WBIR CDT interview

#1
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jknox33

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#1
SIAP, mods merge if necessary. Thought I'd share the interview and wanted to hit some highlights with this.

WBIR Sports sits down with Donnie Tyndall

CDT's thoughts on recruiting positions.
PG- a tough, hard-nosed guy to run the team and take care of the ball like an Aaron Craft type guy (not necessarily looking for high stars IMO, but for intangibles)
SG- explosive and athletics scorers in the mold of Russ Smith (maybe not necessarily height-wise, but ability)
Front court- long, athletic, rangy guys that affect the press and cover ground for deflections (hence all the 6'7-9ish and 195-210lb bouncy athletes on his recruiting board)
Overall, he likes "athletic, fast guys that cover ground" (which I believe this current roster has).

Doesn't look like we will see any guys in the mold of Jarnell or Jeronne any time soon and seems like the expectation is for them (bigs) to play fast and above the rim. The guy definitely know what type if player that he wants to fit his system. Doubt he is a "take the best player available" type an more of a system coach.

Defense will be aggressive, trap all over the floor, force turnovers, some man D but not much (will be interesting to see the adjustment CCM's guys make).
Offense is playing in the open floor off turnovers, drive and get the ball to the paint and share te ball across the board.
 
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#2
#2
Also, he felt like getting a .500 record with the current roster would be successful. However, if the right pieces are added in he coming weeks then it should be much better. TIFWIW
 
#5
#5
jknox33 said:
Also, he felt like getting a .500 record with the current roster would be successful. However, if the right pieces are added in he coming weeks then it should be much better. TIFWIW
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In what context did he make this statement? Was he asked a direct question, or did he just offer this up unprovoked? Even if it is realistic, the thought of .500 ball makes me cringe. When's the last time we didn't have a winning season?
 
#6
#6
MannyD said:
In what context did he make this statement? Was he asked a direct question, or did he just offer this up unprovoked? Even if it is realistic, the thought of .500 ball makes me cringe. When's the last time we didn't have a winning season?
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The last time we had a losing record would be Buzz ball. He was asked at the end what would be considered successful. He didn't necessarily like the question. My hope is that the context of how he was saying it was "if I have these 7 guys ONLY then .500 if successful." He was optimistic about getting the right pieces and shooting much higher though.
 
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#7
#7
cncchris33 said:
That comment will provide some entertainment around here.
:popcorn:
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I guess you're saying that because of the expectations for last year and the "unreasonableness" of the fanbase? I am one that expected a strong season last year, which was verified by finally playing good basketball in the tournament. However, I have nowhere near the expectations for next years team as I did for this previous team.
 
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#8
#8
I really don't like that CDT has been setting low expectations publicly and frequently. It doesn't matter what is or is not realistic. You simply cannot establish a winning mentality for your basketball team when you keep going around and talking about mediocre (even if realistic) goals and setting the bar low.

As I've said, I like CDT, but this aspect really pi$$es me off.
 
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#9
#9
jknox33 said:
Also, he felt like getting a .500 record with the current roster would be successful. However, if the right pieces are added in he coming weeks then it should be much better. TIFWIW
Click to expand...

Uh oh. I wonder how some of the fans will take this. Very similar roster to the 2011/2012 year when 19 wins and the NIT weren't enough.
 
#12
#12
On paper the roster was similar to Cuonzo's first season, but those players turned out to be better than expected. May turn out to be the case this season as well.

And as for Tyndall setting low expectations for this season, I haven't seen much of that. In fact, I remember him saying that fans may be surprised this upcoming season. Either way, I seriously doubt the guy is approaching this situation with a losing mentality. There's just as much evidence there to support the idea that he expects a lot out of this season.
 
#13
#13
Please let me apologize. I misrepresented the fact of what he said. He said something to the effect of a winning season being "quite an accomplishment." I know it's not vastly different than what I posted earlier, but I don't want to misrepresent him. Once again, apologies.
 
#14
#14
DownTheField said:
I really don't like that CDT has been setting low expectations publicly and frequently. It doesn't matter what is or is not realistic. You simply cannot establish a winning mentality for your basketball team when you keep going around and talking about mediocre (even if realistic) goals and setting the bar low.

As I've said, I like CDT, but this aspect really pi$$es me off.
Click to expand...

Really puts him in a Catch 22 with this fan base. By not saying anything, our expectations for last year's team were high. Martin never committed to any stance.

I don't think CDT is setting low expectations, I just think he is not letting the Fan base do it for him. Basically the fan base next years expectations are all over the place and as CDT recruits new players expectations will continue to increase....he maybe sandbagging a little but to keep the fan's expectations low.

Plus, no need to make a prediction or raise expectations with only half a team.☻
 
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#16
#16
MannyD said:
And as for Tyndall setting low expectations for this season, I haven't seen much of that. In fact, I remember him saying that fans may be surprised this upcoming season. Either way, I seriously doubt the guy is approaching this situation with a losing mentality. There's just as much evidence there to support the idea that he expects a lot out of this season.
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He has consistently set low expectations, referring to only having half a team, etc. He qualified his comment about "surprising fans" this season with the caveat "if he can keep all four" of the signees. Within hours of saying that, they were all but gone.

He even went further. After saying something about a .500 season being really good, he added, "I'd never tell the team that." C'mon, did he honestly think that somehow his public expectations of mediocrity would somehow escape his attempts to establish a winning mentality among the team? Ridiculous.

Again, I like CDT but his public comments to which I refer have been a serious misstep by an up and comer in a new situation with respect to a fan base like ours by which he's a bit intimidated.
 
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#17
Sudden Impact said:
Really puts him in a Catch 22 with this fan base. By not saying anything, our expectations for last year's team were high. Martin never committed to any stance.
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I disagree. CDT should've taken a page out of CBJs book. He never mentioned anything about mediocre results. He constantly emphasized that losing is unacceptable at the University of Tennessee.

We all knew the reality. But CBJ knew and knows that you can't change the reality without establishing a winning mentality. And given that basketball and football are indeed different sports, CDT is in basically the same position.
 
#20
#20
I was at UT when BP spoke to students at the Presidential Court cafeteria and said that year 1 was gonna be tough but he promised a much better team in year 2...so I don't see how that is different than the beloved Cheater did when he started his career at UT.
 
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