Tennessee can keep up with Kentucky...

[nycvol010]

but it is not going to be easy. I have a friend who is fairly big on the AAU basketball scene, and is a large carolina fan. 5 years ago he saw Roy Williams and Steve Robinson t an AAU game. He went up to them, shook their hands and pointed to a player on the court. He said "Listen to me, if you get that kid, you will cut down the nets with him". The kid was Danny Green, and by his senior year, they were doing just that. Now the point here is not that my friend is some type of basketball profit. It's North Carolina. There is something like a 50% chance they will cut down the nets once every four years. The point is more that he called out Danny Green, as opposed to Ty Lawson, or Kevin Durant, or Branden Wright, who were all UNC targets in that class.

Recruiting has become an entirely different game with the one and done rule. There are really two sections of high school players that come out every year. There is the top 10, and then there is the top 10 that could theoretically graduate. If you were to have somebody like John Wall in college for 4 years, and then have him feeding the ball to a senior Demarcus Cosuins....Well Tennessee might as well just quit now. But the one and done rule has proved to somewhat of an equalizer. That is really what Bruce Pearl has to capitalize on. We tried out the Josh Selby's of the world. Truth is that it just is not meant to be. Tennessee will never be a home to the one and done prospects. Too many influences telling these kids to look elsewhere. Im not referring to money or gifts, but there are just a lot of people talking to those kids. The key for Tennessee is to get some grittier 4-year players. Truth be told, when it comes to the front court, those are the types of players that fit pearl's system better anyway. If Tennessee is able to recruit the top level of the second level, they can compete with anybody. These kids Kentucky is getting right now, are excellent players. It all depends on the player, but the #25 player in country, in his senior year, can go up against any top recruit. Bruce should not even spend a minute on a Lance Stephenson type. Not worth the trouble, and not really a bruce type anyway. Give me a Levance fields or a Dajuan Blair any day of the week, and you will find Tennessee grinding out games against teams like Kentucky. We can be competitive, without competing on the recruiting trail.


What does that mean for now? I think that it is really important that Bruce Pearl land Jayvaughn Pinkston. You might see Jay in the 40-50-60 range in a lot of these rankings. But i promise you that there are not 25 better HS basketball players out there. These rankings factor in pro-potential and a lot of things like that. Pinkston has gone up against Lance Stephenson, an he ripped him to shreds. He is an undersized 4 who can run the floor, and play on the outside some. He will rip you on the inside. Pinkston as a senior, will be able to compete with any one and done freshman.

Next task, a Point Guard who is tough and can defend. Vander Blue looks like a more realistic option than Joe Jackson at this point, but neither would be easy. This is a tough one right now. Its a tough task, but if Bruce can land either of those two I can see Tennessee keeping pace with Kentucky for the most part over the next 4 years. Bruce would probably also bring in another player, most likely a true big, but the two spots i mentioned, to go a long with McCrae would really be key. KY is bringing in some fab 5 type talent, it is important for Tennessee to get some really solid 4-year players just to keep up.

[Bulldogs30]

From a former 4 year college basketball player, I agree with you 100%. You can't teach experience and it is the equalizer when you are comparing solid (not great) veteran Jr and Sr players versus Blue Chip Freshman.

[hatvol96]

Remind me when the last time a team loaded with seniors cut down the nets at the end of the season.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

[myrobbins7]

Cal is da man, that's all.

[Bulldogs30]

That is very true. You have to crack the Elite 8 before you can set the NC as your goal in my opinion. Make a couple Elite 8's and maybe a Final 4 then you establish yourself as a perennial contender which will then give us the ability to go after the Blue Chippers...

Don't get me wrong I would prefer going about things the way Carolina and Kentucky are doing it now by loading up with 5* talent but I just don't think that is feasable at this point.

[IPorange]

Ugh. I have been reduced to such useless things as "hope" and "feelings" when trying to imagine the Tennessee program moving in a positive direction from here in the near future.

[nycvol010]

Originally Posted by hatvol96

Remind me when the last time a team loaded with seniors cut down the nets at the end of the season.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

Wait a second. First off there is a big difference between competing with teams like Kentucky, and actually winning a national title. I think the Tennessee program is pretty far from a natty when you consider we have never been past the sweet 16. What i am talking about is a team like last years pitt team, who could play with anybody and was in the discussion. There was also the Gtech team that went to the finals a couple of years ago, and the Illinois team that played UNC in the finals. These are the types of templates i am referring to. Now whether you win once you get to the elite 8/ final 4 games, is something that we dont really have the luxury of thinking about right now. To answer your question, there have only been 3 champions since one and done players came into play, so i think the sample size is far too small to start drawing conclusions.

[CatsQueue]

Tennessee can keep up with Kentucky...

Well of course they can. As stated earlier, the one and done era is brand new. Who knows if anyone (Calipari and Roy Williams included) can sustain the steady flow of one and done's in sufficient numbers to make that work year in and year out. Vol fans may be surprised but not all UK fans are totally sold on the one and done formula. Who is to say that the signing of Bledsoe, Hood, Orton and Dodson isn't more significant in the grander scheme than say Wall and Cousins. My point - those four are going to be around a lot longer providing experience and stability to the system (in theory).

Don't take me wrong - I'm excited again. A welcome thing after the Lost Years Era. You guys tend to complain about Pearl but you have no idea what it was like to endure the Billy Clyde experiment.

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by nycvol010

Wait a second. First off there is a big difference between competing with teams like Kentucky, and actually winning a national title. I think the Tennessee program is pretty far from a natty when you consider we have never been past the sweet 16. What i am talking about is a team like last years pitt team, who could play with anybody and was in the discussion. There was also the Gtech team that went to the finals a couple of years ago, and the Illinois team that played UNC in the finals. These are the types of templates i am referring to. Now whether you win once you get to the elite 8/ final 4 games, is something that we dont really have the luxury of thinking about right now. To answer your question, there have only been 3 champions since one and done players came into play, so i think the sample size is far too small to start drawing conclusions.

You might want to look at that Illinois roster again before you start proclaiming them an example of the benefits of a senior laden team. As to the last sentence of your post, the fact that the majority of champions were underclassmen led before the one and done rule was instituted just underscores the simple fact of college basketball: You win big with future pros. If your goal is to be Purdue under Gene Keady, recruit four year guys. If your goal is to win hardware, get the best players you can.

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by nycvol010

but it is not going to be easy. I have a friend who is fairly big on the AAU basketball scene, and is a large carolina fan. 5 years ago he saw Roy Williams and Steve Robinson t an AAU game. He went up to them, shook their hands and pointed to a player on the court. He said "Listen to me, if you get that kid, you will cut down the nets with him". The kid was Danny Green, and by his senior year, they were doing just that. Now the point here is not that my friend is some type of basketball profit. It's North Carolina. There is something like a 50% chance they will cut down the nets once every four years. The point is more that he called out Danny Green, as opposed to Ty Lawson, or Kevin Durant, or Branden Wright, who were all UNC targets in that class.

Recruiting has become an entirely different game with the one and done rule. There are really two sections of high school players that come out every year. There is the top 10, and then there is the top 10 that could theoretically graduate. If you were to have somebody like John Wall in college for 4 years, and then have him feeding the ball to a senior Demarcus Cosuins....Well Tennessee might as well just quit now. But the one and done rule has proved to somewhat of an equalizer. That is really what Bruce Pearl has to capitalize on. We tried out the Josh Selby's of the world. Truth is that it just is not meant to be. Tennessee will never be a home to the one and done prospects. Too many influences telling these kids to look elsewhere. Im not referring to money or gifts, but there are just a lot of people talking to those kids. The key for Tennessee is to get some grittier 4-year players. Truth be told, when it comes to the front court, those are the types of players that fit pearl's system better anyway. If Tennessee is able to recruit the top level of the second level, they can compete with anybody. These kids Kentucky is getting right now, are excellent players. It all depends on the player, but the #25 player in country, in his senior year, can go up against any top recruit. Bruce should not even spend a minute on a Lance Stephenson type. Not worth the trouble, and not really a bruce type anyway. Give me a Levance fields or a Dajuan Blair any day of the week, and you will find Tennessee grinding out games against teams like Kentucky. We can be competitive, without competing on the recruiting trail.


What does that mean for now? I think that it is really important that Bruce Pearl land Jayvaughn Pinkston. You might see Jay in the 40-50-60 range in a lot of these rankings. But i promise you that there are not 25 better HS basketball players out there. These rankings factor in pro-potential and a lot of things like that. Pinkston has gone up against Lance Stephenson, an he ripped him to shreds. He is an undersized 4 who can run the floor, and play on the outside some. He will rip you on the inside. Pinkston as a senior, will be able to compete with any one and done freshman.

Next task, a Point Guard who is tough and can defend. Vander Blue looks like a more realistic option than Joe Jackson at this point, but neither would be easy. This is a tough one right now. Its a tough task, but if Bruce can land either of those two I can see Tennessee keeping pace with Kentucky for the most part over the next 4 years. Bruce would probably also bring in another player, most likely a true big, but the two spots i mentioned, to go a long with McCrae would really be key. KY is bringing in some fab 5 type talent, it is important for Tennessee to get some really solid 4-year players just to keep up.

DeJuan Blair left college after his sophomore season. How does that help your position?

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by nycvol010

Wait a second. First off there is a big difference between competing with teams like Kentucky, and actually winning a national title. I think the Tennessee program is pretty far from a natty when you consider we have never been past the sweet 16. What i am talking about is a team like last years pitt team, who could play with anybody and was in the discussion. There was also the Gtech team that went to the finals a couple of years ago, and the Illinois team that played UNC in the finals. These are the types of templates i am referring to. Now whether you win once you get to the elite 8/ final 4 games, is something that we dont really have the luxury of thinking about right now. To answer your question, there have only been 3 champions since one and done players came into play, so i think the sample size is far too small to start drawing conclusions.

The only seniors on that Georgia Tech team were a couple of role players.

[nycvol010]

The point is that they were not considered one and done players out of HS. Deron Williams was a backup plan for UNC out of HS. Yeah after the fact who knows? The point is not to make sure you dont recruit guys who are far better than their ranking. Sure some guys may leave early, but neither Blair, nor anybody on that Illinois team were considered cant miss NBA talents. Its silly to say what you said, because obviously any team that wins the title or makes it to the finals is going to have people that have a shot at the NBA. But we are talking about out of HS here, and people like Blair and Williams were not considered real NBA talents. When Tennessee recruited Blair, nobody really considered him to be much better than they do Pinkston now. For Pitt Blair was an exception to the rule. They recruited him as a 4-year player, just like all the rest of their players. just so happened that he was better than most thought. That is still a team that year in and year out is based on 4-year players. As for illinois' 05 team, every one of their 5 best players was either a JR, or a SR.

[PandamoniumReigns]

I am not of big fan of the one and done players. I'd rather see a team that is cohesive and plays like a team, instead of "Hey, Pass it to the new guy. He's good" type playing.

Side Note: Why do certain posters feel the need to post 3(or more) consecutive posts? This is a trend i see in other threads as well. It's primarily from one poster. Why not read the entire thread and then post a single response instead of cluttering up the board with consecutive posts? One of the guilty is on my ignore list, but its still an annoyance. Just thought I'd vent a little. I'm done now!

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by nycvol010

The point is that they were not considered one and done players out of HS. Deron Williams was a backup plan for UNC out of HS. Yeah after the fact who knows? The point is not to make sure you dont recruit guys who are far better than their ranking. Sure some guys may leave early, but neither Blair, nor anybody on that Illinois team were considered cant miss NBA talents. Its silly to say what you said, because obviously any team that wins the title or makes it to the finals is going to have people that have a shot at the NBA. But we are talking about out of HS here, and people like Blair and Williams were not considered real NBA talents. When Tennessee recruited Blair, nobody really considered him to be much better than they do Pinkston now. For Pitt Blair was an exception to the rule. They recruited him as a 4-year player, just like all the rest of their players. just so happened that he was better than most thought. That is still a team that year in and year out is based on 4-year players. As for illinois' 05 team, every one of their 5 best players was either a JR, or a SR.

Williams and Blair were both Top 50 recruits. Bob Huggins was saying Blair would play in the NBA when he was a freshman in high school. He was a revelation to nobody.

[hatvol96]

NYC has articulated the formula that will ensure Bruce Pearl's career at UT mirrors his mentor's at Iowa. Get whipped for the best players on the recruiting trail, then settle for second level guys. We should call that the Tom Davis Equation. It would look like this: TDE: Slightly better than average players + A gimmick system=Middle Of The Pack Finishes In A BCS League and First Weekend Exits From The 'AA Tournament.