Not many Tennessee basketball players will tell you that it was a football game that put them over the top in their recruitment by the Vols. But, Jon Higgins says that football played a huge part in his decision to come to Knoxville.
"Let's just say it was a good weekend," Higgins said. "It was the Florida game in 1998. I remember everything about that game. I was in the student section. Everybody rushed the field when Florida missed the field goal in overtime but I couldn't. I was coming off a knee injury and couldn't get out in the middle of all that.
"I was amazed. I'd been to football games at Ohio State and Michigan State, but they didn't compare to that game. It was an incredible atmosphere. I knew that there could be huge excitement for Tennessee basketball after seeing all of that orange at that football game."
Higgins was recruited by Byron Samuels off of former coach Jerry Green's staff.
"Bryon and I developed a very good friendship that we still have today," said Higgins. "He's been a good friend for a long time and I will always consider him a friend."
When Higgins got to Tennessee he saw the court very quickly.
"I played about 35 minutes a game in my freshman season," said Higgins. "I remember playing against North Carolina in the sweet 16 that year. That one still hurts me because we had that game won."
After Higgins sophomore season, Green took his million dollar buyout. It didn't sit well with Higgins.
"I was not happy about it," he said. "I just had a good relationship with Byron and Jerry and I was disappointed to see them go. I just never had the relationship with Buzz (Peterson) and his staff that I had with the previous staff.
"My junior season wasn't my best because I don't think I bought into Buzz's system. Jerry Green's system gave us a lot of freedom. Bruce Pearl's system gives players a lot of freedom. I can't say the same for what Buzz was running. He is a North Carolina guy and they like to preach structure.
"I'm sure everyone you ask about Pearl says the same thing, and I guess I'll do the same. It would have been fun to play for him. Basketball players love freedom. That's what makes the game fun. You watch his teams and they play loose because they're allowed to play the game."
There were some special times for Higgins during his career at UT.
"I guess my favorite moment was winning at Florida my senior year in double overtime," said Higgins. "But, my favorite single moment was the half-court shot to beat Georgia Tech. It was one of those shots that I just knew had a chance to go in the moment it left my hands. I remember when I let it go I thought it looked good. Then, as it kept flying I thought more and more that it really had a shot. I don't think I realized at the time how special a moment that was. Now I look back and realize how cool a shot that was."
Higgins is a sales associate at Rice Buick Pontiac GMC on Kingston Pike. He says that he uses the tools he learned in athletics to keep a positive outlook in this tough economy.
"I'm used to dealing with adversity,'' said Higgins. "I think what athletics taught me is that there's always the next day. Things can only get better so you just have to keep your head up and keep plugging away. I did a lot of media interviews when I was at UT and that has helped me with communication. I've been here three years and love it."
Thursday was Higgins 28th birthday. He's a young man, but in talking with him you might think he's older than that.
"I've thought about playing ball overseas again but as you get older you're not quite as interested in the grind of it," he said. "The day-to-day practice and working out wears on you after a while. I'm not burned out on the game. I play in a lot of leagues around town and am enjoying it. I just don't know that I want to get back in the grind again. I will never say it's over because I'm an athlete. I'm a basketball player and I will be until the day comes that I can't run up and down the court anymore."
Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room, presented by Parkwest Medical Center, on Sunday at 10 p.m. on MyVLT2.
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Comments » 19
plzcomebackpeyton writes:
why was this story written? nobody cares... at all
warriorman86#667191 writes:
awful story
dc_4_ut writes:
Somebody besides Peyton Manning went to UT.
hodocka writes:
Personally, I always enjoy ready stories about former players. Often as in this story, you get to hear candid words from players about things they couldn't say during their playing days.
bclay1012 writes:
and i care why??
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
I see the swinging d*cks are out in force on this one. Yeah, the UNC loss sucked. blame part of that on Ron Slay not giving up the ball to CJ Black.
As for Jerry vs Buzz....Jerry is one of the few coaches I've EVER seen get thrown out for having 20 win seasons, recruiting players who went to NBA, and playing exciting ball. Buzz was a good ole Chistian, bible-thumpi' boy, and couldn't get his head around SEC basketball.
UT fans can be ..................peculiar.
TommyJack writes:
Packer for Pulitzer. The man can write.
murrayvol writes:
Don't think there is a Pulitzer for sports writers, but if one existed, Packer would be......a contender.
eb502us#225637 writes:
"Buzz was a good ole Chistian, bible-thumpi' boy, and couldn't get his head around SEC basketball."
Buzz was a LOSER, both on and off the court. Everytime I hear the man's name, I want to puke.
Buzz never ever took responsibility for anything, always blaming others (players, refs, injuries etc....) for the teams problems and losses. And his final act was the attempt to throw his assistants under the bus to save his own hide.
Please....no more articles on this sorry excuse for a man!!!
TommyJack writes:
Too bad, he coulda be a contenda.
eefor10c writes:
Packer has articles published by the KNS. What about the rest of you.
alfrizzle097 writes:
Jerry didn't get thrown out for 20 win seasons. He got thrown out because UT basketball fans were horrible (TBA was empty despite good teams) and he came out and said it. Something along the line of going to K-Mart if they didn't appreciate good basketball.
I do agre that Jerry was a good coach and hiring Buzz to replace him was a joke.
Pearl would be getting the same reaction that Jerry did if he weren't such a great showman.
Green was a good coach, bad media man.
Buzz was a bad coach, good media man.
Pearl is good at both.
1vavolfan writes:
If you don't like hearing about former basketball players then you probably jumped on the bandwagon the last couple of years and didn't follow it then.Higgins was a 4 year starter and a big part of the program that had alot of success.He's a good guy and stayed in the community as a productive citizen.Its good to hear some of the court stories that don't involve DUI's and burglary.
newtonrail writes:
He wrote about Jon Higgins whether you like the author or not. Trash about Buzz, etc. is irrelevant. I like to hear what former players are doing.
byobbio writes:
I thought this article was well-written. I like to hear how ex-VOLS are doing and this one was quite interesting. I always like Jon Higgins. He was a good player. i still think if he wasn't hurt during his senior season, we would have been picked to be in the big dance.
I read most of the comments above. It looks like they are now letting 12-year-olds take their recess trash talk to govolsextra. I'm sick of hearing everybody bit??ch about this coach and that coach. The problem is stuff happens. You deal with it. You move on. To say that this article is digging up old skeletons is just mis-information.
BYOBBIO
plzcomebackpeyton writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Ironcity writes:
The purpose wasn't so much a slam on Buzz but a different look at Jerry Green then most have. Green did a pretty good job at UT with recruiting and the actual game playing. He just sucked when it came time for dealing with the media and the fan expectations.
Ironcity writes:
I agree with everything you said. Buzz was and will always be the worst overall basketball coach UT has ever had and that includes Wade Houston.
doctorvol#211700 writes:
Higgins let us down by taking too many 4000 level classes at a time in an effort to graduate as a math major on time. Should have gotten better advice. It was not his "not going to class".
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