We’re a Basketball School Now

#1
VolFreakJosh

VolFreakJosh

“Don’t you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby!”
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#1
I know many die hard football fans don’t want to accept it including myself but we’ve not been relevant in our main sport for a while now. Depending on how Pruitt does in 2-5 years, it may take a while to get back up to UT standards in football.

However, UT Basketball has overcame low expectations and here we are now as SEC Regular Season Co-Champions. Thank you Rick Barnes for all your hard work and dedication you’ve put into this program. You deserve it and our fans as a whole, deserve this considering the mess we overcame after Bruce’s departure.

Go Vols!
 
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#2
#2
TN is a Basketball School and Colonel Sanders Looks like Reba???? WTH.....its Bizarro World Around here?!?! :blink::blink:



.
 
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#3
#3
Welcome to my world guys. It’s good to have a fallback sport. :)

Hopefully you guys get to experience UT in the Final Four, it will make you rethink a “football or bust” championship mindset. It’s an incredible experience.
 
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#4
#4
Chilmonty said:
TN is a Basketball School and Colonel Sanders Looks like Reba???? WTH.....its Bizarro World Around here?!?! :blink::blink:



.
Click to expand...

You might want to go look and see what position UT holds in the SEC in all time standings, then consider the old 10 league.
 
#7
#7
VolFreakJosh said:
I know many die hard football fans don’t want to accept it including myself but we’ve not been relevant in our main sport for a while now. Depending on how Pruitt does in 2-5 years, it may take a while to get back up to UT standards in football.

However, UT Basketball has overcame low expectations and here we are now as SEC Regular Season Co-Champions. Thank you Rick Barnes for all your hard work and dedication you’ve put into this program. You deserve it and our fans as a whole, deserve this considering the mess we overcame after Bruce’s departure.

Go Vols!
Click to expand...

Love the enthusiasm and agree with most of your statement but we are not what the national media or sport community considers a “basketball school,” and some schools aren’t either. Think about Notre Dame which I would most definitely consider a football school who has experienced more consistent basketball as of late, doesn’t make them a basketball school imo! But to each his own.
 
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#9
#9
VolsSportsFan said:
We're still a football school but there's no reason we can't be both.
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That was the whole idea when Thompson-Boling was built.


From wiki:
..."In terms of seating capacity, Thompson-Boling was at one time the largest facility ever built specifically for basketball in the United States with a seating capacity of 24,535 until its 2007 renovation. The current capacity is 21,678. The men's record crowd was 25,610 for a game against Kentucky on January 21, 1989, which is also the SEC record for a regular-season game. The Lady Vols' record crowd of 24,653, set at their win over archrival UConn on January 7, 2006, is also the all-time record for an NCAA regular-season women's game."...
 
#10
#10
I think if the BasketVols and coach will get the kind of respect they deserve, then it is all good.
 
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#11
#11
Orangedogsrule said:
That was the whole idea when Thompson-Boling was built.


From wiki:
..."In terms of seating capacity, Thompson-Boling was at one time the largest facility ever built specifically for basketball in the United States with a seating capacity of 24,535 until its 2007 renovation. The current capacity is 21,678. The men's record crowd was 25,610 for a game against Kentucky on January 21, 1989, which is also the SEC record for a regular-season game. The Lady Vols' record crowd of 24,653, set at their win over archrival UConn on January 7, 2006, is also the all-time record for an NCAA regular-season women's game."...
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Too bad they decided to replace DeVoe with Wade Houston. Allen was great....his dad was awful.
 
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#12
#12
Chris4Vols22 said:
Jmo, we've been a basketball school for the past 13 years.
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We've been a basketball school since the mid 60s when Ray Mears came to town. He coined the phrase, "Big Orange Country". It has been said that Doug Dickey was extremely jealous of Mears while he was head coach here. It has also been said that Dickey let the basketball program slide when he hired Wade Houston because he didn't give a dam about the basketball program.
 
#13
#13
114VOL said:
We've been a basketball school since the mid 60s when Ray Mears came to town. He coined the phrase, "Big Orange Country". It has been said that Doug Dickey was extremely jealous of Mears while he was head coach here. It has also been said that Dickey let the basketball program slide when he hired Wade Houston because he didn't give a dam about the basketball program.
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I'm not sure I believe that Dickey purposely sabotaged the basketball program (though he let UK gear be sold when they came to town), but I definitely believe he didn't give a crap about it.

It may be a fine distinction though.
 
#14
#14
VolsSportsFan said:
Too bad they decided to replace DeVoe with Wade Houston. Allen was great....his dad was awful.
Click to expand...

Pat Kennedy must be kicking himself for turning down the job. He was the most sought after name in the country when he told Dickey no thanks. Dickey also wanted Leonard Hamilton. Lamar Alexander forced Wade Houston on TN... but it was well received by fans with the possibility of Allan getting out of the Louisville commitment.

Wade would gave done a better job had his side job not been running his trucking company.
 
#16
#16
VolsSportsFan said:
Too bad they decided to replace DeVoe with Wade Houston. Allen was great....his dad was awful.
Click to expand...

DeVoe was a kook though. I used to live a few houses away from him. Lot's of neighborhood shenannigans I could tell. At practices, he'd chase the team up and down the court yelling and screaming at them and whack 'em on the butt with a broom if they screwed up. Someone turned around and told DeVoe never again or else ... what, I don't remember.
An altogether unpleasant man if you ask me. Glad he got replaced.
 
#17
#17
Definitely not a women’s B.B. school anymore. Would be cool if we could get them back before it’s too late.
 
#18
#18
114VOL said:
We've been a basketball school since the mid 60s when Ray Mears came to town. He coined the phrase, "Big Orange Country". It has been said that Doug Dickey was extremely jealous of Mears while he was head coach here. It has also been said that Dickey let the basketball program slide when he hired Wade Houston because he didn't give a dam about the basketball program.
Click to expand...

Dickey dropped the ball when he pissed off Kevin O'Neil. He certainly didn't intentionally try to run down the program by hiring Houston. KO was a big time hire. Dickey also targeted Pat Kennedy and Wade was bracketed after PK. Houston was the safer hire since Hamilton had some baggage from KY's scandal. DAD did no doubt make football a higher priority.

KO poisoned Dickey's well when he ran off and Dickey had to settle for Jerry Green after about a half dozen coaches weren't interested. Ironically, Jerry's winning percentage is second best in the modern era.
 
#19
#19
Orangedogsrule said:
DeVoe was a kook though. I used to live a few houses away from him. Lot's of neighborhood shenannigans I could tell. At practices, he'd chase the team up and down the court yelling and screaming at them and whack 'em on the butt with a broom if they screwed up. Someone turned around and told DeVoe never again or else ... what, I don't remember.
An altogether unpleasant man if you ask me. Glad he got replaced.
Click to expand...

But he didn't throw chairs or choke players like his mentor.
 
#21
#21
It is nice to have a fall back sport while our football team is down but it's still a football school. If you don't believe me, check back after Spring football practice. It's been said before about the SEC in general that the top three sports, in order are:

1) Football
2) Spring football
3) Men's basketball

My guess is that the attendance at the Orange and White game will exceed what they got for the Kentucky game at Thompson-Boling Arena.
 
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#22
#22
maybe, just maybe, we have turned the corner. I think Pruitt is going to make us proud, and Barnes' already has. MAYBE Holly will improve and we can get back to where we are supposed to be there, as well.
 
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#23
#23
VolFreakJosh said:
I know many die hard football fans don’t want to accept it including myself but we’ve not been relevant in our main sport for a while now. Depending on how Pruitt does in 2-5 years, it may take a while to get back up to UT standards in football.

However, UT Basketball has overcame low expectations and here we are now as SEC Regular Season Co-Champions. Thank you Rick Barnes for all your hard work and dedication you’ve put into this program. You deserve it and our fans as a whole, deserve this considering the mess we overcame after Bruce’s departure.

Go Vols!
Click to expand...

Two regular season SEC championships in mens bb in last 10 years, and three since our last football championship says we're closer to being a basketball power than in football.
 
#24
#24
Sea Ray said:
It is nice to have a fall back sport while our football team is down but it's still a football school. If you don't believe me, check back after Spring football practice. It's been said before about the SEC in general that the top three sports, in order are:

1) Football
2) Spring football
3) Men's basketball

My guess is that the attendance at the Orange and White game will exceed what they got for the Kentucky game at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Click to expand...

And Kentucky has more fans in attendance for their football games than basketball games, as does Duke...so are those football schools too?

What a dumba$$ statement.
 
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#25
#25
Sea Ray said:
It is nice to have a fall back sport while our football team is down but it's still a football school. If you don't believe me, check back after Spring football practice. It's been said before about the SEC in general that the top three sports, in order are:

1) Football
2) Spring football
3) Men's basketball

My guess is that the attendance at the Orange and White game will exceed what they got for the Kentucky game at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Click to expand...

Also think we could have sold 50K+ tickets yesterday if TBA had the seats...that has something to do with it.
 
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