UT basketball history

#28
#28
I'm pretty sure we had basketball coaches prior to Ray Mears all the way back to the early 20th Century.
I've been an avid Vol fan since well before the Mears era.
 
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#30
#30
VAWL FAN said:
If I'm not mistaken Cuonzo quit to take the California job because some fans said mean things about him not because he was forced out.Thicker skin maybe?
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Cuonzo was always able to stay one step ahead of the posse. He left California for Missouri because they said mean things about him there. His coaching finally caught up with him in Columbia.
 
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#31
#31
These stories remind me of Devoe going to Florida after getting fired at Tennessee. He ordered the star Florida player (name?) to cut his mullet and the guy quit. Then Devoe went on to have a fairly successful season without the guy. I think he was just there as an interim coach any way. Someone who remembers better might fill in the details,
 
#32
#32
VolnGermany said:
These stories remind me of Devoe going to Florida after getting fired at Tennessee. He ordered the star Florida player (name?) to cut his mullet and the guy quit. Then Devoe went on to have a fairly successful season without the guy. I think he was just there as an interim coach any way. Someone who remembers better might fill in the details,
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Dwayne Schintzius. I may have spelled his last wrong
 
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#33
#33
VolnGermany said:
These stories remind me of Devoe going to Florida after getting fired at Tennessee. He ordered the star Florida player (name?) to cut his mullet and the guy quit. Then Devoe went on to have a fairly successful season without the guy. I think he was just there as an interim coach any way. Someone who remembers better might fill in the details,
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I’d never heard that Devoe had a problem with Dwayne’s mullet. Dyron Nix had a sweet one.
 
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#38
#38
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I’d never heard that Devoe had a problem with Dwayne’s mullet. Dyron Nix had a sweet one.
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Nix had some game. Funny that for the last season DeVoe coached at UT, he changed his style to an up tempo game, allowing the players to fire it up when open. Mark Griffin could get hot from outside, but ran down the court with his hands up like an idiot afterwards.
 
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#40
#40
OffTackleVol said:
It was either the '75-'76 or '76-'77 season that Ernie G shot free throws that were someone else's. I remember John Ward commenting on it during the live broadcast.
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After the '75 game in Lexington, King went on the record stating UT wouldn't lose to Kentucky again while he was in Knoxville. Never mind being an all time great in the history of the game. He backed that statement up, as Tennessee won the next 5
 
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#41
#41
BernardKingGOAT said:
After the '75 game in Lexington, King went on the record stating UT wouldn't lose to Kentucky again while he was in Knoxville. Never mind being an all time great in the history of the game. He backed that statement up, as Tennessee won the next 5
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Right after the fire in his Afro from a KY fan flipping his lit cigarette butt into it was extinguished.
 
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#42
#42
BernardKingGOAT said:
Nix had some game. Funny that for the last season DeVoe coached at UT, he changed his style to an up tempo game, allowing the players to fire it up when open. Mark Griffin could get hot from outside, but ran down the court with his hands up like an idiot afterwards.
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Haha - I remember this like it was yesterday. He must’ve still been basking in the newness of the three-point shot. Although I prefer what he did versus some of the antics we see from players today.
 
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#43
#43
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Right after the fire in his Afro from a KY fan flipping his lit cigarette butt into it was extinguished.
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That would be an arrest now🤭 It's funny that we got our info from newspapers back then and didn't know about it until the next morning. Also, the statement from King might not have gone public for several days
 
#44
#44
VolCalls said:
Haha - I remember this like it was yesterday. He must’ve still been basking in the newness of the three-point shot. Although I prefer what he did versus some of the antics we see from players today.
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At least Knecht gestures the three from his chest🤭
 
#45
#45
ColinS said:
Exactly, from a guy that constantly preached toughness. Average coach with no personality. We dodged a bullet when he turned down the raise and extention to run away.
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While I agree that I'm glad he left, not sure it would have been bad. It was his first job at a p6 job, and I get he was trying to instill a culture of toughness. The offense was just so mediocre to bad. He might have gotten better offensively with changes in his staff. A move from him to Barnes would have been better. Then again, without the one year debacle with Tyndall, we probably wouldn't have gotten Barnes. It all worked out quite nicely as we are now a powerhouse
 
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#49
#49
VolArmy74 said:
What Mears might have been with an expanded tournament and today's outlook on mental health and its treatment.
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Mears retired at age 50. Barnes was 61 when he was hired.

From his wiki page:
His career record of 399–135 (.747) still ranks among the top 15 all-time NCAA coaching records for those with a minimum of 10 seasons.
 
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#50
#50
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Mears retired at age 50. Barnes was 61 when he was hired.

From his wiki page:
His career record of 399–135 (.747) still ranks among the top 15 all-time NCAA coaching records for those with a minimum of 10 seasons.
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Mears was my AD at UT- Martin. Around him only a few times. After witnessing and observing dementia first hand, I can remember his behavior being somewhat early stages. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which back then got labeled with a huge stigma.
 
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