Monday, March 1, brought the official start of "March Madness,'' but Tennessee senior center Wayne Chism isn't too worked up.
"I haven't been looking at it; I don't want to think about it too much,'' Chism said. "I'll wait until I see (the NCAA bracket), and then get ready to play whoever it is we're playing.
"We don't care about the bubble or the seed right now. We just worry about the SEC.''
The Vols (21-7, 9-5 SEC) close the home portion of their regular season at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Thompson-Boling Arena on "Senior Night" against Arkansas (14-15, 7-7).
Chism, Bobby Maze, J.P. Prince and walk-on Quinn Cannington will make their last home appearance in Tennessee orange.
It's a proud Vols unit, to be sure, as UT is ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press poll, up three spots from last week's rankings on the heels of a victory against then-No. 2 Kentucky. The Vols are No. 14 in the RealtimeRpi.com rankings with a strength of schedule at No. 15.
ESPN's "Bracketology" projects the Vols as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. If the season ended today, the Vols would be the No. 3 team in the SEC East Division in next week's league tournament in Nashville.
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl opened his Monday press conference addressing the importance of the win over Kentucky.
"That put us in better position for the NCAA tournament and the SEC tournament,'' said Pearl, who has yet to advance past the Sweet 16 or win the league tournament. "We can now answer the question about complacency.''
Pearl said it would be human nature to "letdown."
"We obviously brought great energy (Saturday) as fans, coaches and players,'' Pearl said. "We have to understand we're playing the top two teams in the West right now.''
The Vols close the regular season at Mississippi State (21-8, 9-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Bulldogs are projected to make the NCAA tournament, but barely, hence their status as a "bubble" team.
"(Arkansas) is a dangerous team at a dangerous place on the schedule,'' Pearl said. "Then it's at Mississippi State, on (its) Senior Night, with Jarvis Varnado, against a team that's either the last one in, or first one out (of the NCAA tournament projections).
"The good news is these are teams that are getting us ready for the postseason.''
The bad news is, Pearl indicated, the Vols can't settle on one style of play, even if he's as close to settling on a starting lineup as at any point since the Jan. 1 traffic stop brought the dismissal of Tyler Smith and the suspensions of three others.
"We can start the same lineup for the first time in a month, so that can provide us some continuity,'' Pearl said. "We were able to rely on a zone defense against Kentucky that we will not be able to rely on against Arkansas because of the way they attack the zone.
"We'll have to do some other things.''
And then the chips will fall where they may in the NCAA tournament seeding.
Pearl said he expects many things to be taken into consideration by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, but he believes a strong finish is key.
"I know that down the stretch, you can talk all you want about the body of work, but when it comes to seeding, I think it comes down to your last couple of games,'' Pearl said. "We were told (in 2008) we didn't get a (No.) one seed because we didn't beat Arkansas (in the SEC tournament semifinals).
"We were told last year we didn't get a (better) seed because we lost to Alabama (in the final regular-season home game),'' he said. "I think the RPI is a guide, strength of schedule is a guide, Sagarin ratings are a guide, strength of conference, how you finish in your last 10 (games) and how you do against top 50.''
But for Chism and his UT teammates, the only numbers that matter heading into Wednesday's Senior Night will be those on the scoreboard against Arkansas.
"I've played behind a lot of people and learned a lot of things,'' Chism said. "They (past UT seniors) just came out and played their game on Senior Night. They were always thinking about the team they were playing.''
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee 60, Connecticut 57 men's…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 28
NoSirRee writes:
March Madness is a such a fun time of year. If only they did it in college football, that would be heaven
lomas98 writes:
I will really miss Wayne Chism. He is a likeable person with great charisma and has fun out on the court. His game has really improved in his 4 years and he has turned into a leader this team had been missing. Go out a SEC champion Wayne!!!
memphis_vol_fan writes:
Okay, is it me or should the SEC change its tournament formula. All of the other conferences base their bracket on your finish in the final standings (5v12, 6v11) with the top 4 teams getting a buy. Instead the SEC does this E3 vs. W6 nonsense. UT could finish 3rd or 4th in the conference but not get a buy in the first round. The same goes for UF.
volsn3 writes:
Chism is the one guy that will be hard to replace next year...His outside game gets better and better and the NBA has to be seeing that...Maze is so on and off that you never know what you will get that night...And Prince though he had a good game saturday, can be replaced by an up and coming freshman....Yet these guys have gave thier all for TENNESSEE and did us proud and more than anything stayed out of trouble...GO VOLS
carbonzip writes:
Pearl is a real coach.
vol_4_fan writes:
We need more people like Wayne Chism in our basketball program, a very respectful player who always gives his best and worked hard to get better every day. Best of luck to Wizzy after he pulls that UT jersey off for the last time. Go Vols
tmartin writes:
I dont think i would like to go to a football game in march, its a little cold and wet.
Cldvols1 writes:
I agree March is a fun time of year, considering there is no football. However the best time of year is the first of September with 5 months of college football remaining! GBO
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I agree. Wayne has embodied every quality most fans like to see in a player. I hope he gets a chance to wear a UT uniform about 12 more times before he is through, but I'm happy he has worn one for as long as he has. No question he will the hardest to replace of all the seniors for next year. Thanks for everything, Wayne! Finish up strong and you will be a Vol legend forever. GBO!!! TCB!!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I think most of us on here are also football fans, but, for me at least, there is just no more exciting time in sports than the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. It is truly a unique experience in all of American sports.
N2Motorsports writes:
Where is TaterVol and BigOrangeKoolAid? I'm here waiting for your idiotic comments!
1volk-nowi-tall writes:
Wayne Chism, J.P.Prince and Bobby Maze will all be missed next year. Though everyone agrees that Wayne has become a leader, I would suggest that the other two have as well. Just listen to interviews with these guys after games where they were chosen by the radio crew as players of the game and you will hear that in all that they say and the way they say it. J.P can drive you crazy with some of his play, as can Chism or Maze, but each of them give much that is so valuable to this team and do so in a positive way. J.P. going to Bruce and talking him out of the time out at the end of the KY game may have been the only way we win that game after allowong KY to come back and tie it.
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
ahh, March madness is here! If only the snow would go away! GBO!
murrayvol writes:
Agreed. And what makes it unforgettable is winning that 1st game and hanging around for the second rounder.
High profile programs take that for granted but when a mid major school (i.e. Murray St.-1988) makes it happen, that's magic.
murrayvol writes:
I just wish he could "get a call" before he graduates.
When an opponent bangs Chism, he's using his body to get posistion. When Wayne does it, it's a foul. Oh well.
iowavol writes:
Amen, i'm down with that. We need more WC's in basketball and football, all over the place. Kid's a class act with the heart of a volunteer.
hueypilot writes:
I have to give it to Prince. He makes mistakes but most of the time it's because, I finally understand, he's trying to make something happen. No way we beat Kansas or Kentucky without him.
givehim6 writes:
Even two or one year ago when most talked about how good Smith was I still liked Chism better I always thought Chism tried harder. Pearl is wright, as far a seeding goes your only as good as your last game, win or lose.
blazeglory07 writes:
Its time to put up or shut up.Do these guys want it enough to put it all on the line every game here on out or will they just go through the motions.Come on Bruce get these guys motivated and crashing those boards.Lets get a SEC championship and a FINAL 4 appearance for the first time ever.
blazeglory07 writes:
Chism is better all around especially the 3 point shot,but now that Tyler is gone WC gets more attention from the other team.Tyler made Wayne better.
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
Prince is kinda like a woman. Can't live with him, can't live without him! *L*
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
dang, you beat me to that one!
VolBall writes:
Put me in the drinking the Kool-aid catagory. These are awesome days in Tennessee basketball. Coach Pearl is amazing and the sky is the limit in seasons to come.
Coach Pearl obviously is a players coach who gives the green light to any player from any place on the floor, but his guys respond and play with heart. If I were coach, J.P. Prince would not be allowed to shoot outside of 5 feet from the basket, but...Coach Pearl's approach is appealing to those who want to showcase what they can do. Look for more up-tempo, pressing, running and gunning, jacking up 3's in the near future with the studs coming in.
Go Big Orange!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Maybe I'm just another orange-koolaid-drinking optimist, but I think these seniors will really try to break out of UT's historic post-season rut. Last year, remember, the only senior on the team was Childress; the others may well have thought in the back of their minds, "Well, things didn't work the way we thought they would this year, but NEXT year, we'll kick some butt!"
Well, next year is here. Despite everything negative that has happened this year, they have come out of it pretty well. As I said on another thread, Chism may well go down as the winningest single player in UT bball history. JP and Maze have had productive careers for the most part. All of them probably realize that their legacy as college players and whatever pro prospects they may be entertaining depend on how they show up on the really big stage in the post-season. The guys who will be back next year know there is a good crop of freshmen coming in who may well push them for minutes and even starting jobs; it will help their cases if they can point to some real post-season success this year. The leaders of next year's team are on the team this year. How better to establish themselves as team leaders by coming up big from here on out?
BTW, the phrase I originally typed to describe myself as an optimist was from a famous song in the decidedly G-rated movie-musical "South Pacific", but the board nanny shook her figurative finger at me for describing myself as a "c___-eyed optimist"! ROFLMAO! Some people have to PAY for amusement like this!
Ringside writes:
A lot of early upsets this year. Way too much parity. May even see a 14 or 15 seed pull it off.
Blitz,
Kissimmee, FL
mgdchvol writes:
Best run since the Ray Mears days!
I am lucky to have enjoyed both!
Go Vols!!!
Brillovol writes:
In order to appreciate the Chism of today, we must look at him when he was a freshman. I'm sure most have forgotten by now, but he was frequently losing his cool, getting techincals called on him, and had the strange incident where he voluntarily went to the locker room early because of some spat with the coaches. The man's got spunk and he has learned to control his emotions. To me, he is the best example of how Pearl is a masterful coach (except possibly Dane Bradshaw).
Regardless of those things, he has had a boyish charm about him that makes watching him fun. He's my favorite Vol since Ron Slay and for different reasons. How many times did we shout "no, no, no" as he shot a 3 only to say "yes, yes, yes" after it went in?
You are correct, we DO need more people like him in the program. He has been a blast to watch and grow, and I for one will miss him sorely.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Great post! Wayne would indeed seem to be one who has grown a lot while he has been here. The team, the school, and the entire Big Orange Nation will miss him greatly. I know all of the above wish him a strong finish to a great career and success and happiness in his later life.
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.