Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl’s act is nothing new to Knoxville, but like any coach or entertainer he realizes the importance of keeping up with the times and staying fresh.
“At the end of every season, or cycle, you have to start the next year with a new energy,’’ Pearl said Thursday. “We lost too many games at home last season, and the team did not over-achieve.
“We have to train harder, and I have to bring that new energy just like there was a coaching change.’’
Pearl said he looks forward to junior college point guard Melvin Goins adding a new dimension and complementing incumbent Bobby Maze next season.
“Melvin is more of a breakdown guy than Bobby and he’s cleaner in transition as far as his passing,’’ Pearl said of the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Mount San Jacinto (Calif.) transfer. “His talent level is no higher than Bobby’s or anyone else we have, but he brings us a toughness as well as other qualities that make us better at the position.’’
Pearl said the Vols’ point guard play ranked in the bottom half of the SEC last season, but he also said without Maze’s contributions UT would have finished fourth in the SEC East.
As for the ramifications of Goins’ signing, Pearl is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Josh Tabb may or not continue to play point guard, and Daniel West may or may not re-join the team.
“I like guys to carve out their roles, so where does Josh take himself?’’ Pearl said. “If Josh is a defensive stopper, than stop somebody consistently. Josh improved his 3-point shot greatly; he made a shot against Marquette that gave us the game.
“Maybe he’ll push Scotty (Hopson) and Cam (Tatum) at the two, or maybe J.P. (Prince) will feel more competition at the three.’’
West, a freshman point guard who has paid his own way to stay enrolled at UT once declared academically ineligible and off scholarship in October, must weigh his options.
“The decision to bring him back is very much like the decision to bring him in,’’ Pearl said, referring to West’s recruitment out of Saginaw, Mich. “He’s a student at the University of Tennessee and he’s trying to do something to put himself in position where there’s a chance for him to come back to Tennessee or go somewhere else.
“We haven’t made a decision on that.’’
The UT coaching staff made it clear to West there was no guarantee he would return to scholarship status.
If junior forward Tyler Smith returns for his senior season, there would be no scholarship available for West.
Smith has yet to sign with an agent or even declare for the NBA Draft.
Pearl reiterated it would be in Smith’s best interest to test the waters even if he ultimately decides to return.
“I really want him to see if he can play himself into the (NBA Draft’s) first round,’’ Pearl said, referring to Smith’s option of participating in NBA camps without forfeiting eligibility. “He’s doing a good job in the classroom, and he’s at all of our team’s workouts.
“This has got to play itself out. If he does come back, he’ll be better having tried and failed then not tried and wondering.’’
Pearl said he’s excited about returning more players to this team than any other in his career and said Goins’ addition was with one eye on the future.
“You look at next year’s projected (recruiting) class, and you have to have sensitivity to that class,’’ Pearl said, referring to the 2010 commitments UT has from three guards, including the No. 2 point guard in the nation, Josh Selby. “The kids pay attention to what’s coming in ahead of them and behind them.’’
Getting Jiggy: Pearl said he had no intention of his Monday night Volscars’ rap hitting the airwaves on ESPN.
“If I thought it was going to get on ESPN, I probably wouldn’t have done it,’’ Pearl said. “It was a closed door, behind the scenes, student-athlete function that was not open to the general public.’’
Pearl’s not upset — he’s quick to acknowledge he doesn’t take himself too seriously — but he’s also conscientious of his role as a UT representative.
“I don’t care what people say other than our Tennessee fans,’’ Pearl said. “I hope our fans understand we were at the Volscars, like the Oscars, and there were skits and dances and songs.
“We were just getting jiggy with it.’’
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 52
Ironcity writes:
Coach, you are our coach and I am proud of how you represent my school.
PureOrange writes:
Coach Pearl is a great part of UT. His willingness to laugh at himself and allow others to have a laugh is a great gift to the university and its fans. Other schools only wish they had him, but they don't: we do!
b_neas writes:
read the article again....he said DID NOT over achieve.....you must watch a game like you read articles....half as@
pete_hastings#206889 writes:
TaterVol - Pearl agree with you: "This team did not overachieve". What are you complaining about?
pete_hastings#206889 writes:
Sorry, b_neas, we made the same point, but you posted faster. Congrats.
allvol9 writes:
Love the excitement Pearl has brought to UT basketball....something we have not had in forever. So we underachieved this year...next year I expect great things for us. Hope Tyler stays though....it would be great for UT and Tyler also. Go Vols!
bugman (Inactive) writes:
you're just plain dumb. admit you were wrong and move on pal.
floridavolsfan writes:
Interlopers love CBP...Can never believe the bones!
ajbake writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
gbeejr#1354500 writes:
Hmmmm.......coach says D.West not guaranteed scholly even if he becomes eligible. Is it numbers or is D.West not good enough? Maybe both but gotta believe if he was really good they would find a way to keep him. Too bad in either case since D.West is paying his own way. Does anyone know if Steven Pearl is now on scholarship?
eefor10c writes:
What's the baggage from the new point guard? First division one then JC now we get him. The way Pearl strung Skylar McBee along, apparently while saying "we don't have a scholarship" and then suddenly gives a scholarship to a very short point guard is shameless!
rclarkvols#224537 writes:
I would say Steven Pearl is not on scholarship because if I am correct the coaches kids attend the university free. That's why Allen Houston was technically a walk on.
volhallathunder writes:
Calm down, no need to shout. Not everyone follows basketball recruiting closely and a few people have problems with reading comprehension. Not a reason to get your blood pressure up. Take a deep breath and relax.
And it's really uncalled for in slamming public schools. Teaching is a noble profession.
BTW, Aaron Craft is another point guard that Bruce is bringing in for the 2010 class. Hard-nosed kid from Ohio who is willing to play defense.
I think West has become an afterthought at this juncture.
cobbwebb writes:
florrible- im with you brother, all my friends growing up were tarheel fans, duke fans, hell even lsu fans when shaq was there! nope not me, i was all vol, taking heat from my buddies! so yeah get off bruce, you johnny come latelys, whom dont remember the 5-22 season, or the 60 pt. beatdown by KY! in other news, i heard that dominique ferguson, class of 2010(#6 ranked) visited knoxville this past weekend! i cannot find if this is true or not, however he now list UT! he was gillispies first commit at KY. whom has reopened his recruitment! this kid teamed with selby would be a nice start to a top class for 2010!
UTandETSUfan writes:
Here is an Eric Berry interview (sorry if its already been posted somewhere)
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/con...
txvolsfan writes:
he said they didn't overachieve you IDIOT
MrBamSeydu writes:
haha, How could anyone possibly NOT enjoy what Pearl did with the rapping? If you hate on that, you are a boring person who takes life too seriously.
Bruce Pearl is the man, and I for one would rather someone be themself than to wear a buttoned-down suit all the time with a stone-cold face (not pointing any fingers John Calipari).
murrayvol writes:
We all noticed. 3-15 nights will do that. Hard to score in Tyler's area when there's little or no help from the perimeter.
Brentwoodvol writes:
You know people like you kill me. We never got to have so much fun with BBall before CBP came to UT. You need to remember what it was like and not make such stupid comments like mediocre is a great thing. It will take him some years to get it right but he will take us to a high level year after year. As long as he doesn't listen to people like you.
Brentwoodvol writes:
Well said brother. I feel your pain. What a good bunch of players you listed that brought a smile to my face. I haven't thought about some of those guys in a while. I'm not sure why some of the stupid comments get under my skin either but some do!!!!
Slystone writes:
Aren't the Vols also recruiting Joe Jackson out of Memphis?
VAvolfanRON writes:
Cat.....i think it's gonna be good rivalry.....but, of course you know how we feel about Cal...sort of slimy, like meyer,....if he keeps its respectable like your past coaches......it will be a fun cross state game!!!!
VAvolfanRON writes:
not only him.....but elvis costello
hehe..wonder how many will get this
VAvolfanRON writes:
im sure i read an earlier post about settling for mediocre...how long has this guy been around?....just like the lack of respect for fulmer....too young to remember..
please....if you do not support your team....NO MATTER WHAT.....then do not put FAN....in your name.......
sorry....venting
VAvolfanRON writes:
lmao...then in 2 years we'll be complaining that we dont have forwards!!!!!....
im j/k
VAvolfanRON writes:
nice...i was wondering!!!....5 guys named moe??...dont answer that!!!
Volumnus writes:
I concurr that the treatment of McBee was shabby at best. Where has he ended up? I am pulling for the young man. He was not an answer to PG or defense, but is a pure shooter and should do well. The situation that D. West was put into and is now slowly being hung out to dry from is one to be ashamed of as well. The recruiter in charge should have crossed the T's and dotted the I's before the young man showed up and enrolled. Someone did not check behind him. Now it sounds as if they are quietly pushing him aside or they have written him off academically. I want the best for my Alma Mater and the program, but these are young men, teenagers and they are "trusting" the recruiters to have their best interest at heart. Not all of them know to be skeptical.
Alwaysavol writes:
Florrible,
I'm not a naysayer - I'm a big CBP fan - but I can tell you that the last time the Vols went to the NCAA tournament four years in a row was not all that long ago, though it might seem like it. It was 1998-2001, the Jerry Green era.
MidTennVol writes:
Both of you guys, this West situation is what jumped out at me also. I just don't understand it.
Here's a kid who BP recruited for a critical need. He's apparently a good student. UT offers him a scholarship.
Then, just before he enrolls, there's a glitch with a test he's taken. He can't enroll on the scholarship or even play ball.
He decides to pay his own way as a private student. He enrolls. He's test glitch is fixed. But he still can't play ball.
And now he's swinging in the wind???
It's not like this kid moved from Pulaski to do this. He's a long way from home.
Am I missing something here? Why did the staff tell him that they couldn't guarantee him his scholarship? And what about this textbook doubletalk?
“The decision to bring him back is very much like the decision to bring him in,’’ Pearl said, referring to West’s recruitment out of Saginaw, Mich. “He’s a student at the University of Tennessee and he’s trying to do something to put himself in position where there’s a chance for him to come back to Tennessee or go somewhere else.
“We haven’t made a decision on that.’’
The UT coaching staff made it clear to West there was no guarantee he would return to scholarship status."
I know nothing about the McBee situation, but this sitchie with Daniel West really smells to high heaven. Bruce, please fix this.
volhallathunder writes:
How would you propose he fixes it if West is still ineligible academically to play in the SEC? The NCAA were the decision makers on the West deal, not Pearl. And nothing has been stated publicly that he has met the criteria to regain and maintain his eligibility.
Plus there were no guarantees for West when he decided to move here and pay his own way:
"The UT coaching staff made it clear to West there was no guarantee he would return to scholarship status."
And finally, as Griffith stated:
"The question isn't if West will be taken off the roster - it is, Will he be able to find a spot onto it? West put himself in this situation, and now it's up to him to find a way out of it."
This isn't like the Gerald Williams football situation where they have the luxury of holding a roster spot open for 3 years.
Bigger_Al writes:
Coach, get jiggy all you want! We love your energy and enthusiasm, and thanks for staying as our coach!
richvol writes:
Bruce has done a terrific job since arriving at Tennessee in spite of the team's lack of discipline and underachieving this past season. Sharing the SEC east division and making the NCAA tournament is pretty heady stuff considering UT's past basketball accomplishments.
Pearl's comments are encouraging about next year but I have to take a wait and see approach about believing he will get control of this group. There were entirely too many bonehead and selfish plays,and players,last season and he never held them accountable for it...at least in an effective way.
You just don't see the teams that qualify for the NCAA's make the kind of mistakes that we made last year and it was frustrating for most UT fans. I wish him every success and hope he does the following:
Get these guys in shape to play pressure defense.
Share the ball and communicate with one another.
Bench ANYONE that does not listen to coaching.
MidTennVol writes:
Okay. Good points, although I would disagree with Griffith's claim that West "put himself in this situation."
Maybe I've missed it, I've seen nothing reported, no evidence to suggest that at all. Did West do something wrong? Did he cheat on the test? Was he accused of some impropriety?
If not, if the kid did everything right, then he deserves a fair shake. BP recruited him, offered him a scholarship, the kid apparently did everything he was supposed to do, and now he's swinging in the wind.
Admittedly, I don't have all the facts. All I know is what I read. And the perception, to me at least, is that something stinks.
Yes, they didn't guarantee him the scholarship would still be there.
But if the kid was your son and did nothing wrong, and then worked like crazy to straighten out his academics, how would you feel right now? This kid chose UT over Memphis and Kentucky.
Maybe West can walk on and earn a scholarship by beating out Maze. Maybe that's what BP is dangling in front of him.
Orangeblood13 writes:
In Bruce we trust
givehim6 writes:
New season, new contract. The guys looked a bit slowish to start off with and didn't pick up momentum until the end of season then it was hit and miss. Let's try to start hot and stay hot all season. Maybe some new conditioning.
suPEARLman writes:
Just keep doing Bruce, suPEARLman.
volhallathunder writes:
"But if the kid was your son and did nothing wrong, and then worked like crazy to straighten out his academics, how would you feel right now?"
Agreed, but that's the problem with people getting on Pearl's case about this too much too soon, its unknown whether West has gotten his academics straightened out and Pearl can't really comment on it either way. It may be that he hasn't done anything wrong, just not getting everything done right like it needs to be done on the academic side.
smokyredbone writes:
READ THE ARTICLE DUMBAZZ! HE SAID THEY DID-NOT OVER ACHIEVE,LIKE ALL OF HIS PAST TENN TEAMS!!! MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET SOMEONE TO READ FOR YOU BEFORE YOU START RUNNING THAT DI-KSU-KER!
smokyredbone writes:
Another dumbazz!!!!STFU and go somewhere else troll,like back under the bridge!
SGidds writes:
Exactly what has Coach done to "promote Bruce Pearl and not UT"? Go to utsports.com and watch the video of Pearl thanking the fans for their increase in support of the Vols this season, and then tell me again that he's all about promoting himself.
As for the chest thumping, that has been going on for as long as Pearl has been coach. The complaints only started this year because UT wasn't winning as many games.
As for the "concentrate on making the kids play hard and as a team" statement. This might be the first time in his career that his team wasn't known for its hustle; that is an absolute staple of a Bruce Pearl team. Don't you think that he wasn't already trying to do that? Don't you think he was at least as frustrated as the rest of us by the results this season, especially since his team lost some games by being outhustled? Heck, he was so frustrated that he had to change a part of his basketball philosophy (pressing) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON in order to give his team the best chance to win. Again, that's something that he has never had to do in his career.
I'm sorry that you find his act "old". Something tells me that you wouldn't have said ANY of this if UT had somehow made it to the Sweet 16 or better.
SmokyMTNVol writes:
Sorry VolDog25 but comparing UT basketball with UK and Carolina is as@inine. Would you compare UK or Carolina football with UT. No WAY!
If UT wanted to become a UK or Carolina in basketball they would have let pearl walk to Memphis and tried to hire a big time coach. UT will always be a football 1st program and that is why most of our fans are giddy over just winning the SEC in basketball. If this was a basketball school you would be dead on about Pearl. As I have said on here before he is nowhere near an elite coach. He is a decent coach that brings a little excitment to a program that desperately needed it.
Colliervol writes:
I'd love for us to get Jackson but, as somebody pointed out to me, he really does love Memphis (even with Calipari leaving) and we have Selby coming in. I can't imagine two top point guards coming at the same time.
Colliervol writes:
Denmark, there are plenty of things about recruiting these days that smell to high heaven. (Note the KY-Memphis situation.) And it's getting worse every year. Obviously, it ain't like it used to be and probably won't be ever again. Survival of the fittest.
Colliervol writes:
Let's see now. A little craziness, coach rapping and chest thumping or Buzz Peterson and Wade Houston? Thirty years in the wilderness or four straight years in the tournament? Which one should I choose?...... You tell me.
SmokyMTNVol writes:
Thank you! That is what I have been saying and getting hammered for. UT fans are estatic over just being in the tourney. If this was a basketball school would the fans be all misty eyed over being in the tourney. Hel* No!
VolDog25 is right we are a mediocre program that is trying to get more respect. Why does that bother so many people. We are not considered an elite program. Xavier and Gonzaga have a better history in the tournament than UT. I dare any UT fan to tell me that those schools are elite.
Colliervol writes:
Smoky, there are plenty of our fans who are not old enough to realize just how pitiful this program was for about 30 years. Sure we had an isolated decent season here or there under Devoe and Green. But for the most part, it was in shambles. Bruce Pearl has taken this program much farther, much faster than anybody has and more than anybody expected. Especially at a "football school". Pearl has just spoiled them.
Now, having said that, everything is in place for Bruce to take it to the next level. Support, facilities, his recruiting capabilities, exposure etc. We can offer the top recruits as much as any of the top schools and I'd like to see Bruce take it up a notch now that a base is in place.
vol88 writes:
r...e...a...d
s...l...o...w...l...y
Volumnus writes:
I disagree with the assertation by Griffith. There is an entity called the NCAA Clearing house for eligible athletes. If the recruiter checked and took him on a provisional without him being cleared, then shame on UT. If it is a problem with the Clearing house then he should have been allowed a provisional exception. The rules are such that they lead you to believe it is a recruitment error, or something more serious. It probably boils down to someone not doing due diligence. I would guess that West only shares a small amount of culpability.
ballewville6 writes:
dont give tyler the idea that he will play in nba he is a year or more away ,he needs to stay at ut and play the 3 spot onlyand occasionally go inside not post up all the time that wont make him nba ready
Colliervol writes:
The "next level" for me will be getting past the Sweet Sixteen and I believe he can do that.
True, Calipari will get top recruits at KY but the key is he can only take a few a year and he tends to want to get the "one and dones" so there are plenty of good players out there to be had.
The other thing about Calipari (and I've watched him for 9 years having lived in the Memphis area) is that his coaching accumen is questionable. The title game with Kansas is all you have to look at to understand that. Any coach that can blow a 9 point lead in the last two minutes of a championship game can be called into question. Do you think Coach K or Roy Williams would have allowed that to happen?
He'll get plenty of good players but he still has to coach them. And he's probably going to have to recruit without Worldwide Wes as I think folks are on to that by now and the NCAA might take a hard look at that "relationship".
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