My guess is we would be around 11-4. IMO Cleveland and Harris would still be VOLS. Coach Samuels would have "WALKED" Haislip through spring and summer classes and he would not have lost elegibility. The ball would have been the up and down the court no structure BB. The fans would still hate Green but the stands would have more fanny's in the seats.

The situation for the mens BB program is critical. I think the team has bowed up on Buzz. Slay showed his ass during a substitution. He has shown lackadasial attitude all season. Yarbrough did not follow instructions on the final play. Has made some curious comments to the press when asked to compare Green to Buzz. Higgins seems be uncomfortable at the point gaurd to the point that he seems loafing on the court. The continued rumors of players blaming foot injuries and mid season fatigue on Buzz's fitness program.

I would not be suprised to see an exodus of at least 2 underclass members this spring. I am curious abut the progress of recruiting for this coming up year. The fans have started calling the SNOOZE and griping. An earlier post mentioned how glad he would be when ALL of Greens kids are out of the system, and he made a great point. I suppose I am saying that the rebuilding program at UT is back nearly to the point that KO inherited. Buzz may have to start at ground zero and rebuild. This could take 2-3 years unforunately. Who would have thought that last spring.

I know somewhere in South Carolina that old fart is drinking beer, playing golf and laughing his ass off. I thought the Green hire was a disaster, and would never support him no matter what. BUT!!! I am to the point that I wish Green could have stayed one more year and left on his own. I think we could have still gotten Buzz and the attitude of the players may not have been so bad! VH and OSVF are correct players ALSO have to be held accountable. I hope Buzz starts tossing some of these brats out on their ears!How much worse could it be if VY, RS and JH were tossed! The BB program has a cancer, if it is not surgically removed the patient will never recover. Those brats need to shape up or ship out!@!!

I've said since day 1 that Buzz is a good hire IF HE IS GIVEN TIME. Alot of posters and callers are holding out for next year, and counting on great things. Well, let's talk about next year.

We lose VY. While he is a joke down the stretch, he still gives you 15+ every game. We lose Jenis, the only penetrator on the squad, can someone else penetrate please! We lose 'Slip. I'll predict right now that Marcus goes pro. He looks good, and his grades suck. I think he's gone.

Possible transfers? Don't be surprised if Wilborn leaves. He's getting less and less PT, and he didn't exactly want to come here anyway.

What about the upcoming class? Winchester...CANNOT SHOOT THE BASKETBALL. He is a slasher, and a dunker. Much like Stribling, he will be a non-factor next year. CJ Watson...has skills, but will be a FRESHMAN, and how many freshman PG's make that big of a difference? Boomer...project at best. Remember, this class was rated #23 by ESPN, BELOW Vandy.

These guys predicting championships for next year are wrong, dead wrong. This is a 2-3 year project, and maybe by year 4 we'll see results.

Question is, will Buzz still be here in year 4, or will the Jethros gobble up another coaching career?

_____________________________________________
UT 82
OP 76

Well, Ole Piss basketball is stinky and rotten; Championships and rings are long forgotten; We kicked that ass, kicked that ass, kicked that ass, in BuzzyLand; Well, I'm glad I'm not in Oxfraud; Hooray! Hooray! Cause Rebels fans are Redneck flagwavers, who live and die without rings; Hooray! Hooray! I'm glad I'm uuuuuuuuuuup in Knoxville!

"Slay showed his ass during a substitution."

Have not heard about this, please tell us more. Did he pitch a hissy fit about being taken out?

His antics have worn thin with me!

_____________________________________________
UT 82
OP 76

Well, Ole Piss basketball is stinky and rotten; Championships and rings are long forgotten; We kicked that ass, kicked that ass, kicked that ass, in BuzzyLand; Well, I'm glad I'm not in Oxfraud; Hooray! Hooray! Cause Rebels fans are Redneck flagwavers, who live and die without rings; Hooray! Hooray! I'm glad I'm uuuuuuuuuuup in Knoxville!

Jon Higgins has not bowed up on Coach Peterson. He had 16 last night & had the hot potato thrown to him by Vincent who acted at crunch time like a 3-year old! I will bet there was not a more surprised player in the gym than Higgins, when Vincent passed the ball & the buck back to him. Jon Higgens has been guarding the great guards of this league & doing well--Nelson & Ezra Williams. They both made great shots to win for their teams! Go to the games & watch Jon Higgins--he is a border collie. Vincent & Slay need to play like him & Haslip for 40 minutes!! Jon Higgins is a true Volunteer hero!!

FITNESS:

Buzz' fitness program as well as Coach Fulmer's was demanded by the UTJethros all last spring on this board & 1240 & 850! Toughen up was the cry, we are weak! Coach Fulmer toughened the team & Troy Fleming, Bartholomew, Kelley Washington, & a couple of other key players went to the bench with ankle & leg injuries & those injuries limited us early! Coach Peterson was told the same. He ran & ran his players before the season. Higgins & Slay both came up with injuries. It was a "I'm boss deal" but I don't think he had any idea how demanding the SEC schedule can be physically!!

Higgins is a baller. He's probably my favorite player. He's simply out of position, but will leave his GUTS on the court.

VY conveniently passed the buck again last night. VY is the Anna Kournikova of this team. He'll show you a pretty dunk, or a sexy alley-oop, or a good steal. But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, you CAN FORGET IT.

He folds up just like Anna does, and will never win!

_____________________________________________
UT 82
OP 76

Well, Ole Piss basketball is stinky and rotten; Championships and rings are long forgotten; We kicked that ass, kicked that ass, kicked that ass, in BuzzyLand; Well, I'm glad I'm not in Oxfraud; Hooray! Hooray! Cause Rebels fans are Redneck flagwavers, who live and die without rings; Hooray! Hooray! I'm glad I'm uuuuuuuuuuup in Knoxville!

I tried to tell some of the UTJethros last spring on this board that Vincent was a country clubber then. He still is now, but he has improved. Like Isaih Victor, Slay has shown that defense & switching on screens is a responsibility with which he cannot be bothered!! Vincent just does not understand the concept that teams don't fear 3-point shots at the end of close games, they fear guys that get hacked & go to the line and make their free throws!! At some point Vincent & Slay are going to understand that you don't make the other team fold with style points or chest beating, you make them fold by going up by 4 on free throws with 10 seconds left or fighting through screens at crunch time to disrupt a shot. Grabbing that golden ball at the end of the game. That is what breaks a team's will & puts the fear of the basketball gods in the opposition!

you were one of the few posters on here that held players accountable last year. Most posters were focused on Green's coaching, Green's grammar, and Green's wardrobe. The Jethros don't realize that players have TO WANT TO WIN. You think Jordan needs Doug Collins to motivate him to win? LMAO!

Tony Harris might have been a punk, but he has my eternal respect. When he took the court, HE WENT TO WIN. He would push, fight, grab, trip, do whatever it took, but he went to win. VY and Zeke simply don't have the fire. They are content to just show up, and "represent".

I bet Tony Harris would have taken that shot last night!


_____________________________________________
UT 82
OP 76

Well, Ole Piss basketball is stinky and rotten; Championships and rings are long forgotten; We kicked that ass, kicked that ass, kicked that ass, in BuzzyLand; Well, I'm glad I'm not in Oxfraud; Hooray! Hooray! Cause Rebels fans are Redneck flagwavers, who live and die without rings; Hooray! Hooray! I'm glad I'm uuuuuuuuuuup in Knoxville!

I want him to stand up and show leadership! Some kids just are not wired to do that! I suppose the effort is present. Good point on his defensive duties. But taking the outside shiot at the end of regulation instead of the drive to the basket pisses me off! VY did the same end of over time. Both make me wonder WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON!

I was told by someone at the game that SLAY wanted to be left in after a key fouls and made his displeasure known to BUZZ in front of the team. If true(I am confident of who told me this) Slay needs to be put in his place.

As for the conditioning thing, I took it as whining from some kids not use to discipline. But OSVF you make a great point about the football players also having untimely injuries. Somebody on this board, perhaps BrockyTop brought up the "SHOE" gripe that the kids believed the adidas shoes as a culprit. I do think our conditioning program needs to be examined.

"But taking the outside shiot at the end of regulation instead of the drive to the basket pisses me off!"

Haislip took the shot at the end of regulation, not Higgins.

You might be thinking of this scenario, and I thought of it myself when it occured:

The MSU player is on the line with 9 seconds left in OT...he hits the first...he misses the second...rebound to Slip...outlet to HIGGINS...Higgins races up to halfcourt and calls timeout with 6.5 secs left. WHY? That gives MSU time to set their defense, and makes things more difficult. Why not just attack them right there, and drive it to the rim?

That TO probably came from Buzz, I wouldn't entirely blame Jon for that, but it still makes you wonder!

_____________________________________________
UT 82
OP 76

Well, Ole Piss basketball is stinky and rotten; Championships and rings are long forgotten; We kicked that ass, kicked that ass, kicked that ass, in BuzzyLand; Well, I'm glad I'm not in Oxfraud; Hooray! Hooray! Cause Rebels fans are Redneck flagwavers, who live and die without rings; Hooray! Hooray! I'm glad I'm uuuuuuuuuuup in Knoxville!

we settled for a outside shot when it looked like Higgins could have shot free throws! Both possessions discussed

but I agree with vh, this Buzz project is going to take awhile. He's inherited players that were used to running the show, doing what they wanted when they wanted to do it. Because of the talent level Green was operating with, it produced wins and a Sweet 16 birth, but that type of system will NEVER win big (i.e. Final Fours/NCs). Look at a system like Cincinnati, Bob Huggins has a bunch of damn thugs running around with little discipline and with all of the great talent he's had he's been to one Final Four, in '92. Buzz is going to have to take a couple of years to get "his guys" and to get those guys to buy into his system. Ben Howland at Pitt went through the same thing. When he first arrived, he was constantly throwing players off of the team. Last year he started to get his system going and Pitt made a run to the Big East finals. This year they are 14-3 and looking probable for the NCAAs. The difference for UT is that they are starting at a higher level so you're gonna see some dropoff but in time IMO Buzz will have UT competing for SEC crowns and Final Fours.

Good thread PV.

It is funny Carp quotes ESPN as his source of BB recruiting. ESPN ranked UT's class the lowest of all the expects. Gibbons had UT 9, Coleman 11, Francis 3,Telop 19, Sullivan 11 and etc. Winchester is nicknamed rifleman and is generally considered UT's number one recruit. He is ranked as one of the top ten shooters in the country. Have you seen him play Carp?

"Winchester is nicknamed rifleman....."

I think OS and myself gave him that nickname about 2 months ago! Go call Giggles!

Thanks for pointing out that ESPN is not a reputable source. I'll remind you of that next time you bring up TutorGate.

Don't your arms get tired of carrying that much water?

_____________________________________________
UT 82
OP 76

Well, Ole Piss basketball is stinky and rotten; Championships and rings are long forgotten; We kicked that ass, kicked that ass, kicked that ass, in BuzzyLand; Well, I'm glad I'm not in Oxfraud; Hooray! Hooray! Cause Rebels fans are Redneck flagwavers, who live and die without rings; Hooray! Hooray! I'm glad I'm uuuuuuuuuuup in Knoxville!

If Don Devoe was still here, what would their record be? If Ray Mears coached this team, what would there record be? It really doesn't matter, except for board talk, if Jerry Green or anyone else was still here. He isn't, so it doesn't matter except for arguing a point. I get tired of hearing these "what if" points. He's gone, so let's worry about what's going on now instead of hypothetical banter. This team has problems and would have had the same problems, if not more, if Green was still coaching.