Actually, I'm quite certain that JP and Tayshaun are cousins. They both have similar styles too. Prince was huge in this game. The commentators after the game wanted to look at it as a plus for Memphis that they didn't play their best game and still played it tight against Tennessee. What I think is amazing is that Chris Lofton had 7 points and Jajuan Smith had 9, I think, and Tennessee still wins. Amazing game. An even bigger game is on the docket against Vandy Tuesday night. No, it won't have quite the hype but let's see how this team responds to being number 1. Does this mean Tennessee's a basketball school now??? :wink:
Tennessee Tom & Aquilla, I did not watch the game, but saw the score this morning. Congratulations and good luck in the NCAA Tournament. I did not give you much of a chance in winning against Memphis on the road. Don
Heckuva game. IMO, the key to both teams' success is their depth which allows them to keep up a frantic pace the entire game. One issue, however, which could severely affect both teams in the tournament against higher calibre teams is their poor free throw shooting.
Always has been... but it was the Lady Vols that could usually beat the men's team. :? Don't think that's the case now! :wink: Cousins may be right. I was just sure they were not brothers... well, not siblings anyway. :wink: Sid, if you are going to criticize, get it right. :x We would have to hit about 10 percentage points higher to even make it to the “Poor” status. :shock: Memphis is worse than that. They need about 12 percentage points more to make it to the “Pathetic” level. :twisted: I made the comment to Cindy with about 11 minutes left that we should put in our worst defensive players for about 5 minutes to give the starters a blow. They should do nothing but foul the Memphis shooters. :idea: We would have won the game by double digits! 8) Don, Thanks for the congrats.
It will be interesting to see how Tennessee does in their next game Tom. Sometimes their is a let down after a big win like this. However at this point in time the most important thing to Tennessee is being tourney ready. You have already almost cinched the SEC East regular season and will no doubt be the highest ranked team in the SEC. Don't get discouraged if you happen to lose a game between now and the end of the season. The two previous seasons the Gators hit a mini slump about this time of year yet we won the NCAA. This is a very good Tennessee team that stands a great chance. I think I've told you before that I really like your coach.
No doubt getting back up for another big game will be tough for the Vols. Right now it's clear that they will be a #1 seed if they don't fall apart and from what I saw last night I don't expect them to fall apart. Worst case senario is an upset someplace that maybe knocks them down to a #2 seed. Terry
Well it's offical, Vols are unanimous #1 in the polls today. Texas is up to #5, and playing very well right now. Given that they beat the Vols earlier in the season Tenn is really helping their cause for a #1 seed. Irish, inspite of 2 very good wins this past week didn't really move much in the polls. Terry
I see that Bruce Pearl is being talked up as the next IU coach by posters on Internet Bulltetin boards..IU boards that is. I wonder if the IU job has enough drawing power to lure a guy like Pearl away from Tenn, or will the rumours and such mainly serve to get him a raise and a contract extension.
I can't see it. What incentive could he possibly have to leave Tennessee for the Big 10? I can't imagine that there would be that much of a $ difference. A more likely candidate from the SEC would be Kevin Stallings, who has worked with the IU AD in the past. The issue there is that Stallings is a Purdue guy. My personal choice and that of a close friend who is a huge IU supporter is Tom Creen (sp?) of Marquette. By the way, this close friend also has been a big supporter of IPFW for many years. He recalls meeting Pearl when he coached Southern Indiana who played IPFW twice each year when IPFW was a D-II school. In short, he said Pearl was a nice, funny guy off the court but a madman on the sideline. He said that the Bruce Pearl he watched last Saturday night has calmed down a lot from those days at USI.
Interesting stuff Sid, I hadn't thought about Tom Creen but you're right he would be a good one for IU. He's a midwest guy and has certainly paid his dues. Wheter or not either he or Bruce Pearl would be interested in the IU job is always conjecture. For either of those guys IU expressing interest will most likely trigger more $$$ and contract extensions. And of course the bottom line is always is IU a job like Kansas, UNC, Duke, Kentucky that are so desireable due to tradition and fan support that you can't turn it down. The current Kansas coach left a very good job at Illinois where he had built them back up to an outstanding program, but the KU lure was too strong. Same thing for Billy Gillispe, he'd rebuilt Texas A&M and they were offering him tons of money and new facilities but the Kentucky lure was too great for him. Terry
The worst nightmare for Tennessee fans would be for Pearl to leave after getting the program to such lofty heights in such a short amount of time. I certainly think a raise is in definite order for Pearl no matter what school comes calling. He runs a tight, clean program that wins. That's hard for most coaches to say and would also make him an ideal fit for a tarnished Indiana program. I agree, Terry, that the lure of such a traditional powerhouse program for a guy like Pearl would be great. However, I think (and I could be wrong, of course) that Pearl is in love with Tennessee. I don't know how his character is other than what I see on TV and it seems high from what I see there. Tennessee took a chance on him and I think he's very grateful for that. I don't see him leaving simply for the lure of a program like Indiana but I could be very wrong. I sure hope I'm right.....
You could say that for a lot of coaches who jumped to a traditional power. Bill Self did a tremendous job at Illinois and had them amongst the best programs in the country, when he left for Kansas. I think most Illinois fans were shocked and couldn't see what he was gaining. Billy Gillispe again did a tremendous job at Texas A&M, took them to the Sweet 16 in 2years from the scrap heap, had terrific recruiting classes comming in, had a big new contract, already had facilities improvement and was getting even more...then he left for Kentucky. Tubby Smith was very successfull at Georgia before he left for Kentucky. Dean Smith leaving Kansas for North Carolina. I'm sure there are more that I am leaving out. Tenn job is a great job, question always is the lure of a "traditional" power like IU. Terry