Tennessee all time starting 5

#126
#126
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Not nearly as much TV exposure back in the day. It's tragic that even as recently as Ellis that every single minute hasn't been captured. It's especially tragic how little footage exists of King.
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I think there is/was film and the brain trust has it in storage or let it rot away.
 
#129
#129
SlyStone said:
Gotcha... I was about to say. I lived there when Federmann and Willie Burton were decent players, but often out matched in SEC play.
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I guess to many years have passed for me to make that joke. When I was a kid, my friends and I would make fun of him and his lack of athletic ability. So, it was kind of an inside joke with myself!
 
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#131
#131
My problem with this line of thought is that the best 5 will not always make the best team. The best team is the team with good chemistry who can work together.
 
#132
#132
Tobias Harris could have been an all-time great if he had stayed multiple years. He's not a particularly flashy player, and he's never been on a good team...but his talent is obvious and he could have done serious damage in college.
 
#133
#133
Rudy123 said:
We were lucky to get A. Houston. It was a package deal with hiring his father as our coach.
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It actually wasn't a done deal. No doubt the reason that Wade was offered the job over Leonard Hamikton was the hope that Allan would follow his dad to TN. BUT... Allan had already been signed by Louisville. It took a lot of pressure, after Wade had already been hired by TN, being put on Denny Crum and UL to release AH from his LOI.
 
#135
#135
Mears coached in an era where basketball was not even a priority in the SEC. The man never won a single NCAA tournament game. ETSU and several Tennessee colleges did that. Ernie and Bernie were great but Mears was not a great coach - a good one but Bruce and Barnes are both light years better. Dribble Dribble pass pass. I liked Ray particularly called by John Ward but the worst ACC teams would have romped Ray's boys every night. He did play Rupp and Joe Hall tough - that is for sure. He lost to VMI in NCAA tournament. Virginia Military. Sad but true.
 
#139
#139
knox73 said:
Mears coached in an era where basketball was not even a priority in the SEC. The man never won a single NCAA tournament game. ETSU and several Tennessee colleges did that. Ernie and Bernie were great but Mears was not a great coach - a good one but Bruce and Barnes are both light years better. Dribble Dribble pass pass. I liked Ray particularly called by John Ward but the worst ACC teams would have romped Ray's boys every night. He did play Rupp and Joe Hall tough - that is for sure. He lost to VMI in NCAA tournament. Virginia Military. Sad but true.
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Ignorant post. For half of Mears' tenure the NCAAT only took one team per conference. Mears would have been to 14 NCAATs under today's set up. Plus teams weren't seeded when he did go and there were no easy opening round opponents. The field was 16 and 24 teams.

Also, who was injured and missed the VMI game? Was VMI not a great team that year? The NCAAT wasn't even televised very often in those days.

Who has a better winning percentage, Mears or Pearl?
 
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#140
#140
Poor Ray Mears, he was going nutzoid well before Ernie/Bernie days, he was nearly impossible to play for, ranting and raving on the sidelines along with Executive Coach Stu Aberdeen, Nutzoid II. He had to promise Ernie/Bernie that they would have any shot, at any time, anywhere on the court to persuade them to come to UT.

He called it the two-star system.
 
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#141
#141
Vahl said:
Poor Ray Mears, he was going nutzoid well before Ernie/Bernie days, he was nearly impossible to play for, ranting and raving on the sidelines along with Executive Coach Stu Aberdeen, Nutzoid II. He had to promise Ernie/Bernie that they would have any shot, at any time, anywhere on the court to persuade them to come to UT.

He called it the two-star system.
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True story, once in a game Mears was on the floor all over a ref over a bad call. He had been riding the ref the whole game. The ref had enough and told him if he took one more step he was teed up. Mears called two players over to carry him off the court. Each one got an arm and did so. Even the ref had to grin.
 
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#143
#143
SmokyRiverDog said:
Do you remember those 3 pointers Ellis hit against Kentucky and Auburn, though?
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Sorry if I wasn't clear. Someone said Ellis did not shoot from the 3 distance til he was a pro. Not true. He did. But he didn't often v and it didn't count 3 points so there was no reason to do so since he could easily create his own shot closer to the basket. He graduated about 1983 and the 3 point shot was adopted by the whole NCAA in 1986.

If I remember right the Southern conference had a player that shot the first college 3 but not sure which player or game it was in.
 
#144
#144
Vahl said:
Poor Ray Mears, he was going nutzoid well before Ernie/Bernie days, he was nearly impossible to play for, ranting and raving on the sidelines along with Executive Coach Stu Aberdeen, Nutzoid II. He had to promise Ernie/Bernie that they would have any shot, at any time, anywhere on the court to persuade them to come to UT.

He called it the two-star system.
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So you're equating changing a philosophy to mental illness?

"Mears was long considered a defensive specialist, but he found that he was losing a lot of recruits because they wanted to play at a faster pace. He decided to change, and King and Grunfeld are proof enough that the transformation is complete. Run and gun is the Volunteers' game now. And it will stay that way at least as long as Grunfeld and King are around to stir up double trouble in the SEC."
 
#148
#148
Maxwell said:
Sorry if I wasn't clear. Someone said Ellis did not shoot from the 3 distance til he was a pro. Not true. He did. But he didn't often v and it didn't count 3 points so there was no reason to do so since he could easily create his own shot closer to the basket. He graduated about 1983 and the 3 point shot was adopted by the whole NCAA in 1986.

If I remember right the Southern conference had a player that shot the first college 3 but not sure which player or game it was in.
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Dale was a great basketball player and an all-round great athlete. I played golf with him a few years ago and he played very well. He is a really nice guy.
 
#150
#150
knox73 said:
Mears coached in an era where basketball was not even a priority in the SEC. The man never won a single NCAA tournament game. ETSU and several Tennessee colleges did that. Ernie and Bernie were great but Mears was not a great coach - a good one but Bruce and Barnes are both light years better. Dribble Dribble pass pass. I liked Ray particularly called by John Ward but the worst ACC teams would have romped Ray's boys every night. He did play Rupp and Joe Hall tough - that is for sure. He lost to VMI in NCAA tournament. Virginia Military. Sad but true.
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To be fair, King was out with a hand injury. Tough to win when you are sitting 25 points.
 
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