Tennessee freshman Scotty Hopson hit the floor, and the Vols’ bench sprang to their feet.
It didn’t matter that Hopson didn’t come up with the ball in the loose-ball scramble, but his play represented what the team as a whole has been missing.
“Scotty had three assists, one turnover, a steal and he dove on the floor for a loose ball — that’s growth,’’ said UT coach Bruce Pearl after the No. 16 Vols (8-2) defeated Belmont 79-77 on Saturday. “The bench was excited to see him down there (on the floor). They hadn’t seen him down there all year.’’
Hopson, a McDonald’s All-American from Hopkinsville, Ky., vowed they’ll see more fire from him when the Vols return to action Dec. 29 against Louisiana-Lafayette at Thompson-Boling Arena after a holiday break.
“I saw opportunities to get to the ball today,’’ Hopson said. “We haven’t had enough times where people have been on the floor.
“A lot of people say I’m not tough — I know that’s the knock on me. But I’m going to show them I am.’’
Hopson’s three assists matched his career high and his three rebounds were one short of his career high through 10 games.
Hopson also combined with Cameron Tatum to hold Belmont’s leading scorer, Andy Wicke, to 0-for-4 shooting and three turnovers.
In addition to praising Hopson, Pearl gave kudos to Tatum, Josh Tabb and Bobby Maze for closing out a tight game with their defense. Belmont made just one field goal over the final three minutes.
“That’s (only) the second or third close game they’ve closed out — they haven’t done it before (this season),’’ Pearl said. “Last season (in the final minutes), Josh wasn’t on the floor, Cameron wasn’t on the floor, and Bobby was in Kansas.’’
Pearl praised freshman Renaldo Woolridge and Wayne Chism, too.
“We’re growing as a team. Renaldo Woolridge made three 3-point shots, (and) I know he took some bad shots, but he still made three,’’ Pearl said. “Wayne made big plays. Wayne only got six shots, and not one time did he say anything about getting him the ball and getting him a shot.
“Wayne didn’t say one word. I was impressed with him at Marquette, too, but today was another big step of growth.’’
Injury Update: Pearl said junior wing J.P. Prince still isn’t close to being ready to play and did not comment on his status for the Lafayette game.
“J.P. wasn’t close,’’ Pearl said. “This is the third game he’s missed in a crucial stretch, and we’ve played three NCAA tournament teams.’’
Senior forward Ryan Childress, who injured his knee in April, is back to shooting with the team and is expected to be cleared soon. Childress, however, has a ways to go before he’s ready to contribute meaningful minutes, Pearl said.
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Comments » 63
suPEARLman writes:
Finally some emotion from these guys. Keep it going!
GO VOLS!!
gohawks1 writes:
Lady Vols up by 9 at the half against #4 Stanford. Lookin' good...
NorthwestVol writes:
I realize Childress is limited talent wise, but in the past he has brought energy off the bench. It would make a nice story to see him return for meaningful minutes. Best of luck Ryan.
eefor10c writes:
Can anyone explain to me why Ryan Childress is not getting any playing time but Steven Pearl IS getting playing time? That is anything but he is the coaches son.
Ironcity writes:
What I see is coach Pearl praising in public, but I have got to believe he is wearing them out in practice. Their still far behind any team coach has had when it comes to team defense and the freshman in my opinion just look unsure of themselves on defense. What I notice from our freshman is when they get beat off the dribble they just turn and watch. They don't try to get back into the play. Hopefully as time goes on that will change and that kayos I am use to seeing on defense will return.
TooLegit2Quit writes:
Once these guys learn some consistency we'll be good to go....enjoy the Holidays, then get back in the gym and put in the effort.
Ironcity writes:
Childress is hurt and has not been cleared to play.
TooLegit2Quit writes:
I'm with you for why Pearl is in the game, it's beyond me....Give Negedu that extra time or something
miamiVOL writes:
he did airball a free throw, LOL
murrayvol writes:
Try reading the last graph of this article for openers.
OrangePower11 writes:
I like this young man (Hopson) owning up to his "knocks" and taking his critics head on instead of taking the route so many other athletes have taken...This team is young, give them a little time, there are going to be bumps, lumps and dumps. Trust Bruce and this team to be ready come tourney time...Both of them.
Orangeblood13 writes:
keep playin hard guys, you'll be fine.
Only thing you can do is just play hard!
Good things happen
We will see
jturne44 writes:
read the damn article... he is still working back to game speed due to the knee injury in april...
bigt4ut writes:
Steven pearl still should not be playing...its wrong
BobbyGraham writes:
i was thinking the same thing General. when i think of one and done, i think of Kevin Durant or Greg Oden or Derrick Rose. Right now, Hopson looks lucky to be three and done.
richvol writes:
Coach has done so much for UT and it's program I find it hard to criticize his playing of his son. However,when I coached my boys in baseball I made sure they were the best at whatever position they aspired to before I just gave them the playing time.
Negedu needs to be playing and the more he plays the better he will be. The only minutes that stand out to me as available is the minutes given to Steven. Negedu can be a tremendous player for us.
I noticed Hopson's effort to get to that ball...it's a start.
Our opponents seem to get a lot of easy uncontested baskets while we have to work like a dog to even get a shot off at times. I noticed Tyler being triple teamed whenever he caught the ball Saturday. That means at least two teammates were open yet we still can't get the ball to anyone for an easy shot.
There is an awful lot of standing going on down low while we throw the ball back and forth on the perimeter.
If Chism,Negedu,Prince and Tyler Smith were turned loose in the paint for Maze to get them the ball? I sure would like to see that...and it would be a good rebounding group.
BigDave1964 writes:
Do you people not read the article, or can you just not read? With some of the grammar on here, you never know. Someone earlier said kayos instead of chaos, what a moron... Learn to spell, you make all us East Tennesseans look bad.
WVVOLFAN writes:
"Senior forward Ryan Childress, who injured his knee in April, is back to shooting with the team and is expected to be cleared soon. Childress, however, has a ways to go before he’s ready to contribute meaningful minutes, Pearl said."
i would say when chilly comes back, SP mins will fall off.
WVVOLFAN writes:
who made you school marm?
Waldorf writes:
Probably not. The younger Pearl got those 2-4 minutes a games last year as well near the end of the first half with a healthy Childress and Tabb sitting the bench. It was just as bad then as it is now.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
CBP explained part of it to you if you had bothered to read the article. I suspect Steve's minutes will go down when JP returns. In the meantime, Steve is one of the few CBP can count on to give full effort all the time on defense.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
The frosh are still not smart enough or experienced enough to understand that they have to move every time the ball moves, not just when their man moves. They just don't get it that they have to anticipate where the ball MIGHT go. If a help-side defender shows himself in the gaps when the ball-handler looks to penetrate, most of the time he won't even TRY to penetrate; then they won't have to worry about trying to catch up after the guy is already putting it up.
pax_americana writes:
I agree. There is absolutely no excuse for the Coach to play his non-talented son, who clearly does not possess D-1 talent. However, ask yourself this question: what would you do if it were you son? I tend to think most of us would find him some playing time. Not necessarily a lot, just some.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I agree that Negedu needs more minutes, but he and Steve Pearl don't play the same position--Negedu is a post man and Pearl is a wing player. Your point about too much standing around on offense is well-taken. Just as I said above about defensive movement, offensive players must move every time the ball moves. The basic key is the same: every time the ball moves, the geometry of the floor changes--different angles for passes, drives, and shots. There is literally never a time when ANY player should stand in one place on the court for more than a couple of seconds; just a step or so toward an open area makes a LOT of difference. With our young guys, they see no need to move unless they know a pass is coming to THEM or their man is trying to score on THEM. BTW, while I agree that we need to attack in the lane more on offense, there is no room for all that crowd you mentioned to be in there at the same time, not to mention all the defenders they would bring with them.
overatedvols writes:
Special Bonus: That's right fans, today at 12 the Tigers take on mighty Drexel. No tv but as with most games it's available on the internet for free www.channelsurfing.net
Tune in to see if the Tigers can finally manage some kind of chemistry or somebody that can hit a shot. The good news about the Tigers is, as bad as they have looked they have only lost to ranked teams and all the games were close.
On the other hand..........
I tuned in to see the Vols horrible showing against, who was it.. Butler..no that's another no name team the vols always struggle with.. Belmont. I kept waiting on the vols to pull away from the mighty 4-3 Belmont team. It never happened. Seems average teams are made to look great when they play the Vols.
WVVOLFAN writes:
The engine of the CUPCAKE TRAIN
UT 66 MSU62 AT MEMPHIS
UT 90 Georgetown 78
MSU 70 Georgetown 79
Cupcake Train (CUSA Schedule) pulls out 1/7/09 vs Marshall
overatedvols writes:
Ladies and Gentlemen we are experiencing some problems on our cupcake tour. We've had a few breakdowns along the way I understand that some of you are giving up and wanting a refund. There will be no refunds. We are busy trying to repair things and feel we'll be running smooth by next weeks cupcake game of the week. We're sorry for the derailment at Temple but we're confident things will be ok for the Louisanna Laf. final stop. We are busy trying to correct the problems right now.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Nah, I'm sure I can find something better to do whenever it is that the Tiggers play again. By the way, your guys are KILLING our RPI right now. As it is, all we will get from playing you is national air time and the mild satisfaction of proving yet again that WE OWN YOU.
NO_DIGGITY writes:
Would rather watch water freeze.
trollhunter writes:
Special Note: I'll be coming to beatdown your door this Christmas and you can forget Santa to visit you this year.
So before my brother comes by to drop off your civil warrant, why don't you clean up all that orange left on your floor from this past Saturday night.
trollhunter writes:
Ladies and Gentlemen: we are experiencing major arsebeating conditions performed from a team from the Big East who put on a shellacking at the trash dump better known as FedEx Center,where the postgame festivities took place along the bars lined near the arena. Expect another beatdown by orange in late January.
trollhunter writes:
What are you going to do now overretardedarshole, run to another post? We are going to be there when you show up and the warrant will be waiting.
jasonn1970 writes:
Childress could be a big boost knocking down some 3s off the bench when he gets healthy. This team has been a little inconsistent withn the perimeter shooting so far.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Childress's three-point percentage is no better than Chism's and he is not the defender and rebounder that Chism is at his best. He did play with energy and enthusiasm in the one season where he had good minutes, but I doubt he has much left after all his injuries and time away from the game.
Waldorf writes:
Actually I can say no, I would not.
jmatt62 writes:
If the young man doesn't have the talent, he shouldn't be on the floor, regardless if his name is Pearl, Haslam, or Neyland. Bottom line should be "Best Players Play", period. However, BP can call the shots and nobody's gonna question him with his record.
overatedvols writes:
Final score Memphis 87 Drexel 49. Tigers finally showing what they have the potential to do. They know how to
take care of cupcake teams such as Drexel or Belmont etc.
I'd say the Tigers and vols are pretty close right now as far as the quality of their play. The difference is that Memphis has been totally confused, no chemistry and shooting horribly. The vols haven't had all those problems and they still are not looking good. Tigers have a lot of potential when they come together as a unit and finally gel. Vols, I think they may be as good as they are going to be. I'd probably start looking toward next season.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
you know WVVOLFAN, I'm a vol but still I say trashtalkin by you and others so early into a season is both rediculous and stupid. If one has a cupcake schedule the best they can do with it is win------doesnt prove them good but it also doesnt prove them not good --all they can do with it is just win. Our beating Memphis last year is of little meaningful consequence considering they make it to the NC game and we didnt suggesting we were better that 1 nite but they were better in general.
Some of you guys need to quit concerning yourself so much with Memphis and Kentucky and concern yourself with Tenn---we have our own problems.
Trash talkin my anyone--memphis/kent included-- makes one look rediculous and little stupid now------------and always possibly even more stupid later
We arent good enough right now this early to be talkin trash to respectable programs
Madkels writes:
Did you read the article?
trollhunter writes:
YOUR FINAL SCORE:
GUILTY
SENTENCE:
ME BEING SENT OUT TO HUNT YOU DOWN WITH A BOUNTY SET ON YOUR HEAD.
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR NEXT GAME. THE BOTTOM LINE YOUR GUYS SUCK AND YOUR TRESSPASSING ON THE NATION'S PROPERTY.
WVVOLFAN writes:
if you will relax and look at my post, there is no trash talk. it has evolved over the past few months in response to 'overatedvols'. he is the one that coined the phrase 'cupcake train'. he trash talks everyday, and this is my response to him. he has yet to answer me because he can't. ut beat msu last year, they lost to georgetown after UT beat them. msu's conference schedule is much weaker than UT's non conference schedule. how is simply stateing the facts trash talking? you need to quit being so concerned about others, and maybe concentrate on not trash talking to other vol fans. your response leads me to believe you may be a closet msu fan and have been hurt by my staement of fact.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
OrangeMaelstrom writes:
Yeah, I have to say that I agree with WVVOLFAN. The Memphis fans talk more trash than ANYBODY in the country. And I wouldn't mind so much if they weren't so stupid and misinformed by coming onto a UT-centric board and making inane comments. So, fighting fire with a little fire is ok.
So, here I go...Tiger High fans- we have beaten you the last two seasons. DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THIS? If you're going to come on to this board, fess up to the fact that you have lost these games. This will make you look a tad less idiotic. You'll still be an idiot, of course. Overratedvols- just once, can you actually allow yourself to look at the scores from the last two years of UT-Memphis games. Tennessee won. Memphis lost. Repeat after me...good tiger...
Now, for some analysis on this year...
Here are the facts-
Memphis is 7-3 so far this year. Tennessee is 8-2. Both teams have lost games to quality opponents- UT has lost to Gonzaga and Temple. I think Gonzaga may be a Final Four team. Mem has lost to Xavier, GTown and Syracuse. The 'Cuse continues to impress me, at least when they play a good team. The average RPI of the teams Memphis has beaten is 167.43. For Tennessee, it is 154.63. So, UT has a better record against slightly better competition. Why don't we leave it at that? Look, UT goes to Kansas and hosts Gonzaga the week after New Years. We'll know much more about what this team is made of after that. That is no cupcake train schedule. Memphis has got a solid Cincy team at home next week and then they can put on cruise control until they host always-dangerous UAB on 1/17. Then, after that, let's start talking UT-Memphis (1/24/09).
As for Tennessee, we definitely have our own problems. Reverse dunks and alley-oops in tight ball games against admittedly good teams but, let's face it, teams we should be beating by a larger margin is disconcerting. We need better help defense and some semblance of a half-court offense. If that happens, this team could be special, as in Elite Eight. Maybe...
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
all I'm saying is that you guys place more importancein beating Memphis than you do in advancing further in the tourney which they did------of the 2 I'd myself would prefer the later------to claim we were a better team last year cause we beat them ( yes we were better that nite) when they advanced deeper than us (better against the field)is just not logical unbiased thinking---I'm a vol but I'm going to be fair about it all the same---numbers dont lie--they were the second best team in country last year and we werent---------thats the measuring stick how far u get in the tourney
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
but i will agree with you on rather seeing boring solid defense than exciting reverse-sometimes missed-dunks and exciting alley-oop turnovers------agreed, lets save that for when we are comfortably ahead with game not in doubt
WVVOLFAN writes:
2nd place is first loser. good for them that went further in the tournament than UT did. big deal, they still lost. when a 'overated' comes on and talks trash, i answer with facts. plain and simply. i don't believe in trash talking myself, especially on another schools board and doing it. that i beleive shows a lack of class. as long as he comes on and blows msu's horn. i'll answer him with facts. if you don't like that, then skip over. doesn't hurt my feelings.
kindest regards
Colliervol writes:
Uh, yaba, we aren't the ones venturing on their site spouting nonsense. Anytime an interloper appears, they do it at their own peril. Some just don't realize it when they are getting abused.
And since when is Memphis "respectable"? Evidently, you don't live down here.
Colliervol writes:
Yep, both teams are still trying to find themselves. That's for sure. But you might as well settle back and relax now. Saturday was your last chance at getting a top 25 win this season and that went out the window. My guess is that Memphis will still run off 14 or 15 wins in that mess you call a conference and still get a decent seed (5 or 6) but that's about it. Pay attention to the Vols though. Our season will at least be entertaining. The rest of the season has been decided for Memphis. No need to watch any longer.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Well said! Trash-talk always "tastes" better going out than it does going back down! I for one thought we would be better than this by now, but CBP warned us it might take a while. I guess we should just learn to trust him and let the season unfold as it may. No reason why we can't all hope for the best, though!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Of course all of us Vol fans want to advance further in the tourney, and most of us would even (gulp!) absorb a loss to the Tiggers to do it. You are right that we let overated get to us more than we should. I even replied to him on this thread despite my vow earlier in the season to ignore him. He just wants to yank our chain; it is to our discredit that we let him do it.
Colliervol writes:
Sure overrated likes to come over here and spout off. But, deep down, all his talk is just more of that Memphis inferiority (aka little brother) complex. (Trust me when I tell you that. I've lived around it for 30 years.) And he knows it too. As I've told him, info on Memphis is only relevant around here about a day before we play them because they are just another non-conference game.
Personally John, I don't place any more importance on the Memphis game than I do on Georgetown, Gonzaga or any other top 30 game. It's nice for local Shelby County bragging rights when we win but, if we lose, it doesn't mean any more in the grand scheme than if we lose to Gonzaga. Frankly, I don't know why we even bother playing them but we're stuck until Bruce gets wise and shuts it off.
They are not an SEC team and that is always first and foremost in my mind. In football, basketball or underwater bb stacking, if you take care of business there, the other stuff works itself out. The non-conference games either pad the win column or give you a chance to help your RPI.
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