Cuonzo supporters put to rest

I liked Martin, but I didn't and still do not think he's a great coach. Good guy and an OK coach was my impression.
 
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I don't know Martin as he went out of his way to not embrace the fanbase. His choice, but it doesn't gain you any equity if you can't win at the expected rate which Martin didn't. Maybe he's learning from his multiple stops and improving his coaching skills
 
I don't know Martin as he went out of his way to not embrace the fanbase. His choice, but it doesn't gain you any equity if you can't win at the expected rate which Martin didn't. Maybe he's learning from his multiple stops and improving his coaching skills


I think that info is false. Certain fans treated him with disdain but so what. The real issues I was told, was attitudes of boosters. Refusing use of planes and vehicles for recruiting trips, office politics and the like. Even his players applauded his last minute leaving saying no one should be treated as he was. Apparently, they saw this stuff firsthand and it embittered them as well.
 
None of you can seriously say that he isn't held to standard no other coach we had is.

Finished above projections each year. People bring up the talent he developed as why he should have won when they were young.


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Absolutely FALSE! His last team at UT was a top-10 calibre team with 3 players (2 JRs and a SR) that made NBA rosters, a low-post stud in Maymon and other good supporting players. They were awarded the play-in game to the tourney because of their disappointing poor play throughout the season, losing an embarrassing 13 games. A GOOD coach would have had that team as no lower than a 6 seed. A great coach would have had them as a 2 or 3 seed worst case. Counzo NEVER made an offensive adjustment to counter what his opposing coach did to shut us down. He had excellent game plans and the team played very good first halves. But, they couldn't finish off good teams because he couldn't make in-game adjustments. Anyone who couldn't see that wasn't paying attention.
 
I think that info is false. Certain fans treated him with disdain but so what. The real issues I was told, was attitudes of boosters. Refusing use of planes and vehicles for recruiting trips, office politics and the like. Even his players applauded his last minute leaving saying no one should be treated as he was. Apparently, they saw this stuff firsthand and it embittered them as well.
It can't be false information because it's MY OPINION. You're the one trying to sell your "insider info" on this topic and I think much of what you've said is also opinion.
 
Did you see those kids he got out there at Cal? He also got the Porter brothers to Mizzou. Don’t forget some the guys here of course. Outstanding is subjective but he was a good recruiter.
The porter brothers had more to do with bringing their dad on staff. Lol. So their dad was the star recruiter there.PORTER.0.png.jpg
 
Absolutely FALSE! His last team at UT was a top-10 calibre team with 3 players (2 JRs and a SR) that made NBA rosters, a low-post stud in Maymon and other good supporting players. They were awarded the play-in game to the tourney because of their disappointing poor play throughout the season, losing an embarrassing 13 games. A GOOD coach would have had that team as no lower than a 6 seed. A great coach would have had them as a 2 or 3 seed worst case. Counzo NEVER made an offensive adjustment to counter what his opposing coach did to shut us down. He had excellent game plans and the team played very good first halves. But, they couldn't finish off good teams because he couldn't make in-game adjustments. Anyone who couldn't see that wasn't paying attention.
Where were they ranked again preseason? Where did they finish?

Not ranked and top 16. Therefore he over achieved.

You can't make up some bs projection when there are actual rankings and projections. A top ten caliber team would have been ranked preseason.

And to say 3 NBA players is a lie. We had one who was the third or fourth option that year.

Barnes had more players that will play more NBA games on his roster last year. He didn't get as far as Zo's last year. Both third years. Both first NCAA appearance. Was that a failure too then?

Bball is about postseason results. It doesn't matter if the regseason has 15 losses or 5 if you don't win in the tourney.

So you think Barnes had a bad third year too?

More talent. Lower sos. 2 more wins. 4 less losses. Didnt get as far in the tourney. Pretty comparable to Zo's third year.
 
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K Town...i get it. You are either related somehow or just friends with the guy. But you gotta take your bias out.

They did not finish top 16. They made the sweet 16. There is a difference.
2013-14 Men's College Basketball Rankings for Final Rankings | ESPN

You can't compare the dumpster fire that Barnes inherited (thanks in part to your beloved CM) to what CM inherited. And I realize he didn't inherit a ton of talent either. But they are different situations.

You can post the exact same post as you already have numerous times but you aren't changing anyone's mind. I'm sorry your friend/relative isn't well liked around here. But he isn't 100% innocent as to why he isn't and you can't deny that.
 
It can't be false information because it's MY OPINION. You're the one trying to sell your "insider info" on this topic and I think much of what you've said is also opinion.

Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west, and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce, they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... Now you tell me what you know.
 
Where were they ranked again preseason? Where did they finish?

Not ranked and top 16. Therefore he over achieved.

You can't make up some bs projection when there are actual rankings and projections. A top ten caliber team would have been ranked preseason.

And to say 3 NBA players is a lie. We had one who was the third or fourth option that year.

Barnes had more players that will play more NBA games on his roster last year. He didn't get as far as Zo's last year. Both third years. Both first NCAA appearance. Was that a failure too then?

Bball is about postseason results. It doesn't matter if the regseason has 15 losses or 5 if you don't win in the tourney.

So you think Barnes had a bad third year too?

More talent. Lower sos. 2 more wins. 4 less losses. Didnt get as far in the tourney. Pretty comparable to Zo's third year.
In other words Zo has never made it as far as he did at UT. If you ask me, similar to Jerry Green. UT is a great platform for b-ball. Better than Cal and better than Misery.
 
I think that info is false. Certain fans treated him with disdain but so what. The real issues I was told, was attitudes of boosters. Refusing use of planes and vehicles for recruiting trips, office politics and the like. Even his players applauded his last minute leaving saying no one should be treated as he was. Apparently, they saw this stuff firsthand and it embittered them as well.
Martin made it a point to cold shoulder boosters.
The reason PRIVATE planes were even used is because Bruce was so chummy. You can’t measure the goodwill Bruce created amongst boosters. In comes Cuonzo. Aloof, distant. Even basically said that where he coached didn’t mean anything to him.
He was very tight with his players and mixed them in things they should have been left out of. Why does a player need to be involved in whether a booster will lend a coach their personal jet?

Hart was put in a tough spot and handled it poorly. But he was catching a lot of complaints from big money people that had become accustomed to a coach that would never turn down a photo or a social. I only had two occasions to meet CCM, one at Sweetpeas bbq. He was not a personable guy.
He plainly made this into a race issue and obviously discussed it among his players.
 
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Martin made it a point to cold shoulder boosters.
The reason PRIVATE planes were even used is because Bruce was so chummy. You can’t measure the goodwill Bruce created amongst boosters. In comes Cuonzo. Aloof, distant. Even basically said that where he coached didn’t mean anything to him.
He was very tight with his players and mixed them in things they should have been left out of. Why does a player need to be involved in whether a booster will lend a coach their personal jet?

Hart was put in a tough spot and handled it poorly. But he was catching a lot of complaints from big money people that had become accustomed to a coach that would never turn down a photo or a social. I only had two occasions to meet CCM, one at Sweetpeas bbq. He was not a personable guy.
He plainly made this into a race issue and obviously discussed it among his players.


Regardless of whether or not I believe or agree with you, here's the number one thing. You discussed the matter in a civilized, matter-of-fact manner. THANK YOU! I may be snide with the snide but I have high degree of respect for wisdom.
 
K Town...i get it. You are either related somehow or just friends with the guy. But you gotta take your bias out.

They did not finish top 16. They made the sweet 16. There is a difference.
2013-14 Men's College Basketball Rankings for Final Rankings | ESPN

You can't compare the dumpster fire that Barnes inherited (thanks in part to your beloved CM) to what CM inherited. And I realize he didn't inherit a ton of talent either. But they are different situations.

You can post the exact same post as you already have numerous times but you aren't changing anyone's mind. I'm sorry your friend/relative isn't well liked around here. But he isn't 100% innocent as to why he isn't and you can't deny that.
So unranked preseason and finished Top 25 with a Sweet 16.

You realize you are still making my point. He over achieved.

If he failed so did Barnes.

Tougher SOS with less talent. 4 more losses. Only two less wins. Got further in the tourney which is the part that actually counts to anyone who knows anything about college bball.

Tyndall made what Barnes inherited. You can flip a bball roster in one year.

Zo did inherit a similar situation. That is why they were picked last or next to last. No returning scorer over 3.3 ppg.

Barnes and Zo had the same expectations their first year. Zo just like Barnes beat them each year.

By year three both had developed the young players. But for some strange reason people think Zo should have went to the tourney every year while they developed but not Barnes.

Barnes has more good players. If Martin should have went to more tourneys Barnes should have.

Neither are true though.

And let's not even start with the posters that kept on about Tyndall being a better coach. 😂😂😂😂😂😂He was garbage on offense and defense.


You are right about one thing. He isn't well liked. It wasn't because of results though.

If so people would hate Barnes too. Pretty comparable first three years. Except for Martin winning more the first two years. Got snubbed for a bid in his second year.



19-15 NIT 2nd SEC picked bottom two
20-13 NIT 5th SEC without best player
24-13 Sweet 16 not ranked preseason 4TH SEC

15-19 12th SEC
16-16 9th SEC
26-9 Round of 32 1st SEC

The results definitely aren't the reason for the hate.
 
Martin made it a point to cold shoulder boosters.
The reason PRIVATE planes were even used is because Bruce was so chummy. You can’t measure the goodwill Bruce created amongst boosters. In comes Cuonzo. Aloof, distant. Even basically said that where he coached didn’t mean anything to him.
He was very tight with his players and mixed them in things they should have been left out of. Why does a player need to be involved in whether a booster will lend a coach their personal jet?

Hart was put in a tough spot and handled it poorly. But he was catching a lot of complaints from big money people that had become accustomed to a coach that would never turn down a photo or a social. I only had two occasions to meet CCM, one at Sweetpeas bbq. He was not a personable guy.
He plainly made this into a race issue and obviously discussed it among his players.
In other words they werent comfortable with a black coach that wasn't some lame, corny, arse kisser.

The people that said and did the racist things made this about race.

How is that so hard to understand for people? If something racist happens, then the person discusses it, the act is what makes it about race. Not calling it out.

Stop trying to put it on Martin and giving the racist people who said and did things a pass. They are literally the only ones to make anything about race. If they did not do things it would never be discussed. Because there would be no need to.
 
Absolutely FALSE! His last team at UT was a top-10 calibre team with 3 players (2 JRs and a SR) that made NBA rosters, a low-post stud in Maymon and other good supporting players. They were awarded the play-in game to the tourney because of their disappointing poor play throughout the season, losing an embarrassing 13 games. A GOOD coach would have had that team as no lower than a 6 seed. A great coach would have had them as a 2 or 3 seed worst case. Counzo NEVER made an offensive adjustment to counter what his opposing coach did to shut us down. He had excellent game plans and the team played very good first halves. But, they couldn't finish off good teams because he couldn't make in-game adjustments. Anyone who couldn't see that wasn't paying attention.

This is correct. If he had this team playing remotely to their potential (remember we thought there was a good chance we would not dance) there would never have been a petition. Expectations were very high for that team and results very low prior to the NCAA. I think the previous season there was a game we lost and only scored 36 points?
 
This is correct. If he had this team playing remotely to their potential (remember we thought there was a good chance we would not dance) there would never have been a petition. Expectations were very high for that team and results very low prior to the NCAA. I think the previous season there was a game we lost and only scored 36 points?
No one can answer how an unranked team had super high Elite Eight expectations.

We won over 20 games and made a Sweet 16. An unranked team is not supposed to be better than that. Some of you are delusional.

You mean when we played a great defensive team with several NBA players? I don't think you watched that game. It was a great defensive game from both teams. Low bball iq people just look at the score.

The petition had nothing to do with the tourney. Every single year his teams got better as the year went on.

People just don't want to own up to holding him to different standards. Yall rather make up imaginary expectations to make him look bad.
 
No one can answer how an unranked team had super high Elite Eight expectations.

We won over 20 games and made a Sweet 16. An unranked team is not supposed to be better than that. Some of you are delusional.

You mean when we played a great defensive team with several NBA players? I don't think you watched that game. It was a great defensive game from both teams. Low bball iq people just look at the score.

The petition had nothing to do with the tourney. Every single year his teams got better as the year went on.

People just don't want to own up to holding him to different standards. Yall rather make up imaginary expectations to make him look bad.


Always with the apologists. There is no excuse for losing 13 games and being the "last team in" with that roster. None. If he had met minimal expectations he would have been hailed as a hero just like Barnes. He consistently did less with more unlike Barnes/Pearl who have done more with less.
 
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In other words they werent comfortable with a black coach that wasn't some lame, corny, arse kisser.

The people that said and did the racist things made this about race.

How is that so hard to understand for people? If something racist happens, then the person discusses it, the act is what makes it about race. Not calling it out.

Stop trying to put it on Martin and giving the racist people who said and did things a pass. They are literally the only ones to make anything about race. If they did not do things it would never be discussed. Because there would be no need to.

"lame, corny, arse kisser"... is that code for a racist remark? Just say "cracker-assed honkey" instead.
 
I drove to Dayton to watch the play-in game that year, and was later satisfied that Zo put out a release after the UM loss that he was committed to UT and would be staying (this after speaking with Marquette). Well - he put out that release on April Fool's day...which didn't seem like a coincidence at the time. Then about 10 days later he ostensibly took a recruiting trip to Arizona...a couple of days later we learned he'd made a foray over to Berkeley and took the Cal job.

Yes, Cuonzo was treated rudely in some quarters here toward the end, but some of his own actions leading up to his departure left a bad taste as well.
 
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.
If you remember, the last year at Tenn. they were having just an average year and the fans were coming down hard on Cuonzo, then the players had a team meeting (no coaches). After that meeting they played outstanding ball. To me, that proves Cuonzo was not getting what they were capable of doing out of them.
 
Always with the apologists. There is no excuse for losing 13 games and being the "last team in" with that roster. None. If he had met minimal expectations he would have been hailed as a hero just like Barnes. He consistently did less with more unlike Barnes/Pearl who have done more with less.
Once again how does an unranked team that won 20 plus games and a Sweet 16 Not meet minimal standards?

How did Barnes but not Zo when he won more games, with more postseason appearances, and a further NCAA run?

They had the same type of expectations. If anything Barnes has more talent than Zo did.

No excuse for acting like Zo underperformed when he literally finished above preseason ranking each year.
 

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