Cuonzo supporters put to rest

#51
#51
My biggest knock on him is that he coaches a brand of basketball that can be painful to watch. I remember many games in which we struggled to score 50 points, and I think there were at least a couple where we didn't even get to 40. That just doesn't pack the house.
 
#53
#53
Most if not all of you have never been part of a college or pro team. The work is done through the summer and fall and in practice everyday. They work on everything to the point where time out huddles are many times just reminders. Counzo saying to play better defense...the kids have been drilled in what to do he is just reminding them. There isn't time in a time out to drill down on everything. Meetings...practice etc is what that is for. Like when a football coach says we need to tackle better. He doesn't break it down on the sideline. They have been drilled. He is reminding them to do what they have been drilled to do. Now they make adjustments of course. But not much to adjust when you are getting pounded. He took over a team that won like 8 games. He has won more games last year and so far this years then his predecessor did in his entire career. He and Missouri will be fine.
 
#54
#54
Absolutely. I was somewhat excited when Martin came because I thought we would play smart and hard. We didn’t really do either consistently. We were terrible fundamentally and poor at the FT line. For the talent here he didn’t do a good job and the same is true at Cal. I didn’t think he deserved the petition to bring back Bruce but Cuonzo was not going to do good things here although he does seem to be a very nice man.
The way he was treated by Tennessee fans was not something that we can be proud of.

Fire away
 
#56
#56
I agree. I thought his comments were weak. I think one was "play good defense without fouling". I don't think it did him much good to be miked
Are they defending on the offensive end? 😂😂 He isn’t coaching toddlers for Christ sake. I think you reaching to discredit him with that one. But then again, you did lead off with stating you weren’t a coach or something like that.
 
#57
#57
Last nights slaughter of Mizzou on their home court should put to rest the few remaining Cuonzo supporters among Vol fans. As I've said for some time, CM is a fine man, an outstanding recruiter, but can't coach. He cannot make in-game adjustments. His teams almost always play worse the second half of games than the first half because opposing coaches make positive adjustments and Cuonzo does not. Losing by 24 at home is more evidence of this. Look at Mizzou and realize this is what Tennessee BB would be right now had Cuonzo been retained.
We'll see how well he performs when his team isn't taking on, arguably, the best team in the country. Let it go bruh 🙄.
 
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#59
#59
Here's the thing with Cuonzo: He dumped us. He wasn't fired. He voluntarily blew out of Knoxville. That's sacrilege to us tried and true Big Orange fans. We'd never do that. This puts him in Lane Kiffin territory.

For that reason it's fun to see that we're better off without him and that the grass wasn't necessarily greener. That's not to say Cuonzo was a bad coach or that he didn't do a really good job here given the dire circumstances he inherited. But he left us. I'm not ashamed to admit that I greatly enjoyed slapping him around last night a little more given that fact.
Who dumped who first ?!
 
#60
#60
My biggest knock on him is that he coaches a brand of basketball that can be painful to watch. I remember many games in which we struggled to score 50 points, and I think there were at least a couple where we didn't even get to 40. That just doesn't pack the house.

Lost 37-36 at Georgetown
Lost 48-38 at Virginia

back to back games

Great teacher on defense. Terrible at offense. I gave him the benefit of the doubt his first year or two because he inherited a roster that had barely played. But I distinctly remember playing at College of Charleston his first year, and the team had no idea how to move the ball against a zone.

Edit: Just saw your follow-up post.
 
#61
#61
Yeah I found the season results after posting that. The methodical offense under him was unbearable at times. 36 freaking points in 40 minutes of basketball??? My 11 year old plays 24 minute games where they top that at times.
 
#62
#62
Yeah I found the season results after posting that. The methodical offense under him was unbearable at times. 36 freaking points in 40 minutes of basketball??? My 11 year old plays 24 minute games where they top that at times.

My second grade team plays 36 minutes but a running clock. They went to OT last Saturday tied at 19.
 
#63
#63
Last nights slaughter of Mizzou on their home court should put to rest the few remaining Cuonzo supporters among Vol fans. As I've said for some time, CM is a fine man, an outstanding recruiter, but can't coach. He cannot make in-game adjustments. His teams almost always play worse the second half of games than the first half because opposing coaches make positive adjustments and Cuonzo does not. Losing by 24 at home is more evidence of this. Look at Mizzou and realize this is what Tennessee BB would be right now had Cuonzo been retained.
I agree but I also disagree, the real reason CM hasn't had another Sweet 16 team he hasn't had a player like Stokes and the supporting cast around him. I do believe he can coach just don't think he is as great of a recruiter as we originally believed. It really doesn't matter how well you coach when you have a lack of talent.
 
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#65
#65
I agree but I also disagree, the real reason CM hasn't had another Sweet 16 team he hasn't had a player like Stokes and the supporting cast around him. I do believe he can coach just don't think he is as great of a recruiter as we originally believed. It really doesn't matter how well you coach when you have a lack of talent.

I can't say that I know all of the details of his rosters at Cal. But in his first year, I believe he had 3 NBA draft picks (Brown was a lottery pick and Rabb was the 35th pick) along with a 4th player who has been on an NBA roster. Brown and Wallace left, and in his second year, he still had two of those above along with Charlie Moore as a freshman. Moore is now playing for Kansas. I don't believe there was a lack of talent.

I think it's more about him not getting his players in position to succeed on offense.
 
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#66
#66
Give me Barnes or Bruce any day of the week. But CM can coach basketball. Plays a boring big ten style that’s hard to watch sometimes but he wins everywhere he goes and coaches defense with the best of them. Always tough, mentally tough and takes his personality on the floor. Has my respect.
 
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#69
#69
I don't know , but it seems to me Conzo has an axe to grind. He just seems angry all the time. His players kinda reflect that persona too. Gimme even keeled Barnes any day. And it does appear RB can coach.

If you grew up in E. St. Louis youd probably have a permanent scowl too. Been there before. Tough place.
 
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#70
#70
I was for BBB for hoops reasons. But, also a big fan of CCM from a leadership perspective still.
 
#71
#71
He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bruce still had many strong followers who wanted him back, did not matter who the sitting coach was at the time. I hated his style of play. It was awful to watch a final 4 talented team loose over and over that last season. Then when they finally play to their potential the fans get blamed. I never understood that. The fans knew how good that team was from day one which is why we were upset with the coach?
 
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#72
#72
Who dumped who first ?!
this is about the only subject that I can claim any kind of Insider status. He was offered and then rejected I forget by whom. When he got back to town, he was confronted by his wife who said "I didn't marry no Uncle Tom. if you don't take the next opportunity to get out of here you're going to be going alone". In my opinion he then took the Cal job with much more grace then most of us would be able to muster.
 
#73
#73
He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bruce still had many strong followers who wanted him back, did not matter who the sitting coach was at the time. I hated his style of play. It was awful to watch a final 4 talented team loose over and over that last season. Then when they finally play to their potential the fans get blamed. I never understood that. The fans knew how good that team was from day one which is why we were upset with the coach?

The same fans that "knew" Barnes was coming here just to retire?
 
#74
#74
Last nights slaughter of Mizzou on their home court should put to rest the few remaining Cuonzo supporters among Vol fans. As I've said for some time, CM is a fine man, an outstanding recruiter, but can't coach. He cannot make in-game adjustments. His teams almost always play worse the second half of games than the first half because opposing coaches make positive adjustments and Cuonzo does not. Losing by 24 at home is more evidence of this. Look at Mizzou and realize this is what Tennessee BB would be right now had Cuonzo been retained.

Cuonzo is a good coach, that being said his style is to muck up the game and make it ugly. He concentrates on defense and dose not believe in playing a true point guard, which makes his teams very hard to watch on the offensive end.
 
#75
#75
CCM will always be part of VOL history and that's a good thing. Unlike Pearl or Donnie T. he did nothing to embarrass UT and he remains an upstanding coach and man.
Hard to imagine how that can cause such pain for you LAVOL "put to rest the few remaining Cuonzo supporters among Vol fans."?
Seems to me you're the one who needs to put it to rest. CCM is gone from UT and whatever his admirers might think is of no consequence to anyone but you it seems. So NO you are wrong - I will always be a Cuonzo supporter who knows he came in at a tough time - did his job the right way - and was poorly treated by a number of "fans" who couldn't get over the fact he wasn't Pearl.
I am glad he came - sorry he is vilified - happy he is gone - but his record as Head Coach of the Vols will never go away.
Why don't you give it a rest and move on - I have along with most of the fan base. Why try to dump on a guy who no longer has any impact on our team and players?

Because he lost to Austin Peay and we put up 36 points in a game against Georgetown. Outside of his final year tourney run, where we were one of the final four into the tournament with top 20 talent, the results were largely trash!
 

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