I don't want to start World War 3, but Cuonzo Martin is the anti-Dooley. He never once pointed out the team's weaknesses, placed all blame on his shoulders during the hard time, and deflected praise at every turn. He never even talked about the NCAA cloud that much. He has honored our university in his short stay here.
I think Cuonzo said it best yesterday when he said he'd be lying if he thought they'd be in this position this year. No matter what happens, this has been a fun team to watch the last month or so.
This makes me smile. Congrats to Coach Cuonzo and the players for not getting down early in conference play and making a spectacular run to end the season. I'm looking forward to what Cuonzo and the boys can do next year. SEC Preseason Media Poll 1. Kentucky 2. Vanderbilt 3. Florida 4. Alabama 5. Mississippi State 6. Arkansas 7. Ole Miss 8. Georgia 9. LSU 10. Auburn 11. Tennessee 12. South Carolina SEC Final Standings 1. Kentucky 2. Tennessee 3. Vanderbilt 4. Florida 5. Alabama 6. Mississippi State 7. Ole Miss 8. LSU 9. Arkansas 10. Auburn 11. Georgia 12. South Carolina
I will remember this team's efforts for a long time. They reminded us through sheer will and determination of what is great about college athletics. I cannot say how proud I am of this team.
Outside of UT, that's actually some pretty good predicting. Georgia and Arkansas are 3 spots off of their projected finish. Everyone else is within 1, I believe.
Agreed. And if it weren't for us being off, Arky and UGA would be off two and everyone else would be nailed. edit: after further review this is not exactly true.
To defend the prognosticators, none of them had clairvoyance enough to foresee the addition of Stokes. How do you think we finish without him?
This is why I like him. He had a lot of legit reasons to suck this year. He never mentioned them and now Tennessee is #2 in the SEC. I honestly believe he's the SEC COY, but it will probably be split between he and Cal.
To add to the "Martin is the anti-Dooley" conversation, remember that he suspended Hall who was a valuable contributor to that point. He never made it an excuse, and he didn't give Hall a pass either.
8-10 range The attitude of the season changed after the first KY game, when they saw what they had in a team mate. To add to that. Martin made it work midstream which was remarkable in that the transition was seamless under the circumstances.
It's always possible to read too much into a snapshot. With that disclaimer, I think it's very interesting to see the smiles on the faces of Woolridge, Washpun, and Miller. When the guys not getting minutes are on board, you know the coach is doing something right.