Should we have retired Bernard and Ernie's numbers on the same night?

#1
sickemsmokey10

sickemsmokey10

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
6,777
Likes
2
#1
I got to thinking today that it really didn't seem right to retire one without the other. I know that #22 will be retired in a few years, but those two were maybe the best college basketball duo of all time. They really fed off each other and made each other better....I understand wanting to retire a number every 5 years, but it looks like they would have brought them together at one time.

thoughts?
 
#2
#2
Absolutely not. Grunfeld lived off the reflection from Bernard's greatness when they played here. No reason to allow him to do it again.
 
#3
#3
At first I thought that Ernie didn't qualify to have his number retired, but he does.

A candidate must have achieved two of the following four honors: candidate must be a first team All-America as recognized in the University of Tennessee basketball media guide, SEC player of the Year as recognized in the University of Tennessee basketball media guide, member of an Olympic basketball team or a member of the NBA or ABA All Star team.
Click to expand...

He was a two-time First team AA, and he was on the 1976 gold medal Olympic team...

I say retire them separately though.
 
#9
#9
I watched the interview given by Benard to the sideline reporter in the second half. King was very gracious and articulate and seemed sincere in his affection for the UT basketball program.

We continue to reap benefits from the timely hire of Bruce Pearl, No doubt in my mind that he has been the catalyst in bringing King back to the hill.
 
#10
#10
I was fortunate to be in Stokley for what I still think is the greatest game ever there-Tenn v Kentucky. Tenn won that night 103-98. Seeing Ernie and Bernie here tonight coupled with the win brought back great memories of the Stokley game some 30 years ago.
 
#11
#11
rwemyss said:
At first I thought that Ernie didn't qualify to have his number retired, but he does.



He was a two-time First team AA, and he was on the 1976 gold medal Olympic team...

I say retire them separately though.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately Lofton has some work to do then
 
#12
#12
Ernie lived off King? Ernie was a beast in his own right. He might have lived off some the stuff Bernie was selling, but not on the basketball floor.
 
#13
#13
BigPapaVol said:
Ernie lived off King? Ernie was a beast in his own right. He might have lived off some the stuff Bernie was selling, but not on the basketball floor.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's why he was such a dominant pro. Grunfeld was an excellent college player. An all time great he was certainly not. How did the "Beast" do in getting us past VMI in the NCAA Tourney with Bernard out?
 
#14
#14
hatvol96 said:
Yeah, that's why he was such a dominant pro. Grunfeld was an excellent college player. An all time great he was certainly not. How did the "Beast" do in getting us past VMI in the NCAA Tourney with Bernard out?
Click to expand...
how are the results of one game indicative of the player he was. No different than your stats are easier than thinking argument earlier. Laettner was an unbelievable college player (with 2 titles) and mediocre pro at best. Very few were better college players. What do results as a pro have to do with college hoops. Lenny Bias never scored in the NBA, but was an absolute stud at UM. The difference is that the pro game has been bastardized into a made for TV one on one athlete fest that no longer resembles basketball. it's the reason our studs continue to get schooled by lesser talent in international competition - they have to play basketball and TV ball, hence they lose regularly now.
 
#15
#15
rwemyss said:
At first I thought that Ernie didn't qualify to have his number retired, but he does.



He was a two-time First team AA, and he was on the 1976 gold medal Olympic team...

I say retire them separately though.
Click to expand...

3. Helped bring Coach Pearl to UT!
 
#16
#16
BigPapaVol said:
The difference is that the pro game has been bastardized into a made for TV one on one athlete fest that no longer resembles basketball. it's the reason our studs continue to get schooled by lesser talent in international competition - they have to play basketball and TV ball, hence they lose regularly now.
Click to expand...

You said it. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
#17
#17
Compared to Grunfeld's stay in the League, Christian Laettner's time in the NBA was Hall of Fame Stuff. Laettner made an All Star Game and played significant minutes. All Ernie did was occupy a courtside seat every night. As to this blather about international play, let's see what happens in Beijing when we actually send our best team. Exactly how many of the Olympic or World Championship losses has Kobe competed in? KG? The US will roll everyone at full strength.
 
#18
#18
hatvol96 said:
Compared to Grunfeld's stay in the League, Christian Laettner's time in the NBA was Hall of Fame Stuff. Laettner made an All Star Game and played significant minutes. All Ernie did was occupy a courtside seat every night. As to this blather about international play, let's see what happens in Beijing when we actually send our best team. Exactly how many of the Olympic or World Championship losses has Kobe competed in? KG? The US will roll everyone at full strength.
Click to expand...
That always begs the question, Why weren't our best players eg, Bryant, KG etc playing in the Olympics nowadays as opposed to the older days when Bird, Magic, Jordan etc all played? Have they become prima donnas unworthy of our accolades?
 
#19
#19
hmanvolfan said:
That always begs the question, Why weren't our best players eg, Bryant, KG etc playing in the Olympics nowadays as opposed to the older days when Bird, Magic, Jordan etc all played? Have they become prima donnas unworthy of our accolades?
Click to expand...


I remember when amateur basketball players (college all-stars) were playing in the Olympics.

I thought Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Shawn Jefferson, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Carmello Anthony, Lamar Odom, Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal, etc. would have been talented enough to atleast get above 3rd and 6th place.
 
#21
#21
The 6th at the Worlds was embarassing. The Bronze in the Olympics was exactly where that team should have finished, if not a little better. Other than AI and Duncan, there wasn't a guy there who had the resume to merit inclusion on that team. As to the veneration of Jordan, Bird, et al, they were there in '92 for commerce reasons. That little trip to Barcelona helped sell a whole bunch of shoes in Europe and Asia. I'm not bothered by the younger guys passing on the Olympics. Their responsibility is to their NBA team. If they don't want to risk injury in a competition that has been reduced to nothing but a TV event, I am not bothered. I'm far more apt to criticize a hippie dolt like Bill Walton for refusing to play in '72 for political reasons. When they removed the amateurs from Olympic basketball, it ceased to have any real meaning to me.
 
#22
#22
The US amateurs lost in the '88 Olympics. The record also shows they didn't win in '72, but I'm not really concerned about a game decided by Cold War politics. Also, Bill Walton and a number of other US college stars refused to play.
 
#23
#23
hatvol96 said:
The 6th at the Worlds was embarassing. The Bronze in the Olympics was exactly where that team should have finished, if not a little better. Other than AI and Duncan, there wasn't a guy there who had the resume to merit inclusion on that team. As to the veneration of Jordan, Bird, et al, they were there in '92 for commerce reasons. That little trip to Barcelona helped sell a whole bunch of shoes in Europe and Asia. I'm not bothered by the younger guys passing on the Olympics. Their responsibility is to their NBA team. If they don't want to risk injury in a competition that has been reduced to nothing but a TV event, I am not bothered. I'm far more apt to criticize a hippie dolt like Bill Walton for refusing to play in '72 for political reasons. When they removed the amateurs from Olympic basketball, it ceased to have any real meaning to me.
Click to expand...


That was the first time a USA team ever lost a basketball game in the Olympics after 63 straight wins and 7 gold medals.
 
#24
#24
hatvol96 said:
The US amateurs lost in the '88 Olympics. The record also shows they didn't win in '72, but I'm not really concerned about a game decided by Cold War politics. Also, Bill Walton and a number of other US college stars refused to play.
Click to expand...


Both times we lost to the USSR team.
 
#25
#25
John Thompson didn't do a good job of picking players suited for an international competition in '88. That said, those were the Sabonis, Marciulonis, Volkov, et al Soviets. I'm not sure we could have put together an amateur team that would have beaten them.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top