NO Rematch

I know all the SEC fans are already screaming for a rematch. I love the SEC as much as you guys, but I do not want to see a rematch. The argument I keep hearing is the best two teams should play no matter what. While I agree in theory, I disagree in principal. I like to look at it from a different angle, why should Bama get another chance to knock off LSU? They had their chance to play the game and they lost. Why should LSU have to beat Bama TWICE in order to be the Champs? What if Bama wins the rematch then what? Who is the National Champion? Maybe they give it to another one loss winner of another bowl game. Maybe Boise wins the championship if they go undefeated and Bama wins a rematch.

I remember back in 2006 win the media hyped the OSU and Michigan game as the game of the century and then screamed for a rematch after the game. I hated it then and I hate it now, that rematch never happened and I am thankful it didn’t. I don’t think it will happen this year, but if it did I would be disappointed I am not going to change my opinion just because these are two SEC teams. LSU beat Bama on the field they did what they had to do now they are on the downhill slope to the BCS championship game, they should not have to beat Bama TWICE.

Remember in the 2001 SEC championship game when all the Vols had to do was beat a 3 loss LSU team they had already beaten earlier in the season and the Vols would be in their second BCS championship game. Well as you know the upset happened and LSU knocked off the Vols in a game that should have never been played in the first place.

Sorry Bama fans but you had your chance,

Would I like to see a rematch based on my love of seeing great teams play, hell yes. however in the landscape of the BCS I would rather see LSU play anybody else the Championship game to put all other variables to rest. I hope that somehow Boise State backs into this game and gets to play LSU.

The Junkie

BB Season thoughts

Wow, I don’t think anybody thought or could have predicted what has  happened this season so far. Before the season I truly felt like we would be pretty good, but not as good as projected by the polls and media. I worried about Scotty, what was he gonna do this year, was he gonna break out, step up and play with heart? We now had Tobias, how would that pan out? Is he the real deal or would he be another Scotty Hopson? I was worried about Melvin at the point I did not see anything last year that made me believe he would be a top SEC point guard and could Golden back up him up? which would be important because I knew that each PG would play roughly half the game. I expected Tatum to make huge improvements this year. I figured Big Baby would be much better, but I also worried that he would continue to be extremely inconsistent and play very soft for his size.

The pre-season exhibition games started to confirm my worries, lack of hustle, lack of heart, poor shooting, missing free throws and same ol’ same ol’ rotation issues.

 I was totally floored when we came out and beat Villanova and Pittsburg. Everything was clicking, great defense, good shooting, playing with heart and hustle. And winning makes you look past other things and you start believing and hoping.

Then we started losing and the formula was the same in all the losses, losing 90% of 50-50 balls(lack of heart) Poor shooting, missing free throws, A rotation pattern that seems to make zero sense at all, At times it looked like the starting 5 could beat anybody and then after a platoon of subs would come in at pre-determined times, regardless of the flow of the game and our momentum would die and the other team usually started a run. Scotty became frustrating to watch alternating between awesome and non-existent. Big Baby was the same way, Melvin did nothing, Tatum did nothing, Tobias showed a ton of talent and potential but could not do it alone, and at times it appeared to me that Tobias looked a little frustrated and maybe had some regrets(just a personal thought)

Pearl and McBee were logging tons of minutes. I am not totally sure what to make of this. What does it really mean. Because in my opinion if  Pearl and Mcbee are truly the best options then something is terribly wrong. Not a bash on the two players, I think both play with tons of heart and hustle and both give there all for Tennessee. But the harsh reality is that they do not have the talent and ability to be top self  SEC basketball players. So my question is this, since they are playing is that on the coaching staff or on the  4 star players riding the pine?

I have never subscribed to the our best 10 can beat your best 10, for the simple fact that most of the teams and especially our rivals do not play 10.  This has been the toughest season to watch of the BP era and I don’t see a lot changing in the next few years. The realistic side of me says that BP needs to be coaching 1 and 2 star players who have a hunger and a desire to win despite what people say. BP knows how to coach that type of player and that type of game. However I believe and I think BP knows that type of team will only get you so far in the tourney. So BP went out and recruited high level players and tried to fit them into his system, he quickly realized they would not play 40 minutes of chaos type of game forcing turnovers and wearing teams down. I believe BP has tried to change his coaching style but for whatever reasons he is not totally committed to it, i.e. he has stopped the press and tries to play a half court game, but continues to play a 11-12 man rotation and platoon sub at pre-determined time intervals (These are very conflicting ideas). I love BP and what he has done here. I think BP is a great coach for exactly the situation he had here at Tennessee, unfortunately I don’t think he knows how to coach a top program with top talent. Something has to change either BP’s goes back to his style of players and takes his chances in the tourney, or He continues to recruit top players and he learns to coach that style of game. I don’t believe BP will change its outside his comfort zone. So in reality the NCAA issues may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I we lose top level players over it and BP is forced to only have players like he did when he got here, his old style may return and we will then win games we should lose and have great regular seasons, but probably wont kmake it past the sweet 16.

I hope BP can find a way to bust through this coaching plateau I am afraid he has reached.

Scotty,  I hope he comes back next year, he could be unstoppable!

Bruce Pearl, A real dilemma

When I first heard the news there was going to be a press conference about Tennessee Basketball, I thought are you kidding me what else could go wrong in the Vol Nation? So then the news comes down and BP lied to the NCAA. My first thought was big deal, who cares, everybody does it, plus you gotta do it in order to win, and thats what we want in Knoxville is to win right? So whats the dilemma? Well I love BP and I love what he has done for our basketball program. And I know if BP leaves(either way) the program will be set back a long ways. Can we get a coach that could win? Sure probably, but how long will it take another 6-10 years? So what happens if BP stays, does the program lose credibility, if  we make a final four or God willing a National Championship does the sporting world call us cheaters? Can the program survive with BP as the head coach? Can the program survive without BP as the head coach? My dilemma is this, I love Coach BP but I love the University of Tennessee More!!!!

Oregon Turning points

Things went south for the Vols, following what only could be called a Terrible Terrible call, when Tennessee first penalty of the game resulted in putting the ducks in prime position to score.  I know leading with the helmet is a point of emphasis but in this case the receiver was still juggling the ball and Gordon had a right to hit the receiver to stop him from catching that pass, then when Gordon realized the receiver wasnt going to catch the ball he pulled his head away from the player in order not to lead with the helmet. BAD CALL. Then when Dooley tells Holy Rowe that we need to take some shots down field and throw the ball more. Tennessee comes out with a huge stop against the ducks, then the vols throw 7 straight passes and then punt, I wonder what Dooley told Chaney in the locker room. directly following that the ducks go 72 yards for the TD and the game was over.  Also I think it would have been a smart move to go for it on 4th down at the OU 17 yard line following the fumble recovery on the kick off return. We were against the number 7 team we just got a gift, anybody should have known field goals wouldn’t cut it,(as proven at the end of the half) we were the underdogs with nothing to lose, I really would have loved to have seen Dooley with that type of mentality.

Go Vols

Lane the Stain

I know, I know enough already with Lame Kiddin, or Lane Queefin or whatever your choice of insult may be. But I can’t help it. I remember the night that I found out, my step Dad call me up and said are you watching TV? I said no why? He said Kiffin just resigned. I was in shock, I was fully aboard the so called Lane Train, I had visions of  the next few years as a Vol fan becoming much more like the hey day of the late 90′s, but what now? Is this really true how could he resign? Oh I see, to go get his dream job. When I look at it from Lane’s side I totally understand what he did, Get back to his big city roots, him and his High Society wife.  Knoxville is not L.A. thats for sure. But that doesn’t mean L.A. is better not by any means, just different. Also he has USC in his blood and any true Vol fan can relate to that, if you were a coach at lets say Oregon, and the Vols came calling, I bet you would leave. So I understand why he took the job, but I don’t condone the way Kiffin left, Hell No!! This departure became all about the recruits when it should have been about the School.  It became 100% about Kiffin with total disregard to the players, the University and the entire Fanbase. Kiffin could have taken his dream job and left Tennessee without doing it the way he did. Was it of utmost importance to rush out to USC to save their recruiting class? Hell No! Was is so important to try to steer committed UT players away from Knoxville? Hell No! If USC is such a hot bed for Talent then this should not have been about one recruiting class. But no Kiffin being the self-centred spoiled brat that he is, the dream job was not enough we wanted it all. He is so desperate to make a name for himself, instead of having to stand on the shoulders of giants. I have never witnessed such a blatant slap in the face to a University. What really upsets me as that Kiffin will have success at USC if he can somehow keep his mouth shut and not get caught for cheating, He will get recruits, he will play a soft schedule, he will have the backing of the national media(due to it being USC) he will back into a NC game. Which I am betting they will lose to a SEC team. And to Kiffin Knoxville will be just a distant memory, if he hasn’t already forgot he was even here.

Basketball Vols

A lot has happened in basketball since I last thought about writing anything down on a blog.  This is one UT fan who is not surprised  with the success of the team as of late. Am I surprised we beat Kansas? Well yes, but outside of that I am not surprised at all. I have maintained for over a year now that Bruce Pearls/Tony Jones rotation of players has taken a toll on the team chemistry as well as individual performances. Ever since I watched them shuffle Josh Tabb and Bobby Maze in and out on a play 5 sit 4 play 4 sit 5 basis, I have had a huge problem. You cant win with Two QB’s and your not gonna win with Two PG’s sharing equal time. With the suspension of the four players I was extremely anxious to see how the new rotation would affect the Vols. Low and behold it would seem I was right all along. Bobby Maze has been exceptional, looking like a true point guard. With his increase in minutes he has gotten in to the flow of the game and has not had to put so much pressure on himself to do something extraordinary in the five minutes he is on the floor. he even went on the radio and made a comment to support my year-long theory. Renaldo Woolridge looks like the player we hoped he was going to be last year when he showed up on campus. Again I relate this to him knowing he is going to get some minutes, so he doesn’t have to run out there and force up a three before he has to sit back down.  Chism has stepped up more than anyone and where has he been the most dominant? Under the basket! He has really taken the team on his shoulders and it seems he is more of a “leader” the Tyler ever was. The biggest surprise to me is Kenny Hall, not so much that he is a good player, but why he hasn’t gotten to play more before now. Kenny has shown me more toughness, more ability and more heart in the last cpl of weeks then Big Baby ever has! Another thing I am glad I am finally getting to witness is some of the Talent everyone swears the Scotty Hopson has. Well Scotty thank you because when you are on, it is a true joy to watch. I am loving the moves your making to the hoop. Anyway I truly hope this trend continues, however I have a feeling that Bruce will work his rotation back up to where the minutes become scarce for Bobby, Renaldo and Kenny. When this happens I fear the Vols will digress back to what we were seeing prior to the new year’s day incident.

Ok Folks I am back

For those of you who remember me and my old blog Voljunkies.com. Well I had to let that go, it just takes alot to maintain a Fansite. My hats off to all of you that do, So I am gonna be alot more low key this time. I did find out that I do miss writing down my thoughts. This time, no more fancy site, no more adsense, no more trying to out do the big guys like…. 3SIB, Rocky Top Talk and Gate 21…Just gonna write what I think when I think it..If you like it great,  if not oh well I am gonna update my blogroll with everyone, I would really appreciate the return.

Thanks

Voljunkie