SB Nation - Chris Lofton

Texas Basketball Report 3.01 [Texas-UNC Analysis]

Peter Bean — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:38:54 -0000

More photos » by Michael Thomas - AP

AB must continue his recent trend of increased assertiveness.

These three years of law school in the middle of nowhere have made for tough November-Decembers for my Texas basketball fandom. Each year, the same story: enter the school year with a grand plan to keep up with school as the semester progresses, only to spend the entirety of September, October, and November feeding my addiction to college football, such that the week after Thanksgiving I have no choice but to retreat from sports to allow for a full sprint to the semester's finish.

And this year, the Texas Basketball Report makes its latest debut so far, after a full 9 games are in the books. Perhaps no big deal, what with the season getting serious just now, but even this seemingly terrific bit of timing (I completed my last exam 24 hours before today's tip) is warted--my flight home necessitating I get in a cab at 3:30 CT, right as the second half of the game starts heating up. And if you've ever had the displeasure of flying through the South Bend "airport," you know there won't be any catching the tail end on either of the two TV's in the entire building, both of which will be tuned to Fox News.

In any case, the late debut of the TBR is just a symptom of the underlying problem, which is that I love Texas basketball nearly as much, if not equal to, Texas football. You have to understand that my earliest memory as a human being is as a toddler at the Drum; my Pops took his two sons to every home game, every year, even when that meant having to listen to Tom Penders post-game excuses after a loss to Stephen F. Austin. (Seriously. My brother and I still crack jokes about it to this day, adding as a caveat to any personal failure, "Well, you know, the Lumberjacks are gonna be there in March.") In all, I'm sure I attended roughly 15 games every year, from age 5 through 22 (excepting two years when I wasn't living in Austin). I love this stuff. A lot.

So while I'm sure I'll be frustrated this afternoon when I miss the tail end of the game, it won't snuff out the excitement and relief I feel to be thinking and talking about Texas hoops. Best of all, next December I'll be able to join Wiggo among the 5,000 who turn out for a stomping of UT-Pan Am.

The season's first TBR begins after the jump, an abbreviated version serving mostly as a UNC preview, for obvious reasons.

Before the first test. Having caught Pitt, Iowa, and Southern Cal in down years, it's been a particularly manageable opening stretch for the Horns, who through 9 games have faced just three Top 100 opponents (Pitt, Long Beach State, and Western Carolina, who are now 10-1 after beating Louisville last week). While what Texas does in the next three days is more important, the opening run of blowouts isn't to be disregarded as meaningless. It matters much less whether Texas' first 9 manageable games come in succession to open the year or (as in every other Rick Barnes year) sometime after the 11th game, and more how the team disposes of those beatable squads.

The fact is that Texas is walloping lesser teams like no Rick Barnes team ever has, with the possible exception of the Gibson-Aldridge-Tucker 2005-06 squad. There's a reason that when Texas takes the hardwood this afternoon, it will be for their 34th consecutive day atop Ken Pomeroy's Ratings. To put that in perspective, consider, first of all, that--as far as I know, and I've been a religious devotee of KP's work since its inception--Texas has never been the #1-rated team. And second, though the manageable schedule has helped Texas maintain astronomical ratings, consider that they've thus far managed to outperform Kansas, whose own schedule has been even softer than Texas's.

All of which is to say that regardless of what happens in the next two games, the manner by which Texas is throttling lesser teams tells us important things, as well. Hopefully they'll do better with their December tests than did the 2005-06 squad (Black Saturday in East Rutheford and the disastrous loss in Austin a week later, to Chris Lofton and Tennesse).

Okay, so yeah: now it's on. Nice as it is to see Texas killing the weak, it's still anyone's guess how this group will perform against a team that can match them in size, depth, and athleticism. And whereas UNC will represent the first test of Texas's season, today's contest will be the Tar Heels' fourth against Top 50 competition. Both teams are young, but at this point in the season, Texas is decidedly greener.

Of most concern will be the team's performance in the half court offense, which has yet to face resistance as meaningful as it will today. If Texas is settling for long, contested jump shots early and often, we'll have a good idea about the answer to the question of whether the team still has a steep learning curve in front of it.

Battle of the bigs. Last week when I was sending over questions to Carolina March, I made a sloppy error and wound up asking him a question about whether UNC would struggle at all to bang with Texas physically. The Tar Heels are, of course, as physically imposing a squad as there is in the country, with a small army of Ents to patrol the paint, including five players 6-10 or taller. None may be quite as Sexy as Pittman (who is?), but he's flying solo into this battle, creating what could very well be a potentially determinative factor in the game: The easiest Texas win to envision involves 25-30 minutes of Sexy basketball, while the easiest loss to picture foresees long stretches on the bench with foul trouble. (I certainly agree it's as critical a factor as there is in this game, but as I'll discuss in a bit, I'm at least as interested in whether two different Texas players show up with their A-games.)

What strategic approach do you take if you're coaching this game? If I'm Rick Barnes I want to get the best of both worlds--effective half court possessions when we need them (running things through Pittman), and as much up-tempo full-court play as UNC allows. I want Brown, Bradley, Hamilton, and Balbay operating in space, and I'm worried about how well they'll perform against the Heels' length in a half court game.

On the flipside, then, it'll be interesting to see whether Roy Williams intends to make us "prove it" in a controlled, half court game. UNC likes to get out and run on the secondary break, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but would mitigate substantially their potential advantage in the paint.

The name of the game is distribution. Finally, if there's a second big worry I have about this match up it's that I could see Texas floundering haphazardly from a domino effect of poor distribution. It could happen any number of ways, but here's one: Imagine that Dogus neutralizes himself with hesitation to penetrate, and Pittman is either unavailable with fouls or smothered by UNC's defensive focus on him. What's the offense? With this group, there definitely exist other approaches Texas could emphasize and thrive in, but at least as likely the bad dominoes could continue falling, starting with Damion James trying to do more on his own, which not only would marginalize the tremendous value James produces from his targeted game, but would prevent Texas from settling into any of the healthy approaches that put the young scorers in positions to succeed. Before long--with at this point Texas almost assuredly behind in the game--there's no coherent operation at all and we start to see a lot of individual attempts to get a shot off. Most would be bad shots. And the train is off the tracks.

Implicit in the example I gave is concern that Texas will have a plan for this game and the young guys will defer too much to it if that plan goes south for any reason. My focus here will be on Dogus and Bradley, who if hesitant and passive have the capacity to severely hamstring our offense. Inversely, of course, I see in good games from them precisely the kind of perimeter attackers you need to get out in front of the Tar Heels. I'll just call it now and hope for the best (or that I'm wrong): If Balbay and Bradley are assertive, forceful creators--pushing the full court at any good opportunity and, in half court sets, attacking the paint with purpose--Texas wins, and feasibly by a comfortable margin. If they both struggle and hesitate, I expect other dominoes will fall and they aren't the kind a Rick Barnes team is great at correcting mid-game--UNC wins it.

PREDICTION: Texas 77 UNC 71

Tennessee Moments of the Decade #6: BruceBall Year One

Will — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:00:17 -0000

2005 was supposed to be a great year for Tennessee. The football team was coming off a division title and was projected to be the best team in the SEC, and the basketball team was supposed to reap the benefit of three years of patience with Buzz Peterson. But instead, everything went downhill.

The 04-05 basketball season was expected to be the one that validated Buzz Peterson's tenure as basketball coach. Peterson followed the Jerry Green era that, despite its rocky end, saw four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Peterson's first team was unlucky, losing eight games by three points or less. We understood. Peterson's second team was screwed over in the final week of the season, when Jon Higgins was suspended for academic reasons the week of the SEC Tournament, the Vols were bounced in the first game and then became the first 9-7 SEC team to not be selected for the NCAA Tournament. We were angry, but not at Peterson...we understood.

Peterson's third team was rebuilding with the loss of Ron Slay's senior class, but made it back to the NIT for the second consecutive year. We were patient, and we understood. This team had no seniors and brought everyone back, then added a guard from Kentucky named Chris Lofton. This was to be the year that Peterson and Tennessee arrived together.

But inexplicably, the Vols were worse. Tennessee lost to UT-Chattanooga in the second home game of the season, and it didn't get any better. The Vols lost to Vanderbilt by 25, Kentucky by 22, Alabama by 18, and Florida by 11...all in Knoxville. Tennessee went 14-17, 6-10 in the SEC, and despite the fact that everyone seemed to like Peterson as a person, his record and his final season spoke for itself, and Peterson was fired. Tennessee's basketball enthusiasm died a slow and obvious death during his four years, and apathy set in.

Being that we're a football school, the concerns of the basketball program were always on the backburner anyway. And even though basketball success never materialized with Peterson, in 2005 the football team was ranked #3 in preseason polls, and we were locked in for what was supposed to be a championship year.

And then the Vols went 5-6, missed a bowl game for the first time in 17 years, Randy Sanders was fired and Phillip Fulmer's seat got warm for the first time. We weren't used to losing at all, and we didn't understand. Anger, frustration and depression were rampant in Big Orange Country, and with so much apathy towards the basketball program, we weren't expecting anything good to happen at all, and even if it did, it would take another 3-4 years of rebuilding. It was a dark moment.

Mike Hamilton would later say that in 2005, Tennessee basketball didn't need just a coach, it needed an evangelist. And out of nowhere, a northerner from Wisconsin-Milwaukee brought fire to the people.

We weren't prepared to care about Bruce Pearl. At least not right away. And while he would later get around to painting his chest, rapping, and the like, Pearl put his head down in his first seven months on the job. The talent he had to work with wasn't the greatest in the world: the 05-06 Vols put a lineup of CJ Watson, Chris Lofton, Stanley Asumnu, Dane Bradshaw, and Major Wingate on the floor. At this point, Watson showed few signs of his future NBA talent, Lofton was a sophomore with a nice stroke but nothing more, and Bradshaw was the guard Vol fans were upset was given a scholarship over Lee Humphrey of Florida, and was soon to be a 6'4" power forward.

We were expecting a long rebuilding project, and when the only success most Vol basketball fans knew came attached to Jerry Green, we didn't even really care. If Pearl succeeded, great. If not, oh well. We didn't know if he would get it done or not, we just knew it wouldn't be soon. At SEC Media Days, the Vols were picked fifth in the SEC East. This was going to take some time.

Pearl's Vols started 5-0. They beat ETSU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Eastern Kentucky, Murray State and Appalachian State. The Murray State game was played in Nashville, the other four all in Knoxville. The team was playing hard, and they were pressing, which was new, but nothing to get excited about.

The Vols then traveled to Austin to face #6 Texas on December 17. And everything changed.

Tennessee led 10-5 at the first media timeout. A sophomore walk-on named JaJuan Smith checked into the game. And Pearl the evangelist signaled for the heavens to open, and the heavens responded: the Vols went on a 13-0 run, including two incredible 3's from JaJuan Smith, and suddenly Tennessee led 23-5. At #6 Texas.

It felt like a tease waiting to happen. But every time Texas started to make a run, the Vols hit a three. Sometimes it was Lofton (who hit five). Sometimes it was Watson. Sometimes it was Juanny (who hit four). The Vols had a 20 point lead at halftime, and Texas got no closer than 11 in the second half. Tennessee went 12-24 from beyond the arc, an absurd 25-28 at the free throw line, and turned the Horns over 22 times. And eventually, you stopped getting nervous...Texas wasn't coming back. The Vols won 95-78. And Bruce Pearl had our attention.

He would struggle to keep it right away, as the Vols cracked the Top 25 but were immediately handed a reality check by Oklahoma State, who beat Tennessee in Tulsa 89-73 just five days later. Tennessee won three games over low-major teams and then SEC play began in Columbia.

In one of the forgotten key moments of the Pearl era, the Vols were down 35-23 at halftime on the road in Pearl's first SEC game. The offense wasn't working, and it wasn't getting better right away - South Carolina led 40-25 with eighteen minutes to play. Pearl again commanded the heavens, and again they opened up for him: the Vols hit a stunning 10 threes in the game's final 18 minutes, scored 53 points in the second half, and walked out of Columbia with a 76-69 win.

It was here that the legend of Chris Lofton began to take shape. #5 was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc in this game, which at the time was a jaw-dropping irregularity. After beating Georgia at home, Tennessee was physically overmatched in a loss at LSU, then had the fortune of playing #4 Memphis and #2 Florida back-to-back. When the Vols fought hard but lost at Memphis, most assumed that Tennessee had been fortunate early, but this was still going to be a difficult season. With the undefeated Gators on deck, it looked like three straight losses and a dose of reality were coming. But if Pearl got our attention with the win at Texas, he made sure he kept it on January 21, 2006.

It remains one of the best basketball games I've ever seen. Florida led 42-36 at halftime, but Tennessee never let them get too far away, finally catching up with ten minutes to play. As The BruceBall Blog points out, in the final ten minutes of this game, neither team led by more than four points.

Tied at 76 in the game's final minute, Chris Lofton and Dane Bradshaw combined for one of the most exciting plays of the decade:

Maryville's Lee Humphrey missed a three on the other end, and Chris Lofton put the finishing touches on his 29 point effort with two free throws...and the Vols beat #2 Florida 80-76.

This was the start of a magical four week run. With all Vol fans now on board and giving their support, the team responded with an incredible eight game winning streak. You kept waiting for it to end, and for this first year team to struggle...but the Vols just kept winning.

At 16-3 and 7-1 in the SEC, and ranked 11th, the Vols went to Lexington, where nothing good happens. The Vols had won only three times in the history of Rupp Arena, and hadn't done it since 1999. But Kentucky's own picked this night to play what might be the greatest game of his career.

The first ten minutes were back and forth, but the Vols took the lead when Lofton got hot. #5 knocked down his first four threes and Tennessee built an eight point lead, but the Cats worked it back to three at halftime. Tennessee kept holding UK off, but having seen Tennessee falter so many times at Rupp, it felt like a matter of time. And Kentucky, true to form, wrestled the lead away with five minutes to play.

Tennessee got it back on a Major Wingate score with 2:30 to play. But then Lofton put the finishing touches on his night, this time from inside the arc: three straight slashing drives produced two scores and an and-one, and Kentucky was done. On the night, Lofton went 7 of 10 from beyond the arc and scored 31 points, getting only his final two at the free throw line. Tennessee broke an eight game losing streak to Kentucky, and Bruce Pearl added another notch to his first year belt.

How much did the win mean to Pearl?

Four days later, Lofton topped himself: he shot 9 of 12 from beyond the arc at Georgia, good for 33 points in an 83-78 win. The Vols closed out the win streak by beating Auburn at home to move to 19-3, 10-1 in the SEC, and 8th in the polls.

Alabama beat Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, but there was no time to dwell on it: up next was the return bout with the Gators, and the SEC East crown was on the line. And again, this game didn't disappoint. The Tennessee-Florida basketball rivalry this decade has followed the path of the football one: plenty of bad blood between the two teams. It was true when Jerry Green's teams were going against Teddy Dupay, Matt Bonner, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, and it was true for Bruce Pearl against these Gators. In this one, CJ Watson decked Joakim Noah with an elbow and knocked out one of his teeth.

Florida again led early, but the Vols were gritty late. In fact, the Vols surged to an eight point lead with five minutes to play, but Florida battled back again. The final two minutes served as an appropriate climax to this game and the season: the Vols led 69-66 with 1:28 left after Watson decked Noah, and the following sequence unfolded: Corey Brewer hit a three to tie it, the Vols went downcourt and JaJuan Smith hit a three to give the Vols the lead by three, Florida came down and missed a three, got the rebound, and then Lee Humphrey drained a three to tie it again. Just watching this game was exhausting.

The Gators had the ball on a side inbounds with eighteen seconds left, still tied at 72-72. And once again, Dane Bradshaw did what he had to do:

With Pearl sweating through his suit, the Vols escaped Gainesville with a 74-72 win, and the Eastern Division Championship. Tennessee was 2-0 against Florida on the year...six weeks later, the Gators would win the National Championship.

At this point, Tennessee was 20-4, 11-2 in the SEC. The season had been a magical run that just kept getting better, coming from out of nowhere to surprise you every night. Maybe the team simply wasn't going to get any better, maybe opponents started figuring out how to play against Pearl's style, maybe fatigue set in...but the team reached its ceiling with the win over Florida. The Vols blew a huge lead in a home loss to Arkansas three days later, then lost an even more disappointing contest 80-78 to Kentucky in Knoxville. Tennessee won at Vanderbilt to close out the regular season, but then Pearl showed even he couldn't change Tennessee's fate in the SEC Tournament, as the Vols were upset in the second round by South Carolina and quickly bounced from Nashville.

Still, at 21-7 the Vols had a very impressive resume, and were rewarded with a two seed in the NCAA Tournament. It was Tennessee's first appearance in the big dance in five years. And the Vols and Chris Lofton found one more magical moment in Pearl's first season, in the opening round game against Winthrop:

The Vols were upset by 7 seed Wichita State in the second round, the first team of lesser talent to beat Tennessee all season. But despite all that, and even more so looking back on it now...how incredible was this first year for Bruce Pearl and Tennessee Basketball? With zero expectations and little interest, Pearl turned Tennessee around overnight, and had them playing for and winning championships in his very first season. This first team and this first run will always be special - this basketball team put all of the Tennessee family on its back, and carried us through the winter.

But Pearl was just getting started.

UK Athletics: The Good, the Bad, and the Hilarious

Ken Howlett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

More, please.

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With the basketball 'Cats fresh off their 68-66 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the football 'Cats officially going country with their third Music City Bowl invite in four years, there is much happening in the world of Kentucky sports. While normally I write about a particular event or topic, today I'm going to venture into the realm of diversification and include in this post thoughts on the happenings of UK basketball and football.

For more, make the jump with me:

The Good

Fast-break 'Cats -- For those who witnessed UK's roller-coaster win over North Carolina on Saturday, you saw nine minutes and twenty-eight seconds of near perfection. With UK down 9-2 at the 17:16 mark of the first half, the 28-2 Big Blue blitzkrieg that followed, had me, 'ol Roy, and anyone else watching wondering if the Wildcats would pulverize our powder blue rivals into submission before halftime. For nearly ten minutes the 'Cats did what they do best, and that is leave it to John Wall to gallop at a break-neck pace; passing, shooting, and alley-ooping his way into the hearts of Kentucky fans (and NBA scouts).

During UK's dominant first-half demonstration Wall scored seven points, and assisted on four of UK's other eight made baskets. He loudly and proudly announced to the world that the hype surrounding his "game" is not only justified, but it may be understated.

Also getting into the act during UK's nine-and-a-half minutes of bliss were: Darius Miller -- Two three-pointers, a mid-range jumper, two steals, and one assist: Patrick Patterson -- A jumper, dunk, layup, and two free throws: Darnell Dodson contributed a three-pointer and a steal.

During a stretch most coaches only dream about, the 'Cats made 11-14 shots (with six assists), pilfered the Heels four times, and committed only two turnovers (neither by a guard). UK's stifling defense (with an assist to the pace) held the Tar Heels to only 1-9 shooting, while forcing eight turnovers.

From down 9-2, to up 30-11 in less than half of a half -- No one, and I mean no one will want to run with this team. If Roy Williams, possibly the elite fast break coach in the country, doesn't want any part of the John Wall-led "Wonder of Me Tour," no coach interested in winning will be enthused to see Wall streaking unmolested toward the basket with a team of thoroughbreds filling the lane, or waiting to pop from the perimeter. To emasculate a lesser-team in such a way is impressive, but North Carolina's roster is filled with talent, which makes what I saw awe-inspiring.

UK won despite a sub-par performance by DeMarcus Cousins -- Many so-called experts have prognosticated that Kentucky cannot beat good teams (and therefore, be a Final Four contender), without Cousins being a major force. Bull excrement!

Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton, and Perry Stevenson displayed why the mercurial Cousins, while very talented, is not the key to UK's low post play -- Patterson produced a typical PPat game: 19 points, seven rebounds, one block and one steal, while Orton and Stevenson combined to play 26 minutes and produced five rebounds, three blocks, one steal, and one assist.

As long as Patterson has another player of size working with him down low, taking a bit of the defensive pressure off, he is capable of handling the workload. He's proved that for two-plus years.

UK won despite John Wall missing seven straight minutes of action -- I admit, when Wall started limping, I started pacing.

When Wall left the game in the second half at the 18:46 mark (and began his hypodermic-dodging journey back to the floor), UK was up 45-30. When Wall reappeared, much to the delight of the record-setting Rupp Arena crowd (as well as millions of palpitating UK fans at home), at the 11:44 mark, Kentucky was up 54-42. My calculator says UNC outscored the 'Cats 12-9 in that nerve-racking stretch of the game. Not bad when one considers Wall is the heart and soul of what makes UK go.

The 'Cats did commit four turnovers (two by Bledsoe, one each by Patterson and Ramon Harris), and they made only 4-12 shots (three of the makes were by Patterson) during the stretch, but they held serve, they preserved the lead, and that's all that really matters. Good teams win despite adversity. The fulfillment of that adage was on full display Saturday afternoon.

The final two minutes -- With UK clinging to a 61-56 lead over the Heels (at the two minute mark), freshmen guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe refused to allow the 'Cats to lose. Over the two minutes that mean the most, Wall and Bledsoe combined to make five of six free throws, stole a pass (Wall), made a layup (Bledsoe), and dished out an assist (Wall).

The "Cool Hand Luke" demeanor in which these two players perform in end-game scenarios, at such a young age, cannot be overstated. Some players are simply gifted with the absence of fear. We are now watching two such gifted athletes. Enjoy 'em while ya got 'em.

UPDATE -- Kentucky's three-point threat -- With UK's 6-16 (37.5%) three-point shooting against North Carolina, the 'Cats trey accuracy now stands at 37.9% (50-132) on the year.

Led by Darius Miller's 40.0% shooting (14-35), Kentucky is quickly putting to rest the preseason questioning of their perimeter game. Eric Bledsoe, who's only weakness was thought to be his shooting, has pitched-in to the tune of 12 made treys on 25 attempts (48.0%); Darnell Dodson, now liberated from the Calipari doghouse, has made a respectable 38.5% (10-26), and possesses one of the sweetest strokes this side of Chris Lofton; and finally, Patrick Patterson continues to impress with his outside shot by making 6-14 (42.9%).

I don't know when UK's perimeter game ceases to be a cause for concern, but I sense the time is near.

Music City Bowl invite -- While many UK fans are unhappy about returning to Nashville for the third time in four years, I choose instead to celebrate four straight years of UK bowl games. It's a milestone for the program, and a tribute to one of the best senior classes in Kentucky football history.

So many 'Cats had outstanding seasons -- Derrick Locke, Randall Cobb, Micah Johnson, Sam Maxwell, La 'Rod King, and John Conner all produced fantastic individual years. They, as well as the other 'Cats, deserve the full support of the BBN while they do battle with C.J. Spiller and the Clemson Tigers in the Music City Bowl.

Football 'Cats honored -- It was announced Monday that five UK football players were selected by the Associated Press as All-SEC performers -- Randall Cobb: First Team all-purpose player -- Corey Peters: Second Team defensive tackle -- Sam Maxwell: Second Team linebacker -- Derrick Locke: Second Team all-purpose player -- Zipp Duncan: Honorable Mention offensive lineman.

Congratulations to all the 'Cats selected, with one caveat -- Sam Maxwell deserved First Team honors. He was second in the SEC with six interceptions, and he made big play after key play in UK's road victories over Auburn, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. I honestly can't think of another SEC linbacker that I would have rather had.

The Bad

The DeMarcus Cousins in-game pout -- I was the same way at his age -- I allowed (perceived) poor officiating to get in my head.

What Cousins has to realize is: DON'T ALLOW THE OFFICIALS TO BEAT YOU TWICE. It's comparable to a golfer allowing one bad shot to adversely effect his next shot. It's a recipe for pine-time, and unfulfilled potential.

Although I feel confident John Calipari will work his pupil through this flaw in his game, it may take some time. Cousins, afterall, is accustomed to getting all the calls in high school, he's accustomed to bullying his foes, not being on the receiving end of such physical play (and there definitely was an abundance of physical play on Saturday). Well, this ain't high school ball, DeMarcus. Adjust accordingly, and become the beast that is within you.

Underused Patterson -- With the absence of John Wall from the 18:46 mark to the 11:44 mark of the second half, one would expect Patrick Patterson to become that which the offense runs through. Well apparently, one would be wrong.

During that seven minute stretch, Patterson took exactly four shots, with one of those shots being an offensive rebound of his only miss (of that stretch). UK's big man, and best player (if Wall isn't on the floor), simply has to receive more touches if such a predicament faces UK in the future.

I realize Eric Bledsoe was playing erratically at the time, he was ... trying to do too much while Wall was sidelined. But what young Mr. Bledsoe would be wise to remember is that he needs to run the offense through Patterson, ensure the big fella gets his touches, and everything else will open up.

Sam Maxwell's labrum tear and Micah Johnson's omission -- The terrible news out of the Nutter Complex that Sam Maxwell will miss the Music City Bowl was most unpleasant for this UK fan. Maxwell, a senior, played sparingly through his first three years in Lexington, opting to patiently wait his turn in lieu of transferring. And when earning the opportunity to start, the Georgia native put up big numbers, and made game-changing plays. My thanks to Maxwell for a job well done, and good luck at the next level.

Maxwell's senior statistics -- 80 tackles (42 solo) (second on the team), 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, six interceptions (second in the SEC), seven pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Micah Johnson's omission from the AP All-SEC team is laughable. UK's senior middle linebacker posted 100 tackles (fifth in the SEC) , 6.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and one sack. And he did all of this while battling plantar fasciitis and a bad ankle for most of the year.

The Hilarious

I like John Calipari. I've liked him since he brought his UMass team to Rupp Arena in December of 1991. He impressed me then, and he's impressed me ever since; he's a fine coach, and a great recruiter. A fan can't ask for much more.

But, his "like-ability" quotient shot through the roof Saturday, when after the game he said the following (paraphrasing) -- When I saw where Seth Davis predicted us to lose, I knew we had a chance.

Most UK fans know Seth Davis, and most UK fans don't like Seth Davis. He speaks of that which he doesn't know, and is paid handsomely to do so. Which is why I spewed my just ingested Coca-Cola all over my carpet when Calipari called a spade ... a spade.

Thanks, coach, finally someone with credibility called-out a national media member, and did so without hesitation.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats, beat the Huskies!

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Thanksgiving Edition

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:05:12 -0000

More photos » by Israel Leal - AP

Celebration time!

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It's Thanksgiving day, and not really a time for much blogging. I will shortly be leaving to pick up my father, but before I do, I wanted to wish a very happy Thanksgiving to all the members the A Sea of Blue community. I am very thankful for all our members and readers, more than I can accurately express here.

Continuing with the subject of things I am thankful for, let me list a few of them:

My faith, friends and family. They are the foundation of all I hold dear.
My countrymen and women. This great experiment in a democratic republic continues to amaze me.
The men in women in uniformed service who defend our country from without and within. Thank you.
Rich Brooks -- Brooks has helped restore my faith in the UK football program.
The football team, for believing in themselves, and in their teammates.
Duke University -- Without a foe to despise, life as a sports fan would be less fulfilling.
Patrick Patterson -- Not only a great player, but a great person.
The basketball team, for validating my faith in the program.
John Calipari -- The Tubby Wars and the Gilispie Strangeness are now finally in the past. The UK community has returned to sanity, and it is good.
John Wall -- For being one of the best freshmen at UK I can remember, and for showing us what it is like to smile again during a basketball game.
Randall Cobb -- For keeping his word that he gave to UK when offered a chance to attend the school he really wanted to play for. Also, for being the kind of player that made some of the best teams in the land jealous of Kentucky football.
Derrick Locke -- For redefining what determination looks like in the face of injury and lack of respect.
Matthew Mitchell -- for finally bringing stability to the UK women's hoops program.
Finally, to UK fans, for being the best fans any college team could have.

The news follows the jump.

Stopping Cobb is Vols’ No. 1 priority | Vaught's Views
Kentucky Downs Santa Barbara 68-54 to Extend Perfect Start - KENTUCKY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Kentucky Suffers Heartbreaking Five-Set Loss at Tennessee - KENTUCKY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Maui Invitational: (24) Vanderbilt 84 - Arizona 72 - Postgame - Anchor Of Gold
SB Nation has a new Vanderbilt blog, Anchor of Gold. Great job by the Commodores taking care of the Arizona Wildcats. I don't care much for Arizona, and I was glad to see our SEC brethren hand them the loss they so richly deserve.
" BBL: Cats escape Cancun, Cobb escapes Tennessee John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links
Rush The Court " Blog Archive " ATB: Karl Hess Isn’t Invited to Our Thanksgiving Dinner Either
The talent for this team to become something special is there, but it’s also painfully obvious that his Cats often rely on God-given abilities (especially on offense) rather than an actual understanding of strategy or the sets. Decisionmaking by some players, especially DeMarcus Cousins, is also troubling in their naivete and youthful indiscretion. For example, back to back horrendous decisions by Cousins late in the game to shoot a three (not his shot) and later to purposefully miss a FT attempt in a misguided attempt to get his own rebound only to foul Stanford in the process, exhibits these characteristics.

This is exactly right. UK, as a team, needs desperately to grow up. Unfortunately, there is not magic potion to make that happen, just time and mistakes.
UT looks for way to stop hometown star Cobb | theleafchronicle.com | The Leaf Chronicle
Is Randall Cobb the Kentucky version of Chris Lofton? I think so.
Sam Bowie Breaks Color Barrier at Country Club
UK QB Fidler giving up final year of football | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Wow. Just like Michael Porter, except he doesn't have a wife and kid on the way (that I know of).
Let UK seniors know why you are thankful for them | Vaught's Views
Great post by Larry Vaught.
Stanford vs. Kentucky - Recap - November 25, 2009 - College Basketball - SI.com

Kentucky Basketball: Buying What Calipari is Selling

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:29:23 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Can Coach Cal successfully install his Dribble Drive Motion offense in his first year at Kentucky? History suggests he can.

Browse more photos »

Coach Cal, who totally understands the value of brand, marketing, and selling the program, has been working hard trying to build the Kentucky brand back up to the extent that is possible in the off season. He has launched a fancy new website, CoachCal.com, which he updates periodically with pictures, blogs, and other content (I don't subscribe yet, so I really don't know what premium content is available there). He has been busy giving interviews, talking to ESPN and reporters and generally trying to be everywhere, all the time.

From my personal standpoint, I think this is a job that needed doing. Billy Gillispie just didn't really think that was part of his job description, and even though winning a lot of games will certainly take care of most of your marketing for you, the reality is that very few teams win all the time -- you have rebuilding years, you have off years, it happens. And during those times, brand-building and hyping the program is even more important than when you are winning, and even more difficult because people are asking you to show them the wins. Wins solve most ills in college sports that aren't related to some kind of unethical conduct, and no matter how successful coach Calipari is at producing a "buzz" in the sports media, he will be judged by what happens on the floor.

Right now, it is pretty easy to buy what Calipari is selling -- he has a great recruiting class, he has Patrick Patterson, a genuine Naismith contender coming back, arguably the best point guard in America (at least until he hits the floor in a real game) that's not playing in the NBA, and some other guys that, taken together, look like a "contendah."

So what can we look at to see how well Calipari will succeed? Well, because he is bringing in a totally new system, I suggest we go back to his 2005-06 team where he first installed the Dribble Drive Motion offense at the University of Memphis.

Back in 2005-06, John Calipari had no less than seven new players, three sophomores, one junior and two seniors. Now, one of those seniors was a very accomplished player, Rodney Carney, and sophomore Darius Washington Jr. was a stud. but that is reasonably analogous to what UK has returning.

The incoming freshmen were a very good class -- Shawne Williams was a Rivals.com 5* and the rest were Rivals.com 4* players. Compare that to what Calipari has coming in to Kentucky -- four 5* players and a 4*, plus the best point guard available.

So how did 2005-06 Memphis do? Not bad. They wound up the season 33-4, which looks more impressive than it is due to the fact that Memphis plays in the exceedingly weak Conference USA. But they did play some big games against some big names. Let's see how that worked out for them:

November 25th 2005 in Madison Square Garden vs. Duke -- Lost, 67-70. Duke Sheldon Williams dominated the Tigers inside scoring 30 points, and J.J. Redick scored 15 from the perimeter. Still, the Blue Devils managed to overcome the young Tigers by only 3 points in only their fourth game using Calipari's newly formed DDM offense.

December 27th 2005 in the FedEx Forum in Memphis vs. Gonzaga -- Won, 83-72. Adam Morrison scored 34 points, but it wasn't enough against the balanced scoring of Memphis, who had four players in double figures.

January 2 2006 in the FedEx Forum in Memphis vs. Texas -- Lost, 58-69. LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker and Daniel Gibson were just too much for the Tigers.

January 18 2006 in the FedEx Forum in Memphs vs. Tennessee -- Won, 88-79. Chris Lofton was not enough against the balanced attack of Memphis. Once again, Memphis had 4 players in double figures.

March 2 2006 at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama vs. UAB -- Lost, 74-80. The Blazers put five players in double figures, and Memphis was in foul trouble all night.

March 25 2006, NCAA regional final at Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA vs. UCLA -- Lost, 45-50. UCLA's brutal defense put the clamps on Memphis's DDM offense. The Tigers' free throw rate was 27%, and the Bruins 97.5%. That was the difference in the game.

Obviously, I think most UK fans would take a Great Eight appearance after four years of irrelevance, but with this class, this team, and four years to refine and learn to better teach his offense, I think that would be about the minimum expectation for this team. I know it seems unfair, but you do have to understand that Kentucky will be bringing a higher overall talent level to the table than Memphis did in 2005-06. There is no getting around that.

Now, Calipari did have some advantages in that he had been at Memphis for several years and had established a culture there, so installing a new offense was maybe a bit less challenging. But because so many were newcomers then, just as they are now, I think you can say that there really isn't all that much difference.

So what will we see this year? Well, you probably won't see 33-4. UK plays in the SEC, and UK plays better teams by accident than Memphis did on purpose that year, even though they clearly could have competed in and perhaps even won the SEC in 2005-06, although I think Florida would have had something to say about that, and perhaps even UK.

But as to whether Calipari can effectively install the DDM offense next year, that question has been asked and answered at Memphis. Obviously, UK will be better the more experience they have with the system, but you can bet that this example will be thrown up after a bad loss if Calipari makes an excuse about time to learn the offense. We have seen that he can do it, so now, we expect him to do it again.

Talking points: defending Lane Kiffin from 4th and 61

Joel — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:49:45 -0000

Tennessee football

I'll be entering the lion's den tonight at 8:00 EST to discuss Lane Kiffin with bloggers/fans of all of the teams Kiffin has infuriated. Team Speed Kills, who's done the legwork on this, has this to say about the thing:
Tonight, barring some sort of significant technical glitch, Team Speed Kills will partner with Rocky Top Talk, Roll Bama Roll and Get the Picture to present the Great Lane Kiffin Debate, a live-blogging discussion of the past, present and future for Lane Kiffin at Tennessee.

The event will begin at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. Again, if all goes as planned, you'll be able to participate in the debate through comments -- in a moderated fashion -- here at Team Speed Kills, while guests to the other sites can do the same there.

We have as many people as might have been offended by Kiffin as is possible to do and have the discussion make sense -- your humble correspondent will represent the gas-pumping South Carolinians, Year2 will carry the banner of cheating Florida Gators, Todd of Roll Bama Roll will refuse to thank Lance Thompson for coming up with his Alabama-based arguments and Blutarsky's grandmother will insist he take up Georgia's banner. And we'll have two Tennessee fans to take up for Lane Kiffin.
That debate -- or whatever it will devolve into -- is part of an ongoing Tennessee week at Team Speed Kills, which also includes posts concerning Tennessee's timetable and a post clarifying that while it is appropriate for fans and foes alike to assert Kiffin was a risky hire, no one can rightly say at this time that he was a bad hire.

Tennessee basketball

Chris Lofton tried out for the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Best of luck to Lofton.
Cameron Tatum is leveraging that chip on his shoulder.

SEC

I don't even know what to call that number. Clay Travis says that NCAA fines are pointless, and who can argue when Alabama's recent fine of $43,900 is .0004938 of Alabama's total budget? Perhaps Razorback Expats has the right idea by getting creative with the punishments:
4.) The NCAA hereby mandates that the University of Alabama has to rename one campus building "Phil Fulmer Hall" for the period of the rest of Phillip Fulmer’s natural life. The building in question will be determined by Mr. Fulmer.
That sounds familiar. A Sea of Blue says goodbye to Jodie Meeks by remembering the good times, including that record-breaking performance against Tennessee last year. True or false: you can identify with the following sentiment: "Rare stuff, and one of the moments that made UK basketball interesting last season. Sadly, that was virtually the high point of last season -- UK fans had precious few moments to cheer about thereafter." See? Things could be worse. Eric Berry could be leaving.
Twenty-four arrests since 2005? Well, kids will be kids.

NCAA/Other

And the old shall lie down with the new. Congrats to ProFootballTalk for a ground-breaking deal with NBC. Dan Shanoff takes the news and parlays it into a campaign to get CBS to partner with EDSBS. Speaking of EDSBS, Orson apparently does as well live and in person as he does on the web and in the basement. Both Shanoff and Brian Cook grade Swindle WIN at the recent Blogs with Balls conference, I'm guessing he was not judged on his attire. Be sure to catch reluctant convert Smart Football's take on the event as well.
Tyler Smith puts UT at #7. Tennessee shows up at #8 on Andy Katz's final preseason top 25, just behind Kentucky.
Is it bad when we can't punt our way back to the link of scrimmage? Orson on the worst offensive series ever in the history of ever. What's the life equivalent of 4th and 61?
A list from a guy who doesn't like lists. Dr. Saturday's top 10 teams of the decade.

Things I learned at lunch: WOW edition

Joel — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:00:22 -0000

Ran out of time this morning, so Talking Points devolves into a simple lunchtime dump of the notebook:

Tennessee football

Cregg gets job done; recruited by Meyer, but joined Kiffin on Colorado State staff : Football : GoVolsXtra.com
Highly recommended, from Drew Edwards. Highlights:
- Cregg "runs like a deer and hits like a truck."
- Cregg and his wife were impressed that they were greeted by the neighbors.
- Add this to the things we need to see this season: Cregg does perfect impressions, and his repertoire includes an impersonation of Urban Meyer. I wonder if that's funny because "perfect" would be "unfunny." Hmm.
Hooker: Look for UT to offer Brunetti : Football Recruiting : GoVolsXtra.com
Looks like Jesse Scroggins and Barry Brunetti are the two top targets for the Vols at QB.
Another $1 million signing class; cost of recruiting has UT staying within budget for 2009-10 : Football : GoVolsXtra.com
Sensationalism at its best. You're supposed to go "WOW" here when you learn that UT spent about $50k per signee last season. Without a baseline for comparison, we have no idea whether this is actually a lot of money.

SportingNews.com - The Sporting Blog
Adam Jacobi's and LSUFreek's take on Kiffin's latest secondary violation.

The Tennessee Vols want You and You and You! | Gridironstuds.com Blog

Proving that uncoventional is his conventional, Lane Kiffin has ordered his staff to go out and get players and they have done that. Tennessee has issued an ungodly amount of offers to the tune of 187.

Um, WOW.

More On the Number of Tennessee Football Offers for 2010 | Gridironstuds.com Blog
Baselines for the above (thanks!):

Scout.com has Tennessee only listed for 114 offers (a number that can change on a daily basis). Where does this stand against other schools? I checked it against the Top 10 teams in last year’s final BCS poll as well as some other notable schools and programs that I personally know have been very busy this offseason. Going by Scout’s numbers, the closest team to Tennessee is Alabama which has 90 offers out there followed closely by their nemesis and SEC combatant Florida (86) and West Virginia (86). This means that Tennessee has 24 more offers out there than the next closest team (or at least one that I could find).

A little less wow, but still . . . .

Tennessee basketball

Watson headlines Rocky Top roster : Men's Basketball : GoVolsXtra.com

Renaldo Woolridge and Emmanuel Negedu of UT will make their league debuts, as will signee Kenny Hall. Whitehead said he's not yet certain about the status of UT point guard Melvin Goins, a junior college signee.
Vote reveals UT's Mr. Clutch -- agree? | Ask Griff | GoVolsXtra.com
Chris Lofton is Tennessee's Mr. Clutch.

Lady Vols

25 things you don't know about Pat Summitt : People : GoVolsXtra.com

Including the following:
A goal I've yet to accomplish? Nine national championships (Heh!)

First job? Head women's basketball coach, UT Knoxville (One job? Wow!)

Talking points: consequences for death threats edition

Joel — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:18:38 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

8 months ago: Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton (8) throws to a receiver during the first half of the spring Orange and White game Saturday, April 18, 2009, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Browse more photos »

Tennessee football

Consequences for idiots. Clay Travis says its time to prosecute stupid fans for making death threats against players:

What would you think one day if you opened your e-mail folder, and someone had threatened to kill you? You'd probably be shocked, then scared, but you'd also be angry as hell. You'd want that person to have to pay, and you'd probably go to the authorities and make them aware of the threat. Sadly, if you're an athlete at a major college, you aren't even surprised when these e-mails arrive. How have we gotten to this point as a society? I'll tell you, by not making an example of someone, by not showing that emailed threats have serious consequences outside the computer screen.
We're No. 1! The Season of Which We Do Not Speak is first on Track 'Em Tigers's list of the Top SEC Single Season Coaching Failures this Decade. Woo for us.
Lane Kiffin's first $300,000 mistake. According to a memorandum of understanding, Tennessee will owe strength and conditioning coach Mark Smith $300,000 unless they can fire him for (1) gross misconduct; (2) "conduct of such an inappropriate nature thereby bringing the university into public disrepute"; or (3) Smith's "failure to negotiate in good faith to execute the employment agreement within a reasonable amount of time." With $300k on the line, Smith's not likely to engage in anything that could be construed as (1) or (2), and UT's probably not going to want to negotiate in good faith with Smith, so it appears they're in a stalemate. Time to cut losses and move on, unless you want your team in the hands of a disgruntled employee.
No reports of missing shirts, but Lane Kiffin was pleased to host 180 prospects from about a dozen states on a one-day UT Linemen Camp. OL signee Jacques Smith ran a personal-best 4.62 40 at yesterday's UT linemen camp. He's also putting the hard sell on James Stone, who's one of the best prospects in the state and a high priority for UT.
Mostly there. 16 of 22 Tennessee signees are enrolled for the first session of summer class. The rest of the guys are expected to enroll for second session, and at this time, it appears that we will see no academic casualties this year. Woo for that, because we are thiiiiiiiiin.
Single game tickets go on sale on Monday, June 8. Be there with virtual cash on hand.
Go figure. Lane Kiffin, Gene Chizik, and Dan Mullen "aren't exactly five-star recruits," says Kevin Scarbinsky. It's actually pretty well-written and entertaining, but his conclusion that Mullen is the odds-on favorite of the three to succeed because "he's proven the most adept at keeping his mind open and his mouth shut" suggests he's using the wrong criteria to judge SEC coaches.
We're No. 8! Eric Berry is, anyway, on Sporting News's list of the Top 25 college football players. That's low for him, I think.

Tennessee basketball

Welcome home, Chris! Chris Lofton is back in town working out with UT players and coaches. He's got a tryout with the Memphis Grizzlies from June 12-14. He'll then play in the Pilot Rocky Top League and the NBA Summer League, trying to work his way onto an NBA roster.
Just tightening the screws. J.P. Prince says his rehab from shoulder surgery is ahead of schedule.
Or . . . door number three. No longer are the options for star basketball players limited to trying for the NBA and returning to school for a senior season. Now, there's the possibility of being paid very well to play in Europe, and Tyler Smith is giving that possibility due consideration.

SEC

Florida cornerback Janoris Jenkins has been tazed and arrested. SB Nation FSU blog Tomahawk Nation is all over the fact that Jenkins is the 24th Gator arrested under Urban Meyer. Also, a reader made the mistake of leaving this comment on TN's Facebook page:
I don't think it's very classy to promote the bad news of other teams (even if it is the hated gaters). I was looking forward to some new, interesting commentary regarding FSU athletics, and unfortunately I haven't found it here. Best Wishes.
That comment triggered this classic response from TN, which you must read.

Talking points: missing Chris Lofton edition

Joel — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:32:45 -0000

Well, apart from the NFL Draft this weekend -- and hooper and Will have you covered on that below -- it's the time of recycling stories on the major sites. Guess what? Nick Reveiz is short and Monte doesn't care, Chris Walker is unblockable, etc., etc., etc.

That, plus the fact that my internet service has kerplunked three times in the last five minutes, so we'll take what we can get this morning:

Tennessee football

Jim Chaney speaks. First, he thinks Crompton can do it ($). Second, he believes that the QB is often blamed for poor pass plays despite the fact that the real problem is often elsewhere:
When you throw the football, timing is so important. If a receiver is two yards short on his route and getting a little too wide on his break, then the cornerback's involved and it looks like the timing's off, so [everyone assumes] the quarterback's messed up again.
Or the left guard jump-sets, as opposed to pass-sets, and the 3-technique beats him and gets a little pressure. But [everyone says] the quarterback didn't step up enough.

So, once again, everybody notices the quarterback position. But it takes all 11 of them in a timing situation.

Tennessee basketball

This from new RTT community member OhioCelticsFan, Boston and Tennessee fan from Ohio talking Turkey, former Vol Chris Lofton hit 77.3% of his three-point shots (17-22) on his way to 61 points yesterday. Insert your favorite exclamation and lamentation here.

SEC

Team Speed Kills breaks down the SEC numbers for this weekend's NFL Draft. Despite Tennessee's pitiful showing (except for Ayers, who -- woo!), the SEC did quite well, for what it's worth.
A Sea of Blue is beginning a series taking an honest look at John Calipari, beginning with the Marcus Camby incident.

NCAA

Ohio State had 95,722 show up for its spring game this weekend. Behold the power of a highly-touted QB recruit in his second year. And warm weather in the north.

RTT's Tennessee Basketball All-Decade Team

Will — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:37:15 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Hopefully, there will be more than one option for this picture on the next all-decade team. Until then, CJ Watson carries the torch for Vols in the NBA.

Browse more photos »

The votes have all been tallied, and after a month of debate and analysis, we proudly present RockyTopTalk's Tennessee Basketball All-Decade Team.

The five starters were the winners of four rounds of voting, one for each position plus the automatic inclusion of one Chris Lofton. The rest of the 12-man lineup is comprised of those who received the highest percentage of remaining votes. You can check out all of our analysis at each position and see the voting breakdown for point guard, perimeter players not named Chris Lofton, post players, and the five spot.

STARTING LINEUP

PG CJ Watson (2003-2006)

Second Team All-SEC 2006
2nd all-time UT history in assists and steals
Career Avg: 12.0 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals
Averaged 9.5 PPG for Golden State this season

SG Chris Lofton (2005-2008)

2007 SEC Player of the Year
First Team All-SEC 2006, 2007, 2008
Second Team All-American 2007, 2008
SEC all-time leader in three pointers made
4th all-time UT history in points
3rd all-time UT history in steals
Career Avg: 16.6 points, 42.4% 3PT

SF JaJuan Smith (2005-2008)

Second Team All-SEC 2008
3rd all-time UT history in three pointers made
4th all-time UT history in steals
Career Avg: 11.0 points, 3.2 rebounds

PF Ron Slay (2000-2003)

2003 SEC Player of the Year
First Team All-SEC 2003
Highest UT Season Scoring Avg of Decade (21.2 PPG - 2003)
Career Avg: 14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds

C Wayne Chism (2007-present)

Second Team All-SEC 2009
Career Avg: 10.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.0 blocks

Bench and more after the jump...

BENCH

PG Tony Harris (1998-2001)
G Scooter McFadgon (2004-2005)
G/F Dane Bradshaw (2004-2007)
F Vincent Yarbrough (1999-2002)
F Tyler Smith (2008-present)
F/C CJ Black (1997-2000)
F/C Brandon Crump (2002-2005)

It's interesting to look at this team - the lineup is certainly solid, and could compete with any group from the SEC this decade. However, it's not loaded with NBA talent...because the only Vol to really succeed at the highest level this decade is CJ Watson. So while the Vols certainly made strides this decade and had some great SEC players...the overall talent level still has room to grow.

We'll have more to discuss on this chapter of Tennessee Basketball history, in what was arguably the best decade of UT Basketball we've ever seen. But the games and performances that made this decade great were carried on the shoulders of these 12 players...a solid group that helped resurrect the program and move Tennessee Basketball forward.