Dave Hart Blames Fans

#26
#26
volholio said:
"In one man's opinion, I don't think Cuonzo's decision was driven by dollars or was driven by necessarily number of years. I don't know. It was a tough year. I don't want to speak for Cuonzo. It was a tough year for Cuonzo and Roberta. There were a lot of distractions, you know what they were, you reported on them. Pretty tough for those young men and I talked to them and they have unsolicited, as the end of the year was progressing, made comments about how tough that was. It was a tough situation."

I agree. So do the players. So does the national media.
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That doesn't change my opinion one bit. The national media's job is to stir the pot.
 
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#28
#28
Hart made a big mistake by not coming out during the petition time and backing Cuonzo. His silence did equal damage
 
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#29
#29
Spartacavolus said:
So, I signed the petition (as my wife says, "there's a Bruce Pearl petition out, I'm going to put our names on it") and felt he had @ .001 chance of coming back. I believe it was after another 2 hours of sitting through the same miserable basketball I had been watching for the past 2.5 years. That's the thought process that went behind it for me.
That said:
-it helped drive the team to their best play when they couldn't find their own reasons to play well and almost waited too late
-and it helped both parties move on from a bad relationship with no immediate or long term future.

My sig and others are solely responsible for the sweet 16 run, and the new upcoming and exciting coach we will get now instead of waiting 2-3 years to do it.
Really though, no thanks needed. This is no time to gloat. People that don't know basketball are upset and we need to let them mourn.
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Well thought out.
 
#32
#32
Give me a freakin' break.

1). I agree with a post above, the fans pay the bills. At least do something to rally your team Cuonzo. Show some fan appreciation, quit mumbling into the microphone and project some pride. And when you do show up for any game, NIT or otherwise, make sure your players know it's their privilege and honor to represent the fans and the university, and therefore don't dump the game because of the pouters on the team.

2). Your creed is a "Tougher Breed"? How tough are you to run away in the middle of the night with a recruit in tow? I thought while you may not be the best basketball coach that you were a good life coach, I thought wrong. You ran like a coward, not like a stand up man. Given this result, we should be thrilled you're out of here.

3). Cuonzo, you've made millions from the University. MILLIONS!!!!! And you were going to get a half million dollars/year raise. You should be a much tougher breed given that much money and status. Grow a pair pal.

4). No way should you put up with your wife/family being harassed. Certainly this could have, should have been handled within the athletic admin somehow. Come on Dave Hart?

5). Good bye. Good luck. Get out.
 
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#33
#33
:eek:lol:What about the 30,000 fans that sigh the petition to get him out of here, deep down that had to hurt so if you were him what would you do, you would stick it to TENNESSEE the first chance you would get and he did, I cant blame him, the fan base ripped him from day 1, so he got the last laugh.:eek:lol:
 
#34
#34
supersmo18 said:
You get paid big bucks as coach, your fans PAY big bucks to see your product, you better produce BIG results, or you get every single solitary bit of what's coming at you.

Good luck, XCCM.
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in comparison to other coaches, he wasn't getting paid big bucks.
 
#35
#35
knowthevols said:
Put a crap product on the floor and fans are going to complain and justifiably so. Hart could have put the program in the best position it has been in for three years and let a great coach go to Auburn. That will go down in Tennessee history like Kentucky giving Bear Bryant that cigarette lighter for winning the SEC in football. smh
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Crap product? That crap product that beat UVA by 35 points? Put the biggest hurting on UK in UT history? Went to the Sweet 16? Took the number one team in the nation down to the wire? Took Wichita down to the wire?

Kenpom had has rated top ten most of the year. We lost a couple of heartbreakers. It happens.

You'd think people thought we were Indiana here or something. :mf_surrender:
 
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#37
#37
volholio said:
"In one man's opinion, I don't think Cuonzo's decision was driven by dollars or was driven by necessarily number of years. I don't know. It was a tough year. I don't want to speak for Cuonzo. It was a tough year for Cuonzo and Roberta. There were a lot of distractions, you know what they were, you reported on them. Pretty tough for those young men and I talked to them and they have unsolicited, as the end of the year was progressing, made comments about how tough that was. It was a tough situation."

I agree. So do the players. So does the national media.
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I'm tired of hearing stuff like this! Come on, if coaches and players cannot accept criticism when they do poorly then they need a new line of work. It's not like he wasn't getting paid well for what he was doing.

Truth is we barely made the tournament with a highly talented team and for the biggest part of the year did not play up to our potential. Any passionate fan base would react the way we reacted. If he left because of the fans then I say so long, we don't need a thin skinned coach anyway!:crazy:
 
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#38
#38
Hart had a coach who made it to the Sweet 16 and made a positive impression on potential suitors with the way he and his team conducted itself and performed on the court.

Hart refused to offer this coach what he had become worth in the basketball market.

We lost the coach to a school willing to pay more than we were willing to match.

Now if this were all about the fans, as OP and no doubt several of UTAD's boot-lickers will claim, then why was Coach Martin willing to listen to Hart and UT on a counter-offer? Why would you even be willing to remain in a situation if the fans were so blatantly against you?

The buck doesn't stop with the fans. It was the call of this athletic director not to match an offer for his head coach. The responsibility belongs to him.

He is one who decided to go in another direction. It is Hart's responsibility to replace what he chose to lose--a coach whose last team made it to the Sweet 16--with a man as good or better than the one who just left Knoxville.

I guess if this course of action fails, our esteemed AD will blame the fans for that as well.
 
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#40
#40
His salary went from 325K to 1325K overnight. UT tripled his salary. Triple my salary and I will take all the crap you want to throw my way (family being harassed aside).
 
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#41
#41
Is that the fans that are top 10 in attendance every year? You can't have it both ways. You want to sell 16000 tickets per game but have nobody care when things don't seem right? Good luck with that.
 
#42
#42
terrypedigo said:
:eek:lol:What about the 30,000 fans that sigh the petition to get him out of here, deep down that had to hurt so if you were him what would you do, you would stick it to TENNESSEE the first chance you would get and he did, I cant blame him, the fan base ripped him from day 1, so he got the last laugh.:eek:lol:
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He had 1.8 million reasons/year to stay. Over a fans petition? He's certainly not a tougher breed. And for most of the season, his team was disappointing. Game management, recruiting, public relations.....he was a coaching project. He was not a dedicated leader. Last laugh? It's coaching in the SEC, be a big boy! Or run to California. He ran.
 
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#43
#43
GoVols15 said:
I'm tired of hearing stuff like this! Come on, if coaches and players cannot accept criticism when they do poorly then they need a new line of work. It's not like he wasn't getting paid well for what he was doing.

Truth is we barely made the tournament with a highly talented team and for the biggest part of the year did not play up to our potential. Any passionate fan base would react the way we reacted. If he left because of the fans then I say so long, we don't need a thin skinned coach anyway!:crazy:
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Criticism is one thing, but you seem to forget this genius fanbase is the same one that sent death threats to a 20 year old Crompton. Lord knows what Martin had to endure. But, that's ok, because the coaches and players deserve that stuff just for pissing you off.
 
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#44
#44
Hart made the call not to match Cal's offer. He should stand by his decision and not hide behind the ready-made public relations script scapegoating fans who have stood by this basketball program with Top 10 attendances on a yearly basis.
 
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#45
#45
IPleadInsanity said:
None of the aforementioned pay any of the bills. What about the tough year the fans had?:dance:
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Tickets to games and merchandise are not necessities like food and shelter. If you don't like the product, then stop buying it. Don't complain when you continue to purchase a product that has, in recent years, continued to disappoint.
 
#46
#46
SDV said:
Hart made a big mistake by not coming out during the petition time and backing Cuonzo. His silence did equal damage
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Maybe he was as doubtful as the fans. His rear was on the line during that underachieving time too. We don't go on that end season run and Dave is in a coaching search anyway.

Except Hes paying a buyout. No way Hart has not done some serious homework since November at least. Impossible to be surprised @ this.
 
#48
#48
jeffmcflurry27 said:
Tickets to games and merchandise are not necessities like food and shelter. If you don't like the product, then stop buying it. Don't complain when you continue to purchase a product that has, in recent years, continued to disappoint.
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Oh, c'mon man. So the VFL aspect is of low value for you?
Personally, idc...good luck to Martin and let's look forward...


GBO!!!
 
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#50
#50
T.N. Buckingham said:
Hart made the call not to match Cal's offer. He should stand by his decision and not hide behind the ready-made public relations script scapegoating fans who have stood by this basketball program with Top 10 attendances on a yearly basis.
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Hart said it wasn't about the money. He very clearly said that.
 
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