Strange: In the end, UT could have been Georgia

With four minutes, 41 seconds on the scoreboard clock Saturday night, Tennessee and Georgia huddled at their respective benches during a media timeout.

Maybe they didn't notice the mass exodus in the stands. It was a 20-point game, the outcome long since determined. A lot of Tennessee fans had seen enough.

I'm not knocking anyone for leaving early. That's their call.

But I can better understand the ones who stayed until the end.

Tennessee basketball, men's edition, has it going on right now.

At tipoff, there were 21,099 folks who came to Thompson-Boling Arena to be a part of what coach Bruce Pearl has wrought in his nearly three years here.

An 85-69 win over Georgia - and it wasn't really that close - by a third-ranked team before another sellout crowd.

That's 27 consecutive homecourt wins. That's five consecutive 20,000-plus crowds.

"I think we need to enjoy every moment and enjoy every game and realize this is a neat time to be a Tennessee basketball fan,'' said Mike Hamilton.

Hamilton, of course, is the men's athletic director. This time three years ago he was agonizing over what to do about Buzz Peterson.

Hamilton agonized right up to the last day, then made the call to jettison Peterson in hopes of taking the program to a higher level.

In hindsight, hiring Pearl looks like the greatest administrative move in the history of UT athletics.

The Vols have been a phenomenon since virtually the opening tip of Pearl's first game. They're on their way to a third consecutive NCAA tournament.

Attendance, national media attention, donors and the facilities they fund, you name it. Everyone has stepped it up.

But make sure you stop and smell the roses, Tennessee fan. Enjoy the moment. It didn't have to turn out like this.

It could have turned out like, well, like Georgia.

Not to pick on the Bulldogs or their coach, Dennis Felton, an honorable man who has many indications of being a fine coach.

But Georgia is a relevant yardstick. The Bulldogs, SEC East neighbors, were in the house Saturday night. We got a look at the state of their union.

Felton is in his fifth year at Georgia. This loss leaves him 69-69.

His teams have been to two NITs, no NCAA tournaments. Attendance at Stegeman Coliseum is such that tickets are available for UT fans by the busload to come on down when the Vols visit. That's exactly what happened two years ago.

To be fair, Felton has had some tough luck. He dismissed Takais Brown and Mike Mercer, two of his best players, before the season. His best signee, Louis Williams, went directly to the NBA three years ago.

Pearl, on the other hand, has transfers like Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince come knock on his door wanting to get in on the action.

In the postgame session, I asked Felton's take of the current state of Tennessee's program. He declined.

"I'm not interested in assessing their program,'' he said.

Asked to assess his own, he offered two quiet words: "Steady climbing.''

Steady doesn't exactly describe the climb at Tennessee since Pearl arrived. Meteoric would be more like it.

"We need to realize,'' said Hamilton, "the way the change took place and the success we've had so quickly is not the rule in college athletics.

"It's the exception. I've been around long enough to realize that.''

I wonder if everyone does.

Fans are entitled to leave with five minutes to go in the game. They bought the ticket.

I can remember in the 1990s, late in an SEC game, when a UT player drove to the basket only to have an opponent swat his shot all the way over press row.

As he smacked the shot away, the opponent exclaimed, with perfect timing, "Get that (stuff) out of here.''

His words rang out loud and clear. It was that quiet, the crowd that sparse.

Of course, back then they hadn't all left early. They hadn't come in the first place.

It's different now, night-and-day different. I can understand the ones who stay until the buzzer.

They must remember how it used to be. They must appreciate how it is.

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

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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