It's a whole new game.
That was the motto for one of Bruce Pearl's first seasons after taking over as Tennessee men's basketball coach five years ago, and it is proving true for the Vols in recruiting according to one of the country's leading authorities.
"More than anything, Tennessee has become nationally relevant,'' said Dave Telep, national recruiting director for Scout.com. "They've stuck their heads in some different places and come out with players like a Tobias Harris.
"That's why it's hard to say they should hang their head over not getting Josh Selby.''
The Vols had Scout.com's No. 9-ranked recruiting class despite not getting Selby, a talented guard out of Baltimore's Lake Clifton High School who opted for Kansas.
Harris, the No. 1-ranked power forward in the nation, plans to enroll at UT for the second semester of summer school. The 6-foot-9 five-star prospect out of Half Hollow Hills West (N.Y.) High School suffered a broken bone in his foot in the McDonald's All-American game but is expected to make a complete recovery and be ready for fall workouts.
"I'm still in a boot and on crutches,'' said Harris, who averaged 29.2 points per game last season. "By June 1, I'll be cleared to go.''
Telep said the Vols should maintain their recruiting momentum.
"I think Tennessee basketball has a strong brand,'' he said. "People are identifying the Volunteers with a charismatic head coach, a fun style of basketball and guys with successful careers.''
UT has two verbal commitments in the Class of 2011 in guards Kevin Ware (Rockdale, Ga., High School) and Chris Jones (Memphis Melrose High School).
"Kevin Ware is still finding his way as a player, but he has an incredibly high reputation,'' Telep said. "Chris Jones is a baller, and his stock is still on the rise''
Ware, 6-foot-4, is a combo guard, while the 5-10 Jones is a point guard.
The Vols' coaches are putting together their recruiting lists and staying in contact with prospects in preparation for the July AAU national tournament circuit.
Woolridge Ankle: Sophomore Renaldo Woolridge suffered a turned ankle during an open gym workout Thursday.
Woolridge came down awkwardly while battling freshman Kenny Hall for a rebound.
Prince Presence: Outgoing Vols senior J.P. Prince has been working out in Pratt Pavilion in preparation for his workouts with NBA teams.
"I haven't had any yet, but they're really just starting,'' Prince said. "I've been working out in Knoxville during the week and then going home to Memphis for the weekends.''
Public Service: Guard Scotty Hopson delivered a motivational speech to the Bearden High School softball team Thursday about dealing with adversity and developing as a player.
"I work hard every day because I want to see just how perfect I can do things,'' Hopson said. "I missed that free throw that cost us, so I've been shooting between 500 and 700 free throws every day.''
Hopson is scheduled to go to Indianapolis next week for an NCAA leadership seminar.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 52
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Good things are happening on Rocky Top in hoops. I am loving it!!!
VOLFORLIFE writes:
Alright, let's all get ready for the barrage of Hopson bashers. Guys, please don't. Give it a rest.
GO VOLS!!!
JUGHEAD
WAHOO writes:
I like the roundball better than the pigskin.......GO VOLS!
Laydbakvol writes:
500 to 700 free throws a day! Even if SH is exaggerating a little bit you gotta love it. If he's not you gotta love it even more.
volvann writes:
I for one am a Hopson fan. He will quiet the 'nay-sayers' this coming year. He is an exceptionally talented basketball player and his confidence will be a different story this year.
GBO....
Ironcity writes:
Scotty is doing all the right things. Still might not score 25 a game but you have to love the desire.
NoMoreWooAfterGoodOleRockyTop writes:
It's official...we're a basketball school now. Thanks Clapoppatamus...your legacy endures.
always_vol (Inactive) writes:
about time for that a##hole orangekoolaid to vent his love for Bruce yet again.
transplantiam writes:
I believe Hopson's time to shine is now. He knows that with Harris coming in, if he doesn't do it now he will get overshadowed, and to the point of hurting any NBA career he might have. CBP has been a godsend to our Vols, and we need to give him all the support (and money,lol) that we can. I've been a vol all my life and this is the first time the BB team has generated this kind of excitement. Off this subject a bit, I was just on another story and the arguements of CPF and his worth here at UT and some wanting to fire MH and make Fulmer the AD. Had to laugh! Is this just me or do many people (Vol fans) think that given BP's demeanor and energy, how many think Fulmer would have hired him for BB coach, if CPF was the AD? Give me some feedback on this one, boys. Just like to know some other opinions on this. Maybe we can share a laugh! JMO as usual.
GO VOLS!!
VOLKING writes:
I sure do miss morristownvol, bigorangekoolaid and all their buddies. BTW, where are the Memphis lopers? Winning shuts the lopers up. Keep on keepin' on, Bruce. Real Vols are behind you 100%. I expect koolaid to come on here and call Bruce a cheater. "Bruce is a terrible coach!" Elite 8. "Oh, then he cheats!"
IBleedOrange444 writes:
I love what I'm seeing out of our basketball program and am proud of all these guys. Keep up the good work ballervols!
mike#208050 writes:
Still trying to compare yourselves to Memphis, volking? Well, last time I checked, Memphis rebounded very nicely from Calipari's raid on the Memphis program and landed itself the #1 recruiting class in the nation. Memphis is back in just one season!
UT is nowhere close to having the program Memphis has sustained for the last 30 years. I believe there have been 3 final four appearances in those years. In the last 5 years Memphis has been to the Elite 8 twice, sweet sixteen once and the Championship game once. Why do you UT fans continue bringing up Memphis all the time?
You should be proud of making it to the elite eight even if you only played one team in the top twenty five to get there! Finally after all the years of hipe and overrated teams and players you guys have had, UT finally makes it to the Elite 8! Can't control who you play, blah blah blah.
I still don't think Pearl is much of a coach or much of a recruiter. As many great players change their mind about him as honor their commits. Landing one great player in the nest doesn't make you great. So far there aren't many former UT players or Bruce Pearl coached players in the NBA, are they? I never said Pearl cheats, this year all the higher seeded teams just fell by the way side for him. If anything, he has forty lucky rabbit's feet in that ugly orange jacket of his. See you on the hardwood boys.
Congrats on your record setting season.
TIGRFAN in knoxville
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
We lost 3 special players in Maze;Prince and especially Wayne...With new talent coming in it will be interesting to see what identity next years team takes on. It's pretty much a given that Scotty will have to assume a bigger role as scorer and leader..He had his struggles down the stretch but he's not stupid; he knows his whole basketball future is on the line and it appears he's taking it seriously..It's hard for a freshman forward to be thrown in the fire of big time SEC ball so we will get to see quickly if Harris can meet expectations
orangecountyvols writes:
What a long post that said nothing. We have the Tennessee Vols and then there are the Memphis Trolls.
ctownvol writes:
And Memphis still has just as many National Championships as UT. None. You can stand there and play your sad little trumpet all you want, but the FACT is Memphis made it to the NC game on the shoulders of a guy who cheated to get into college. Memphis: still just as irrelevant as ever.
easleychuck writes:
Great post....and they are and will always be Tiger High, and nothing more.
reg_mza#219136 writes:
What exactly does "but he has an incredibly high reputation" mean anyway for Kevin Ware?
tmartin writes:
5'10"???? no thanks
Ayres_Hall writes:
I hope these guys are practicing their ball handling skills, following their shots, grabbing rebounding position, and blocking out. That'll win you games no matter how much talent you have.... just ask the Cornell, Butler, and N. Iowa teams.
arkyvol writes:
why do some of the posters think its an either or proposition, either football or basketball, but not both? if memory serves, the gators own multiple trophys in both games within the last decade.
arkyvol writes:
p.s.: less anyone think the gator's smoking of the vols is limited to athletic endeavors, they need to take a look at the respective standings in the u.s.news & world report annual survey of colleges and universities.
TheOpinion writes:
How did u guys do in the NCAA tournament this year? Oh that's right you didn't make it. By how many points did you guys beat UT this year? Oh yea that's right you guys lost. Well must be nice to be a Memphis fan.
always_vol (Inactive) writes:
mike, that is a fair enough assessment.
I know I was not all that happy with the elite 8 ending. I felt we had a chance to go all the way with our draw and the upsets.
Yes, Bruce has his faults. And, yes, you are correct, we have to look at where we where (and our history) in judging Bruce.
So, 2 seasons in Bruce's tenure have been 'woulda coulda' seasons, times when we COULD have at least played in an NC game, maybe won??? Who knows??
But, hell, man, you have to compare/contrast that to Buzz, when you where mostly worried about getting .500, and hoping his players did't miss church. Or, Wade, who always had that 'damn, if I just had some talent on the floor' look....
Looking at our most successful coaches: Mears would have cleaned up in today's environment; he know how to recruit (Aberdeen, especially), and he played the angles. Jerry Green put some damn good teams on the floor, but he couldn't control them. Don Devoe??? Never could get quite enough talent, but a pretty good coach.
So, Bruce is 'up there' for us, even with his flaws. And, no, I don't feel the program is on a sound enough footing to survive if he left. We'd got the way of Iowa or Iowa State or Bama, just kind of flounder around for years trying to find 'the guy'. Hell, remember when Bama was a basketball power? Miss State? Even Florida?? It leaves you pretty quickly if you aren't a 'core' program like UK, Duke (duck), or UNC.
Take care, always enjoy your posts.
VolunteerLifer writes:
And how many of those deep ncaa game appearances were vacated? You don't get to claim credit for those.
Don't think Pearl is much of a recruiter? of the 10 scholarship players we have on next year's squad, two are five star recruits, and six are four star recruits. Tobias Harris is the number one ranked power forward in the nation.
Don't think he's much of a coach? Do you think your coach could get you to the elite eight (without getting it vacated) after losing both of his primary four players? After losing three others for significant portions of the season over disciplinary issues? What Pearl did last season should bring your respect no matter who you root for.
N2Motorsports writes:
Where is the guy that keeps trying to tell us that UT isn't relevant on a national level?
brentrod writes:
hey tigrfan. who leads the series between the two? yeah, we do. nothing against your team, but this is a tennessee blog. don't get offended if memphis isn't spoken of very highly.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Thats a good post...I will respond paragraph by paragraph lol.
Memphis has the #1 class in rivals and scout #3 in ESPN. UT is #4, #9, #7 in those as well. Memphis has 7 recruits while UT is in the top 10 with only 3. Being the #1 class doesn't mean they are back. UCLA was #1 in 08 and has been to the tourney 1 time with that class, UF in '07 and managed a first round loss in its only tourney, Ok. St. in 05 only 1 tourney in that class' 4 years, FSU in 03 NO tourneys not even the NIT in one year. So its not a given that they are back because they are dubbed the #1 class.
As for the tourney...I believe that 2 of those 3 final fours have been vacated due to NCAA violations (1985, 2008). The championship game appearance, 38 wins, ncaa tourney appearance, and all the revenues collected GONE. But one thing is correct we haven't sustained the program that Memphis has cause we have yet to be put on probation multiple times in the last 30 years. We continue to mention Memphis because as great as you all think you have been. UT leads the overall series 13-8.
We are proud of our Elite Eight. Speaking of playing anyone in the Top 25..when, with the exception of maybe this year, did Memphis play a top 25 team in their conference the last 4-5 years to get into the NCAA tournament? As far as the HYPE goes I am not sure how much there was actually but anyway. I guess it is the same with the conference you play in huh? Cause NO ONE will mistake the competition in Conference USA with that of the SEC.
You are entitled to your opinion..I think he is good at both and that is my opinion. Cal and Pastner seem to be good recruiters. Cal isn't a good coach and the jury is still out on Pastner seeing as though he is only coached 1 season. As many great players? To my knowledge we have had 1 great player as you called it back out of a committment. News flash for you, the big time players that Cal got at Memphis were ready for the NBA before he got them. Evans and Rose would be in the NBA no matter where they went and played. That is the NCAA tournament, there are upsets but that doesn't lessen anyone's accomplishments. And all the higher seeds fell by the way side? Really only 1 higher seed fell on UTs way to the Elite 8 and that was Georgetown. The tourney committee put us against the 11 seed(that everyone picked to beat us by the way) and then we beat the #2 seed to get to the Elite 8. But don't let the facts get in your way.
Thanks for the post
bigorange61 writes:
Even if he could shoot a free throw every 7 seconds, his arms would fall off long before he got to 500.
Six people shooting from a rack is totally different.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Well in fairness a day is 24 hours long. I don't believe he said that he shot them at one time. He just said 500-700 a day.
givehim6 writes:
Do not understand why Memphis is even being talked about, when Calipari run away the UT-Memphis rivalry lost its power. Now he is at UK the rivalry between UT and UK got sweeter. Hope recruiting will keep UT in the final four, and the National spotlight for many years to come.
bryanvolsfan writes:
TIGRFAN, how many coaches in the country could change their style in the middle of the year? Maybe 3 or 4! You didnt get to a National Championship Game in 07' because the NCAA took it away from you, thanks to the OVERRATED CHEAT Calipari!
FWBVol writes:
All the story says is that Hopson is shooting between 500 and 700 FTs a day. It doesn't say he's doing it in one hour or five hours.
That said, I don't think it would be that big of a deal for a college basketball player that is in top condition to shoot 500 consecutive free throws. Most of us weekend athletes might not be able to do so, but a basketball isn't that heavy compared to the weights they lift to build their strength.
Elite athletes in every sport push themselves past the limits most of us can really understand. Great golfers might hit 500 to 1000 balls a day working on every aspect of the game.
Great hitters in baseball will take several hundred swings of BP daily and guys like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees throw hundreds of passes in a day during the offseasn so come game day when they have to throw 50 or 60 they will still have enough arm strength to throw the deep out or the corner route.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Most people disregard the facts because more times than not the facts hinder their statements.
halloffamebowler writes:
If you hit nothing but the bottom of the net,the ball will automatically come back to you.You would not need a rebounder unless you draw iorn with your shot.
oldsmokey67 writes:
Listen buttbrain no one is comparing schools.Before coach Calamari you guys were not exactly tearing up the basketball world.And you guys can't count that national runner up finish cause your coach cheated and the final 4 appearance is vacated.No one in the nation will remember a cheater when they are in the final 4.So you can't count it. hahahahahahahahahaha
arkyvol writes:
you guys think the number of students has anything to do with a school's academic ratings? are you kidding? in other words, you believe that the fact that m.t.s.u. has 22,000 undergrads makes it more highly regarded than princeton (7,500)or stanford (6,800) or harvard (7,100).
talk about disregarding facts.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
Hate to say this...but basketball Vols not quite on the national radar screen as yet..they will have to duplicate last year's performance again this year,and finally finish in the final four at least a couple of times...then they will be discussed along with Tarheels, Duke, etc.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Devan Downey is 5'9". Would you say 'no thanks' to him?
RockyTopRenegade writes:
True, true.
But the beauty part is, we have an excellent coach who is recruiting very well and has the best opportunity yet in TN basketball history to do exactly that.
In fact, I'm having so much fun as a UT BBall fan I even enjoy watching the Tiger High trolls come on here, WAY AFTER MARCH MADNESS, and crow about about "We are gonna....." then vanish with the fall foliage as CBP spanks their team back to the oblivion of CUSA play.
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
To me basketball has become exciting again enough to watch every game on TV. With the exception of the 2000-01 team I haven't felt that way since the days of Allan Houston.
It's Great To Be a Tennessee Vol.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Hopefully, for UK fans this isn't a sign of things to come under Cal....
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/05/02/12...
VolunteerLifer writes:
"Bell suggested that the change in coaches, from Billy Gillispie to Calipari, adversely affected academic performance as players and a new staff adjusted to each other and to UK's academic standards. She also said upperclassmen were taking difficult classes to complete requirements for a degree."
There's alot of excuse making for greasy-pari in this article, including this beaut. If coaching transition is the problem, how come Lane Kiffin had the UT football team performing in the classroom at much higher standards in the first semesters he took over from Fulmer?
tnvolfan30 writes:
Not to mention Memphis plays in the "powerhouse" C-USA..zzzzz, ummm i think UTEP won it this year. whoopee doo. Plus Memphis gets the easy bracket, sooooo yeah, keep dreaming there TIGERFAN. Not happenin' here kid. By the way, how's the flooding out there? Nice 'n dry here in K-town. OUT.
wildcatbasketball writes:
All Vol UT BB fans,
I will say this...CBP has done wonders for UT basketball. He took them to the elite 8 for the FIRST time ever!! Congatulations on that accomplishment. But I will also say this, as another poster commented prior, do it year and year out and then you can claim to be a "NATIONAL REVELANT" basketball program.
All I am saying is if getting to the elite 8 makes a "national revelant" program then we have several of these in college basketball. Has CBP changed the UT BB program? ABSOLUTELY!!! But let's make a few elite 8's and Final 4's before we make that judgment. Nothing against CBP at all, as stated prior, but what are the expectations? Does making the Elite 8 make you "national revelant"? I guess so if these are your expectations.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
With all due respect wildcat...if you read the article here you will see that it was an outside source that said that UT was nationally relevant. Some UT fans were saying it long before this article..just the same as some UK fans are saying that UK is a national title contender again after making it past the 2nd round for the first time in 5 years. You have to understand the excitement in Knoxville recently. The same way UK had excitement this year after not even making the tournament last season.
wildcatbasketball writes:
Well said....I did not mean any harm at all. I do respect all that CBP has done and UT fans SHOULD be excited!!! All I was saying is he needs to continue to have this team in the hunt year in and year out, which I think he will do.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Oh I know that you didn't. I wasn't responding defensively at all. I was just comparing the level of excitement. I mean, honestly, when was the last time prior to CBP was a win over UT considered a quality win for teams resumes for the tournament. I think we will be there year in/year out. Will we win a title soon? Who knows?
wildcatbasketball writes:
I hope so!!! I want the UK/UT basketball rivalry to continue for years!!! I think as long as CBP and Cal are at the helm it will be that way. Not sure they like each other too much but that is OK as long as it is a respected rivalry.
bearbull95#206250 writes:
Well said. And those players you so rightly mention became great because they each probably had a moment when they had the chance to make the difference in the outcome of a big game and they came up a bit short. Unless you're him, you can't imagine the ramped-up determination and drive that was forged in Scotty when he missed the go-ahead free throws. 500 free throws daily is nothing compared to feeling like he did in that game. The loss in the Elite 8 wasn't an easy one to take, but it was an important motivating milestone and tribute to one amazing season of coaching and unselfish team play by some great individual efforts. It seemed like I was watching Williams, especially, grow by leaps and bounds into a future team leader during the tournament. The Bernie and Ernie show era was the last time I was so amped about UT basketball. It may still be too early to tell for some, but it appears to me that CBP at UT is building the foundation to a program that will rise to be regularly included in conversation with some of the storied ones we always hear about.
Colliervol writes:
And after all that, we are still THE University of Tennessee and you are still, well, Memphis. And that's all the time I'm going to waste on that subject.
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