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UT Men's basketball head coach, Bruce Pearl, talks about players Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze and Josh Tabb. Watch »
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In one breath, Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said junior Josh Tabb "did really well" at point guard last Friday night.
In the next, Pearl tells a story about a Tabb turnover in the 76-66 win over Middle Tennessee State.
"On one (turnover) he about killed some child in the crowd with the ball he threw out of bounds,'' Pearl said. "It took out the third row.''
Tabb is playing point guard for the first time in three years, when he was at Cincinnati's Harmony Community Prep School.
Junior college All-American transfer Bobby Maze has done as well as Pearl expected as the starting point guard, averaging 9.3 points and 6.7 assists per game while committing just three turnovers this season.
But Maze can't play all of the minutes, and depth will factor in at the Old Spice Classic this week in Orlando, Fla. The 12th-ranked Vols open the tournament at noon Thursday (TV: ESPN2) against Siena, and will practice in Orlando today.
The Saints (2-0) feature the best backcourt in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and return all five starters from the team that eliminated Vanderbilt from the NCAA tournament last season.
Freshman Daniel West was originally slated to be the backup point guard for the Vols, but he was declared academically ineligible because of a validation issue with his standardized test score.
Pearl originally turned to junior wing J.P. Prince to take over the backup point guard duties. Prince played point guard for the Vols in the NCAA tournament last season and worked on it in the offseason.
But Pearl recently decided to allow Prince to focus on his duties at the wing, where he starts.
"There were a couple reasons, one, I felt J.P. plays so well with Bobby on the floor, and it gives me another breakdown guy, another cagey vet,'' Pearl said. "(Two), Josh running scout team for three weeks and running it well. And defensively he can help us a great deal.''
Tabb has spent his first two years coming off the bench as the Vols' defensive specialist, guarding the opposition's top perimeter player.
Tabb has five assists and two turnovers this season in the 30 minutes he has played in two games.
Prince, meanwhile, remains questionable for Thursday's game after turning his ankle against MTSU.
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
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Comments » 22
Irwin_Linker writes:
I think Tabb can excel at this position. His intensity on defense is unmatched. I'm looking forward to eating some turkey and watching us take it to Siena
bosox writes:
makes me cringe everytime i see prince taking it to the hole now, he seems injury prone or somethin...ice those ankles, we need them for march
scottmichaelmoore#540590 writes:
Fire John Adams...Griffith...you can stay.
for now...
knoxnewsuser writes:
Just to reiterate the point, his defense is great. That's what I think will make the difference. He doesn't have to be Chris Paul on offense if he plays the same defense he has played.
MANVOL writes:
In Pearl we trust, GO VOLS beat Sienna!
walt23tn writes:
I like the move. Tabb can guard the opponent's best guard and give Maze a rest. Also, I just think Prince is too one dimensional to run point. He always goes left, and has no jumper. If he doesn't go the hole he's not a threat. This team is DEEP, and I like Tabb moving to the backup point. GO VOLS! Have a great Thanksgiving Vol Nation!!
MrBamSeydu writes:
haha, Let's all go toilet paper Alimony's tonight.
CleverUserNameVol writes:
Tabb has definitely taken over as the defensive "pest" for the team. He looked good as back up point, even had a nice drive to basket and scored. I feel alot better about him being the backup. JP is a much better on the wing than he is playing point. He made me nervous in the tournament last year.
FeelVol writes:
I believe as well he's up to the task,Tabb brings so many good things to the table.This game will certainly expose our weaknesses as Coach Pearl might say.I'm more concerned about our half court offense as much as anything.Looking forward to hoops and ham.Go Vols!
dlns#209394 writes:
When will this site find someone capable of penning a decent headline. Honestly, at first glance it sounded like Steven Pearl was now the backup pg....come on, how does a coach push a player for a position??
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
you're an idiot to post something like this even if you were to suggest it was in jest---one of these rednecks will do it for laughs with the slightest suggestion
CoverOrange writes:
"Pearl Pulling Tabb" would have been a better tongue in cheek headline.
Or:
"Pearl Cracking Open a Tabb"
Or:
"Pearl Popping a Tabb"
CoverOrange writes:
I agree. If anybody actually damages somebody's property based on blind loyalty to a college coach I hope their house gets burned down. Okay, maybe not that drastic.
cincykid writes:
Seems to be a lot of bashing of Coach Pearl's ex going on here...isn't turnabout fair play? I mean if you read the article about his new multimillion dollar home in the paper a few weeks ago in which he descibed his new girlfriend as "the love of his life" I mean c'mon, is this guy still in high school? How do you think his children felt about that remark? I am from Boston and have many family members who are BC alums. I believe Bruce Pearl is a big phony...obviously he's on top of the world right now but his hubris (for lack of a better word) will eventually be his downfall. Maybe he'll pull a Pitino and go for that big NBA paycheck, fail miserably, then take a huge buyout and head back to college hoops. You better watch your wallet around BP folks - that means you Mike Hamilton. I predict his act will grow tired around here in another year or two anyway, the NBA notwithstanding. Hey, he can always get a job surreptitiously recording phone conversations, right?
volbballfan writes:
i love tabb in this position, if not the starter. he deserves the chance to show his game. he is the best defensive player we have and it seems as if he is often over looked for his over all game. i would not be surprised at all if he does not produce the overall best guard play we have this year.
blitzshoot writes:
Me ad the kids will be there tomorrow coach pulling for the Big Orange. Go Vols!
jasonn1970 writes:
Tabb has looked great so far at backup PG. And he is one of the better perimeter defenders in the SEC.
fundamentals83 writes:
I can't believe the nerve of you people: Posting before THE_VOL has a chance to weigh in. Look out, now you're gonna get it.
CleverUserNameVol writes:
Well, The_Vag!na did post that everyone on here were a bunch of dumb rednecks on the other strain. I find it hard to believe that's all he's got in his arsenal today. Maybe his boyfriend slept over last night and he's just tired.
Volumnus writes:
I agree, Tabb can do the job. He just needs game minutes and lots of them. They need to pull Bobby after the games are in hand and save his legs and protect him from being hurt and let Tabb get minutes. True a few kids in the front rows may need some dental work but pretty soon the parents will start moving them back up in the stands and over time fewer and fewer of them will feel threatend. It all comes with minutes, timing, familiarity with your team-mates and confidence. Tabb can get there. The situation however, belies the fact that we desperately need a solid, servicable, blue collar point guard who just might be a "STUDENT" athlete. Just a thought....
overatedvols writes:
Guys, let's stop for a moment and give thanks. Thanks for the Vols cupcake schedule up to this point that has allowed the Vols to go 3 and 0. Other teams have played real teams and we've been able to stretch the cupcake tour out. Let's be thankful.
trollhunter writes:
Put it this way, punk. Because of your crybabying and constant denials, my cousin has no time for you anymore and has sent out fans like me to eliminate you and your troll cult off this site for good.
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