Tennessee came in at No. 10 on Rivals.com recruiting rankings with the spring backcourt additions of McDonald's All-American Scotty Hopson and junior college All-American Bobby Maze.
The Vols, who also signed 6-foot-10 post Phillip Jurick and 6-8 forward Renaldo Woolridge in the fall, were ranked No. 24 in the team recruiting rankings heading into the spring.
Other SEC schools in the top 30 of the final recruiting ranking were Florida (No. 9), Alabama (No. 13), Vanderbilt (No. 15), Arkansas (No. 16), Kentucky (No. 21) and Georgia (No. 28).
Preseason Ranking: The Vols are No. 9 in Rivals.com preseason top 25 rankings after finishing last season 31-5 and No. 5 in the final polls.
The Rivals preseason ranking, however, was put out before Duke Crews and Ramar Smith left the program and Maze signed.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Memorable moments in Pat Summitt's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 57
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
Shwew, for a minute there I thought this was a football article. Damn.
FeelVol writes:
Lets bypass football,and tip it up. No just kidding,I'm really interested in our new asst. coaches and their impact on the football team.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
yawn....oops, this article is about basketball.
GreerVol22 writes:
fire, passion, and enthusiasm. It's amazing what the personality of a coach, outside of his coaching ability, can have on a program.
DandyVol writes:
The article is contradictory in that Mike says we were 10th in Rivals after signing Scotty & Bobby, but at the end of the article Mike states this was before signing Bobby. Geeze, Mike, read what you're writing.
HotlantaVol writes:
Dandy - read it again.
Recruiting class ranking is #10 after all signees.
Pre-season ranking of the team (not recruiting) is #9 but it came out before the shake-ups.
redneckerson writes:
Geez, dandy, read what you're writing.
King53 writes:
i would have thought that this class would have been ranked higher. Not complaining though...sure beats the heck out of what we used to bring on campus. Go Bruce and Go Vols!!!
bobbarbilly writes:
Lookout recruiters, nationwide.Grab your recruits and git 'um inside... 'cause Bruce is loose.
CoverOrange writes:
Careful, Touch, Tennessee had a 19 point lead in the Sweet 16 (okay, not the NC game which is part of your point) and had their last shot in the hands of...not the SEC's MVP...a freshman with no outside jump shot and a penchant for missing driving layups. Bruce maybe a god but he has had one or two brain farts.
McMinnVol writes:
If we do sign Negedu, how many scholarships will be left for next year's class? If I am counting right, that leaves only one definite available(Childress is a senior) and we already have a commitment from Kenny Hall. Bruce must be counting on Tyler Smith and maybe someone else to turn pro early, or next year's class won't be much.
overatedvols writes:
Memphis top 5 recruiting class. Tenn. 10. What else is new. While you fellas debate things about our National Championship game maybe you should be thinking of ways to get past the sweet 16.
By the way, I have to believe Negedu is leaning
toward Memphis. His former coach at Ariz. was quoted a few weeks ago as saying it was between Memphis and Indiana. He says he wants to play for a team that can win a championship (another plus for Memphis) and he left Ariz because the coach that recruited him left. Guess where that coach is now....Memphis. Also Memphis is last on his visits and we have coach Cal. Cal prepares them for the NBA which is what they want. Cal has had us in the elite 8 for 2 years and the national champ game last year. Where is Tenn. the last 3 years? Cal didn't let Memphis choke the rest of the season away after the Tenn. game or look like a team that didn't belong in the ncaa tournament or as far as that goes, the sec tournament.
I'd say Tenn. had a bigger choke than 2 mins wouldn't you?
Congrats on your 10 ranking.
Sorry, was going to try and be nice but read all the insults so had to be factual. The truth isn't always easy.
volwalk writes:
oversensitive,
You are still feeling the pain---no one here is insulting choke state. You simply read what you wanted to hear and thus you took offense since you are so insecure. I guess it comes from the team you root for...they will always be second or third best in this state and will continue to disappoint their fans.
We are approaching June and you continue to show up on our site. It is so funny, because you got spanked by us the last couple of years and continue to show. It would be like one of us going to Florida's site and talk trash about winning the SEC east even though they spanked us head to head last year. Most fans that follow a legitimate program understand this concept.
wyomingvol writes:
Over,
You should find a way to beat The Vols, oh, and Kansas ;)
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Overated-
Congrats to you on your top 5 ranking, but are all your recruits going to make it to campus? I thought there were a couple of them that couldn't make a passing test score and might end up at prep school. Please make yourself usefull and fill me in on the latest on these dumb @$$es. What did you guys end up with, one 5-star and 3 three 4-stars? If we end up landing Negedu, we will have one 5-star, three 4-stars, and two 3-stars so, imo, our class will be just as good as yours just a little deeper. Also, the two three stars we are bringing in are very solid. A JuCo All-American PG in Bobby Maze and a two-time state champion in Daniel West. I'll put our class up against yours any day. Get ready to lose when you come to TBA. We're gonna show your little golden boy Tasmeek Shmevins what it means to play with the big boys!
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Oh btw, your little inside scoop on Negedu leaning towards Tiger High carries no weight. We all remember you telling us for weeks that Devin Eubanks was a Tiger. According to you it was a done deal, just had to get that LOI signed. And guess where he ended up? I guess if he figured that he wanted to be the upper echelon of C-USA, he might as well go ahead and jump ship for the Big East too. Better watch out for UAB. They're going to beat you guys this year and you and I both know it.
volboy81#211803 writes:
only a Tiger High fan would have a screen name trying to degrade the Vols (oh, wait, Peabody fans would do that too!)
orangebloodgmc writes:
Ov' thank you for your gracious congratulations. Yes, we are looking forward to another great year next year and we appreciate your good will and support.
Volunatic writes:
Memphis did really well in recruiting, considering the fact that they were the only 2nd best team in the state of Tennessee.
Cal's Steakhouse is terrible, by the way.
knoxtenor writes:
It's not the materials that you get to make your team, it's what you do with them. Bruce is Rumpelstiltskin: He can spin straw into pure gold!
overatedvols writes:
Anytime orangeb
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Big surprise! Overated failed, once again, to answer my question. Did those future "student" athletes of yours make the test scores to come play at Tiger High yet or are they off to prep school?
overatedvols writes:
OrangeBlood, I don't believe there are any academic problems at this time with any of the Tiger recruits. I believe you must be referring to Angel Garcia, another one of Memphis's star recruits. I know academics were an issue awhile back but I haven't heard anymore on it. I believe the one with those problems was Ramar Smith but he's gone now right? Thanks for the interest in the Tigers though.
Newsflash, Joey Dorsey who is participating in an NBA pre-draft camp in Florida has said he has the inside word that Rose will be going to Miami. The Heat were wanting Rose the most. It appears, if Dorsey is correct that Beasley will be the number 1 pick and go to Chicago.
Team C-USA (america's team) plays China tommorrow morning at 7am, 6 your time. I'm sure many of you will be sitting on the edges of your seats awaiting the outcome. From what I understand China was on the good side of many fouls called on cusa in the last game. Believe China had the edge in free throws. Something like 37 for China and 17 for cusa. What can you expect with the games being played in China. This is mainly for show and for Memphis trying to get attention over there. Cal, always on the job.
overatedvols writes:
Brownie, who knows. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I do know Lute Olsen said it was between Indiana and Memphis but that was awhile back. Not sure why he'd want to attend Ind. with their troubles. Maybe Pearl can steal him away. Guess we'll find out soon.
ncvol writes:
Our men's team is coming along with some new talent to fill in the gaps. Hope things go well for the team next season. Go Vols....
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Garcia ought to match up well with Woolridge in the years to come... that is if Garcia can get into school. We're stockpiling the talent just like you guys, so wins for the tigers over the Vols should be even harder to come by now that we're bringing in talent on the same level as you. The SEC which has been repeatedly dubbed as "weak" by the tiger fans mopped up this year across the board in recruiting with many schools in the top 20. I know one thing we can all enjoy seeing is Duke's class being rated down there in the high 20's! Coach K better get on the ball or the mighty Duke may fall from grace. Heaven forbid if they should ever stop getting every call under the sun, they'd really be in trouble!
utucla writes:
Hey "over ated"....what did Cal do his first three years in Memphis?....try one NCAA tourney appearance and two NIT appearances....let Pearl coach 7 years at UT and then you can compare....oh yeah, Pearl's first three years.....3 straight NCAA appearances....(1 32 and 2 16s)....and with inferior talent....need I say more?.......
bkgunter writes:
Yo, oprah-rated:
Facts:
1-UT beat Memphis---on the road, in the game of the year. Cal started gagging that night.
2-No choke is worse than choking away the national championship.
3-Cal could not have sounded dumber in explaining his freeze-up with the NC on the line and a TO in his holster.
4-Memphis has arguably done the least with the most talent in the country since Cal's arrival (sorry, those revered C-USA crowns can't help here).
5-You should be worried about the shrinking in-state talent gap since UT was capable of beating Memphis when Dane Bradshaw was a starting forward at UT.
6-Beating Memphis will get sweeter and sweeter.
KENVOL writes:
Hey overated what was Cals record his first 3 years. To be honest I really don't remember. I would be willing to bet that it was worse than Pearls.Cal is a great coach give the devil his due. But he cost Memphis both losses this season. The man can recruit though. And by the way I will look forward to beating ya'll again. It should be a great game though.
overatedvols writes:
bkgunter, a few corrections to your post.
1. Sorry but UT was not our game of the year. The national champ game was followed by the game against UCLA in the final 4 followed by Texas in the final 8 and Mich.State in the final 16. Tenn. game falls after those. It was your game of the year, not ours.
4)Memphis has done the least with the most talent?? They were in the national champ. game!
To the people that keep talking about the Vol win at Memphis. I believe the pressure finally just got the best of the team. They had been the hunted for most of the season, no. 1 for two months and the longest win streak and home win streak in the country. Then comes all the attention to 1 vs 2. I believe it finally got the best of them and they played their worst game of the year. Still, they almost beat you. If it wasn't for two Tigers battling for the same rebound and getting a travel call, they would have won the game. They would have been up 4 with the ball and I believe under 30 sec. remaining. So, in their worst played game they still almost won. Also being the hunted is much different from being the hunter. (See Vandy game for details on how the Vols handled being the hunted).
mempuss writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Raynoch writes:
woulda shoulda coulda.
So you're saying that the pressure of getting "hunted" by CUSA teams got to UM players? That is pretty lame.
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Overated-
There you go with the ifs and buts again. Nobody wants to hear that phooey man! If you guys hadn't come out white hot and hit every shot you threw up in the 1st half you would've gotten blown out, so quit acting like we lucked up and beat ya'll b/c you played your worst game ever. You ran in to the best team you'd faced all year to that point, we matched your intesity, and beat you on your home court. Plain and simple. I bet the team and Coach Cal aren't sitting around making excuses for themselves for losing that game. Why should you?
Also, see the Vandy record in Memorial Gym for your explaination of the Vandy loss. See the number of times Vandy has knocked off the #1 team in the country in that gym. I don't think the officials gave us a very fair shake in that game, but I'm certainly not going to sit here and make excuses for the team. We got beat. Plain and simple.
overatedvols writes:
Memp.., how ugly. You've hurt me again. Looks like another sleepless night. By the way, weren't you the one that created your second screen name so that you could talk your trash and not worry about being banned. I'm trying to remember who you really are..hmm... let's see. I think Vols85...yep.. believe that's you.
Raynoch, we played a lot of teams that weren't in cusa. Look at the schedule.
mempuss writes:
memphis = TRASH!!!!
Raynoch writes:
Looked at the schedule. Based on your definition of the "hunted" (UT vs. Vandy, being ranked #1), UM played CUSA, UT and Gonzaga while being "hunted". Awesome, you guys lost to the only top 25 team you played while being "hunted".
Notice how Gators, Bammers and Wildcats aren't on this board and how we are for the most part, not on your boards. Certainly not at the same frequency that you are on ours. It's because other colleges have more than just basketball to dwell on.
volwalk writes:
oversensitive,
go make your excuses somewhere else! I've got a feeling that if you guys would have somehow beat us that the ranking of that game may be a little higher on your list. If it doesn't mean that much to you, why do you continue on our site?
overatedvols writes:
Raynoch, what schedule did you look at? We started the season at number 4 and were the hunted and highest ranked team for most of the teams we played. Those teams included, Southern Cal, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Ariz., Oklahoma, Gonzaga, and that's not including UAB and Houston who were not bad teams. I was hoping to get to play Tenn. again but it would have taken 'both' teams making it to the national champ. game, oh well.
Ok people, there seems to be growing resentment of my presence. I can leave if you really want me to. I tried to do it before but Marcy_Ash came in and threw the insults and he was one of the reasons I was over here to begin with.
If I leave you know you'll miss it. Who else can you hurl your insults at. Well, I forgot, you guys fight among yourself a alot. Also who is going to set you guys straight. It will go something like this:
Poster 1:)UT is the greatest college basketball team on earth.
Poster 2) Coach Pearl is the greatest basketball coach on earth
Poster 3) I agree
Poster 4) I think coach Pearl will be in the hall of fame.
Then I come on and say something like:
overated: I honestly don't think your coach is among the top 1000 active coaches.
Then the fun starts...Without those posts you'd just continue with.
Poster 5) I think we have the top recruiting class in the country
Poster 6) Me too
Boring........
The number of posts will drop in half or more and there won't be the urge to post and set me straight. I'm sure the newspaper is happier with more visits/posts and I certainly generate them.
Anyway, just let me know and i'll vanish.
mempuss writes:
VANISH!!!!!!!
overatedvols writes:
Your vote doesn't count memp..
TopTenn writes:
FEDEX Forum home of the VOLS!!!!!!!!!!
Raynoch writes:
Your definition of "hunted" changed from your 3:49 post to your 5:47 post, so I'm not going to keep discussing that.
Your posts usually don't make sense and you rant more than state facts during arguments. Maybe if your school had anything more than a bball team, you would have more to talk about on your own board. Finally, your school begins to develop somewhat of a real rivalry with a major university and you can't help but stay on their board constantly and act like a fool.
On Campus Facility - 12
Off-campus facility borrowed from NBA team - 7
Good luck during football season.
Colliervol writes:
overrated, you can have all the top 5 recruiting classes you like. I'll take victory number #13 in the series this fall and additional indigestion from the Tiger faithful. (If Cal doesn't try to get out of the game, that is.) That is far more important to me than some nebulous recruiting ranking that some nerd in front of a laptop dreamed up.
On a separate subject, does anybody know a valid reason why we play Memphis in any sport? (And no, one basketball game every two years in Memphis just doesn't do it for me.) In my view, we gain nothing from it and I don't know why we even mess with them. Our budget isn't affected one way or the other and the grief we catch when they win one every blue moon isn't worth the aggravation to me. Nor is constantly listening to the delusional theory that they are now the second coming of the Wooden UCLA Dynasty. Cause if you were to just tune in to the discussion with no prior knowledge of the situation, that's what they would have you believe.
VolCane7979 writes:
Over, buddy, seriously... the season is LONG over. Go the __________ away. That UT-Memphis game must have dealt you a serious psychological blow. Again, why the need to come on here and try to stir some phooey? You have to be the biggest troll this site has ever seen.
Stop posting here.
VOLS85 writes:
I think overated's upset that I'm not giving him the attention that he wants...if he had any logic, then I would give him the time of day. poor little sap
"If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas"
golfballs03 writes:
It is an underrated recruiting class. Daniel West isn't rated because he didn't play AAU last year. He should be no worse than a 4 star, but these rankings don't matter anyway
LongtimeVol writes:
I think it is valuable to play Memphis in basketball to get exposure in the talent rich city, and unfortunately the price is a no-win situation playing them in football. The basketball pep rally at Jillian's and the game at FedEx Forum this year were awesome (Pearl was incredible that night)! Plus, so long as Memphis continues to have a great team playing them adds to our SOS.
Most important relative to this article, Bruce Pearl is a stud!
ballewville6 writes:
overated vol i thought you said in another post that memphis didnt want him and as far as national titals tennessee has a better chanch than mempus and the three man squad that is left at indiana,i hope negedu comes to ut but we dont need him as bad as memphis or indiand we have more talent coming back and coming in than both teams he would be an asset at tennessee im not like overated vol he alway says if they lose a recruit they were no good negedu is good but we need to save tha scholership for next year so we can get 2 good players to go along with dominic cheek out of jersey maby another mcdonalds all american
txvolsfan writes:
overrated, Did you say he wanted to play for a team that can CHOKE away a championship??? and live in a city with a mud pit and 150% humidity??? and a city that is a basically a landfill?
GO VOLS
TXVOLSFAN
ALLVOLGBO writes:
Overrated never did answer the question about what the "wonderful" calimary did his first few years at UofM. I have been wondering about that myself everytime he goes on and on about where they have been the last few years. Give Bruce a few years and he will have our boys there too; BUT HE WON"T CHOKE..he KNOWS how to use fouls to his advantage (Vandy does not count..weird court lol). And by the way Bruce is NOT GOD..nor is he a god; he is a FANTASTIC coach though :)
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