TENNESSEE (7-3) vs. XAVIER (7-4), Dec. 29, opportunity!

Teams lose players all the time and it's not like Maymon is an AA. If our best hope is that we haven't fallen apart because of the loss of Maymon, then that's not a particularly convincing argument in Martin's favor, for me.

 

Wasn't he all conference?

 

I can't wait to see Hubbs, Stokes, Golden, Richardson, McRae, Edwards, and possibly Maymon together. Yemi bringing intensity off the bench. Next year could be fun.

 

So, based upon the players he's been getting, are we becoming more like my former description (pain in the ass to play against) or the latter (championship)?

 

See lyls post previous to your's.

 

I really liked what I saw from Reese and Lopez. Trae Golden better get his act together or his minutes may start to dwindle, same for Jarnell. No excuse for them to be completely out worked by their replacements. Richardson attacking the basket needs to happen more. Yemi gave a ton of effort.

 

I dedicate this cartoon to young Reese:

 

Yes, he's solid, but having it not all fall apart without him here isn't a great point of confidence for me that we've got a championship coach.

 

Who exactly is good enough to carry this team single handedly? I'll hang up and listen. He's had one full recruiting cycle to get kids on campus. One.

Maymon and Stokes were a formidable duo in the front court that gave UT a chance in any game.

 

He's the teams best player. A double-double waiting to happen, he would mean a lot right now.

 

Yes, I like the potential of that team. However, it also means next year he needs to deliver something really good, although I also think he needs to make the tournament this year.

 

Not falling apart? UT has beaten a top 25 team once this new group of players had time to gel. They're 8-3 and just beat Xavier. Xavier beat Butler, who is a good team. Xavier is not horrific this year.

I'd say they are doing just fine. UVA is 9-3, GTown is 10-1, and Okie State is 10-1. UT hasn't lost to any slouches this year.

 

Agreed. And I think he will deliver. I don't think this team has come close to peaking.

 

Last year wasn't really something to write home about though. Good run in the SEC but we still only made the NIT and flamed out early in that.

 

Golden is the leading returning scorer. We have a number of other players who could pick up the slack. A good coach can mitigate losing a key player, even Maymon. The season not going to shit shouldn't be contingent on the health of Maymon.

Plus, we're getting away from my main contention here. Are we a championship caliber program with Martin at the helm? I'm not convinced and that's the gist of the situation. All this talk about being a tough team and trying to find ways to make him sound good is the same type of shit we criticize the Volnation tools for over the football coach. Now, I'm not saying you all are giving me the same baloney they do (and I know you guys long enough to never insult you in such a manner), but we ask the bottom line questions in regards to the football program and I'm simply doing the same for basketball.

So, championship coach, yay or nay?

 

Our roster was a train wreck at the beginning of the season. He turned things around during conference play.

 

Yes. Other players have picked up the slack. UT is 8-3.

 

Are you positing that the season has gone/is going/will go to shit, or is this just a hypothetical? I look at our losses and they seem pretty reasonable. We finished second in the conference last year with a crappy inherited roster. Dooley never came close to any such thing in any of his years, let alone the first one.

 

No, simply that the idea that this is a successful outing thus far because it hasn't gone to shit without Maymon is setting the bar too low.

 

8-3. A top 25 win.