Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl said Saturday he can take losing.
"I don't like it, but I can take it,'' Pearl said after the 77-58 loss at Kentucky. "But not like that.''
After hours in the film room Sunday and discussion with his assistant coaches, Pearl wants to set straight a few things he said in the post-game.
"The biggest thing, I wasn't as displeased with our effort as our purpose,'' Pearl said. "It's our execution and our understanding that to play great basketball, you have to play as a team, offensively and defensively.''
Too many players are trying to take too many responsibilities onto themselves.
"We still rank high in assists and field-goal percentage, and that's a function of playing as a team,'' Pearl said. "But (against Kentucky) we weren't setting screens, making passes, throwing it inside-out and turning down shots to get better shots for teammates.''
Pearl said that's as much on him as his players.
"I haven't taught and disciplined our players enough to play our best basketball,'' Pearl said. "I haven't gotten our guys to understand that for them to play well as individuals, we have to play well as a team.''
That said, Pearl pointed out UT (16-10, 7-5 SEC) is still in position to win the SEC East Division.
"This team should be where it's at, and that's competing for a conference championship,'' Pearl said. "But if we don't fix what's ailing us, we won't win the championship.
"We've got our backs up against the wall.''
And Pearl didn't mind putting it there when he said the Vols need to beat Mississippi State on Wednesday to make the NCAA tournament.
"The math may indicate otherwise, with our strength of schedule and RPI,'' Pearl said. "But I feel like we need to deserve victory, and we have work to do.
"Me saying that was along the lines of keeping it real and being honest with our team and our fans.''
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
Tennessee 73, Georgia 62 men's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 146
thevoice writes:
Uh coach, you should be reading these posts. We said your team needs to be playing like a team weeks ago. Guess that means some of these posters need to be coaching. First, I would immediately bench ANY player who jacks up ANY three at ANY time. You're not a three-point threat right now! Second, I would somehow introduce these guys to the world of humility, and play aggressive defense. Third, I would have each player shoot 1,000 free throws in practice. And that's just the beginning...
thevoice writes:
And coach, just so you'll know, the payers you're recruiting aren't all that coachable. Go get some guys with real world IQ and basketball IQ. At this level of basketball, you need players who are mentally tough and make smart decisions on the court. Harsh words, but reality.
Slystone writes:
Lose the South Carolina and Florida games and it will take winning the SEC tourney to get into the NCAA tourney. This team lacks intensity and sense of urgency. It's mid Feb and they haven't consistently shown it all year. That magical switch everyone is waiting on them to flip is not in reach. Chemistry on this team is not right. When they were down in the Kentucky game early by nearly 15 point Pearl should have called a time out and stooge slapped the entire starting five. Wildcats came to play and the Vols acted like there was no need to worry. Sorry display for a team many ranked so high preseason.
volzcrushm writes:
Hey Witch Doctor........ you got it!! They need to strenthen the outside game but, if you don't have an outside threat..... they pack up on the inside making it tough to have that so, maybe we a meeks??
thevoice writes:
Going to be hard to count on someone (especially a point guard) with suspect grades to be a savior.
VOL_FREAK_91 writes:
really good post I couldnt agree more
Ironcity writes:
Nice to hear coach spelling out the way it is. The goals are still in front of them but I don't think their are many believers that post here in this team right now and nothing that happens Wed will change that.
I will be curious to see how this team comes out on Wed.. It would not surprise me to see us blow out Miss St. and it would surprise me to see us trailing 20-5 after 5 minutes.
Jediphysics writes:
Just an observation, but ever notice that we never hear what Bruce is specifically going to do in practice to change things? I'm a Pearl fan, but is he coddling them a bit this year? He's not 'taught' this year, he says. I don't buy that. Maybe I've watched Pat for too many years, but I think he really needs to kill them in practice, do something to increase their effort. He still seems too nice to them... not that they need to be sent to bed without supper and whipped with switches, but I just don't get the sense that he knows what to change yet, or how to change it.
Pennington's right. We miss Duke Crews...
Hudro writes:
why all the concern on making the tournament. What good does it do to be a one and done against someone like Wichita State? Other than some NCAA revenue for the cofers wouldn't it be better to win the NIT? At least you get to hang some sort of a banner and keep Pat from owning all the real estate up there.
Pullingguard writes:
This team is so overrated... Just how many players on UT squad would start at Ky, Fla., or even SC... Pearl is trying to stay positive, but beating SC and Fla on the road is a wild imigination at work.... Winning the SEC tournament, I hope, that is the only chance regardless of how minute' that may be.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Admitting you have a problem is the first step.
MBEACHVOL writes:
I agree I think Tylers skills are not that great, he has no outside shot and can't create his own off the dribble.He does play hard (offensively). Hopson looks like he has never played against any competition, looks like he is just happy to make a good play or two a game. Prince I have no idea why BP thinks he is so great, the occasional good play he shows is quickly followed up with stupid fouls and turnovers. None of these three play D.
TommyJack writes:
TJ is down with the Witchie.
Caspian writes:
If it was up to me, right up front I would lose the headbands. Right now, we've got some with bands, some without. Everybody should wear the same outfit. Seems fundamental.
halloffamebowler writes:
Gosh.I wish I had some magic dust for this team.They are breaking my spirits this year after watching them play the last three years.This is how I see things.We lost two of the best three point shooters we have had in a long time.No one has stepped up and taken their place this year.No one is a leader and hustler like Bradshaw.Youth has not developed as quickly as hoped but I believe they will be much improved next year.We have shot 1685 times,makeing 702 of those shots.That is a respectable 41%.The oposition has shot 44% by makeing 652 of 1493 shots.Free throws are 421 of 620 for 68%.Opposition are shooting free throws at 67%.379 of 562.Therefore we are basically even shooting field goals and free throws.Where we are at a disadvantage is 3 point land.We are 169 of 564 29%.Opposition is 182 of 340 51.5%.We have shot 124 more treys but have made 13 less treys than our opposition.Should we be shooting less treys and start going more to the paint? I believe so.
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
thank God you aren't the coach! against Miss. St. we will HAVE to hit threes. UT cannot plan on going inside all night on the best shot blocker in the country. And if coach Pearl IS READING THESE BLOGS he ought to be fired!
UKblue02 writes:
Good question, PG, i don't know what's worse, Coach Pearl not pulling players for lazing around or Billy G pulling them for sneezing on the court, we have some good players on the bench, Galloway, Stewart, Harrellson to name a few but if they get in a game and make a small mistake old BG jerks them out, So i don't know what's worse for a kid in these two situations, play lazy or afraid to play.
Rockytop98 writes:
Maybe the new girl friend and new mansion is too much in one year. Just a thought.
kbart4033#247331 writes:
I wonder if Bruce's new twinkie wears a headband...
Down_The_Field writes:
agreed!!!
coach, let's finish swing-in!
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
THIS IS GREAT OKEMO SPEAKING:
Vol bloggers MUST ignore these false totem poles, NEVER respond to their black magic. To the mediocre, mediocrity appear great. Now all must pay homage to OKEMO
Vol_Jokes writes:
Pearl wants Vols to play more like team
I think the bigger question is when is that group
of misfits going to start resembling a team.
SSvol writes:
In response to:Pullingguard
Hopson looks like he has never played against any competition, looks like he is just happy to make a good play or two a game. Prince I have no idea why BP thinks he is so great, the occasional good play he shows is quickly followed up with stupid fouls and turnovers. None of these three play D.
Well Hopson really hasnt,Word that I get was that he was in high school last year, Ill check to make sure though. As far as JP, he might as well shoot with his feet. But he will catch his fall, because the NBA will not be calling on that boy at all. The only thing hes lookn for is ESPN's top ten or a poster dunk and you know when he thinks he's got it, because He'll Salute you. He could be a hell of a ball player but hes flat out lazy. He wont switch up he wont help out and his off side ball denial is , well, its just not there. He dont have the heart to D up. He'd just as soon swat at the shooter and snowbird,Wantn that almighty dunk. Bottom line is we got alot of young kids that need to grow, so give them time, surrounded by some posers. The only thing I was wondering about pearl is that open half court O he runs, thats odd when you dont have a shooter. I understand the concept that it opens lanes but he had nobody slashing them. It looked like the were playing a game of catch on the perimeter...The other hand, on pearl,the last two years you all called him Bruce Almighty...lol...Dam let the man rebuild hes the same guy with the same game knowledge and a different lineup that is young and the ones that aren't have egos that out weigh the state of texas.....
MidTennVol writes:
Send your resume to Mike Hamilton. He may just decide to go ahead and replace BP.
Or else, write a book. Why deny the masses the benefit of your basketball wisdom?
Vol_Jokes writes:
chewedupvol, we didn't join the sec because the sec didn't ask us. Don't you know we would have loved to make the jump and dominate that football conference with our basketball. Do you really think SEC teams that are recruiting so heavily in memphis (all of them) would want Memphis to join the sec? Heck no they wouldn't. All those prize recruits could stay right here at home and be in the sec. Pretty safe to choose arkansas up in that rural area..you know like knoxville.
Memphis is pretty smart. We were in a good conference up until a few years ago and the big east took most all of them. So, we could just roll over and die and do nothing or we could make the most of the situation. I do believe we made the best of the situation don't you. You see, we play in a pretty bad conference but we are very good. So, you schedule a few top notch teams from out of conference and since you are very good you'll probably win those and then you go back into conference play adn win those. You have shown that you can play with anybody and so you start to be ranked and when you beat those non conference teams you move up. Then.. you get into conference play and the other big boys know each other off and you just keep moving up. It works very well. Smart huh? You see we made it work for us and not against us. Let's see.. several 1 seeds and a 2 seed in the last 3 seasons. We seem to be looking at a 1 or 2 seed this time. Now, what seed are you guys looking at. ... That's what i thought. You see Cal's very smart. Now's he's got it going here and has the top recruits all considering Memphis. I haven't heard of any considering the vols.
Ha vol fans..can't win a basketball argument so try to bash the city or the conference. You are a clown.
Vol_Jokes writes:
Hey bricker if you won't people to come back when they learn proper english then 99% of the people on this site would be gone. This site is really bad. Glad you did the spell check on your post though. Very good. Once again, a vol fan that can't win a basketball argument goes for english. You can really tell when you have vuls reeling when they begin to attack your english usaage. Hey Bricker.. Pearl era has hit rock bottom.......
I'll ask again. When is your group of misfits going to start resembling a team? Please come up with something a bit better than use of proper english. Oh, you don't have anything else.. ha ha.
chrisw2967 writes:
and tell us wonder boy what did those 1 & 2 seeds do for you ? and how many NC did they bring you ? thats what I thought 0
you are right you play in a very very weak pathetic conf. and no your not very good,more like decent.your not too good, you could only beat a bad tenn team by 2.but dont worry you will be out of the big dance early this year.book it
FeelVol writes:
Sadly but I've thought the same thing.There seems to be no direction with this team.
DandyVol writes:
There has been some talk here about us still making the NCAA tourney. If I remember right, a couple of years ago there was squable over a team which was let into the tourney with 9 losses. We presently have 10. RPI aside, do we really have a chance for the NCAA tourney except by going last years GA route? I doubt that we can accomplish the SEC tourney run.
On the Tyler side, I believe he would be making a mistake to go NBA after this year. This teams performance and Tyler's leadership inability to pull this team to a higher level may have a negative influence for him, even in a weak draft.
GreerVol22 writes:
Cat, at this point I think he should hand out KY Blue head bands for the team to wear.
jmr68ut writes:
Teamwork!! What a concept!!
GreerVol22 writes:
bones actually told truth....that JP did in fact stinks as a team player. Sometimes bones have hidden message.
Slystone writes:
Okay, count me in. Sly is down with WitchDoctor. Stones never lie!!
HtownVol writes:
Does anyone know if we can sign more than West and Hall next year? We really need some shooters. If Smith goes pro ( which would be a bad decision) does that give us one more schollarship? Can someone break down the scenario to me?
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
very, very good post...you sound like a former college player??
Slystone writes:
Observations of this team that I have noticed.
- No posting up by big men.
- poor perimeter defense.
- rebounding -both ends of the floor.
- no sense of urgency.
- lack of leadership on the floor.
- Tyler disappears to much in the game.
- Chism should be averaging 8 to 10 boards a game.
- Jujuan's absense from this team is crucial - ice water ran thru his veins. Can we say anyone on this team has that mentality this year?
- Crews was a warrior down low and that is what's missing this season. The team is soft.
-Pearl is coaching with what he has. Maze is average and West was ineligible. There goes your point guard. Tabb is an athelete not really a point.
Solution - the next time this team gets down early in the game call a time out and take every single one of them out and let them sit on the bench while someone else might understand the need to bring their A game to the gym. That might not fix it, but Pearl is going to have to get through to them some how. By the way is anyone else getting tired of looking at Devoe's mug shot. Please KNS enough already.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
y'all, JP isn't the prolem. Used to be, we played with basically 3 pg's: ramar of jordan, chris, and jajuan. All 3 could play the point and pass the ball. Remar is one of the best 'to the hoop' guys out there, and Chris and Jajuan were pretty good at it too. Oh, yeah, with Dane we had 4 pg's on the floor.
Well, now, we have Bobby or Josh, both of whom are weak shooters and weak finishers at the rim. JP and Tyler are weak shooters, aveage handlers, and only Tyler can fihish at the rim.
See the diff?? We've exchanged slashing and dishing to shooters, with, well, NOTHING. We have no identity this year. UK dared us to shoot 3's. You can bet MSU, with Vernado, will do the same. We aren't really strong inside, we don't drive well, and obviously we can't shoot. add to that we don't pressure d very well...and, suddenly, we ar losing close games.
I think Bruce is trying to look like Louisville; problem is, UL had great PG play and they had Padgett, a solid shooter and passer. In fact, the offense ran through Padgett. All the 'athletic' UL players could thrive becasue UL still had outside shooting.
CBP is no dummy; he knows the failure of HOpson and Tatum to be consistant is killing him. I just don't think he can change this problem this season, or maybe evne next.
To sum up a long post, we DO have some really good players. WE HAVE competed in most every game, other than UK, where it's simply a matter of Billy G is a better coach than Bruce (sorry Bruce). I'd hate to see us not make the NCAA, but, man, I just don't see it this year.....
CrankE writes:
Slystone: "stooge slapped"
That's a good one. Wise Guys!? It's a shame that CBP can only poke two sets of eyes at a time, but I guess that's what assistant coaches and team managers are for.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Our guys need fear. Not any unreasonable fear but enough to know they will be pulled out when they're bonesheads.
Please don't throw any chairs (in public) coach.
If our players show up mentally and play together they won't lose SEC. They won't!
golfballs03 writes:
Pearl shouldn't be afraid to call out some players. When JP Prince get's frustrated he just gives up and starts making stupid fouls. It doesn't take an insider to be able and see that.
JayTee writes:
Coach I have a question? If players are not playing as you want them to why are they on the court? It's your responsibilty to get the players in the game to execute how you want them too. The best way to get their attention is let them ride the bench awhile. Your losing anyway so what difference does it make.
VolJunkie writes:
Regarding the tourney, outside of the ACC, Big East, maybe even the Mountain West, this is a down year for at-large bids (JMO). With 34 at-large bids available, and unless UT absolutely tanks their four remaining games, RPI and SOS should get us in. Of course the conference tourneys could be crazy (e.g. NC State wins ACC), then it gets tough.
Go Vols!
jzt writes:
I think the biggest problems are in personell. Chism, JP, and Maze are the only players playing their true positions. In time Hopson may develop into a SEC caliber 2 guard but right now he is nowhere near it. In my opinion the mistakes made by Pearl were in recruiting. We need guards, Hopson, Tatum, Woolridge, Tabb, Maze and Tyler are not getting it done in the backcourt. Given most are out of position but we need athletic guards that are in the 6'2" to 6'4" range. When you match Hopson, Tatum and Woolridge against others it is blow by city.
VolJunkie writes:
Agreed, seems like an easy way to get someone's attention.
Down_The_Field writes:
typical vol basketball tread.
it starts with a story......
then we vol fans begin to comment with mostly positive thought about our basketball team.....
then mempus punks joins in to start a cyber fight with personal attacks and masked cuss words.....
vol fans respond....
mempus punks throw their hands up (figuratively) and accuse us of starting it.....
we respond.....
one of your moral new comers happens by a day latter and accuses us of being narrow minded racists.
next day, another story.
basketball's over between mempus and tennessee. we don't play you in baseball so the next major event will be November 7, 2009. you'd better suit up your nba level basketball team for that one since they seem to be the best since the olympic dream team cause you're gonna need them.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Prince seems to think it's the other teams fault when he's guilty, if the coach pulled him out and talked to him we'd see better results(or so I'd like to believe).
We need to get to the open man and Prince does that when he's on. Several players just pass too sloppy (all our guards). Fundamentals.
Defense. Just stay on your feet Prince, or at least jump straight up and not into the player(CUSS*&%@#$).
Funny I don't ever curse. Really. But this team at times bothers me.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Down the Field?
Honestly I'm not sure I got your point. No joke?
I know I'm sick of seeing the hatred between Memphis and Tennessee Knox.. Most of it is too silly to read 10 times on one article. I may respond to a funny one now but I'll not use the "reply to" button unless I'm in stupid mode. "Reply to" is only useful when you want to keep the thought alive or really liked what they said.
I suspect that "itsme", "vol_jokes", and some of the Tenn. responders are no older than 12...or too drunk to know how dumb they're being.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
I was thinking of your last paragraph?
alfrizzle097 writes:
Fact of the matter is that this team cannot shoot the three ball.
Fact of the matter is that people on this board should not be coaching.
Fact of the matter is that if you stop shooting threes, the opposing defense packs in even more than they have been.
Fact of the matter is that the reason those inside shots are so tough is that the team isn't making the defense extend.
Enough facts yet? The obvious solution is to make more threes. How do you do that? Get three point shooters. It may just not get fixed this year. But its a good thing I'm not the coach either. Bruce may be a heck of a lot smarter than I am and come up with something.
elizabethtonvol72 writes:
Never thought I would say this, but this team just plain ol sucks! Sorry but it is the truth.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.