Without hindsight it's hard to tell who is going to be Kirby Smart and who is going to be, well, Wade Houston...he was universally praised as Crum's right hand man and he came with a son that was the bluest of blue chips. It does take a special kind of incompetence to go 3-15 and 9-22 in the regular season with Houston on the roster.
Pat Summitt and it’s not close. The only reason I have one iota of interest in women’s bball is Pat Summitt. Barnes is a high character guy, but this is game of legacy, and legacy is made off of championships. That’s a harsh way to judge but it’s a fact. I can’t stand Fulmer, but I’d rank him above Majors just based on that fact alone. Vitello is similar to Pat in that he brought more attention to Tennessee than his position indicated. I think Barnes is as much in debt to Tennessee for his success as we are to him. Summitt started with nothing. Tony, with nothing. Tennessee, as mentioned by many pundits, was a sleeping giant in basketball. Pearl unlocked that and UT fans wanted more. Barnes, by his own admission was shocked by how much Tennesseee cared about bball. Resources and a fan base that will support you like a blueblood. UT is 3rd in national attendance behind only UK and UNC. Barnes has a chance to cement his legacy in that group, but that’s only going to happen with a F4.
Nice revisionist history there. And coming from a fan page stalker. True colors at a BBQ?? Listen to yourself, LOL. Your disdain for me has you delusional now. Pearl wasn’t a choir boy. Neither was Barnes earlier in his career. In fact, he was a first class jerk and foul mouthed a-hole. This is a guy who’s talked openly about calling former players to apologize for his behavior. So, don’t come in here acting like you have any position to make moral judgements about Pearl. Pearl was one of the most engaging and loved coaches.
I said "after" the BBQ. The fact is, Pearl didn't get fired for the BBQ. He got fired for his behavior and actions afterward. He was directed by the UT administration to do and not do certain things and he did the exact opposite then openly lied about it to the UT Administration and the NCAA. If he would have done what he was told, he could have retired here, but he's too much of a self serving sleazebag. In addition, he threw his UT assistants under the bus.
So? I didn’t bring up the moral equivalence. I’m just responding to it. We are very lucky to have Barnes. We were also wrong to fire Pearl. Those two things are completely seperate. Why some feel the need to attempt to revise history is beyond me. I garauntee you they were thrilled with Pearl at the time.
We weren't wrong to fire Pearl. He literally did the opposite of what he was told to do by his bosses after the BBQ and then lied to them about it. If he would have done what he was told to do, he would have been retained and possibly retired here. Please explain your reasoning why we should have kept him after that. There's no revisionist history here. It's the facts
Thanks. Your memory is very good. Just the fact that the 3rd best team in the country wasn’t in the tournament puts into perspective how difficult it was to 1) get there & 2) advance. There were very few “lay ups” in the tournament in those days.
