If all goes best for Tennessee basketball, signing a player of Scotty Hopson's caliber won't always be historic.
It was a big deal Wednesday. Sportswriter Mike Griffith drove to Hopkinsville, Ky., and hosted the News Sentinel's sports talk show from Hopson's high school Wednesday morning.
The event justified the attention.
This isn't business as usual for UT basketball. The Lady Vols are more apt to win a national championship than the Vols are to sign a McDonald's All-American. More McDonald's All-Americans transfer from Duke than sign with UT.
Hopson, a 6-foot-6 guard, is the first McDonald's All-American to sign with the Vols since Vincent Yarbrough in 1998.
Yarbrough averaged 13.7 points for his four-year career. Whether Hopson does more or less isn't as significant as his signing.
What's important is the continuation of a successful theme that seems so foreign to what was once a pedestrian program.
In Bruce Pearl's three years as head coach UT has won a single-season, school-record 31 games; been ranked No. 1 for the first time in history; made back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time; and won an SEC regular-season championship.
Pearl had proved he could recruit. Now, he has proved he can recruit high school All-Americans. Moreover, he proved he can recruit them out-of-state and out of the grasp of an elite program.
UT couldn't beat Louisville in the Sweet 16 last month. But it beat out the Cardinals for a Kentucky native. That's heady stuff for a program that once had to hire the player's father to land a Kentuckian as sought-after as this one.
The makeover of UT basketball has been stunning. The suddenness of it doesn't necessarily mean it's temporary.
Before the Final Four, Louisville Courier-Journal sports columnist Rick Bozich polled a number of sportswriters on the top basketball programs in the country. His question: "If you were buying stock in 10 basketball programs, which 10 would you purchase and in what order?"
My ranking didn't vary drastically from the consensus, which had North Carolina at No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Duke, Florida, Texas, Louisville, Kentucky, Memphis, and Georgetown.
I didn't agree with Duke, whose talent isn't what it used to be; Kentucky, where I'm not sure coach Billy Gillispie is a good fit; or Georgetown, where I'm not convinced John Thompson III is the next John Thompson.
My top-10 additions included UT at No. 10. A stretch? Maybe. But that's not one lone voice crying out for the home team. Enough other voters put the Vols in their top 10 for the program to rank 15th - behind Michigan State, Connecticut, Indiana and Ohio State, but ahead of such basketball notables as Arizona and Wisconsin.
UT basketball has a charismatic coach, an accomplished group of assistants, an up-tempo style of play that's fan and player friendly, and a huge arena that it routinely comes close to filling. It also has made a three-year run through the SEC that anyone outside of Kentucky would envy.
The Vols have won 77 games in three years under Pearl. Kentucky does that on a regular basis, but only three other SEC programs - Florida, Arkansas and LSU - have ever won more games in a three-year period.
Pearl did that, in part, with another coach's recruits. He also did it without a McDonald's All-American.
Signing an All-American doesn't mean you will win more games. It does mean you're more likely to sign another one.
And, as basketball investors will notice, it means your stock is on the rise.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 70
aspenvol writes:
A positive article. Glad to see you back on your meds, Adams.
rusty_shackleford writes:
Tuscaloosa John! I thought you finally left town.
ETownVol writes:
Good article, John. Now, if you could only get behind CPF and the football program in the same way you support Bruce and the basketball Vols. GO VOLS! And please GO (AWAY) John Adams.
soc195#224452 writes:
Thanks for telling it like it is John Adams! Some of these people need to take off those orange colored sunglasses
Volfan1 writes:
And Adams is getting paid "how much" to state the obvious headline??? How "brilliant". An exile in Siberia can figure out that Pearl & UT is on the rise.
Didn't/won't read the article - Adams is on a par with Geno Auriemma.
Volfan1 writes:
...and about as popular in Tennessee as Geno.
Bigger_Al writes:
Tuscaloosa John cheats on his tax return. (He doesn't report what Finebaum pays him...)
CoverOrange writes:
Where does Adams get the credibility to be a sportswriter to be polled about college basketball rankings?
cparay#1346966 writes:
John, good article. keep up the good work... and it is good work..... I say to hell with the pf lovers. I pay big money to see a game. Pearl and Summitt are heads and heads above the Krispy Kreme PF.
MrBamSeydu writes:
Articles like this just stick it right up the rear-ends of all you Hatorade drinkers.
All you whiners and cry babies complaining STILL about his Fulmer article need to wipe your tears, grow a set, and stop being griping women about it. You're STILL RIGHT HERE reading all his articles!!!! So you are all contradicting yourselves!!!!
GO VOLS!!! NICE WORK JOHN!!!!
Volfan1 writes:
Oooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuu....
Sensitive, aren't you Adamsites?!? You don't have to shout & call names.
Speaking of names, "Little John & his minions." Hey, that's a catchy title for the brain dead Adams followers.
It takes a brain dead poster not to realize you can actually skip reading an article and post by scrolling down.
Pullingguard writes:
Time to recognize a good article and this is a good article.... Pays tribute to UT, and the successful coach and BB program... John has been subjected to enough harsh criticism about a single article.. But, he needs to be more upbeat about the FB program and the potential with changes taking place..
utchris writes:
Check this out! Good pub for Hopson in here.
http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content...
FishTacos writes:
Thanks John. P.S. Good Reference to Wade and Allen Houston (the hire dad part), the average idiot wouldn't catch that.
FishTacos writes:
Correction Allan Houston. Good article.
MrBamSeydu writes:
Volfan1: It takes a complete waste of time to do so. That's even more pathetic than actually reading the article (.... and I guarantee you read the article anyway, idiot).
Hunter writes:
Back to the matter at hand.......
Isn't the rule "buy low, sell high"? If so, then you'd be pretty follish to "buy" UCLA, UNC, etc. right now. The good buys out there are Kentucky, Tennessee, LSU, Indiana, etc. These are programs that aren't 100% elite yet, but could make that move very soon. I'd sell UNC all day long.
GoVols77 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
UTvols12342000 writes:
exactly Hunter. I sure wouldn't want John managing my portfolio.
btw, alot of people on this board act like we need unbiased, outsider reporting. bull, we need the entire knoxville, east tennessee, full state of TN supporting our volunteers for us to attain elite status once again. It doesnt take an outsider to tell me what our team weaknesses are and which of our opponents have the athletes to exploit that. We can criticize from within. I have been doing it since the first play I watched the vols. I can be unbiased and still can root for my vols. Adams feeds his family and pays for their lifestyles off the backs of Tennesseans. He should be more respectful of our institution and its leaders. What I say will never change anything, but if Adams left, I wouldnt miss him one bit.
back to topic
The quotes from Hopson speak volumes to me. He seems to bleed a lil orange. I will always take someone who bleeds orange, all things being even remotely close to equal.
have a great day Vol Nation! say your prayers and call your mommas. Maybe we get another couple big recruits to join Scotty.
j
rusty_shackleford writes:
Adamites are allowed to worship at his feet AND hate on CPF, but us Tuscaloosa John haters/CPF supporters can't have our opinion? That makes the adamites hypocrites.
Are you goobers simple, stupid or slow?
tnvol1111#211434 writes:
You Knoxville Phil fans are sickening. UT football is the 5th place team in the SEC over a stretch of the last 6 years. No BCS games since 1999 and only one top 10 finish (2001) this decade. Coaching upgrades all around the SEC. But you goobers still worship our HC and his silly DC rather than UT Football. Get back to me on what you feel the poor recruiting classes of 2006 and 2008 are going to do to UT Football over the next 4 years also!
lyons1960#229889 writes:
Hey let Pearlygate be Pearly....he, he, he, he,....
did he paint his butt orange.
davidray31#232814 writes:
Basketball is on the rise and football may be declining.But there is nothing like waiting 9 months and watching the Big Orange bust through the T.Tennesse basketball as much as I love it will never bring that kind of feeling.Unless maybe it is a final four.And by the way John Adams is the man!!
jdcvols#230433 writes:
All this talk about lack of All-Americans is BS. DO you think Chris Lofton should have been a 5-Star or All-American? The answer is yes! This is good example of the recruiting services missing on a player.
richvol writes:
UTfan4life- Sites look promising...
volnknox writes:
Why does evrybody hate john adams? he spoke the truth about fulmer, it's time to accept it volnation, fulmer's time here has come and gone!!!!!
jimr07 writes:
thanks tnvol for screwing a basketball article and spewing your venom against the football coach.how often are we supposed to win the national championship? do you have a formula? are you one of Johnny's whiners that still cannot get over his "resignation?" basketball articles are for basketball and take your fulmer hating diatribe and stick it.
King53 writes:
okay, if you are going to ripp Adams for a "bad" article, then you have to give him credit for a "good" article. it goes both ways and you loose credibility when you only promote/defend your agenda. Fair is fair...
GreerVol22 writes:
Mongo think coach do good job recruiting. Mongo think team better off. Mongo love this coach. Mongo come up with this all by self.
-Mongo Adams
E D Tor
cjraney writes:
Don't read Adams anymore, just my choice. Sometimes check the comments to see whats going on.
Don't think JA needs to be supportive or unsupportive of UT programs in order to do his job, simply must rely on facts, report ALL the relevant facts, and don't present his own speculation or opinion as if it is fact. That is the ethical responsibility of any credible journalist.
Even more pathetic than Tuscaloosa John is the self-loathers on here shouting their support for Adams while hurling insults at other Vol fans. Nice.
volboy81#211803 writes:
a John Adams article that didnt complain, condemn or criticize??? Whats up with that?
Cant wait til youre outta this town, John!
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
I forgot to congratulate Fulmer this past year on it being a smashing sucess....he had 1 less loss than Pearl on the year.
GoVol writes:
JA - still don't read your phooey - positive or negative. I'm assuming the article was positive based upon the headline, but I wouldn't know for sure. Please leave an go to Alabama or Louisiana...where you belong!
rrvolfan#230816 writes:
JOHN ADAMS BYLINE = IGNORE THIS ARTICLE
rusty_shackleford writes:
marc, I generally agree with you. Did you notice that tuscaloosa john bounces back and forth between columnist and reporter? He was a "columnist" during the football season, but a "reporter" during the Lady Vol's trip to the final four. Do you think he was directed as such, or that it's difficult to be a "columnist" when the team is winning?
I've always thought it was easier to throw rocks than catch 'em!
BillVol writes:
I thought I had responded to this column, but I guess not. Problem is, I forgot what I was going to say. Oh well. Another good column, John.
cjraney writes:
marc-
I see your points. Guess the line b/t reporter and columnist is a bit blurry in my mind as they're both journalists. I personally feel both types have a responsibility to readers to distinguish b/t fact and opinion or speculation.
OTOH, I guess tabloid journalism, yellow journalism, and sensationalism are still considered to be some form journalism. I just didn't realize KNS wished to move in that direction. And as I don't read the Enquirer, Star, etc., I no longer read John Adams either.
finn writes:
This is pathetic. I just read about 35 posts that had nothing to do with the subject of the article. GIVE IT A REST!!! This Anti-Adams coalition is the type of thing a group of 13 year old girls might conjure up. The guy wrote an article that didn't toe the party line on our beloved Phil. Who cares??? God forbid, if he hadn't written that article, you guys wouldn't have anything to post/female dog about in the off-season. Now that would be a tragedy. BTW, great news on mens b-ball and Hopson. That was the point of this article, right?
cjraney writes:
marc-
But honestly it bothers me much more to see Vol fans on here bashing others for having an opinion on Tuscaloosa John, when in the same breath they're cheering about Adams' right to express an opinion and how they can't get enough of his wonderful product.
From what I can tell it seems to be a lot of the same ones who bashed those posting more positive opinions during the last football season, instead of just agreeing with their "all hope is lost, sky is falling" rhetoric.
Sometimes I wonder if those types were happy or disappointed that we reached the SEC title game, won the bowl game, etc, etc, so on. Anybody want to fess up?
cjraney writes:
voljkelley-
Apparently his time hasn't "gone" quite yet.
twin942 writes:
Marc/cj, good posts. I like the dialogue.
I generally like Adam's columns and will continue reading them. He strays from the conventional wisdom, which causes people to think. However, he crossed a line with the Fulmer article. He simply trashed the man without relative facts to justify his positions (I say relative to imply that Fulmer does nothing that makes him stand out from most other college coaches). So, why shouldn't he (Adams) be held accountable as well? This isn't whining, this is holding him to the same standards as the other people discussed in these forums (Fulmer, Pearl, Summit, etc).
cj, to answer your question, I was HAPPY about the SEC East championship. The nice thing about these posts is the blog history is saved - so you can always verify people's positions...
GreerVol22 writes:
General, I'm not sure is worth a fritter, but what if we put him in an iron mask and locked him in the sunsphere?
3 squares a day of fritters and Kool-Aid till we head to SoCal should do it.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Go home to LSU or where ever Adams.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Go home to LSU or where ever Adams.
Volfan1 writes:
yemmusdarb Adams,
Little John & his minions (of which you are either John himself or a minion) are soooo afraid of criticism.
If a few of you folks are unhappy about us remembering a total trash job article, I can't wait until Tuscaloosa John shows up at practice in the fall for interviews to see how many players remember his garbage....if he's man enough to try and interview, which I doubt.
Loved your bright comment for me - "idiot". yemmusdarb, here's a clue for you....a person starts calling 3rd grade names when he is losing.
You "guarantee" I read his stuff? I bet you guaranteed the Colts over Namath's Jets, Ohio State over Florida (pick your sport or SEC team), and the Russians over the USA hockey team. You were wrong on every count.
And BTW, it's a bigger waste of time to read Adams than to scroll down....unfortunately, it's an even bigger waste of time to read your drivel.
cjraney writes:
marc, who woulda thunk it? No longer naysayers v. Fulmerites, we've moved on to Orange koolaid drinkers v. Adams-colored glasses. Probably better thans Adams-flavored koolaid...
FishTacos writes:
Good points. My favorite being that Bruce only lost one more game than Foolmer. Foolmer only played 13, Bruce played over 30. Damn we got a great football coach. CPF for Tn. Coach of the year. Adams only speaks the truth when he bashes that slob. Foolmer is worthless (he can eat a mean twinkie though).
cjraney writes:
marc, also wanted to clarify my comment/question regarding happy or disappointed last season. I was disappointed we lost the title game, but happy we got there. I think others were disappointed we got there at all, disappointed we beat a good Wisconsin team, and basically disappointed in the team's successes.
Why? B/c that success proved their predictions of the program's demise to be false and ultimately delayed any "regime change" at least one more year.
Anybody got the stones to admit such disappointment?
tenncorncob writes:
Please hold off your fulmer diatribe until after at least the Florida game.....this should be a very good team, a new year, a new offense....ie..a new beginning. Please give the HEAD coach at UT the respect his position deserves. This is NOT the time to be critical unless of course you roll around the bowl and roll down the hole, roll tide roll. GO VOLS
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
Who else is pumped for the home football opener vs. UBA (University of Birmingham-Alabama)? I'm not.
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