When will Tennessee go to a Final Four?

When will Tennessee go to a Final Four?

  • 1. Next Season

    Votes: 20 10.0%

  • 2. Within 3 years

    Votes: 24 11.9%

  • 3. Within 5 years

    Votes: 33 16.4%

  • 4. Within 10 years

    Votes: 21 10.4%

  • 5. Within 15 years

    Votes: 4 2.0%

  • 6. Within 20 years

    Votes: 11 5.5%

  • 7. Not sure but I’ll be dead by then.

    Votes: 88 43.8%
  • Total voters
    201
#28
#28
Have to get 1st round/lottery type NBA level players on the team. Jarrett Culver from Texas Tech is a likely lottery pick and only a sophomore. Virginia, Duke, Texas Tech, and Kentucky all have projected lottery picks. Virginia and Texas Tech are already there and Duke and Kentucky are likely to join them. Auburn has a top 20ish pick in Okeke but his injury will make it near impossible for them to beat Kentucky, who has the devils own luck each year.

Tennessee was constructed like a very successful mid-major team. Veterans that were well coached and not highly recruited. A classic recipe for the Sweet 16. Every once in a great while a team will slip into the final 4 with that kind of players, but it's not common.
 
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#29
#29
VolArmy74 said:
Have to get 1st round/lottery type NBA level players on the team. Jarrett Culver from Texas Tech is a likely lottery pick and only a sophomore. Virginia, Duke, Texas Tech, and Kentucky all have projected lottery picks. Virginia and Texas Tech are already there and Duke and Kentucky are likely to join them. Auburn has a top 20ish pick in Okeke but his injury will make it near impossible for them to beat Kentucky, who has the devils own luck each year.

Tennessee was constructed like a very successful mid-major team. Veterans that were well coached and not highly recruited. A classic recipe for the Sweet 16. Every once in a great while a team will slip into the final 4 with that kind of players, but it's not common.
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This is an excellent take. No team in recent history has ever won it all without a top 100 player. For some reason, we had delusions of grandeur thinking we would be the first this year. You have to have elite talent to win consistently , especially come March.
 
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#30
#30
Tennesseefan2019 said:
It all depends on when Coach Barnes decides to retire. I have a feeling he will coach Tennessee another 4-5 years before he decides to retire. I'm not sure if Tennessee would hire a good replacement for Coach Barnes.
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I think good chance replacement is on staff. I'm surprised folks not coming after Lanier.

On the question posed, look at UVA...they're a storied program, but hasn't been to final 4 since mid 80's. All I know is Barnes is building program to have best chance for championships, and if you keep knocking on the door every year, eventually, you get that chance.
 
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#31
#31
To answer this question we must first look at recruiting and current players. Next year with James and hooefully not losing any unexpected players. If Burns is a player and Walker and Fulky each take a step forward i see this team being better next year. I also think Pons can be an X factor. I say we win 30 games next season. But the final four will be determined by grad transfer or freshman big man reclassifying that shockingly signs with UT. Ir the German 6'9 guy. Final four is in our near future. And all the Barnes hating. He was in tears following the loss talking to his players. He has a lot of love for these guys. So get over your hate for him.
 
#32
#32
1985Vols said:
This is an excellent take. No team in recent history has ever won it all without a top 100 player. For some reason, we had delusions of grandeur thinking we would be the first this year. You have to have elite talent to win consistently , especially come March.
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Pretty close to what I said 3 weeks ago and got roasted for it on this site.
 
#33
#33
Trent4Pruitt4life said:
This is by far the easiest question I've ever had to answer. The answer is never. Tennessee has never been a good tournament team. They usually play their worst ball in a tournament. Different coaches, different teams, different decades, same result. And even if Tennessee has the team to do it it's almost as if the officials will not allow it. Have you ever seen a team that has an every single borderline call go against them this last month. Simply put Tennessee will not be allowed to make it.
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I believe that was the reason they went after Pearl. He was knocking off the bluebloods regularly and they wanted to put a stop to it and they did. JMO
 
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#34
#34
I think it happens within a decade, and I was tempted to vote within 5 years, but then I remembered how hard it is to actually do.

UT is starving for one, and they’ve gotten to a point as a program at which it’s a fairly reasonable expectation. Love him or hate him, Bruce Pearl forever raised the expectations for the program. Idk how long Barnes plans on coaching, or how good his successor will be, but if UT keeps making the tournament with regularity, I think it happens inside of 10 years.

Just gotta have the right group of players get hot at the right time. Whoever said making the tournament more often was dead on. Law of averages kinda thing.
 
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#36
#36
Big time vol said:
I believe that was the reason they went after Pearl. He was knocking off the bluebloods regularly and they wanted to put a stop to it and they did. JMO
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Mike Slive,the former SEC commissioner hated UT. I remember when he was hired that different media were saying it wasn't good for Tennessee. That turned out to be true. During his tenure is when we had so many controversial calls in football and basketball. We never seem to be on the right end of any borderline call. They were even rule changes implemented by the NCAA because of the way we were being treated. Then he was the one that forced us to get rid of Bruce Pearl because he was bringing us so much success. Yes he had a barbecue and yes he lied about it but other schools are done much worse. Slive said that he didn't want Pearl to coach in the SEC. So Tennessee was forced to fire him. But yet somehow Pearl get Slive's blessing to come back to the SEC to coach Auburn.
 
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#37
#37
njvols said:
I think good chance replacement is on staff. I'm surprised folks not coming after Lanier.

On the question posed, look at UVA...they're a storied program, but hasn't been to final 4 since mid 80's. All I know is Barnes is building program to have best chance for championships, and if you keep knocking on the door every year, eventually, you get that chance.
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I respectfully disagree that Knocking on the doors officially going to get us there. Tennessee has the worst record in the sweet 16 of any school that has been as many times as we have. Other schools can make it to the NCAA tournament much less often and get much farther. I don't know what it is. I've never really believe in Voodoo or jinxes but there's something up. Tennessee doesn't win any tournament. They don't win any of the preseason tournaments they don't win the SEC tournament and they seem to play there worse in the NCAA tournament. If it was a one-year thing I could understand. There's a lot of things aligned against Tennessee. First of all the officials never give Tennessee the benefit of a doubt. Borderline calls should be a 50/50 proposition. With Tennessee they never get the benefit. then we always happen to have our worst shooting night or worst free throw percentage or worst defense every time we're in a tournament. I used to be optimistic but that's becoming impossible as time goes on.
 
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#38
#38
Trent4Pruitt4life said:
I respectfully disagree that Knocking on the doors officially going to get us there. Tennessee has the worst record in the sweet 16 of any school that has been as many times as we have. Other schools can make it to the NCAA tournament much less often and get much farther. I don't know what it is. I've never really believe in Voodoo or jinxes but there's something up. Tennessee doesn't win any tournament. They don't win any of the preseason tournaments they don't win the SEC tournament and they seem to play there worse in the NCAA tournament. If it was a one-year thing I could understand. There's a lot of things aligned against Tennessee. First of all the officials never give Tennessee the benefit of a doubt. Borderline calls should be a 50/50 proposition. With Tennessee they never get the benefit. then we always happen to have our worst shooting night or worst free throw percentage or worst defense every time we're in a tournament. I used to be optimistic but that's becoming impossible as time goes on.
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Wow, you do know we just had our best back to back seasons in school history, right? Just because we've arrived, doesn't mean we're due anything, but the more you're in the mix, the better exposure for recruiting and better opportunity to get to the championship.

Also, on the officials...we've, for sure gotten some raw deals. I don't go on many sites, but will go on rant, from time to time, where you see other fans opinions, and after a closely contested loss, officials are always the reason for the loss.

Other than KY, and maybe Auburn, most competing fans would love to have our situation. Didn't mention LSU, because they're going to have to fire their coach, and be under a black cloud for awhile.
 
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#39
#39
njvols said:
Wow, you do know we just had our best back to back seasons in school history, right? Just because we've arrived, doesn't mean we're due anything, but the more you're in the mix, the better exposure for recruiting and better opportunity to get to the championship.

Also, on the officials...we've, for sure gotten some raw deals. I don't go on many sites, but will go on rant, from time to time, where you see other fans opinions, and after a closely contested loss, officials are always the reason for the loss.

Other than KY, and maybe Auburn, most competing fans would love to have our situation. Didn't mention LSU, because they're going to have to fire their coach, and be under a black cloud for awhile.
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That's my point. We've had back-to-back Seasons with record wins but only one shared SEC Championship to show for it. No Conference tournament championship no preseason tournament championship and once again we got to the Sweet 16 and lose. If you can't get things accomplished in a year like this what makes you think that it can happen down the road. I'm 48 years old. I followed Tennessee for a lot of years and this is nothing new. I've been hearing for years and years and years how we just need to wait a couple more years and it will come. That we almost have the pieces. It just never comes together. The closer we got was with Bruce Pearl
 
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#40
#40
Trent4Pruitt4life said:
That's my point. We've had back-to-back Seasons with record wins but only one shared SEC Championship to show for it. No Conference tournament championship no preseason tournament championship and once again we got to the Sweet 16 and lose. If you can't get things accomplished in a year like this what makes you think that it can happen down the road. I'm 48 years old. I followed Tennessee for a lot of years and this is nothing new. I've been hearing for years and years and years how we just need to wait a couple more years and it will come. That we almost have the pieces. It just never comes together. The closer we got was with Bruce Pearl
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I understand, and it is frustrating...but, we're in a better spot to bring in championships than we were 3-5 years ago...And, Admiral disagrees!
schofield.jpg
 
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#45
#45
Trent4Pruitt4life said:
That's my point. We've had back-to-back Seasons with record wins but only one shared SEC Championship to show for it. No Conference tournament championship no preseason tournament championship and once again we got to the Sweet 16 and lose. If you can't get things accomplished in a year like this what makes you think that it can happen down the road. I'm 48 years old. I followed Tennessee for a lot of years and this is nothing new. I've been hearing for years and years and years how we just need to wait a couple more years and it will come. That we almost have the pieces. It just never comes together. The closer we got was with Bruce Pearl
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I feel your pain. Been watching UT BB for over 50 years and still waiting on a tournament run
 
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#46
#46
Trent4Pruitt4life said:
I respectfully disagree that Knocking on the doors officially going to get us there. Tennessee has the worst record in the sweet 16 of any school that has been as many times as we have. Other schools can make it to the NCAA tournament much less often and get much farther. I don't know what it is. I've never really believe in Voodoo or jinxes but there's something up. Tennessee doesn't win any tournament. They don't win any of the preseason tournaments they don't win the SEC tournament and they seem to play there worse in the NCAA tournament. If it was a one-year thing I could understand. There's a lot of things aligned against Tennessee. First of all the officials never give Tennessee the benefit of a doubt. Borderline calls should be a 50/50 proposition. With Tennessee they never get the benefit. then we always happen to have our worst shooting night or worst free throw percentage or worst defense every time we're in a tournament. I used to be optimistic but that's becoming impossible as time goes on.
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We did win one preseason tournament.
 
#48
#48
With all due respect to Coach Barnes, UT passed on hiring Bruce Pearl back after he finished his punishment. Pearl is probably a top five coach - excellent tournament coach and we passed on taking him back. Just one more misstep by the University.
 
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