"The difference is the atmosphere is a lot more
it's just a better atmosphere and it wasn't like going through the motions of just doing things," said Malone, the state's second-ranked player with an offer list crowding 40. "They're doing things the right way."
"What sticks out really is how they played with a great team and all the time I got to spend with the coaches," said Malone, whose star first began to shine two years ago from his work with Nashville-based In Full Motion/Playmakers Academy. "That's good to see because it shows the coaches care about you, not just for four years but a lifetime. They're showing they're always going to be there for their players for a lifetime."
"I have a good relationship with butch. He's making me a priority and he keeps really appealing to me about rebuilding the program," Malone said. "As a player, you want to go to a place where you're needed and wanted."
Dobbs was his host on the boat trip and throughout campus.
"It was great. That was a good little set up," Malone said of the boat outing. "They had a Playstation 3 and we were just hanging around getting to know recruits and coaches."
"It was really just a good experience," Malone explained. "We went to the business school up there, which was real impressive too."
-John Brice
On Dobbs' message to Malone:
"(Dobbs) said that they've got a great coaching staff and all the guys respect them," said Malone, who intends to be a mid-term enrollee. "He was talking about this season, that it's the foundation. He was just telling me really that Tennessee is going to be a force, something to worry about in the future.
"It's appealing because it gives you the opportunity to come in and play early and make an instant impact. And it's a chance to contribute to building the hometown program back up."
-John Brice