Hamilton still looking for positives

Sports Illustrated reported as much last month, citing improved quality of play because of more veterans staying in school. And TV ratings are up for college hoops, bucking a trend across the board for most other televised sports.

"Rivalry Week" on ESPN the past few days provided a window to some terrific scenes, from Oklahoma at Oklahoma State on Monday to Notre Dame at Pittsburgh on Saturday.

The last thing I saw Saturday before heading to the arena was Austin Peay and Murray State flailing away at each other on ESPN2. Great atmosphere.

Too bad, I thought at the time, that the wattage at Thompson-Bolingwould be so dim by comparison.

Well, I was wrong. In the 24th game of a season gone south, somehow the second-best crowd of the season turned out.

And for about 37 minutes, it had plenty to make noise about. This wasn't North Carolina-Duke, but it wasn't bad.

For about 37 minutes, Mike Hamilton had what he was looking for.

But in the end, an 84-73 loss to Florida wasn't it.

The Vols played hard, did a lot of good things against a good opponent. But in the end they lost for the sixth time in the past seven games.

Buzz Peterson is the coach on a hot seat. Hamilton, his athletic director, is on a hot seat of his own. He has a decision to make in the next few weeks about his coach's future and the program's future.

"What you've got right now,'' Hamilton said Saturday before tip-off, "is an athletic director who thinks a great deal of his coach and wants him to succeed, but is frustrated we've got only 11 wins to date.''

Hamilton reiterated that the ultimate evaluation comes after the final game. But, reading between the lines, it's clear what decision he wants to make.

Rather than perpetuate the revolving door of coaches UT has seen the past 15 years, Hamilton wants Peterson to return for a fifth season.

And he wants to be able to say so, the sooner the better.

For now, however, Peterson is twisting in the wind in a Catch-22.

If Peterson is to stay and move Tennessee back in the right direction the key is recruiting better talent. But closing the deal on blue-chip talent - such as Oak Hill Academy's Jamont Gordon - is virtually impossible as long as Peterson's immediate future is unclear.

Last week, Missouri came out with a public endorsement of its embattled coach, Quin Snyder, announcing he would return next season.

Snyder and Peterson are - were, rather - in the same boat, even though their body of work is not comparable.

Prior to two disappointing seasons, Snyder had taken Missouri to four NCAA tournaments. But the Tigers have also gone on NCAA probation on his watch. Peterson's results have been mediocre on the court, but off it, he has been a credit to the university.

"The thing that I get,'' Hamilton said, "from conversations among the staff, among members of the community, and the donor base is, to a person, everybody wants this coach and this team and this program to succeed.

"And that's encouraging. So now, how do we make it happen?''

One way would be endorsing Peterson, if, in fact, you're going to bring him back.

Hamilton is acutely aware that announcing Peterson will return would make recruiting easier for the next month.

But for now, what he says is: "I think you wait until the end of the year before you make any formal judgment.''

Most likely, he wouldn't wait until the end of the year, though, if this team would just make something positive happen. If it would close out a win or two, if it would prove it's not going oh-fer the rest of the way.

The table was set Saturday. Thompson-Boling had a pulse. The scene was worthy of a rivalry week in a renaissance season. But the Vols didn't get it done.

And so, for a coach on a hot seat, there's still no smoke signal from the Big Orange Vatican.