KB, what kind of a career has Brandon Fickey had? Just as far as being above or below the expectations when he came in a freshmen. We were pretty good friends when we were younger but I'm not a big tennis guy and haven't followed UT's program.
I would say average. In my opinion was a little over-hyped coming in. Personally, having watched him play multiple times and talking to some my impression was that he was an arrogant little [Penis]. He honestly got thrown into the fire a little faster than he probably thought at UT. They had several graduate that year and then Sandgren, Williams, and the kid from India (who was a red-shirt) all bolted meaning he played 2 or 3 his first year. Tough spot to be in at that age. Also had some attitude issues they had to fix if i recall correctly.
The arrogance isn't really shocking to me. He's a good guy, but had an inflated view of himself coming out of high school.
I would say he hasn't quite lived up to expectations. He hasn't appeared to improve much, and he actually appears to have gotten worse. Perhaps he's had injuries. Here are his reocords: 2012: 2-slot: 4-8 3-slot: 6-6 2013: 2-slot: 1-0 3 slot: 4-7 4-slot: 9-1 2014: 2-slot: 1-0 3-slot: 3-8 4-slot: 1-5 Hunter Reese was a slightly better prospect than Fickey coming in, as I recall. And his performances have been appreciably better. For example, this year Reese was 6-2 at the 1-slot and 7-1 at the 2-slot.
Who was the kid from India? Where did he go? Prajnesh? He would have been nice to have: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Gu/P/Prajnesh-Gunneswaran.aspx?t=pa
The Sean Karl situation has been a serious bummer. He was #1 in the country for a time in the 16s. He was diagnosed with cancer after signing with the Vols. The outpouring of support from the tennis community was really cool,* and he was deemed cancer free and was back playing with the team, and then he had a setback this year.** Tough kid, I wish him the best. * [youtube]j6ta1h7V8Rg[/youtube] ** [youtube]5cNxD2HSS0E[/youtube]
I believe that is him... I forget the exact reason he was a RS, but not far fetched he could have helped win a title that last year with JP, Ryan , etc. I remember hearing the coaches were absolutely pissed that he turned pro...felt that he got bad advice and left without actually playing at UT.
