Strange: Peterson, Hamilton leave with a smile

The way Tennessee blasted out of the gate Wednesday night against South Carolina was Positive, capital P. During each media timeout, I kept halfway expecting UT's athletic director to jump on the scorer's table with a microphone and chant "Four more years ..."

He didn't, of course.

And by the final tense couple of minutes, I wondered if the Jumbotron screen would catch a red-faced Hamilton giving the throat-slash sign.

He didn't, of course.

So, bottom line, what does an 80-72 win over South Carolina - one in which the Vols blew 23 points of a 26-point lead - do for the Tennessee basketball conundrum?

Well, at least it's official the Vols will finish February with more than one win.

And if anybody's keeping score, Peterson tightened a head-to-head tally against South Carolina's Dave Odom, his contemporary in the SEC coaching pledge class of 2001. That's five wins for Odom, three for Peterson.

But those are incidental issues. As for the big picture, still no verdict.

I can tell you this: Following Peterson's post-game press conference, he and Hamilton shook hands and, after a brief exchange, the AD gave the coach a friendly slap on the shoulder.

And they were both smiling.

Hamilton has always been there to encourage his coach, to tell him to hang in there. But lately, he hasn't been smiling when he does it.

The Vols had lost seven of their previous eight games. Following another bad ending at Ole Miss on Saturday, Hamilton sure wasn't smiling when he popped by the locker room to say hang in there.

The way Wednesday's game began, it appeared full-blown guffaws might be in order. Was this South Carolina or Coastal Carolina?

By the end, however, no one was laughing. Oh, there was some wheezing and gasping.

With less than a minute to play, UT's lead had shrunk to 75-72. When C.J. Watson missed the front end of a one-and-one, South Carolina had a chance to tie the game with a 3-point shot.

The Gamecocks' Carlos Powell opted for two, but missed the mark. Tennessee rebounded and Brandon Crump did what none of his teammates could seem to - hit a free throw.

He hit four of them, in fact, and a train wreck was averted.

Before he did, there was some sentiment at my end of press row that South Carolina just might pull it off. Tennessee's karma has been that bad.

Furthermore, it's not unprecedented.

On Nov. 29, 1995, UNC-Charlotte rallied from 26 points down in the final 15:04 to catch Tennessee 79-76 on this same Thompson-Boling Arena floor.

Peterson said losing this game never crossed his mind, even when three consecutive missed one-and-ones conjured up the Nebraska debacle of Dec. 30.

"At the time,'' he said, "I had too many other things on my mind. I was thinking how we were going to make some stops.

"And I kept telling myself, somebody is going to step up for us and hit a free throw to win this game."

Peterson used to say former player Ron Slay was "off the charts" when it came to the will to win. Off the charts probably applies to Peterson when it comes to staying positive.

Unlike the disgruntled, long-suffering Vol fan who has to buy a ticket - and the disgruntled, long-suffering ones who choose not to - Peterson is unwavering in his posture that things will work out if you just keep believing.

This night, he was right. Good for him.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.