Is this the most fun you've ever had watching Tennessee Basketball?

#1
VolforFootball

VolforFootball

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#1
In complete honesty, I have to say that #1 for me is when we played Memphis, with both teams being ranked #1 and #2 respectively.


Other than that one game, I can't remember a time when watching Tennessee play was such an entertaining and fun event. Although we had our troubles today with Alabama, and could certainly have played better (we could have easily lost had Alabama simply hit their free throws), I've almost never had so much fun watching Tennessee basketball. As far the season goes vs. that 1 aforementioned game, this season has been incredible and I can't wait to see what's in store for our Volunteers.

How about you guys? Is this the most fun you've ever had watching our Vols play basketball?
 
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#3
#3
Absolutely! To me college basketball is behind football and baseball on my list of favorites but this yr is different and it's all because of this Vols team. I wear my Vol Orange every gameday and set the DVR to record every game in case I can't watch it live. Today I'm snowed in so I watched it live anyway. Win or lose in March, I'm enjoying the heck out of Jan/Feb watching this team
 
#4
#4
Watching that first couple of years with Lofton and JaJuan Smith back in 2005-2006 was pretty damn fun. Dane Bradshaw making those clutch basketball plays. Wayne Chism's threes. You take all that, I mean all of it - Pearl's shouting "We are your team, I am your coach, and we are going to kick Florida's ass!" to the students, Smith's 360 dunk on Memphis, Lofton being the best three point shooter in history, it was just a heck of a run. Even when they lost, it was just a team you rooted for. They showed pride and it resonated.

BUT THAT SAID, this is equally fun, just in a different way. Seeing this team come together, a bit atypically in the era of one and dones, and work to succeed has been fantastic. Seeing Rick Barnes prove his worth in the wake of Texas jettisoning him, and seeing Tennessee literally pound its way into the national conversation, it's all just as fun.

Lofton taking that huge shot over Kevin Durant was historic. And this team is equally historic - and can potentially go even further. It's just different shades of the same greatness.
 
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#5
#5
I will say this team is the team that I most feel like has a shot at winning it all. Maybe one of Pearl's teams did I think that.
 
#7
#7
VolsSportsFan said:
I will say this team is the team that I most feel like has a shot at winning it all. Maybe one of Pearl's teams did I think that.
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That 2010 team felt like one that could do it. That and maybe the 2007 team, but Lofton had a more important battle to fight and Tennessee never seemed quite the same while he was fighting it. Not that I care a damn about the impact it had, just, it definitely looked like it had an impact.
 
#9
#9
Voltopia said:
That 2010 team felt like one that could do it. That and maybe the 2007 team, but Lofton had a more important battle to fight and Tennessee never seemed quite the same while he was fighting it. Not that I care a damn about the impact it had, just, it definitely looked like it had an impact.
Click to expand...

The 2010 team I thought could make the Final Four once they got hot in the NCAAT but I didn't think they'd win it all. 2007-08 I did feel like had a chance. I felt like the 1999-2000 Jerry Green team was going to make the Final Four before they choked away the UNC game.
 
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#10
#10
Voltopia said:
Watching that first couple of years with Lofton and JaJuan Smith back in 2005-2006 was pretty damn fun. Dane Bradshaw making those clutch basketball plays. Wayne Chism's threes. You take all that, I mean all of it - Pearl's shouting "We are your team, I am your coach, and we are going to kick Florida's ass!" to the students, Smith's 360 dunk on Memphis, Lofton being the best three point shooter in history, it was just a heck of a run. Even when they lost, it was just a team you rooted for. They showed pride and it resonated.

BUT THAT SAID, this is equally fun, just in a different way. Seeing this team come together, a bit atypically in the era of one and dones, and work to succeed has been fantastic. Seeing Rick Barnes prove his worth in the wake of Texas jettisoning him, and seeing Tennessee literally pound its way into the national conversation, it's all just as fun.

Lofton taking that huge shot over Kevin Durant was historic. And this team is equally historic - and can potentially go even further. It's just different shades of the same greatness.
Click to expand...

I agree. I loved those Pearl teams. They were so much fun to watch. Exciting basketball.

I like Barnes’ style of basketball better, though. When we are executing all of the fundamentals, this team is unstoppable. Very different feeling than with Pearl’s teams.
 
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#13
#13
Voltopia said:
That is very true. It is a totally different feeling and I hope they can turn it into something even greater.
Click to expand...

The difference is more discipline and a deeper bench. With Pearl’s great teams, there was still a feeling that we were extremely beatable if, for example, the 3’s weren’t falling.

With this year’s team, we have multiple options and strategies to get points on the board.
 
#14
#14
VolsSportsFan said:
I will say this team is the team that I most feel like has a shot at winning it all. Maybe one of Pearl's teams did I think that.
Click to expand...

Once Ramar lost his confidence I knew that time had a clock on it. I never thought they were a legit title contender with the lack of PG play.
 
#15
#15
zjcvols said:
Once Ramar lost his confidence I knew that time had a clock on it. I never thought they were a legit title contender with the lack of PG play.
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No love for the Detroit kid from the Detroit guy. Ramar could take it to the hole, but he wasn't passing it and couldn't shoot
 
#16
#16
Voltopia said:
Watching that first couple of years with Lofton and JaJuan Smith back in 2005-2006 was pretty damn fun. Dane Bradshaw making those clutch basketball plays. Wayne Chism's threes. You take all that, I mean all of it - Pearl's shouting "We are your team, I am your coach, and we are going to kick Florida's ass!" to the students, Smith's 360 dunk on Memphis, Lofton being the best three point shooter in history, it was just a heck of a run. Even when they lost, it was just a team you rooted for. They showed pride and it resonated.

BUT THAT SAID, this is equally fun, just in a different way. Seeing this team come together, a bit atypically in the era of one and dones, and work to succeed has been fantastic. Seeing Rick Barnes prove his worth in the wake of Texas jettisoning him, and seeing Tennessee literally pound its way into the national conversation, it's all just as fun.

Lofton taking that huge shot over Kevin Durant was historic. And this team is equally historic - and can potentially go even further. It's just different shades of the same greatness.
Click to expand...
very , very well said my friend
 
#17
#17
I'm going to get into the wayback machine and set the year for 1976 and the place to Stokely Athletic Center ...

The MildKats rolled into town featuring two white goons named Rick Robey and Mike Phillips. To hear Joe Dean (a sUcK homer is there ever was one) rave about them as he called KY games on TV they were the greatest thing since canned beer. To this day I cringe as I can hear Dean blathering about "String Music" from the "Twin Towers."

Tennessee coach Ray Mears had two stars of his own, Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King. I was in attendance at the game and so didn't get to hear Joe Dean veering into apoplexy as the Twin Towers BOTH fouled out with about ten minutes left in the game and spent the rest of the contest sitting on the bench watching Ernie and Bernie cavorting up and down the court. The Vols won by seven.

Good times, good times.

Added attraction: sitting on press row later that day as second-year Lady Vol coach Pat Head led her charges to victory over Kentucky to complete the humiliation of the Blue-Bellied B*stards.
 
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#19
#19
Voltopia said:
Watching that first couple of years with Lofton and JaJuan Smith back in 2005-2006 was pretty damn fun. Dane Bradshaw making those clutch basketball plays. Wayne Chism's threes. You take all that, I mean all of it - Pearl's shouting "We are your team, I am your coach, and we are going to kick Florida's ass!" to the students, Smith's 360 dunk on Memphis, Lofton being the best three point shooter in history, it was just a heck of a run. Even when they lost, it was just a team you rooted for. They showed pride and it resonated.

BUT THAT SAID, this is equally fun, just in a different way. Seeing this team come together, a bit atypically in the era of one and dones, and work to succeed has been fantastic. Seeing Rick Barnes prove his worth in the wake of Texas jettisoning him, and seeing Tennessee literally pound its way into the national conversation, it's all just as fun.

Lofton taking that huge shot over Kevin Durant was historic. And this team is equally historic - and can potentially go even further. It's just different shades of the same greatness.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with all of this but I will add that I loved the Tony White/Dyron Nix days mainly because I was starting to love and play basketball 24/7. The undersized, pressing, trapping, 3 jacking early Pearl teams were exciting as well.
 
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#20
#20
DC_Vol said:
The difference is more discipline and a deeper bench. With Pearl’s great teams, there was still a feeling that we were extremely beatable if, for example, the 3’s weren’t falling.

With this year’s team, we have multiple options and strategies to get points on the board.
Click to expand...

The problem with Pearl's teams was Steven Pearl. I always felt uneasy when he was in the game.
 
#21
#21
This team is the best to watch. It is amazing to see even the bad games we still win. They just keep making plays and don't give up
 
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#23
#23
This is the most complete UT team I’ve seen in my lifetime. Nervous as you know what today and during the FL game. But I believe this team is special and I love watching the games. This is particularly fun because it’s been a long long time since UT was so good in any sport. The character of the players makes it easy to cheer for them. And Rick Barnes might be coaching the best b-ball of his career.
 
#25
#25
I’ll admit I’m pretty much a fairweather basketball fan. I’ll suffer through terrible football year after year but if the b-ball team is down I mostly check out.

Pearl had fun entertaining teams to watch. I never felt like they were built to when tournaments though.

This is a really fun team to watch too and they do seem built for tournament play. So I’m pretty excited about their potential.
 
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