Vols 3rd longest streak being in AP poll

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Charlottesville isn't exactly a bastion of reason. It hasn't been for a long while.

I’m not a cultural anthropologist specializing in second tier college towns, but I do have a PHD in delusional fan-bases. I don’t know that town or when and why it was ever reasonable. I just know their fanbase gathers in the Walmart parking lot to fire their coach, as do we.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

I’m not a cultural anthropologist specializing in second tier college towns, but I do have a PHD in delusional fan-bases. I don’t know that town or when and why it was ever reasonable. I just know their fanbase gathers in the Walmart parking lot to fire their coach, as do we.

I would be in the Sam's parking lot towards the back end of Wal Mart.

 

[EasternVol]

I’m not a cultural anthropologist specializing in second tier college towns, but I do have a PHD in delusional fan-bases. I don’t know that town or when and why it was ever reasonable. I just know their fanbase gathers in the Walmart parking lot to fire their coach, as do we.

Similar but they do their firings in front of some foo foo Barracks Road boutique while sipping mojitos.

 

[UTvol1fn]

$5 says we lengthen our streak for at least 2 more weeks.

 

[PickleRickBarnes]

Tennessee has been right there several times under Barnes. A couple of unfortunate injuries (Alexander several years ago and Ziegler last year.) and that guy that went crazy for Purdue (can’t remember his name) and made everything he threw up have kept Tennessee from taking the next step. Barnes is the guy. I believe he has a run in him, maybe a couple. He is due.

Hey I agree, I love Barnes and hope he is here for 4-5 more years even if we never make it past the S16.

but if you told me right now I could have 15 years of what Barnes produced or an inconsistent 15 year run where we lose in the first round, miss the playoffs, etc.. but 1 of those years we win it all. That’s what I’m taking

 

[VolTull]

Hey I agree, I love Barnes and hope he is here for 4-5 more years even if we never make it past the S16.

but if you told me right now I could have 15 years of what Barnes produced or an inconsistent 15 year run where we lose in the first round, miss the playoffs, etc.. but 1 of those years we win it all. That’s what I’m taking

.

 

[Christian Lowe]

Hey I agree, I love Barnes and hope he is here for 4-5 more years even if we never make it past the S16.

but if you told me right now I could have 15 years of what Barnes produced or an inconsistent 15 year run where we lose in the first round, miss the playoffs, etc.. but 1 of those years we win it all. That’s what I’m taking

So if they won the title rather than being bounced in the final four, you’d rather be a South Carolina fan from 2005-2020 than a fan of us from that same period? You’re either insane or lying.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Hey I agree, I love Barnes and hope he is here for 4-5 more years even if we never make it past the S16.

but if you told me right now I could have 15 years of what Barnes produced or an inconsistent 15 year run where we lose in the first round, miss the playoffs, etc.. but 1 of those years we win it all. That’s what I’m taking

Sure you would. Most casual fans would agree with you

 

[Chris4Vols22]

Sure you would. Most casual fans would agree with you

This is a BS take. Wanting success in the tournament does not equate to being a casual fan. Do you  not want postseason success?

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

This is a BS take. Wanting success in the tournament does not equate to being a casual fan. Do you  not want postseason success?

Yes, but not in the manner he described.

 

[cardvolfan]

So if they won the title rather than being bounced in the final four, you’d rather be a South Carolina fan from 2005-2020 than a fan of us from that same period? You’re either insane or lying.

The evidence that he’s not a big basketball fan is in his statement to “miss the playoffs.” Fans with this outlook are usually “uneducated” basketball folks.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

This is a BS take. Wanting success in the tournament does not equate to being a casual fan. Do you  not want postseason success?

It is a false dichotomy, but so is pretending there is some group of fans who love Barnes, but don’t want to win it all. The fans who pressure their program to get the mythical coach who is “good in the tournament” end up with Shaka Smart. Building a foundation and a process that builds a program still yields a higher chance at getting to Monday than any other means. We are getting better returns on talent than KY or Duke right now. I personally believe we have a very good shot at going deep this year, but so much of it is beyond the coach’s control. If we get a good draw and play well, I think we are one of five or so teams that have the parts to win it all.

 

[LibertyVol]

It is a false dichotomy, but so is pretending there is some group of fans who love Barnes, and don’t want to win it all. The fans who pressure their program to get the mythical coach who is “good in the tournament” end up with Shaka Smart. Building a foundation and a process that builds a program still yields a higher chance at getting to Monday than any other means. We are getting better returns on talent than KY or Duke right now. I personally believe we have a very good shot at going deep this year, but so much of it is beyond the coach’s control. If we get a good draw and play well, I think we are one of five or so teams that have the parts to win it all.

And Tennessee needs to avoid injuries. That has hurt Tennessee a couple of times, like last year.

 

[kckempf]

And Tennessee needs to avoid injuries. That has hurt Tennessee a couple of times, like last year.

It hurt us in previous years when we lost Fulkerson and Alexander, too. That's one of the big bits of luck for teams in the tournament, and we just haven't had that luck.

 

[orangemadam]

An injury and loss of Aidoo would be much worse than a loss of Knecht.

The roster is deep in all areas except the 5 spot. We could withstand
injuries to the other 4 positions. Sounds similar to the position we were in
with Alexander.

 

[Rockytop10nessee]

So if they won the title rather than being bounced in the final four, you’d rather be a South Carolina fan from 2005-2020 than a fan of us from that same period? You’re either insane or lying.

South Carolina isn't an inconsistent program; they're a bad program that caught lightning in a bottle. Inconsistent would be like Florida who has still made the tourney more often than not over the last 15 years.

 

[Rockytop10nessee]

An injury and loss of Aidoo would be much worse than a loss of Knecht.

The roster is deep in all areas except the 5 spot. We could withstand
injuries to the other 4 positions. Sounds similar to the position we were in
with Alexander.

that's a wild take... knecht would clearly be the biggest loss.

 

[ColinS]

that's a wild take... knecht would clearly be the biggest loss.

I agree that Aidoo is a bigger loss. We have depth at wing. We don't really even have a true back up center till Estrella establishes himself. Awaka is just a designated rebounder playing center and couldn't play more than 8 or 10 minutes a half because of foul trouble.

 

[PickleRickBarnes]

So if they won the title rather than being bounced in the final four, you’d rather be a South Carolina fan from 2005-2020 than a fan of us from that same period? You’re either insane or lying.

Considering we are 100ish years in as a program

Yeah I’m taking the path that gets a NC.

Once we have at least one maybe my mind would change

 

[jtipto10]

An injury and loss of Aidoo would be much worse than a loss of Knecht.

The roster is deep in all areas except the 5 spot. We could withstand
injuries to the other 4 positions. Sounds similar to the position we were in
with Alexander.

that's a wild take... knecht would clearly be the biggest loss.

I agree that Aidoo is a bigger loss. We have depth at wing. We don't really even have a true back up center till Estrella establishes himself. Awaka is just a designated rebounder playing center and couldn't play more than 8 or 10 minutes a half because of foul trouble.

These are absolutely insane takes. They are both important pieces, particularly with Aidoo and what he means to our defense.

But winning 4 (to get to the final 4) or winning 6 (for the national title) in a row have waaaaay more to do with a guy who has the potential to put up 35 than it does maintaining your season long identity. It's called March madness for a reason, because everyone needs a guy who can just go off. You need a Knecht on your team way more than you need an Aidoo.

There's arguments to be made either way, and I get that. We'd suffer without either. But anyone who's watched our team this year and decided they'd rather have Aidoo for the tournament than Knecht, I just don't understand.

 

[Rockytop10nessee]

I agree that Aidoo is a bigger loss. We have depth at wing. We don't really even have a true back up center till Estrella establishes himself. Awaka is just a designated rebounder playing center and couldn't play more than 8 or 10 minutes a half because of foul trouble.

It’s one of those things that’s so wrong, no one should be allowed to have that opinion. It’s like saying Dennis Rodman would’ve been a bigger loss to the 90’s bulls than MJ. Like… you can’t know basketball and think Aidoo is more important than Knecht.

 

[ColinS]

It’s one of those things that’s so wrong, no one should be allowed to have that opinion. It’s like saying Dennis Rodman would’ve been a bigger loss to the 90’s bulls than MJ. Like… you can’t know basketball and think Aidoo is more important than Knecht.

What would we do without Aidoo? He is our rim protector, best rebounder, and best scorer in the post. We could survive without Knecht because we have other good players on the wing. Truth be told if we loose either it would be a detriment. If we are only referring to the 35 a night Knecht I get it but he hasn't done that every game and he want do that every game moving forward. It's my opinion and I am perfectly willing to let you have yours.

 

[Rockytop10nessee]

What would we do without Aidoo? He is our rim protector, best rebounder, and best scorer in the post. We could survive without Knecht because we have other good players on the wing. Truth be told if we loose either it would be a detriment. If we are only referring to the 35 a night Knecht I get it but he hasn't done that every game and he want do that every game moving forward. It's my opinion and I am perfectly willing to let you have yours.

I’m willing to let you have yours as well. It’s just one of the silliest opinions I’ve ever seen shared on VN. DK might be the best player in the entire nation. No one on our team is more important than that. Hell Dalton is the most important player we’ve had since ChrisLofton, maybe longer.

Without Aidoo, we’d probably have the same record right now. Without DK, we’d have 7-8 losses already.

 

[cncchris33]

I’m willing to let you have yours as well. It’s just one of the silliest opinions I’ve ever seen shared on VN. DK might be the best player in the entire nation. No one on our team is more important than that. Hell Dalton is the most important player we’ve had since ChrisLofton, maybe longer.

Without Aidoo, we’d probably have the same record right now. Without DK, we’d have 7-8 losses already.

I think one's opinion in this discussion mostly revolves around perspective.

Those who value the star player will side with the Knecht perspective believing that stars change teams.

Those who value the scarcity of our experience and talent in the post will side with the Aidoo perspective believing that we only have one real option in the post who can make a difference for this team.

I could probably make a case for either side if you forced my hand.

That being said, I think it's pretty illogical to think we'd have the same record without Aidoo as we do with him. We'd have lost to Illinois and UGA for sure, and the Bama, Florida, Ole Miss, Syracuse, and Wisconsin games would have all been much tighter. He averaged 13.7 pts and 9.1 rebs in those 7 games. You can't convince me that we go 7-0 in that stretch without his contribution. I'd bet we finish under .500, in fact.

So, as ridiculous as you find the assertion that Aidoo is as important as Knecht, those who support the Aidoo perspective believe we can more likely supplement the loss of DK with our guard depth and experience than we could Aidoo with our post depth & experience. I think that's a valid belief regardless of which guy I believe is more irreplaceable.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Which team would be better? One without Knecht but with Nkamhoua -or- one without Aidoo but with Plavsic? Or with Burns or Huntley-Hatfield? I think we’d be very average without Knecht this year. He has been filling a missing piece. But if Aidoo keeps playing at this level we’re very likely to at least match the best NCAAT run ever. Actually “runs”. Cuonzo also went 3-1 once.