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VN GURU
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This is a carry over from a Friday article on Bruce.
The full piece is a nice read. I'm more interested in passing along ThePearl's thoughts on a few of the offseason's topics du jour....
tfpOnline
Every time I listen to Pearl take a stand on an issue, I find myself thinking..."you know, that just makes too much sense"... If Pearl stays in Knoxville a long time, we may just find that we not only have a leader of a premier program, but a leader in the game itself...
Have a good monday folks...
Go Vols
The full piece is a nice read. I'm more interested in passing along ThePearl's thoughts on a few of the offseason's topics du jour....
tfpOnline
Over the past three days, Pearl shared some of his opinions on college basketball. He discussed moving the 3-point line back a foot starting in the 2008 season (against it), the NCAA's rule limiting offseason practice time (really, really against it) and the ban on text messaging recruits.
"I think it's a very poor decision. Another very poor decision," Pearl said, and you get the feeling he's against that, too.
Some opinions you may not agree with. Some may influence the appeals process. Most likely, they're just refreshing, thought-provoking opinions in an industry where far too few coaches speak their minds.
First, the new 3-point line. The NCAA wants to see college basketball reestablish the inside game in an era of 3-point-happy teams. Pearl contends the rule will accomplish exactly the opposite.
Chris Lofton, who once pulled up from the "T" in "Tennessee," isn't feeling like he won the lottery because the rule won't go into effect until after he graduates. But, Pearl said, defenders will show less respect to the inferior outside shooters and sag even more on defense.
"Teams will back off people and tempt them to shoot that shot because it's not as high of a percentage," Pearl said. "It won't have the effect the NCAA wants it to have."
Maybe it will help the United States start winning games against other countries, which brings Pearl to his next point about limited practice time.
"We can't win an Olympic basketball medal because of European players. Our guys can't get into the NBA draft now, because a third is foreign players," he said. "We're not allowed to work with our players now because we might abuse them. We might work them too hard. That came from some student-athlete committee.
"I'm a father. Somebody please teach my son how to work hard. If you're an accomplished musician, a dancer or a scientist and they limited you to eight hours per week of practice, you wouldn't be a very good scientist. Why would you do it in athletics? Because they listen to some student-athlete that said, 'Coaches train me too hard.' "
Or text too much, another contention by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Here's where we disagree. I think texting is out of control and even Fulmer admits "it's not real good" when kids are secretly texting back coaches under the desk instead of listening to a lecture.
"It was a knee-jerk reaction," Pearl said. "We need to get to know these prospects and they need to get to know us. Sometimes, young people communicate better over text than they do over the phones. What are you going to do now? Why don't you just eliminate home visits? On the other hand, you're going to penalize us (in the APR) when they transfer because we don't do a good job recruiting them and we don't get to know them."
Every time I listen to Pearl take a stand on an issue, I find myself thinking..."you know, that just makes too much sense"... If Pearl stays in Knoxville a long time, we may just find that we not only have a leader of a premier program, but a leader in the game itself...
Have a good monday folks...
Go Vols