SEC for 2 years in a row with plenty of talent around him as well. Lets not even get into the talent he had at Texas. He had a guy who is a once in a decade or more talent, who will probably be considered a top 20ish basketball player of all time, and got bounced in round 1.

Luck? So Barnes has just been the unluckiest coach in the history of the NCAA tourney? He probably had the best group he will ever have here for a couple years in Grant, Admiral, Bone, etc and managed 3 tourney wins in 2 seasons with that group.

These kinds of responses are what you get when you have no real evidence to support your stance. It's a desperation play when you start blaming luck for a guy's career. Or an entire program's history. You can like and be supportive of Barnes while also acknowlegding his shortcomings when it comes to his postseason performance.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Your post sums up what ColinS and others (myself included) have said about the extreme lengths people go to defend him. Just say that you refuse to place any blame on Barnes at all for anything. That would save you time in typing out that nonsense and would just let others know you aren't open minded about anything even remotely critical about him.

Marginal or on the bubble talent wise? Barnes is recruiting at an extremely high clip here the last few years, and his other teams had a guy who will have his jersey number in the rafters at TBA and was the best player in the SEC for 2 years in a row with plenty of talent around him as well. Lets not even get into the talent he had at Texas. He had a guy who is a once in a decade or more talent, who will probably be considered a top 20ish basketball player of all time, and got bounced in round 1.

Luck? So Barnes has just been the unluckiest coach in the history of the NCAA tourney? He probably had the best group he will ever have here for a couple years in Grant, Admiral, Bone, etc and managed 3 tourney wins in 2 seasons with that group.

These kinds of responses are what you get when you have no real evidence to support your stance. It's a desperation play when you start blaming luck for a guy's career. Or an entire program's history. You can like and be supportive of Barnes while also acknowlegding his shortcomings when it comes to his postseason performance.

My response is factual. This ^^^ diatribe is the nonsense.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Trolls repeat the Barnes can’t win in March crap THOUSANDS of times. The flaws with that argument are posted and the trolls claim that those (far fewer) posts are going to “extreme lengths” to defend him.

Barnes has a Final Four and two Elite Eights and 7 Sweet 16s (8 counting TN’s 8th EVER in 2019).

Trolls: those don’t count, he wasn’t at TN.

Barnes has 2 SECT Finals appearances. Twice as many as any other TN coach since the tournament returned in 1979. 2 in 5 SECT finals in a 14 team league… all with big budgets as well. Barnes has been to NCAATs 60% of the time at TN even after starting with the program being a roaring dumpster fire. Barnes success is exceeding TN’s basketball history.

Trolls: well he doesn’t have an SECT championship and in 3 tries hasn’t been to an Elite Eight.

The phantom foul called on Lemonte Turner took away the EE. A lucky bounce by Chicago took away a Sweet 16 and an easy path to the FF.

Trolls: but Barnes had Grant AND Admiral.

The fact that Kyle Alexander had to sit out with an injury wasn’t a factor?

The trolls are the desperate posters.