espn on upcoming Vols/SEC season

#1
Special Ed

Special Ed

VFE: Vol For Eternity
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#1
Summer Shootaround: SEC - ESPN

"Stokes' season was also hampered by his willingness to defer in tough situations or his refusal to play with more aggressiveness when his squad needed that from him."

That sums up the Big Man in a nutshell. If Cuonzo could only get Stokes to play consistent, aggressive offense and defense alongside Maymon, our frontcourt would be monstrous.
 
#2
#2
*Adjusted summary for actual UT fans:

2. Tennessee loses Trae Golden, gains Antonio Barton: The loss of Golden was a discouraging development for a UT program that emerged from the offseason's rubble as an SEC sleeper talented enough to potentially challenge Kentucky and Florida for the league title. Golden (12.1 PPG, 3.9 APG), who was a veteran point guard for the program, was forced to withdraw in April. Even though Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McRae return, Golden's departure seemed to jeopardize the promise the Volunteers possessed. Enter Barton (the brother of former Memphis star Will Barton), who transferred to Tennessee weeks after Golden had departed. The 6-foot-2 point guard will be eligible immediately after graduating from Memphis in the offseason. Although he averaged just more than 16 minutes per game and 5.6 PPG last season, his experience and versatility will give the Vols a much-needed veteran ball handler in what could be a stellar season in Knoxville.

Tennessee

Best case: The Volunteers lost Trae Golden this offseason, but most of the other key pieces are back, including rangy perimeter scorer Jordan McRae and pounding forward Jarnell Stokes. If UT can shore up the so-so defense of a year ago and big-time recruit Robert Hubbs lives up to the hype, it might be the best challenger to Kentucky the SEC has to offer.

Worst case: The Vols finished No. 75 in Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings last season, which might be a good place to plant the worst-case flag for the year ahead.

The junior big man finished the 2012-13 campaign with 16 double-doubles. Few players can match his size and strength. And if the motor stays on all season, Stokes (12.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.1 BPG) could be one of the nation's top post players. That, however, is just a possibility. Stokes' season was also hampered by his willingness to defer in tough situations or his refusal to play with more aggressiveness when his squad needed that from him. But the tools are there for an All-American season.
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You are a terrible poster, Ed. You literally picked out the only negative things they said. Get out of here with that ish.
 
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#3
#3
Can anyone who resorts to juvenile, nonsensical terms like “ish” expect his critique of another poster to be taken seriously? I merely pointed out the writer’s harshest indictment of the team to save everyone else the trouble of searching for it. After all, my moniker is Special Ed, not Sister Mary Sunshine. That mantle doesn’t suit me and doubtless ever will. I’m a realist, not a cockeyed optimist and I like to keep up with all things Vol even while serving in the Middle East, as I am now. Pointing out information germane to the team and its prospects for the future does not make me, or anyone else who deigns to do so, a “bad poster”. Personally, I’d rather have a light shone on the deficiencies so that they can be brought out into the open. Keeping quiet about any negative aspects of a player’s habits and pretending they don’t exist will not make them go away. If they’re brought out into the open, they can be corrected. Like any other Vol fan, I want this team to be the best it can be. That will not happen as long as any one starter is not pulling his load.
 
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#4
#4
Special Ed said:
Can anyone who resorts to juvenile, nonsensical terms like “ish” expect his critique of another poster to be taken seriously? I merely pointed out the writer’s harshest indictment of the team to save everyone else the trouble of searching for it. After all, my moniker is Special Ed, not Sister Mary Sunshine. That mantle doesn’t suit me and doubtless ever will. I’m a realist, not a cockeyed optimist and I like to keep up with all things Vol even while serving in the Middle East, as I am now. Pointing out information germane to the team and its prospects for the future does not make me, or anyone else who deigns to do so, a “bad poster”. Personally, I’d rather have a light shone on the deficiencies so that they can be brought out into the open. Keeping quiet about any negative aspects of a player’s habits and pretending they don’t exist will not make them go away. If they’re brought out into the open, they can be corrected. Like any other Vol fan, I want this team to be the best it can be. That will not happen as long as any one starter is not pulling his load.
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jesus dude calm down
 
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#5
#5
Special Ed said:
Can anyone who resorts to juvenile, nonsensical terms like “ish” expect his critique of another poster to be taken seriously? I merely pointed out the writer’s harshest indictment of the team to save everyone else the trouble of searching for it. After all, my moniker is Special Ed, not Sister Mary Sunshine. That mantle doesn’t suit me and doubtless ever will. I’m a realist, not a cockeyed optimist and I like to keep up with all things Vol even while serving in the Middle East, as I am now. Pointing out information germane to the team and its prospects for the future does not make me, or anyone else who deigns to do so, a “bad poster”. Personally, I’d rather have a light shone on the deficiencies so that they can be brought out into the open. Keeping quiet about any negative aspects of a player’s habits and pretending they don’t exist will not make them go away. If they’re brought out into the open, they can be corrected. Like any other Vol fan, I want this team to be the best it can be. That will not happen as long as any one starter is not pulling his load.
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I think many on the VN board would prefer a board like Rolltide where you can't criticize players or coaches.
Those who criticize or disagree with the dominants are Nancies or Glasses half full.
I enjoy most of your posts. But, I like keeping up with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
 
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#6
#6
It is possible to highlight/mention the positive and negative. When an article about UT is 90% positive, and the ONLY mention you make about it is the negative 10%, you will likely be viewed as someone who chooses to focus on the negative.

Perhaps that's your general personality, and you don't realize it. Right or wrong, the only window you can possibly be viewed through on an anonymous message board is how you respond to positive and negative news/stories. If you choose to focus solely on the positive and try to ignore any negative, you'll be viewed as a naive sunshine pumper. If you focus solely on the negative (especially in an article that is as seemingly positive as this one), you'll be viewed as a generally negative person. That persona, be it positive or negative, is developed over time, and I doubt anyone is being judged solely on their response to this article alone.

Does it make you a bad poster? Not necessarily. But, it does lend people to the belief that you focus more on the negative aspects, and that can rub people wrong, much in the same way it seems to rub you wrong for people to bury their head in the sand and pretend like everything is rainbows and sunshine all the time.
 
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#7
#7
calban said:
I think many on the VN board would prefer a board like Rolltide where you can't criticize players or coaches.
Those who criticize or disagree with the dominants are Nancies or Glasses half full.
I enjoy most of your posts. But, I like keeping up with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
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Im all for criticism and varying opinions, but if you're gonna start a thread centered around ESPNs evaluation of Tennessee, yet only include one paragraph of that evaluation...seems a bit pointless and like you're almost trying to stir the pot.

Now, given the poster it really comes as no surprise that he chose the most negative part of the article to post. Special Ed has been a Martin hater since day 1, and isn't far behind BOP or UTIE95 in their completely over the top hatred for the Tennessee basketball coach.
 
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#8
#8
calban said:
I think many on the VN board would prefer a board like Rolltide where you can't criticize players or coaches.
Those who criticize or disagree with the dominants are Nancies or Glasses half full.
I enjoy most of your posts. But, I like keeping up with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Click to expand...

No surprise you feel this way. You're a glass half empty kind of guy.
 
#10
#10
calban said:
A Nancy too at times.
Would be a boring world if we were all optimists.
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Agree. I'm not immune to going full "nega-vol" myself. In fact, I started a thread last spring about the Georgia loss at home possibly being the "beginning of the end of Cuonzo."
 
#11
#11
It's not that hard to to highlight and then copy the rest of the article. You don't have to go out of your way to point out some possible negatives for the upcoming season because any person with a second grade reading level could find it themselves by reading the whole article. The fact is you see it both ways on here, people leave out the negatives, just as much as they point them out and an argument insues. Most of the threads you open up recently are just a bunch of people arguing over who is a Negavol and who is drinking to much orange Kool aid.
 
#12
#12
Imo, this should be our best team since 2010 when we made it to the elite 8. If we have consistent outside shooting, I foresee a run in the big dance.
 
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#13
#13
Special Ed said:
Summer Shootaround: SEC - ESPN

"Stokes' season was also hampered by his willingness to defer in tough situations or his refusal to play with more aggressiveness when his squad needed that from him."

That sums up the Big Man in a nutshell. If Cuonzo could only get Stokes to play consistent, aggressive offense and defense alongside Maymon, our frontcourt would be monstrous.
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Sorry Mr. Ed, if you hadn't thrown this bit of :twocents: at us I might be a little more likely to believe you just didn't intend to stir the pot with your thread. Having said that, I also wish Stokes played with a little more aggressiveness and passion.

Just do like Paul Harvey and give us the rest of the story.

For all the young bunks, Paul Harvey is an old radio guy.
 
#15
#15
Ed, you're not a realist, you're a pessimist (when it comes to UT basketball anyway). Point and case, look at your OP, then look at all the information in the article that you chose to omit, ignore, and refused to acknowledge. It's one thing to be critical (like every reasonable poster should be), but you do nothing but slander and insult the coach and program in this forum. So if you want a dose of reality, I bet you wouldn't be able to find 5 of your own posts from the past 2 years in this forum that don't insult the coach/program. You have a record of douchery, bro.

Between you and I, don't try to pull that "I'm in the military, so you should feel bad for starting an argument with me" BS.
 
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#17
#17
bleedingTNorange said:
Im all for criticism and varying opinions, but if you're gonna start a thread centered around ESPNs evaluation of Tennessee, yet only include one paragraph of that evaluation...seems a bit pointless and like you're almost trying to stir the pot.

Now, given the poster it really comes as no surprise that he chose the most negative part of the article to post. Special Ed has been a Martin hater since day 1, and isn't far behind BOP or UTIE95 in their completely over the top hatred for the Tennessee basketball coach.
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Include only one paragraph? By posting the link, I included every word of the article for anyone interested enough in the subject to peruse at his or her leisure. It’s not my place to spoon-feed every single tidbit from the articles I point out in a post. I don’t view other visitors to this site as children who must have every single aspect of every opinion piece highlighted for them. The lone ‘negative’ that I pointed out was the aspect that stood out from the article in question. I happen to agree with the man’s conclusion regarding Jarnell’s performance so far. So, naturally that statement caught my eye. I don’t think I’m the only Vol fan who knows in his heart that we have not yet seen his best; it’s pretty obvious that Stokes has the skills to perform at a higher level. The deficiencies in his game can be fixed.

As to my alleged dislike of Cuonzo Martin, that’s a bold, albeit grossly fallacious, assumption based merely on a few posts critical of Cuonzo’s performance to date. I never hated him; I only hated the circumstances that brought him to UT. I feel that Cuonzo, like Jarnell, has not lived up to his potential, but, so far, he hasn’t had all the tools in place to prove his true mettle as the UT basketball honcho. He may yet surprise me and many others who feel he hasn’t yet shown he’s the ‘second-coming’, but if he can’t progress with the roster he’s going to have this season, I’ll still harbor doubts as to his suitability to lead UT back to the proverbial Promised Land. In short, he’s still a wait-and-see proposition in my view, but I’ve always given him the benefit of the doubt.

Besides that, 'stirring the pot' always makes for a tastier stew.
 
#18
#18
Jarnell hasn't lived up to the hype?! The kid averaged 12 points and 9 Rebs in SEC play while getting double teams. Give me a damn break. I hate fans that do this. Same thing is going to happen to Hubbs if he doesn't average 18 and 8 this year gtfoh.
 
#19
#19
It's funny that ESPN didn't even mention the return of RS Senior Jeronne Maymon. Maymon was having a GREAT 2011 season before his knee(s) really started bothering him and he had to cut back the minutes and aggressiveness. Maymon's been tweeting about how he's "gotten better"; with the current leadership this team has and a boost from Antonio Barton and Robert Hubbs, we should be unstoppable (for the most part).

I can't stress on how much better this team will be from last year's.

No Kenny Hall, Skylar McBee, or Trae Golden instead replacing them with a better Armani Moore, Robert Hubbs and Antonio Barton. I truly believe we will have a ridiculous season. But hey, I'm an optimist about Tennessee basketball.
 
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#20
#20
iKrager said:
t's funny that ESPN didn't even mention the return of RS Senior Jeronne Maymon. Maymon was having a GREAT 2011 season before his knee(s) really started bothering him and he had to cut back the minutes and aggressiveness. Maymon's been tweeting about how he's "gotten better". With the current leadership this team has and a boost from Antonio Barton and Robert Hubbs, we should be unstoppable (for the most part).

I can't stress on how much better this team will be from last year's.

No Kenny Hall, Skylar McBee, or Trae Golden instead replacing them with a better Armani Moore, Robert Hubbs and Antonio Barton. I truly believe we will have a ridiculous season. But hey, I'm an optimist about Tennessee basketball.
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They did but it wasn't lengthy.
 
#22
#22
iKrager said:
It's funny that ESPN didn't even mention the return of RS Senior Jeronne Maymon. Maymon was having a GREAT 2011 season before his knee(s) really started bothering him and he had to cut back the minutes and aggressiveness. Maymon's been tweeting about how he's "gotten better". With the current leadership this team has and a boost from Antonio Barton and Robert Hubbs, we should be unstoppable (for the most part).

I can't stress on how much better this team will be from last year's.

No Kenny Hall, Skylar McBee, or Trae Golden instead replacing them with a better Armani Moore, Robert Hubbs and Antonio Barton. I truly believe we will have a ridiculous season. But hey, I'm an optimist about Tennessee basketball.
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No room for optimism in this thread. Only realism that doesn't include anything positive.

Ok, I'll stop :peace:
 
#23
#23
Feel free to hurl as many ad hominem insults as you like, but those snarky comments only serve to reveal the character of the person who stoops to that level and nothing of the character of the target of said insults. I will not be drawn into a quid pro quo exchange of personal insults. I don’t care how many people agree or disagree with my personal opinions, but indulging in puerile invective serves no purpose whatsoever.

By the way, I never said I was currently in the military. Although I have been in the past, I’ve long since retired. I am now serving as an electronics engineer for the Department of Defense in a civilian capacity in support of the troops over here, many of whom happen to also be Vol fans.
 
#24
#24
Special Ed said:
Feel free to hurl as many ad hominem insults as you like, but those snarky comments only serve to reveal the character of the person who stoops to that level and nothing of the character of the target of said insults. I will not be drawn into a quid pro quo exchange of personal insults. I don’t care how many people agree or disagree with my personal opinions, but indulging in puerile invective serves no purpose whatsoever.

By the way, I never said I was currently in the military. Although I have been in the past, I’ve long since retired. I am now serving as an electronics engineer for the Department of Defense in a civilian capacity in support of the troops over here, many of whom happen to also be Vol fans.
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Not to intrude on the little 'tiff' we've got going on, but you really want sympathy from posters here, posting that way. Like cool, Vol fans in the middle east. Vol fans are everywhere.
 
#25
#25
Anyways, I'm not sure Jarnell deserves such criticism on offense. He did great considering what he had to deal with. Compare him to Patric Young, who had NBA draft pick Erik Murphy as a three point specialist, and Jarnell had a better season.
 
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