ST. LOUIS - Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl has been asked many times by many people in many ways if he expected the Vols to fare this well under these circumstances.
His answer has always been "No,'' but Pearl is playing semantics; "expected" is too strong of a word.
Pearl knew success was possible, and he said as much the day before UT played Charlotte in its first game without four players involved in a well-documented Jan. 1 traffic stop.
"Wait until you see what we do with this (situation),'' Pearl said, winking as he walked off the practice court the day before UT beat Charlotte 88-71.
Tennessee (27-8) has since pulled off upsets over No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Kentucky en route to earning a sixth seed in the NCAA tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance against two-seed Ohio State (29-7). The teams tip off at 7:07 p.m. Friday (TV: WVLT) at the Edward Jones Dome.
What did Pearl know back then that others didn't?
"At that point, there were no expectations, and I felt some would think the season was over,'' Pearl said, "but I sensed our kids did not think the season was over.
"The kids that weren't playing were ready to get out there and show what they could do, and the guys that were playing were ready to take advantage of their expanded roles.''
All-SEC forward Tyler Smith had been the nucleus of the team, with the offense going through his hands most every UT possession prior to his dismissal.
But as Pearl predicted, with Smith out of the lineup other players stepped up and the team jelled.
The remaining piece of the puzzle was for the three suspended players - Cameron Tatum, Melvin Goins and Brian Williams - to be productive upon returning.
Tatum leads the Vols in 3-point shooting percentage (.368), Goins scored a career-high 15 in a first-round win over San Diego State, and Williams has averaged 10 rebounds through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
It took Pearl juggling the starting lineup and rotations numerous times over to get the Vols to this point.
The current starting lineup - the ninth of this season - has gone 7-1 with Wayne Chism, J.P. Prince, Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze and Williams.
The Vols, to a man, have bought into playing a blue-collar, smash-mouth effective brand of basketball.
"It's defense and rebounding that have been the keys," Maze said. "It's crazy it took this team as long as it did to figure it out, but when we defend and rebound, it allows us to get out and score some in transition."
Williams put it more bluntly.
"It ain't pretty, but it doesn't have to be," he said. "They say adversity builds character, and we've sure had that.
"The way we're playing, physical, defense and rebounding, we look like a Big Ten team out there."
In Ohio State, UT is playing the Big Ten's premier unit. It's a group that features a limited bench, primarily using six players each game, but boasting many dimensions.
"Ohio State is going to press us. ... they'll play zone, they'll play a 1-3-1, they'll play a switching man-to-man, and we'll have to be able to handle all of that," Pearl said. "Our team has come together all year long.
"The question is, will we be good enough to stop them and handle all the things they can do?"
It's almost too much for Pearl to expect. But then, "expect" might merely be too strong of a word.
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Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 56
pj_ladyvolnMI writes:
"Well-documented" is an understatement. Go Vols!
taylorsvolfan writes:
Open up a can boys !!
eduardo writes:
27-8 is nothing short of a miracle for this team!!! Any win above this is pure gravy!
chadbuckles#235104 writes:
No one is even giving this team a chance to even come close to winning...this is billboard talk for CBP to talk up...i have read nothing but OSU this and that...i have a feeling...this is going to be a good night!!!!
OrangeVeins writes:
i hope so....i can't wait
VOLinNYC writes:
Does Ohio State really use that many type of defenses? How will UT handle those situations during the game? Why isn't THAT being covered or discussed more, KNS!? It seems like that little insight is more of a pressing issue than the Vols' "doing more than expected after the New Year's Day arrests" angle... again.
Report on new news dammit!
DarthWilson writes:
Good Article Mike.... Love the full circle thing (expected). reminds me of a show I use to watch called "Connections" I think.
GoUTVols3 writes:
IF WE MAKE THE FINAL FOUR I MIGHT DO A JIG
GoUTVols3 writes:
I really want to go to St Louis on Friday and scalp some tickets, but I have to work. If we can win I will definitely drive Sunday and support our Vols. I love that this team has accomplished what it has given the well documented adversity, Coach Bruce Pearl is the man and I want to make the trip to support this team for him if for nobody else besides myself. Thank you Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince for some of the best memories of my UT Vol basketball watching career! Go Vols
volscantball writes:
UT only goes as far as their perimeter shooting will take them. A good defense shuts them down. I am afraid the Vol nation will finally see that beating an 11 and 14 seed does not really mean a whole lot.
Vols4Ever writes:
How about Bernard and Jamie Walker pulled over with Jamie wearing a dress or Hubert Simpson with a shotgun @ Gibbs Hall?
Now those items were news ...
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
Shows just how much you DONT know basketball. UT goes as far as their defensive pressure and rebounding takes them. Once that is taken care of, our offensive begins to roll! Also, Sybil, OUR bench is much better than THEIR bench.
I am afraid that the Vol Nation will finally see that YOUR posts are what does not really mean a whole lot! Just taking your last sentence and turning it around. You just can't stand CBP can you?????
VOLS.....TCB........KOKO......GBO!!!!!!!!
volscantball writes:
The two things you can't teach are defense and rebounding. Either you do it or you don't. The Vols will only go as far as their perimeter shooting takes them.
ArealVolFan writes:
You can't teach defense and rebounding? Well...talk to any coach in the world and tell them you can't teach defense...they will laugh in your face. Rebounding...I would personally recommend going and asking Izzo, he coaches at Michigan State, and ask him if you can coach that. He will throw you in football pads and wear you out, but by the end of it...you will be able to rebound. Good job showing you know pretty much nothing.
Southland writes:
I was so wrong about this team and I am so glad I was wrong. I still am afraid to get my hopes up for an elite 8 appearance but boy deep down inside I sure get excited thinking about it. I hope Coach Pearl has learned something from this mess and will keep closer tabs on his players and will also preach morality to his players and not just basketball. There is no doubt he can coach.
FeelVol writes:
I hear alot of people talking about going to the final four and all that but we've got our hands full with Ohio St. We get past them and everything else is a plus here on out.Go Vols!
hueypilot writes:
Nobody has mentioned the Big Ten issue with Pearl and his trials at Iowa and how hated he was around the league for having the gall to call out Hinson (sp?) for cheating at Illinois. They still hate Bruce in Champaign. Whatever angle suits our purpose is fine with me. Just win baby.
Down_The_Field writes:
what taylorsvolfan said.
kyvol98 writes:
Wow, have you even watched ANY basketball, even at the Elementary School level?
First thing I was ever "coached" in basketball was defense and rebounding.
bigvol662004 writes:
And I thought my bracket(s) were already destroyed! If this bunch pulls off an Elite 8 miracle, I'll be ecstatic, but at something of a loss! hahahahah! Go Big Orange anyway!
UTByrd writes:
Welsome to the "We don't get no respect" Rodney Dangerfield UT Vols BB team. They win so ugly, you have to tie a pork chop around their necks just so the puppy dogs will play with them.
Go VOLS!!!!!...and make it to the Elite 8...and then some.
allvols4life writes:
Speaking from a coaching perspective, if you can't teach defense and rebounding, then why in the world do we spend so much practice time focusing on those aspects of the game? I am glad you have shown me the secret to success. I would love to hear you tell Pat Summit that you can't teach defense and rebounding and see what kind of response you get from the greatest coach in the game.
Gumby#1381110 writes:
I'm proud to say I picked the Vols to make the elite 8 in my bracket, but I chose Kansas to beat them after that, sorry Vols, hope you beat OS, then go onto final 4. Lets make some history this week!
Titan writes:
I'll be more succinct than others - that's just plain dumb!
VOLSGURLINCHARLOTTE writes:
I work with a Gamecocks fan and he is pulling for us to win Friday night. He said we have a huge chance of beating OSU because DEFENSE wins championships. GO VOLS!!!
RockyTopRenegade writes:
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahahahhaha hahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahhaha hahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahaha hahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahah hahahahhahahahhahahahhahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahaha..........
oh please stop ....I can't take it...
gotta catch my breath....
VolunteerLifer writes:
It does when all the pundits said we would LOSE to the 11 and 14 seeds.
LSG410EC83 writes:
Will we ever get to hear about UT basketball without having the attached headlines "After the 4 players were arrested in January". Enough already. I usually end up turning the tv off because it ends up being said at least a couple of times. Yes, it was bad at the time and yes the team has accomplished more than most expected(people tend to forget that the name Volunteer came from a small band of men that gave well over what people thought were capable of them to help defend the Alamo) Our team has pressed on when most would have given up. Great. Now it is time to get on with it. Let bygones be bygones. I look forward to the future of the mens program, starting with friday's sweet sixteen game with Ohio State. Keep your heads up guys and do what all Volunteers have done in the past and will do in the future, win when nobody is expecting you to win. I would rather see all of the naysayers shut up with the scoreboard than with words on the message boards. GO BIG ORANGE AND WHIP SOME YANKEE BUTT.
bryanvolsfan writes:
If we beat Ohio St. and make it to the Final Four, you think Dave Hooker will still write more articles about Lane Kiffin?
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Well, his first post, under this screen name at least, said that the Vols can't play defense, so that tells you all you need to know about his level of basketball knowledge. He's just trying as hard as he can to yank everybody's chain, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about his low aspirations in life.
cjtgovols writes:
I think the Defense wins championships line is refering to football championships. I may be wrong but, I don't recall any of the recent basketball champions being heavily considered as a Defensive team. That being said, I love watching this team play and hope they can keep up the winning. GBO
johnlg00#206211 writes:
No, we won't hear the last of this incident from the national media for the rest of this season. After all, what IS the tag line for this team this year? The media can't talk about our player-of-the-year candidate, because we don't have one. They can't talk about the tourney upsets we have pulled, because we have only beaten lower seeds. It's not a huge story that we made the Sweet Sixteen, because the program has done that at least four times before this season. They can't talk about CBP going after his first D-1 national championship, because that just lumps him with about a dozen others left playing. We can't say that we exceeded pre-season expectations, because we were picked either first or second in the conference. The only way our third-place finish in the conference, our upsets of UK and KU, and our success so far in the tourney makes for a real story IS because the team overcame that incident. We may be tired of hearing about it, but that IS the only UT story the national media audience knows or cares about.
Hickmc writes:
Hmm tell that to my daughter's State Championship Softball team from a few years back. 1 walk 2 stolen bases then a sacrifice fly later they won 1-0.......
VolunteerLifer writes:
"Vols win despite New Year's day orgy of guns, dope and speeding by suspended players" is the media template, and they will still be using this template next year. Sports writers use templates like crutches because they are intellectually lazy and too cowardly to venture far from the cover of the established written and broadcasted themes and stories of their peers. They are sheep in sheep's clothing. They are a peculiar cult of intellectual inbreeds. If you keep that in mind when you read them or hear them, it helps.
VolJunkie writes:
Probably not for the remainder of the year. Tired of it now? Wait until we get to the Final Four. Like it or not, it is the defining moment of this season. Make the Elite 8 and the Final Four and dare I say it, win a NC, well, talk about defining moments!
Go Vols!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
The OS game is huge for UT. Brian Williams might need to smoke him one before this one!
LSG410EC83 writes:
I guess all are right in about hearing about it the rest of the season. Just tend to get old. I am a UT graduate that gets tired of having the whole program along with all of the others at the University looked at in only a negative manner. I have to say there has been some great articles on Chism and Maze lately. I work around some Ky fans and all I have heard is the ole "Pro vs. Cons" joke. Guess I try to go by what my daddy used to say, "if you can't say something good about somebody, dont say nothing at all." Anyway, look forward to our guys finishing out in a blaze of glory. Hope they play like we know they are capable. If so, a NC is possible. GO BIG ORANGE.
VolJunkie writes:
Okay no "Swiperboy" comments; this is a nice video diary of Providence. Man, is it Friday yet?
http://utsports.tv/featured/ncaa-diar...
Go Vols!
1Volunteer writes:
Can't teach defense and rebounding? Hey, are you a coach in the Big East Conference?
dkelly writes:
I live 45 min. from Ohio State and I am a hudge UT fan! I have worn my orange everday this week. So proud! I bleed ORANGE in Scarlet & Gray country and proud of it. Go VOLS!!!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
I really can't wear orange because it clashes with green, makes me look like a hurricane!
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
This is a very interesting match up. It will be a close game IMO.
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
Isn't chickenblood red what bama wears? lol
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
You must of grabbed wrong doll, I didn't feel a thing. lol
johnlg00#206211 writes:
You're right. IMHO, the biggest sign of CBP's growth as a coach this year is the increasing sophistication of UT's half-court defense. As a coach who made his name running an all-out, all-game press, with scant regard for who was playing or who he was playing against, his transformation into a half-court defensive guru is amazing.
Almost as amazing is that UT's half-court offensive game is improving as well. Maybe working AGAINST half-court sets to establish the defensive game plan to take away an opponent's strengths has given the players a new appreciation for shot selection and time-and-score situations. The team still doesn't shoot well as a group, but at least most of the shots seem to come from a conscious plan rather than the "fire-'em-up" mentality they seemed to have before the last month or so of the season.
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
Wow, that hurt! You must have stuck a needle in my side or something. lol. later W_D
dkelly writes:
Yes I get the looks...but don't really care. My Uncle played UT football '56,'57'58 and I was born in '56 so it has been a part of my life since. I too had an experiance...was at UT/KY in KY when a drunk guy got nasty with me (I'm a woman). My son is 6'3" and was a couple of seats down from me he stood up to help me out and I told him to sit down that I could handle it...I did the drunk guys friend had to remove him from in front of me. Even the security came up to us and I explained it was under control. Moral...don't mess with a woman and her VOLS!!! This too is a true story!
tnaseevol writes:
It's been such a lllloooonnnngggg week!!!!
Is it tomorrow yet?
pj_ladyvolnMI writes:
I'm surrounded by Big Ten fans here in Indy (and married to one), so I love getting out in my orange. (Don't ya know Hoosier fans are loving bball lately...not.)
BTW, this was my first time being "first"...said something that made sense and didn't brag about it...and I didn't get any flowers, candy, or anything. As excited as people get about that, I thought I was missing out all this time.
Go Vols...bring it to Indy!!
gonzo writes:
E 8 BABY GET READY!!!!!!!!!!!
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