Tennessee captain Tyler Smith said his frustrations ended when his foot connected with a chair in the aftermath of a loss at Auburn on Saturday.
It was an uncharacteristic display he is not proud of, but Smith felt he had an uncharacteristically poor performance he was not proud of, either.
“I was upset with myself because I could have, should have, done more to help us win,’’ Smith said. “I let the team down.
“But the frustration can’t carry over. Georgia is a talented team, and they are good enough to win, regardless of their record.’’
Vols coach Bruce Pearl hasn’t needed to issue any reminders or challenge UT (14-8, 5-3 SEC) to be ready for tonight’s 8 o’clock tip with the Bulldogs (9-14, 0-8) at Thompson-Boling Arena (TV: WVLT).
“Georgia hasn’t given up; there is no quit, and they are playing hard,’’ Pearl said. “With three minutes left, they were beating us, so they know they can play with us.’’
Bulldogs freshman center Trey Thompkins (6-foot-9, 227 pounds) is a likely future NBA player who gave the Vols fits in the first half of UT’s 86-77 win in Athens on Jan. 10, while Terrance Woodbury (6-7) averages a team-high 13.7 points per game and put 18 on Tennessee in the teams’ first meeting.
“It’s a talented front line,’’ said Pearl, whose team has been out-rebounded in six of eight SEC games. “Georgia is coming off a game where they had 19 offensive rebounds.’’
The Vols, meanwhile, are coming off a game where they were out-rebounded 34-21 by one of the smallest teams in the league in Auburn.
“It’s rebounding,’’ UT center Wayne Chism said when asked about the key to tonight’s game.
“We’re not thinking about the top 25, we’re not thinking about the NCAA tournament. We’ve got to get ourselves re-focused on rebounding.’’
Smith agreed, and said he puts a great deal of that responsibility on his shoulders.
“I had a long talk with Coach Pearl after that (loss to Auburn),’’ Smith said. “Defensively, and rebounding, I’ve got to get back in there. Coach keeps saying it is a team game, but I feel I have to do more, as a leader, to put us in position to win.’’
Pearl said he’s comfortable with the Vols’ offensive approach, but the defense needs to be ratcheted up with intensity.
“You’ve got as much of a chance to win a game on defense as you do on offense,’’ Pearl said. “A stop and a rebound is as big as a winning play when someone makes the last shot. Games can be won with a defensive rebound or a steal, and we have to realize that.
“If we play defense like we did against Auburn, Georgia’s gonna be right there.’’
New Addition: Josh Bone, a transfer from Southern Illinois, has been practicing with the Vols as a walk-on the past couple of weeks after adjusting to his academic schedule.
Bone is a 6-foot-2 guard who Pearl saw play a few years back when Bone was a teammate of Brandan Wright’s at Brentwood Academy.
“I saw him play his senior year in Jackson, Tennessee, when his team was playing against Wayne (Chism),’’ Pearl said. “He had a great game and he shot the ball well. I thought he was a high mid-major, and wondered if maybe we had missed on one. He went up to Southern, and decided he wanted to come home.’’
Bone started 19 of 33 games as a shooting guard at Southern Illinois last season, shooting .337 beyond the 3-point arc (57-for-169) while averaging 8.1 points per game, fourth on the team.
Bone was a first-team all-state selection coming out of Brentwood Academy, averaging 16 points in 2006.
Pearl said he anticipates Bone will play in the Rocky Top League this summer. The Vols also will return point guard Daniel West, who has stayed enrolled at UT after being declared academically ineligible in October.
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Comments » 83
promiselandfarm writes:
Let's go Vols! We should win this game
mocsandvolsfan writes:
I don't really want to be first . Anyhow I'd love to see grat rebounding again but i'd even more love to see great defense. Go Vols
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Hey way to go promiseland. and we will win.
TommyJack writes:
Do not drop this team into the grease yet.
xvolx writes:
no kidding. I would just like to see you challenge one shot in the paint on defense.
cmaven writes:
Is it just me or does it seem like we stand around most of the game on the offensive end with little to no movement and then jack up a three at the last minute? I mean, I just don't see any movement in the offense. That is what concerns me the most. With top tier teams you see a lot of cuts, a lot of drives and a lot of EFFECTIVE pick and rolls. We just seem to be standing. Tell me I'm not crazy!
Ironcity writes:
Tyler can help himself on the boards if he gets underneath the basket. Same with Chism. If everyone stands 20ft from the basket no one will get the rebound. Havn't seen a lot of balance on the floor when we put the shot up from outside lately.
berrymuchavol writes:
this is a real coach how many recruiting violations has he had to report.
TopTenn writes:
Tyler shouldn't shoulder the blame for the AU game. It was a team effort or non-effort to lose.
dvols writes:
who is marquette and georgetown?
movol53 writes:
WOW, someone on the team talking about rebounds and defense?
What a concept!!!! I believe some other basketball coach on campus has a saying that goes something like this:
Offense sells tickets, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships. She should know she has EIGHT OF THEM!!
bmaples writes:
Talk is cheap; good defense is not. Beat Georgia by 20, THEN talk about the changes that WERE made, not the changes that are GOING TO BE made.
Bruce in Louisville
lomas98 writes:
That is the beauty of an online newspaper. This is an article that will be in the print version on Wednesday. It would look worse in Wednesday's paper to see "tomorrow" nights game. This game should be a good win. GA is 0-8 and you gott think they can win 1 or 2. HOpefully this isn't the one and it shouldn't be. I wonder in Tyler's frustration if he shook hands last Saturday with Auburn. Against Gonzaga and either KY or LSU he just walked off the court and did not acknowledge the other team.
utucla writes:
Seems like I've heard this about eight times before....(after each loss)...."we need to rebound and play better defense".....I'm sure I will hear this about 3 or 4 more times this year....talk is cheap....
elizabethtonvol72 writes:
Ihave not got to see all the games, but, the ones I have seen have left me wandering, because of the lack of defense. I have not seen even one shot inside the paint challenged. Much less the type of rebounding that we are capable of. What up with that?????
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
GO VOLS!! SWEEP THEM DAWGS!!
CoverOrange writes:
Not that I'm a BB expert but...seems to me to run pick and rolls you do so to free up a 3 pt shooter or a quick guard to slash to the basket...we have neither. Our game is to dominate down low which is all about positioning and creating space thus moving the ball around the arc to get defenses to move, inches at a time maybe, to where you want them then quick pass in for a layup.
Somebody will correct me if I'm way off base.
coach75 writes:
what about childress? he is cleared to play but havent seen him yet. he could give us some much needed help on the boards.
BigOrangeVol writes:
Please ban our players from playing in the RTL!!! Screw Haslam; the RTL does more damage than AAU ball.
cmaven writes:
Understood. But, dang it, you gotta move the ball outside just the perimeter to be effective. Any team can throw it around the arc upteen hundred times just to have some one shoot it with 5 seconds left on the shot clock. Heck, I would even suggest Memphis' dribble drive motion offense if it would prove worthy of an effective offense. At least they move in that offense. You drive and either play to the weak side our kick out for an easy jumper. The Vols just stand..............and stand..............and stand some more. Very frustrating!!!!!
BigOrangeVol writes:
IronCity, I was down on Wolf Creek and Danley all day today and only heard a .30-30 twice. That sure seemed odd!
huntined#565710 writes:
KY beat FLA so that makes EVERY GAME important..they blow this game and us having to go to KY and FLA. to play them..
That AUB. game hurt us BAD...
volmattna writes:
GO BIG ORANGE!!
theoldbear writes:
This is the time when someone must assume the mantle of leadership. Tyler Smith can be "the man." So could Wayne Chism, or J.P. Prince. But if no one does, the lofty goals of 20 wins and advancing beyond the Sweet Sixteen will fall by the way.
Ballervol09 writes:
I think we will make it to the dance, but I think we are at our best when we are turning teams over. I want to see some running and trapping again. That makes offense so much easier, and gives us a little confidence to make a run at it.
wyomingvol writes:
Just make free throws...
richvol writes:
It's not just you...there is no offensive scheme.
iowavol writes:
You are kidding right? You do realize the articles posted late in the day on this site are destined for print in the newpaper - THE NEXT MORNING - right? Holy phooey, one plus one equals two...
mocsandvolsfan writes:
I hope we win!
WE need good guard play on D 1st then offense 2nd. Chism, if no one else gets any bounds then you better get 20.
Red_October writes:
I could not agree more. That league is fun to watch but does nothing to improve our defense or help us in the "team" concept. I think it just develops bad habits.
lomas98 writes:
I think worst case 19-11 before SECT will get us in. That will give us a 10-6 league record. That is winning our home games and splitting on the road. The AUB loss was a bad one because the must wins start piling up. Our strength of schedule and RPI are too good to ignore. I think after SECT we are probably 20-12 or 21-12 at best depending on if we get a first round bye. Nobody in their right mind should predict us going past Saturday due to us not being able to do it before. I think our scheduling helps us and we land a 7 seed with those records. A loss tonight will destroy any chances. The team knows that and will come out hungry tonight. A 9-7 record and early exit in the SECT and this team is one being talked about as either last 4 in or last 4 out.
b_neas writes:
Did you watch the vols the past two seasons? Very similar to past seasons with the exception we have no Chris or Jujuan to bail us out. Also you exaggerate when you say you do not see ANY movement on offense, there is some especially early in the shot clock. And with your commenst i think you are crazy, or you are not watching the same games i am, especially the last 4 to 5.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I certainly don't think you are crazy. LOTS of us on here have wondered about the same thing.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
The articles we see on GVX are sometimes meant for publication in the KNS the next day. The reporters file their stories in the news room at all hours, and they come on here first. They are "rough drafts" of tomorrow's stories; that is why you often see misspellings and other minor errors on here that are usually corrected by the time you see the articles in the KNS.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
What you say about the pick and roll is generally correct, but there lots of types and purposes of screens. For example, post players may screen for each other to get one of them free to the high post while the screener shapes up close to the basket looking for a pass and a move for a power layup or short shot in the lane. IMHO, as a former coach, sending cutters through the lane and from side to side is a better way to get the zone to move than merely passing the ball around the arc, especially since we rarely seem to use the skip pass to reverse the ball quicker.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
This team is not quick enough or smart enough in some respects to press effectively. It was tried early in the season, but was found to be ineffective.
GREEKDAWG writes:
We don't even have a "coach"what can you possible be worried about?
chrisw2967 writes:
your right on one thing,there is ball movement early in the shot clock but then after that they just stand around waiting on someone else to make a play while the shot clock runs down and end up taking a bad shot or a very bad three.most of the time they look like they dont have a clue whats going on or they are suppose to be doing.they really dont look no different from the last 4 or 5 games than they did the leat 10 or 11.the only exception is Hopson is starting to play better on off.
chrisw2967 writes:
I meant to say or what they are suppose to be doing.
BBALLVOL writes:
Jurrick is slower than Williams, and more clumsy. He might be 8'2" but he will get outrebounded because he is so slow. He looks like a giant sloth during pregame warm-ups. So no I do not think we should of played Jurrick this year. Hopefully he will prove me wrong next year. On B-Dub, he Sucks someone posted yesterday that he might have a mental illness, and I am beginning to agree with that. He is slow and clumsy, so imagine a slower, taller, and more clumsy white guy. There is your answer of why he is redshirted.
longball writes:
I agree with the Jurrick statement BBALL. To me, he seems to be not only slow but lazy as well. I wouldn't care if he didn't see playing time at all during his tenure as a Vol.
1974Vol writes:
Everyone the Vols play goes zone on them because they don't think they can consistently shoot over the zone and don't think they have anyone who can consistently dribble drive and break the zone down. For the most part they have been right. Getting the ball to Prince at the high post and letting him dish the ball to Chism and Smith has worked when teams have had match up problems with Prince at the 3. But offense has not been the real problem with this team - its been about defensive intensity. That home game against the Gators looked like a clinic on how to play D - legs bent, arms up, move the feet, diving for loose balls - they just can't seem to bring that every night. Until they can they will be little better than a .500 club.
BBALLVOL writes:
I was gonna say that we wasted a scholarship on him, but i thought it was mean, and now that you have said you don't think he will play. I am now adding that to my conclusion on Jurrick. Let it be known from here on out that any school that feels it wasted a scholarship can refer to it as being "Jurricked", as in "man that guy sucks, We got Jurricked"
shoalcreekvol writes:
I realize responding to a complete idiot is seldom a good idea, but I'm just crazy enough to try it...
No one knows how many secondary (that's "minor" for those of you in Rio Bama) recruiting violations that CBP has self-reported b/c they are not publicized. The only time they become public is when the school voluntarily releases the info, which UT did once a year as a summary report under Dickey, or when a news agency files a freedom of information request with the school. That is what happened in CLH's case.
shoalcreekvol writes:
It's always deer season around Wolf Creek ;-)
shoalcreekvol writes:
tou⋅ché [too-shey]
We have become spoiled in the Right Reverend's four years here!
Think back to the Buzz-ard years and this whole discussion probably wouldn't have even happened b/c of apathy.
stillavolsfan27 writes:
Why would you pay attention to a man's foot for?
THE_VOL writes:
More than you want to know and not nearly as many as should have been. Don't think for a minute that just because the clouds aren't black that there isn't any rain in them.
THE_VOL writes:
Were you born a moron or did you grow into it??? They'll get in with 20 wins - PERIOD! And they WILL GET 20 WINS!
Tyler is gone regardless of what he's told. He'll be a 2nd rounder or free agent and if he doesn't stick in the NBA it's on to Europe. But he will NOT be back in orange next year under ANY circumstances. Which means Pearl will be chasing some late bloomer or JUCO PF all spring to replace him.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
IMHO, it is too early to give up entirely on Jurick. Young big men usually take time to develop. Years ago, UT had a big man named Tom Boerwinkle. Believe me, for his first three years he was hopeless on the court. He was redshirted as a freshman and hardly played at all the first two years he was active. In his RS junior year, he made All-SEC. His senior year, he made several All-America teams. He went on to play about twelve years in the NBA, and the last I heard he was still the Chicago Bulls' career rebounding leader. For every Moses Malone, who was a star big man right out of high school, there is a Boerwinkle who just develops late. Only time will tell if Jurick ever "gets it", but we just can't say right now that he NEVER will.
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