Random thoughts - The All Clint Black Edition.

(Since Nashville doesn't seem to make much real country music anymore, I thought I'd interject some here.)

"So all I'm askin' is where are you now?" - Clint Black.

About 11 months ago, the city of Knoxville was split right down the middle by a Buzz-saw.

One part of the fan base believed that UT basketball needed a change at the top.

There was also a very vocal group of fans that wanted UT to retain the services of likeable coach Buzz Peterson. They argued that Tennessee could do no better than Buzz.

They said that Buzz would have succeeded if he had just had more fan support (of course, if all the folks in favor of keeping Peterson had filled the arena for games, Buzz might still be around).

They said that UT would never be anything but a football school. And that the next coach would slog through four years of mediocrity, only to be tossed in the "discard" bin by 2009 (probably alongside the man who hired him).

As of two weeks ago, I still believed that this group of overachievers would tap out at 15 or 16 wins and an NIT bid, so I don't want to beat too many people up over faulty predictions. But where are the folks who questioned Tennessee's ability to be successful in basketball?

If the past two months have shown us anything, they've shown that this community WILL get behind the Vol basketball program.

There will surely be many ups and downs to come, but the "Tennessee can't succeed in basketball" line should be permanently retired.

"Maybe I'm only dreaming, but it sure seems real. Somehow the wind doesn't chill quite to the bone." - Clint Black

The "Tennessee can't win" line should be retired due to the fact that the Knoxville Tip-Off Club drew more fans and supporters for their first meeting of the year than it did (as the Knoxville Quarterback Club) during any of their football meetings in 2005.

It should be retired because Tennessee is on pace to finish in the top 5 nationally in attendance. Nationally. In cavernous Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee. Top 5.

Seriously.

It should be retired because the new ball of energy that's coaching this overachieving team is living up to all the "he's like a young Ray Mears" hype. Pearl must've spent the off-season at Lourdes, because no one's seen this kind of miraculous turnaround in Knoxville since Clint Stoerner's stumble in 1998.

Heck, driving down Neyland Drive last week, I could have sworn that I saw Pearl part the Tennessee River and walk across without even getting his adidas wet.

The season is just at the halfway point, and arguably the toughest back-to-back games on the schedule lie on the horizon. But what Pearl and this basketball team are accomplishing might well go down with the '85 football Vols as the best surprise to ever wear orange.

And that should put to rest the thought that Tennessee can never succeed in basketball.

"She'll find me waiting when my ship comes in. Gonna board and go whichever way the wind blows." - Clint Black

The man to thank for all of this is the man who had to pull the trigger on his friend, Buzz, because not enough "dadgum" popcorn was being sold at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Mike Hamilton chose the road less traveled. He took the risk. And it was said by many at the time that whoever he chose as the new basketball coach would hang around his neck like an albatross.

What a difference eleven months can make.

With excitement reaching new heights, more fannies in the seats, more popcorn being sold, a top 15 recruiting class on the way, and a coach with more than 300 wins on his resume, it appears that Hamilton's much talked about Atlantic Coast Conference background is a big plus when it comes to basketball.

Yes, the job of resume gathering and preliminary contacts was farmed out to Champ Search (something no one seems to be complaining about anymore). But unlike several previous coaching searches, this was "one think," not group think. No UT search committee was ever formed.

He catches his share of guff (as most athletic directors do), but Hamilton deserves some of the applause that's ringing through the corridors at Thompson-Boling these days. This was his move. And it was a good one.

"One day we're rollin' in the clover, next thing you know we take the fall." - Clint Black

Of course, all of this basketball joy does have a negative side. Every positive step for the hoopsters must feel like a crowbar upside the head for a football program that seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

A 5-6 season. Coaches fired. At least two NFL assistant coaches turning down the chance to fill one of those vacancies. Recruiting seemingly in the middle of the SEC pack.

While the outlook isn't as bleak as some fans would make it out to be, there's no question that the see-saw of UT athletics, at least for now, has basketball on the rise and football heading back to the turf.

What a difference eleven months can make.

John Pennington hosts The Hall's Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE. He also writes a blog at govolsxtra.com.