Wow I am suprised about all the negative posters here.

[VolDad]

Just my opinion but it seems that people who are critical of Pearl’s coaching abilities (i.e., lack of half court offense, lack of PG after all these years, undisciplined play, lack of in game adjustments, etc) are pretty knowledgeable about the X’s and O’s of Basketball.

While most supporters cite things like:
* If you don’t like him then you are anti-Semite
* No Coach could do a better job
* Our choice is Pearl or Buzzball
* Just sit tight it will get better (no reason given; just because)
They don’t generally have much substance to their argument.

It just seems like the Basketball IQ of his supporters in general is lacking.

 

[MikeHamiltonFan]

Just my opinion but it seems that people who are critical of Pearl’s coaching abilities (i.e., lack of half court offense, lack of PG after all these years, undisciplined play, lack of in game adjustments, etc) are pretty knowledgeable about the X’s and O’s of Basketball.

While most supporters cite things like:
* If you don’t like him then you are anti-Semite
* No Coach could do a better job
* Our choice is Pearl or Buzzball
* Just sit tight it will get better (no reason given; just because)
They don’t generally have much substance to their argument.

It just seems like the Basketball IQ of his supporters in general is lacking.

That is also because you have arm chair coaches who make up the majority of his harshest critics.

Voldad here is one thing I am certain of, it is not easy to run a Bob Knight offense perfectly. It takes lots of discipline and patience. I do not think that Scotty Hopson would stick around to be yelled at by a modern Bob Knight, or be careful as he set screens and ran plays.

I personally enjoy a wild and wooly game where we force lots of turnovers and have alley oops and nice dunks. It is more fun to watch.

I would rather win 87-67 with turnovers and lack of discipline and shots taken early in the clock etc than win 65-59 with excellent halfcourt defense and offense but very few turnovers forced and no excitement.

If you ever played soccer you will know that a perfect corner kick is a thing of beauty. If you see a great one, you cheer even if your team missed the header. We have a lot of fans with very little basketball knowledge who would not know a great screen, or excellent help defense if it hit them in the face, but they know they like the product Bruce brings. We also have lots of guys who can appreciate the intricacies of excellent coaching that takes average athletic ability and maximizes it and they desperately want that same discipline to be evident at TN. I think they need to get over themselves. Bruce is a players coach, he is a great recruiter and he is selling something exciting. I hate watching Tatum throw up a horrible 3 against Purdue, but I have to understand that part of why Bruce is going to be able to sell his program as we move forward is that the players have lots of joy in playing it. He is not a hard nosed disciplinarian. He runs the guys alot, but his offense is not overly complicated and his defense is not either.

I think when he gets some good PG play, you will see him finally get the talent on the floor doing what he wants to do with his system. The result will be lots of 25 and 30 point wins and it will be very tough for even very good teams to beat us.

 

[whocaresgobobcats]

So you are content with our style of play, knowing that it has never been successful in tournaments and has never won a championship, under any coach that runs this system. So there is no reason to change a thing since it is "exciting"?

 

[VolsSportsFan]

Just my opinion but it seems that people who are critical of Pearl`s coaching abilities (i.e., lack of half court offense, lack of PG after all these years, undisciplined play, lack of in game adjustments, etc) are pretty knowledgeable about the X`s and O`s of Basketball.

While most supporters cite things like:
* If you don`t like him then you are anti-Semite
* No Coach could do a better job
* Our choice is Pearl or Buzzball
* Just sit tight it will get better (no reason given; just because)
They don`t generally have much substance to their argument.

It just seems like the Basketball IQ of his supporters in general is lacking.

This sums it up perfectly. The overwelming majority of the ultra pro-Pearl supporters' posts are virtually the same post over and over; a listing out of what he's done and the assertion that anyone who isn't satisfied wants Buzzball back. Rarely do I see any serious basketball discussion from those types, and yes it does resemble Fulmer defending.

I actually do like Pearl, and I do appreciate what he's done, but he not above reproach and the criticisms of his coaching, player development, and game management are all valid. Pointing them out and discussing them are NOT some automatic proof someone wants him fired. Some of you ultra pro Pearl people can't seem to grasp this, evidenced by some of the illogical and in some cases downright retarded commets made by said supporters on this forum.

 

[VolDad]

..... I think when he gets some good PG play, you will see him finally get the talent on the floor doing what he wants to do with his system. The result will be lots of 25 and 30 point wins and it will be very tough for even very good teams to beat us.

I have been hearing that for 4 years. When will that be?

 

[VolsSportsFan]

That is also because you have arm chair coaches who make up the majority of his harshest critics.

Voldad here is one thing I am certain of, it is not easy to run a Bob Knight offense perfectly. It takes lots of discipline and patience. I do not think that Scotty Hopson would stick around to be yelled at by a modern Bob Knight, or be careful as he set screens and ran plays.

I personally enjoy a wild and wooly game where we force lots of turnovers and have alley oops and nice dunks. It is more fun to watch.

I would rather win 87-67 with turnovers and lack of discipline and shots taken early in the clock etc than win 65-59 with excellent halfcourt defense and offense but very few turnovers forced and no excitement.

If you ever played soccer you will know that a perfect corner kick is a thing of beauty. If you see a great one, you cheer even if your team missed the header. We have a lot of fans with very little basketball knowledge who would not know a great screen, or excellent help defense if it hit them in the face, but they know they like the product Bruce brings. We also have lots of guys who can appreciate the intricacies of excellent coaching that takes average athletic ability and maximizes it and they desperately want that same discipline to be evident at TN. I think they need to get over themselves. Bruce is a players coach, he is a great recruiter and he is selling something exciting. I hate watching Tatum throw up a horrible 3 against Purdue, but I have to understand that part of why Bruce is going to be able to sell his program as we move forward is that the players have lots of joy in playing it. He is not a hard nosed disciplinarian. He runs the guys alot, but his offense is not overly complicated and his defense is not either.

I think when he gets some good PG play, you will see him finally get the talent on the floor doing what he wants to do with his system. The result will be lots of 25 and 30 point wins and it will be very tough for even very good teams to beat us.

Congrats, you pretty much just proved VolDad's point with this post.

 

[Hardwood_fanatic]

Just my opinion but it seems that people who are critical of Pearl’s coaching abilities (i.e., lack of half court offense, lack of PG after all these years, undisciplined play, lack of in game adjustments, etc) are pretty knowledgeable about the X’s and O’s of Basketball.

While most supporters cite things like:
* If you don’t like him then you are anti-Semite
* No Coach could do a better job
* Our choice is Pearl or Buzzball
* Just sit tight it will get better (no reason given; just because)
They don’t generally have much substance to their argument.

It just seems like the Basketball IQ of his supporters in general is lacking.

This is a great post. Things I have wanted to say for awhile, yet refrained.... as its not my program. Also, to keep from questioning the IQ of so many who quite frankly, would never understand the base of the argument to begin with.

 

[MikeHamiltonFan]

I have been hearing that for 4 years. When will that be?

Ware. Would have been Selby and Bruce had good reason to believe it would be, but then Worldwide We$ got to his mom.

 

[VolDad]

Ware. Would have been Selby and Bruce had good reason to believe it would be, but then Worldwide We$ got to his mom.

Where was Bruce while We$ was getting to his mom?

 

[MikeHamiltonFan]

Congrats, you pretty much just proved VolDad's point with this post.

Ha...I wonder if you coached or played. If I had a high school team where Skylar McBee was the most athletic guy I had, I would be an idiot to try to use Pearl's system.

When you are trying to bring in Hopson's and Tobias Harris's it makes up for a lack of perfectly executed slow possession offense that they would never come to run or play in.

I do not see why this point is hard to understand, but each time I ask for examples of better coaches than Pearl I get answers like the coach at Butler...he is playing a style of ball that would not be attractive to Tobias Harris. Brad Stevens would not be able to bring guys to UT.

Listening to people talk about how much they hate Pearl's offense is hilarious. How does he average so many points with a crap offense?

This is like people hating Tom Osbourne because they believe the option is outdated and they want to see more long passes. It is truly amazing.

 

[MikeHamiltonFan]

Where was Bruce while We$ was getting to his mom?

Coaching his son in Israel. I criticized him at the time, then I thought that it is a one time chance to do that and while it does not help us in recruiting (I noted the irony that UF signed an Israeli kid we did not even visit) is not something I begrudge CBP.

I find it hard to believe that if Bruce was in town he could have kept We$ away.

 

[VolDad]

Coaching his son in Israel. I criticized him at the time, then I thought that it is a one time chance to do that and while it does not help us in recruiting (I noted the irony that UF signed an Israeli kid we did not even visit) is not something I begrudge CBP.

I find it hard to believe that if Bruce was in town he could have kept We$ away.

Dang, we are paying him a lot of money. Why do you think we are paying him to coach his son in Israel? Where does that fit in his commitment to UT?

 

[BigPapaVol]

Ha...I wonder if you coached or played. If I had a high school team where Skylar McBee was the most athletic guy I had, I would be an idiot to try to use Pearl's system.

When you are trying to bring in Hopson's and Tobias Harris's it makes up for a lack of perfectly executed slow possession offense that they would never come to run or play in.

I do not see why this point is hard to understand, but each time I ask for examples of better coaches than Pearl I get answers like the coach at Butler...he is playing a style of ball that would not be attractive to Tobias Harris. Brad Stevens would not be able to bring guys to UT.

Listening to people talk about how much they hate Pearl's offense is hilarious. How does he average so many points with a crap offense?

This is like people hating Tom Osbourne because they believe the option is outdated and they want to see more long passes. It is truly amazing.

No it isn't. You act as if people are arguing for stall ball. That's ludicrous. Plenty of people have won playing fast tempo. None have won playing horrendous defense nightly, standing still on O and shooting wild shots thereafter. None.

I don't care about number of possessions and points. To date, we haven't seen our team prepared for the several big possessions, on either end, that mean the difference between winning and losing. That's when the D matters. That's when offensive execution matters. Sans Lofton, we've never had a reasonable chance. Coaches can scheme decent shots because offensive players always have an advantage late. Somehow we don't.

 

[NYYVol]

This is a great post. Things I have wanted to say for awhile, yet refrained.... as its not my program. Also, to keep from questioning the IQ of so many who quite frankly, would never understand the base of the argument to begin with.

Feel free to join in. I like to see idiocy exposed, and I don't mind if a rival fan is the one that helps in doing it.

Big game today, what's your feelings on it?
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[B-17 Pilot]

I think we have reached our peak under Pearl. I really like the guy, I never thought I would ever see UT basketball this good. But with his style neither team is ever out of the game, if we are up 20 or down 20 the game is not over. I don't believe this style will ever allow us to get much further than the sweet 16, maybe elite 8 one day. Our guys take way too many 3s. When you live and die by the 3, as we do, if you are ever off in a game against a really good team, you are done. We may get better when pretenders like Hopson and Smith are gone. These 2 are really good against lower teams but they tend to disappear against really good teams.

I like Pearl. . .and I really like up tempo basketball. My gripe has been that the Vols play very undisciplined basketball. . .there are times, especially against the good teams, that you have to look to run with the ball but have the control to slow it down and protect the ball when situations demand. I don't think the Vols do this! I do think that they are definitely on the up swing and expect bigger and better things as they go along.

 

[OrangeNYC]

Dang, we are paying him a lot of money. Why do you think we are paying him to coach his son in Israel? Where does that fit in his commitment to UT?

So you guys think Duke fans are mad at Coach K for coaching the Olympic team? Yet another CBP basher double-standard...
BTW, Did any of you ever answer the "WHO DO YOU HAVE IN MIND AS A REPLACEMENT" question? I never hear an answer to that, only that it's a dumb question. Lots of people asking for such a dumb Q, imo.
Why don't you get over yourselves and answer it? Because you know your answer will be laughed out of here, right? So keep trying to change the discussion to "Those guys are so dumb. Who agrees with me?" So impressive you can get this crew to agree when you say the same tired arguments they post on every CBP article. You guys make me proud to be a VOL. Now answer the frikkin question.

 

[OrangeNYC]

Feel free to join in. I like to see idiocy exposed, and I don't mind if a rival fan is the one that helps in doing it.

Big game today, what's your feelings on it?
Posted via VolNation Mobile

Notice who's on your side on this, "VOL FAN"? I would be sad if I had to reach out to other trolls for support. But you guys sure seem to need those voices of agreement to validate yourselves, regardless of who they are... Way to go. Trolls love your views. Name a perfect coach, one we can't criticize. I'll bet it has a lot more to do with recruiting class than coaching ability. Or is that yet another question that you will avoid?

 

[OrangeNYC]

Hatvol is the bandleader of the negavols. He has admitted since I got here to being an Illinois fan.

That actually makes tons of sense. He starts the hate every time, so I guess these other guys are just the dog-pack that helps take down the big game (me!). Jillinois? Wow. I knew he cheered for somebody else. I remember all of that Illi-guy hate from when we hired him. Wonder how old Hat is? It was strictly old dudes whining about that ancient history, if I remember correctly... Thanks MHF. Also, know that I try to piss irrational people off. If they're going to lie about their true motives for hating CBP, like by not saying they love Jillinois, then I will think of a more offensive reason that they must be so hateful. Really, I don't think CBP is perfect, but he's taken us this far so I say let him have some leash.

 

[volinasheville]

So you guys think Duke fans are mad at Coach K for coaching the Olympic team? Yet another CBP basher double-standard...
BTW, Did any of you ever answer the "WHO DO YOU HAVE IN MIND AS A REPLACEMENT" question? I never hear an answer to that, only that it's a dumb question. Lots of people asking for such a dumb Q, imo.
Why don't you get over yourselves and answer it? Because you know your answer will be laughed out of here, right? So keep trying to change the discussion to "Those guys are so dumb. Who agrees with me?" So impressive you can get this crew to agree when you say the same tired arguments they post on every CBP article. You guys make me proud to be a VOL. Now answer the frikkin question.

Your "frickin question" isn't important. The question is, can the head coach teach his team how to play half court basketball when needed and can he ever get a point guard. Do you understand that these are the criticisms and that the head coach isn't above criticism?

Show me a post in this thread that says anything about wishing Bruce Pearl were gone and then your "frickin question" will matter enough to deserve an answer.

 

[OrangeNYC]

No it isn't. You act as if people are arguing for stall ball. That's ludicrous. Plenty of people have won playing fast tempo. None have won playing horrendous defense nightly, standing still on O and shooting wild shots thereafter. None.

So now we don't win? Or is that not how we play? What games are you watching, btw? How did we beat all those teams last year? Or is undefeated what you've grown to expect? This whole thing is so ridiculous. Your whole premise is just wrong. Where do you go from that? To anger? Seems so.

 

[BigPapaVol]

So now we don't win? Or is that not how we play? What games are you watching, btw? How did we beat all those teams last year? Or is undefeated what you've grown to expect? This whole thing is so ridiculous. Your whole premise is just wrong. Where do you go from that? To anger? Seems so.

Oh. You think Im about beating ETSU and Vandy in TBA. You're wrong. Poling up regular season wins is cute, but meaningless.

Answer my post about what happens o the two ends of the floor tat helps us win big games. You can't. You're a basketball watcher, nothing more.

 

[BigPapaVol]

That actually makes tons of sense. He starts the hate every time, so I guess these other guys are just the dog-pack that helps take down the big game (me!). Jillinois? Wow. I knew he cheered for somebody else. I remember all of that Illi-guy hate from when we hired him. Wonder how old Hat is? It was strictly old dudes whining about that ancient history, if I remember correctly... Thanks MHF. Also, know that I try to piss irrational people off. If they're going to lie about their true motives for hating CBP, like by not saying they love Jillinois, then I will think of a more offensive reason that they must be so hateful. Really, I don't think CBP is perfect, but he's taken us this far so I say let him have some leash.

Shockingly, now two of you are wrong about Hat's preference for Illinois. Don't let that stop you however from propping up your guy with anything but talk about actual coaching or execution.

 

[OrangeNYC]

Your "frickin question" isn't important. The question is, can the head coach teach his team how to play half court basketball when needed and can he ever get a point guard. Do you understand that these are the criticisms and that the head coach isn't above criticism?

Show me a post in this thread that says anything about wishing Bruce Pearl were gone and then your "frickin question" will matter enough to deserve an answer.

So you don't know enough about CBB to name a coach that won't get you laughed at? You are the unimportant thing in this discussion. Sure, you can criticize him, but I think a madly successful coach like Pearl deserves at least half the respect awarded Kiffin. Show me a single post about bball here that isn't all criticism. His record is great, he wins big games, and he can't force a good pg to sign. We've signed a few pgs that were wanted by other schools, they either don't qualify or don't develop. Basketball players can be some hard-nosed, dumb kids. I don't see how that is CBP's fault.
So you want to keep CBP. Good to know. Show him some respect if that is so. I guess that means my question's not for you, so why butt in? Seems like the cool thing to do?

 

[OrangeNYC]

Shockingly, now two of you are wrong about Hat's preference for Illinois. Don't let that stop you however from propping up your guy with anything but talk about actual coaching or execution.

So who does he like? And who's your team? You guys brothers or something? I've never seen such a defense group of trolls.

 

[MikeHamiltonFan]

Shockingly, now two of you are wrong about Hat's preference for Illinois. Don't let that stop you however from propping up your guy with anything but talk about actual coaching or execution.

BPV,
I was on ignore when I posited Hat liked Illinois and hated Pearl because of the Deon thing. Hat confirmed it when someone else broached the question. Said he was in school in the Chicago area around the time it went down. I do not have the time to look it up, but it was in one of the epic Unimane threads. I have never said he is primarily an Illini fan, in fact I may be a bigger fan of that team than he is (do not suffer under rooting for Zook though).

Gems I wish were all in the same thread are the one where Hat cried about Bruce Pearl spending time in OCI, and the one where he said never apologize, it is a sign of weakness.

I did like that he said he was wrong about Knight jr. in his recent trap. The guy knows a ton about basketball and if he avoids the ad hominem I really enjoy reading most of what he writes.