Cuonzo supporters put to rest

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.
The way he played that was dishonest. He made it seem as though he had taken himself out of consideration for the Marquette job... they had already chosen Wojo.
 
So let me get this straight. Zo was treated poorly by fans and even threads on here. Not many even gave him credit for his NCAA run. Then when he’s hush on his movements and getting out of dodge to protect his family/himself, we are the ones that can throw up arms in anger and criticize?

How about a less selfless assessment: He did pretty good here but we turned on him during the hard times, therefore he packed up and left. I wish him well and can see it wasn’t a great fit either way.
 
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Cuonzo never over achieved by making the sweet 16. He achieved what was expected. Finally. By that time, the fans were tired of his cold demeanor. He never attempted to connect to a passionate fanbase. Has nothing to do with his skin color. It's his personality
 
So let me get this straight. Zoe was treated poorly by fans and even threads on here. Not many even gave him credit for his NCAA run. Then when he’s hush on his movements and getting out of dodge to protect his family/himself, we are the ones that can throw up arms in anger and criticize?

How about a less selfish assessment: He did pretty good here but we turned on him during the hard times, therefore he packed up and left. I wish him well and can see it wasn’t a great fit either way.
That’s pretty accurate self assessment. At the end of January we were a .500 team that had lost to several mid-major teams and had played less than inspired basketball, this after two NIT seasons and higher expectations. The fans and boosters did become disenchanted. What little good will had been present for Martin was gone. The people’s choice to replace him was Pearl and a petition was signed by numerous fans to hire him for the next coach. Meanwhile, the team did start playing better basketball and by tournament time had won enough games to make the playin game for the tournament and made a good run. Cuonzo was offered a contract extension, but the damage was done. Martin had looked for his safe exit and found it. The press heats up the situation by throwing down the race card and hinting that the petition was the result of that.
The truth- at the end of January, the fans were feed up with two and a half years of bad basketball and were demanding change which filtered down to boosters. By March, Martin was feed up with being under appreciated by fans and the athletic department. Race was not the reason behind the fans displeasure at the end of January, a 12 and 12 record was. Truthfully, Martin made the best decision for himself and it was probably the best decision for UT, except for the remarkable ability of Hart to screw up the hiring process and bringing in Tindell. The fans were guilty of being too impatient.
 
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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.

The problem was that he was headed for another missed tournament in year 3 until the last 4 games of the season. If fans had KNOWN what the future would hold with going to a S16, then I am fairly certain they wouldn't have been so critical. But, I am pretty sure no one can predict the future, and the criticism was happening in real time.

Barnes had more of an uphill battle in retooling the roster, and if you can't see that, then no reason to continue the discussion.

I have always said that I liked CM personally. But year 3 was so frustrating to watch.
 
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.

That was not an unranked team, they became unranked after losing so many early games to unranked opponents.
Barnes has more talent than Zo....read that back to yourself. I can't even comment.
Finished above the preseason ranking, I agree year 1 but certainly not year 2. Expectations were sky high once Stokes arrived.
 
Can everyone stop spewing facts, common sense and logic and just admit that Cuonzo is black? K-town will not stop copying and pasting the exact same drivel until we admit it.

Trying to have a rational conversation with an irrational and overtly biased individual is making me crack open a bottle of scotch right now.
 
That was not an unranked team, they became unranked after losing so many early games to unranked opponents.
Barnes has more talent than Zo....read that back to yourself. I can't even comment.
Finished above the preseason ranking, I agree year 1 but certainly not year 2. Expectations were sky high once Stokes arrived.
Why lie?

They were not ranked in the preseason in any poll.


20 plus wins and Sweet 16 surpassed expectations by far.

Year two they won 20 games and got snubbed all while missing the best player for the whole year. I see you didn't actually watch back then .

So finished above the real actual expectations each year. Not the message board agenda inflated expectations.

Yes more talent now.

We had one actual NBA player on that team and he was a third option.

We have several guys that will play some games in the NBA. At least one will stick like J Rich did.
 
Can everyone stop spewing facts, common sense and logic and just admit that Cuonzo is black? K-town will not stop copying and pasting the exact same drivel until we admit it.

Trying to have a rational conversation with an irrational and overtly biased individual is making me crack open a bottle of scotch right now.
I'm the only one that has posted any facts.

I posted records and compared that to preseason rankings. Zo beat them each year. That is a fact.

Zo and Barnes had the same expectations when they came. Picked bottom of conference . Zo won more games both of the first two years compared to Barnes with two postseasons to 0. 2 less wins and a further tourney run year 3. Those are facts.

Please show me the facts to dispute anything I have said. Not opinion about talent that doesn't match rankings. Not opinions about the petition causing a run. We made a run the prior 2 years at the end of the season.

Please show me a fact from anyone who disputes what I said.
 
I've already proven a fact of yours wrong with your faulty top 16 ranking and the statement where you said he over achieved when reaching the sweet 16. He under achieved the entire season and snuck into the tourney and finally showed what the team should've been doing the entire season. You have no credibility.

You are nothing more than a troll who is trying incite racism with your absurd posts. And since no one is taking your bait you simply continue posting the same nonsense.
 
Why lie?

They were not ranked in the preseason in any poll.


20 plus wins and Sweet 16 surpassed expectations by far.

Year two they won 20 games and got snubbed all while missing the best player for the whole year. I see you didn't actually watch back then .

So finished above the real actual expectations each year. Not the message board agenda inflated expectations.

Yes more talent now.

We had one actual NBA player on that team and he was a third option.

We have several guys that will play some games in the NBA. At least one will stick like J Rich did.

I don't know where you get this stuff, they were picked to finish 4th in the SEC with Josh Richardson, Robert Hubbs 5*, Jarnell Stokes 5*, Jeronne Maymon 5* transfer and Jordan McCrae. Expectations were much higher. They remained unranked because of losses to College of Charleston, Oakland and Austin Peay pre-sec season which left everyone shaking their heads. Still shaking my head. Then they continued to lose conference games they were favored in. Now which part of that is incorrect? What would Barnes have done with that team?
 
I don't know where you get this stuff, they were picked to finish 4th in the SEC with Josh Richardson, Robert Hubbs 5*, Jarnell Stokes 5*, Jeronne Maymon 5* transfer and Jordan McCrae. Expectations were much higher. They remained unranked because of losses to College of Charleston, Oakland and Austin Peay pre-sec season which left everyone shaking their heads. Still shaking my head. Then they continued to lose conference games they were favored in. Now which part of that is incorrect? What would Barnes have done with that team?

You are absurd for posting facts. Don't be logical. *blue font*
 
Prior to Martin’s last season, Tennessee was not ranked in Top 25 in AP or Coaches Poll but was ranked 17th in Athlon:

College Basketball: 2013-14 Tennessee Volunteers Preview

I was one who thought he underachieved in regular season. I did not like the petition however and obviously the team rallied around him after that. I was sorry he decided to move to Cal.

Everyone is happier now and I wish this topic would go away so we can all focus on supporting this year’s team. I’ve followed basketball for over 50 years and this year team is special. Support them and enjoy this year.
 
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I don't know where you get this stuff, they were picked to finish 4th in the SEC with Josh Richardson, Robert Hubbs 5*, Jarnell Stokes 5*, Jeronne Maymon 5* transfer and Jordan McCrae. Expectations were much higher. They remained unranked because of losses to College of Charleston, Oakland and Austin Peay pre-sec season which left everyone shaking their heads. Still shaking my head. Then they continued to lose conference games they were favored in. Now which part of that is incorrect? What would Barnes have done with that team?
2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings - Wikipedia

They were not ranked by any poll preseason. Just stop lying. Not AP. Not coaches. So why keep lying? That is an easily verifiable fact.

Maymon wasn't a 5 star either. Another lie.
Then you conveniently leave out Maymon being injured.

Hubbs was a freshman who was also injured.

J Rich was d specialist who averaged 8 ppg the seson before. No one was factoring in him as a major talent before that year.

So two injured players. One a freshman plus a d specialist thst no one factored in.

The revisionist history is ridiculous. I know y'all didn't watch back then obviously.

Where were these high expectations again? We had two All SEC candidates on the team. Stokes and McRae. Not exactly a team supposed to go the Final Four.

The rankings are right there. Stop lying.
 
Prior to Martin’s last season, Tennessee was not ranked in Top 25 in AP or Coaches Poll but was ranked 17th in Athlon:

College Basketball: 2013-14 Tennessee Volunteers Preview

I was one who thought he underachieved in regular season. I did not like the petition however and obviously the team rallied around him after that. I was sorry he decided to move to Cal.

Everyone is happier now and I wish this topic would go away so we can all focus on supporting this year’s team. I’ve followed basketball for over 50 years and this year team is special. Support them and enjoy this year.
I guess we should pull up Jim Bob's tractor magazines rankings too. 😒😂🙃🙃

Not ranked AP or Coaches. So not ranked.



2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings - Wikipedia

Can't underacheive when you win 20 something with a Sweet 16. Y'all obviously know nothing about basketball. Its a tourney sport. Getting there and winning is what counts.

15 losses or 5 it's the same if you make it far in the tourney.
 
As I watched Cuonzo's Mizzou getting spanked by a pedestrian S. Carolina team...…..I nodded out. Mostly because it's a Sunday afternoon thing to do, but also..the game was a snoozer. USC had a couple of highlight plays but that was it. Mizzou isn't...flashy. They're dead last in the league in scoring.

Anywho. It was a great nap.
 
You are absurd for posting facts. Don't be logical. *blue font*
What facts?

Us not being ranked?

Hubbs being an injured Freshman?

Maymon not being a 5 star?

Maymon also being hurt?

J Rich not being a factor, getting no All SEC vote because he was a rising JR who averaged less than 8 ppg?

Those facts?
 
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.
No. they were used to a coach who was vibrant, exciting, and engaging. Need someone to speak at your event? Bruce is there. Hell, Tony Jones was his #2 and had carte Blanche. He loved it so much he stuck around after Bruce was fired because he was so loved and welcomed.
What is your best documented example of racism directed at Cuonzo by boosters??
 
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As I watched Cuonzo's Mizzou getting spanked by a pedestrian S. Carolina team...…..I nodded out. Mostly because it's a Sunday afternoon thing to do, but also..the game was a snoozer. USC had a couple of highlight plays but that was it. Mizzou isn't...flashy. They're dead last in the league in scoring.

Anywho. It was a great nap.
Racist IMHO
 
2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings - Wikipedia

They were not ranked by any poll preseason. Just stop lying. Not AP. Not coaches. So why keep lying? That is an easily verifiable fact.

Maymon wasn't a 5 star either. Another lie.
Then you conveniently leave out Maymon being injured.

Hubbs was a freshman who was also injured.

J Rich was d specialist who averaged 8 ppg the seson before. No one was factoring in him as a major talent before that year.

So two injured players. One a freshman plus a d specialist thst no one factored in.

The revisionist history is ridiculous. I know y'all didn't watch back then obviously.

Where were these high expectations again? We had two All SEC candidates on the team. Stokes and McRae. Not exactly a team supposed to go the Final Four.

The rankings are right there. Stop lying.

LOl. you are correct again.......this is a shot taken from my baseline seat at home games.
jarnell.jpg
 
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