Just Back From TBA...

#1
hatvol96

hatvol96

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#1
some thoughts, most of which are positive. 1. Great crowd. While there were a few more empty seats than I would like, the crowd was involved and enthusiastic throughout. As good an atmosphere as I have been involved with in Knoxville since the move from Stokely. Kudos to the folks who braved the cold weather and came out to give their team a lift. 2. I fervently hope Ramar Smith opens a pipeline for UT into the Detroit market. Missouri made a living in the late '80s and early '90s as the school of choice for D-Town natives who wanted to get away from home. The Motor City produces fearless, tough warriors. I hope we start bringing more into the program. 3. Jordan Howell, who I have unmercifully ripped, deserves plaudits tonight. He was an instrumental part of the victory. 4. There are always a couple of guys like Takais Brown available from the JUCO ranks in the spring signing period. Here's hoping Bruce can find one of them. 5. Georgia is going to be very, very good next year. 6. My instinct tells me Vanderbilt's little joyride is over. 7. Josh Tabb is going to play a lot of good basketball for UT. He has the best instincts of any of the freshmen. 8. While I am still skeptical about his ability to contribute on the floor, I was impressed with JP Prince's interaction with his teammates. The move to Knoxville seems to have done a world of good for his enthusiasm. 9. The current student body at UT is the most academically accomplished group of all time. Therefore, I implore them to stop the ridiculous newspaper schtick during introductions. Twenty years ago, it was fresh and witty. Now, it is simply trite and stupid. 10. I stopped by the Campus Deli on the way back to the condo. While nobody can replace the atmosphere that was Vic and Bill's, their burger is actually quite good.
 
#3
#3
Thanks for the report. I'm not familiar with most of the backdrop, but in the sense its a report on a college campus during and after a big game, very reminiscent I think of most campuses.
 
#4
#4
I haven't heard ANYONE talking about this, but remember about a week ago JaJuan Smith was in a huge slump. He puts up 25 on Kentucky and 22 tonight.
 
#5
#5
My freshman (M/C)son was there.He had a great time as well.Of course he went to the game with a gator fan.:banghead2:
 
#6
#6
was at the game also...great crowd and good to see Chism, Duke, both Smiths and Howell step it up tonight. awesome game.. I was watchin warmups and got super hyped when i saw Lofton out there..But then i saw him just reboundin and not shootin. I was pissed.. but overall great game. :salute:
 
#9
#9
JuJuan, Ramar, and Jordan all stepped up tonight. I also have to compliment Tabb. I think that Tabb is already one of the most tenacious defenders on the team. I have to say that I questioned Pearl's wisdom on Tabb last year during recruiting, but now Tabb is quickly becoming one of my favorites because of his defensive effort and improving offense.

I promise I won't question Pearl again (like with Tabb's teammate we are bringing in next year. Bruce will slim him down and make him an inside presence).

One other person who should get some recognition is Duke Crews, since he got a double-double.

I am a little disappointed with the way that Chism played though. I know he's still a freshman, but we a so thin inside that we need him making smarter plays.

Overall, they did good, but we all really want to see Lofton back before the next game...
 
#10
#10
we need a big power guy to play center so Chism and Crews can play their natural positions at SF, and PF
 
#14
#14
mattvols said:
we need a big power guy to play center so Chism and Crews can play their natural positions at SF, and PF
Click to expand...
At this point Crews does not have the shot to play the 3. Unless he develops a more versatile offensive game, he is destined to be an undersized PF.
 
#15
#15
hatvol96 said:
At this point Crews does not have the shot to play the 3. Unless he develops a more versatile offensive game, he is destined to be an undersized PF.
Click to expand...


Are there any hopes for a thick 6'10 or 6'11 true center that's coordinated in our future?
 
#16
#16
Jasongivm6 said:
Are there any hopes for a thick 6'10 or 6'11 true center that's coordinated in our future?
Click to expand...
about a 1 in a million chance. Williams is our guy for next year, dont know how much he'll contribute. might need a redshirt year. He's like 300 pounds 6'10.
 
#17
#17
hatvol96 said:
At this point Crews does not have the shot to play the 3. Unless he develops a more versatile offensive game, he is destined to be an undersized PF.
Click to expand...

Thats what I was going to say, he doesn't have the shot or the handle to play 3. But that's not why Bruce recruited him. He wants him to be an undersized big man who plays with unmatched energy.

Also, while you are giving kudos to Tabb and I love the kid, he played out of control tonight. Bruce had to reprimand him about 3 times alone for his turnovers and overall sloppy game. His head was not into it at all tonight, although he had a very pretty reverse lay up.
 
#18
#18
I already posted this in another thread, but figured it would be more useful here:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lofton looked pretty ginger in warm ups but it was obvious to those of us there that that he was never going to play.

The crowd wasn't overly impressive in their showing but they were a lot louder than they should have especially with over 20 fouls in the second half.

The refs were terrible against us in the first half. It was laughable. They were just as bad against us in the second half but they started calling a lot on UGA too.

The nervousness was palpable throughout the crowd with about 6 min to go when they got within 8. I think only about 10 people were clapping along to Rocky Top in the whole building. No one had faith except the players, they played with amazing intesity throughout the game, especially JaJuan- he was their biggest cheerleader on and off of the court.

JaJuan and Ramar both missed only 3 shots each tonight, it was incredible. Meanwhile, Childress got blocked trying to throw a dunk down emphatically on a fast break. The whole crowd was ready to erupt when he caught the ball heading towards the basket, and then when he got blocked the murmur from the crowd was at about 80 decibals. It was embarassing for the guy.

Either way it was a great game for us. We held serve at home without Lofton, the most important thing about this game, and we have a teeny bit of momentum heading to Gainesville, and Ole Miss and Vandy have both shown that they aren't untouchable at home, hopefully there is some good tape available from those games. Nice to finally post about a win, especially because I was able to be there at a game that wasn't televised. AND UT might be closed tomorrow. Awesome.
 
#19
#19
hatvol96 said:
10. I stopped by the Campus Deli on the way back to the condo. While nobody can replace the atmosphere that was Vic and Bill's, their burger is actually quite good.
Click to expand...

How different was the menu? I about fell over this year when I was walking by V&B's and saw that it had changed hands. Bill had looked pretty bad the last couple of times I'd stopped in, but still.....it was a shock.

"Hey my boy what can I do for YOU??"
 
#20
#20
Vercingetorix said:
How different was the menu? I about fell over this year when I was walking by V&B's and saw that it had changed hands. Bill had looked pretty bad the last couple of times I'd stopped in, but still.....it was a shock.

"Hey my boy what can I do for YOU??"
Click to expand...
The new ownership appears to be of middle eastern descent. They have added hummus and some other traditional dishes. Otherwise, the menu is much the same. They are really pushing their "One Eyed Jack" burger. It has egg and bacon as toppings.
 
#21
#21
hatvol96 said:
The new ownership appears to be of middle eastern descent. They have added hummus and some other traditional dishes. Otherwise, the menu is much the same. They are really pushing their "One Eyed Jack" burger. It has egg and bacon as toppings.
Click to expand...
Does that burger have a defibrillator handy if needed after dinner? :rofl:
 
#22
#22
Jasongivm6 said:
Are there any hopes for a thick 6'10 or 6'11 true center that's coordinated in our future?
Click to expand...

If UT can land Jurick in '08, he will be a "true center". Big man that blocks shots and grabs boards, and only shoots within 5 feet of the basket. But coordination is yet to be seen. I still think it would be at least his sophomore year before he is ready to start and be an inside force. I don't think it looks too good for the next 2 years, though; all I've heard about is the 300 pound "project" coming in next year, and who knows how that will turn out. Looks to me like they will live and die by the 3 for at least 2 seasons.
 
#23
#23
Don't be surprised if Chism gets taller. He is only a freshman after all. I'd rather have him at PF, but if neccessary he may be able to be a good center.
 
#24
#24
btw u dont really need a "true" center in BPs system. The reason he isn't running the same kindof chaos as last season is because the players are less expierienced and to run controlled chaos u need to eleminate mistakes.
 
#25
#25
Hat are you serious about the crowd? I thought it was fairly dead. At one point Bruce Pearl was waving his arms around trying to get the crowd to make some noise. :huh:

Glad to see you giving Howell some props. I think he is one of our best outside options.
 
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