by hatvol on November 19, 2009
Top ranked teams have been scared out of their wits. Upsets have raised eyebrows. Tournaments are taking place all over the map. It’s a typical start to college hoops. Let’s go.
1. Big Red Machine. The Trap caught some heat for including Cornell in its preseason Top 25. Two games into the season, that criticism has cooled. Steve Donahue’s two time defending Ivy League champs have won at Alabama and UMASS out of the gate. Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale lead a team loaded with experience that has tasted success the last couple of campaigns. With nonconference games against Seton Hall, Syracuse, and Kansas remaining, the Big Red has a shot at putting themselves in position to parlay their almost inevitable conference title into a decent tournament seed come March.
2. With Apologies To Thomas Wolfe…This summer, a number of people wrote the obituary for Tim Floyd’s coaching career. His resignation amid allegations of NCAA violations at USC seemed to many to close the curtain on his time on the bench. However, those folks underestimated how well connected the man is in basketball circles. With his return to his adopted hometown of New Orleans as the de facto coach of the Hornets(you don’t actually think Jeff Bower is coaching that team, do you), Floyd has begun his career rehabilitation even sooner than he expected. Since it is beginning to appear that the ‘AA won’t be able to find credible evidence that he actually made payments to Rodney Guillory, O.J. Mayo’s advisor, the well traveled Floyd is now in an enviable position. If Chris Paul gets healthy and the the Bugs find their stride, he’s in a position to possibly be named the head coach. If not, he will at least be back in a visible position within the game. That can’t hurt if he chooses to attempt to get back into the college game.
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by Dan Wake on November 17, 2009
WARNING: What you are about to read could have happened to any Vol fan:
So Thursday morning came the other day. It was 6:30 AM and I’m feeling pretty good. Tennessee has that early kickoff with Ole Miss coming up Saturday. What to write about today, hmm. Well the Vols are looking to win out. They are definitely one of the hot teams in the country right now. And I’m hungry.
I’m thinking lets just run down to Mickey’s for breakfast. You know they’re going to be like “Welcome to Mickeys, would you like to try our Three Four Stars Just Committed Breakfast Combo?” I thought to myself.
“Oh no no, I’m not THAT hungry” I’ll say almost apologetically, but with a bit of a laugh.
Pulling up to the drive-thru I peruse the menu board, but let’s not kid ourselves. I know what I want already.
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by Dan Wake on November 15, 2009
It may be the ‘right’ thing to say that it didn’t affect the team. But that’s about it. The Tennessee team that showed up Saturday in Oxford played like a shell of its self compared to the last four games.
Naturally, there’s a lot of blame going around. But in fairness to the coaches and players, what they woke up to Thursday morning was surreal.
They practiced Thursday, travelled Friday, and played Saturday. The feeling for many of us is still “how did this happen?” There are still facts being gathered and weighed. There was nothing remotely approaching closure by kickoff.
The Vols will get past this; they should finish 7-5 and a decent bowl. But they’ve really had no time to wrap their heads around it. From the time most of the team learned of what had happened until the game Saturday was a mere 72 hours.
To be sure, publicly Lane Kiffin and the team have handled this mess well. Lane said it was business as usual, but he knew. The line between resolution and the restoration of what was lost is a broad stroke.
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by hatvol on November 10, 2009
I’d like to begin this week’s Trap by giving kudos to Jim Boeheim. 800 wins is an amazing feat, but getting them all at the same school is mind boggling. Congratulations on a marvelous career, Coach Boeheim.
Now, let’s get down to business. The first weekend of regular season action is upon us. While there are plenty of the kind of mismatches we expect this time of year, there are more than a few intriguing tilts. Here are six the Trap is keeping an interested eye on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
1. Niagra-Auburn (Friday). Jeff Lebo saved his job with a strong finish in ‘08-’09. That’s the good news. Unfortunately, many of the players responsible for the Tigers’ strong finish have exhausted their eligibility. With that as a backdrop, Joe Mihalich brings his Purple Eagles to the Plains. Siena has gotten all the hype the last couple of years in the MAAC, but Mihalich’s squad is also an NCAA Tournament quality group. This is exactly the kind of game coaches with tenuous job security should never schedule. Alums and fans will see this as an embarrassing loss if Lebo’s guys fall. The truth of the matter is that Niagra is the better team.
2. Cornell-Alabama (Saturday). The Anthony Grant Era begins with a bang in Tuscaloosa. Two time defending Ivy League champ Cornell arrrives at the Capstone with an experienced, deep group that has faced plenty of bigtime programs the last couple of seasons. Senario Hillman and JaMychal Green give Grant a solid base to build on in his intial season. Steve Donahue’s Big Red, led by Ryan Wittman, will be a staunch initial opponent. A Crimson Tide victory would constitute a strong start for their new leader.
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Forums
How does the time go by so quickly? Just yesterday, it seems, we were kicking off the beginning of the Lane Kiffin era with a dominating performance over Western Kentucky and here we are now facing the last home game of the year. At least in the waning weeks of football, recruiting picks up a ton peaking this season on February the 3rd, which is National Signing Day.
This has been a very puzzling week for the Tennessee faithful, for good reason. First, the mirage of discipline touted so frequently by Lane Kiffin was shattered by the actions of three of his own recruits. It didn’t help that all three were prize recruits, and symbolized the new era of Tennessee football. Then, Ole Miss put UT back in the loss column with a beating we haven’t seen since the days of the old regime. Talk about confusing.
As a fan base maybe we need to quit putting so much pressure on ourselves. I’m not worried about the team. They have a great coaching staff to clear their collective heads. It’s the typical VolNation junkie that concerns me (I myself have only heard of such a creature).
