Photo by Adam Brimer, copyright © 2011
Adam Brimer/News Sentinel Tennessee's Wes Washpun, left, and Renaldo Woolridge, right, talk with one another during media day at Thompson-Boling Arena on Oct. 12.
Former Tennessee two-time SEC Player of the Year and NBA all-star Dale Ellis likes what he sees from new Vols coach Cuonzo Martin and his staff.
But ultimately, Ellis said, the Tennessee players will determine this season's fortunes.
"I like the way (Martin) conducts his practices,'' said Ellis, who sat through the Vols' practice on Thursday while waiting to train former UT player and Milwaukee Bucks' first-round draft pick Tobias Harris.
"This staff seems to be getting these guys motivated, there's no doubt about that,'' said Ellis, who played with the Vols 1979-83.
"The intensity they come with in practice they will have to bring to the game every single night to be competitive.''
Harris has been taking classes at UT (14 credits) during the NBA lockout, and is working with Ellis during the weekdays and flying to San Antonio to work with former Spurs' shooting specialist George Gervin.
Ellis indicated that two operative words for the inexperienced Vols should be "effort" and "opportunity.''
"There are opportunities on this team for someone to rise to the occasion,'' Ellis said. "Guys that sat on the bench last year now have new life.
"They're going to have to find a scorer to go to.''
Defensive Stoppers: Martin said UT needs to have "at least two defensive stoppers" on the floor at all times.
"One in the paint and one on the perimeter,'' Martin said. "We have guys that can score the ball, but they have to be decent enough on defense where they don't hurt you.''
Martin said point guards Trae Golden and Wes Washpun have been the best at pressuring the ball.
"Trae is better at it than I thought he would be,'' Martin said. "Those two guys have made the biggest jump, because they're out here battling each other every day.''
Hall Pass: Martin said junior post Kenny Hall has met the challenge in the paint, increasing his weight from 217 to 230 and showing a great work ethic.
"Kenny is doing a good job banging inside,'' Martin said. "Kenny is a better shooter than I first thought, but Kenny's also in the gym every day at 6 a.m. He puts the work in. Kenny needs to be more selfish on the floor; he's a good scorer.''
Big Man Breakdown: Martin revealed that in addition to playing power forward, Renaldo Woolridge is working at the post along with Hall and freshman Yemi Makanjuola, while Jeronne Maymon and Dwight Mitchell are working exclusively at power forward.
UT assistant Jon Harris, who works mostly with the big men, said the Vols have the most important ingredient in the paint.
"The effort is there,'' Harris said. "We still have to get a little more productive as far as the technicalities at the position.''
Charge: The Vols' went through a physical drill where they took hard charges from teammates.
"It's one of our best drills because it requires the guys to step it up,'' Harris said.
Maymon, 6-foot-7 and 252 pounds, said he enjoyed the drill.
"It was like a football practice in here,'' Maymon said. "The first time I took one from (redshirt junior) Rob Murphy, it knocked the wind out of me. I was ready the next few times.''
Martin said there's a method to the madness.
"It's a toughness drill,'' he said. "But you're also teaching them to protect themselves, brace themselves and be ready to take the hit.''
Mike Griffith covers Tennessee men's basketball. Follow him at http://twitter.com/MikeGriffith32
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Comments » 32
BigVolFaninSC writes:
Dale Ellis was the best pure shooter ever! He was no slouch on the defensive side either! Had he more help, the VOLS might have made some more noise in the tourney back then! John Ward with the call, "Ellis from the corner...BOTTOM!"
VictorKruger writes:
It's great to hear that my all-time favorite Vol is still involved with the program. I was afraid that the movement to get former Vol stars reconnected with the program was going to sputter. I'm really looking forward to seeing the team play hard for 40 minutes again!
BillVol writes:
Pic of Dale?
theoldbear writes:
What a great guy Dale Ellis is and wss.
Tobias Harris could have been the next Dale Ellis. What a shame that NBA gold tempted him away. What a difference one more year would have made to him and the program.
txvolsfan writes:
If there is no NBA season bet he wishes he would have stayed. They should let the guys play that have another year of eligibility since the NBA is so screwed up!!!
CarlChilders writes:
A good guy who played 4 years and never made a lot of noise except on the court. I miss him.
tennrich1 writes:
Lot of folks may not remember but Dale was a really good tennis player...just a great athlete period.
smokey-vol writes:
Ellis was truly agreat player. He was Tennesse basketball during his time on the hill.
the58vol writes:
Dale Ellis.....a super Vol you can be proud of! Many great memories growing up of him wearing the Big Orange!
Fall_Creek_Vols writes:
I've been tempted to say this for awhile, but I firmly believe this team will surprise a few people this year. Coach Martin is a winner and he builds winners. Missouri State is a great example.
So....go ahead, ignore us....give us no respect. In less time than you might think, they'll be respecting Tennessee men's basketball again.
That's my opinion and it ought to be yours.
Vol4EVA writes:
Excited to hear this and am anxious to see this team compete. Great to hear Dale is on campus and involved. I used to play in pick up games with him on the goals between the tennis courts back in 82 (or should I say, we watched Dale school the rest of us). It was a great thrill and priviledge just to watch him play. Those were some great years with Dale, Michael Brooks, Steve Ray, Willie Burton, Tyron Beamen, Dan Federman....Exciting times in old Stokely Athletic Center with Coach Devoe, yelling at Joe B. Hall (sit Joe sit), and winning the SEC....
sly_stone99#434111 writes:
Yep, Dale schooled us at Doc's place. He was one of the smoothest players on the court.
GreerVol22 writes:
Advice for Bert...Yemi Makanjuola.....call him Yemi. Please.
RoadTrip writes:
I like that Dale likes...
Go Vols!
kingofthevols writes:
Yes, Dale was a great one. His jersey needs to go up in the rafters.
traderjoe writes:
Ellis, King and Grunfield gave Vol fans reasons to go to the games. What a difference it is to see exceptional talent. We definitely need more of this.
FrostyVol writes:
that 79-80 team was my all time favorite. Bert dishing out the assists, Ellis bombing from long range, and Howard Wood and Reggie Johnson banging down low. great memories.
johnlg00 writes:
I'm with you on this. While I think excessively high expectations could be at least as damaging to the program going forward as excessively low ones, the team will not be the total disaster some are predicting with varying amounts of glee. Martin gets a bit of a pass on recruiting with me for this upcoming class, since the cream of the class of 2012 has already been courted assiduously by the current major powers for several years now. Until Martin has a successful season or two to promote, he can't really get in on the stars yet.
It is a real dilemma; he can't likely win big in the long run without major talent, but he can't get major talent until he proves he can win. Anybody who expects more from this year's team than obvious maximum effort regardless of the win total MAY be disappointed; anybody who thinks they won't GIVE that effort WILL be shocked. I think they will have a shot at a big upset or two.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Well I've been posting too much but I have to say something about Ellis.
Ellis "you the man"!! Tennesseans are proud.
SunshineVol writes:
Hey Dale, teach him how to push off with the left hand without getting the whistle.
hueypilot writes:
The one fact I hang my hat on in having better hopes than most for Coach Martin, is the performance of his team, last year, against the Vols at Thompson Boling. Go up top and click on basketball schedules and select the game where CZ brought his team of "two-stars" in here against Pearl with Hopson and Harris and it took Trae Golden stepping to the line to drop two foul shots with 7 seconds left and the Vols clinging to a two point lead, to pull out a 60-56 win. The Vols only outperformed Mo. St. at the foul line sinking ten foul shots (how the hell did they do that?) in the waning minutes. Mo. St. bested Tennessee in every other statistical category in that game.
A poster said Mo. St. was "dirty". I'd take that as they played tough defense since there was no mention of an upper cut or a karate kick in the story.
As Bum Phillips once said of his old mentor, Bear Bryant, "he can take his'n and beat your'n, or take your'n and beat his'n" Based on that head to head matchup last winter, who do you suppose did the better coaching job with what he had? Bruce or CZ? It is a rhetorical question.
Let's give the man a chance to see what he can do on the court before we start dogging him, like a few have on this thread.
Flabbergasted writes:
I hope Dwight Miller doesn't read this article. He might feel disrespected at being called Dwight Mitchell.
johnlg00 writes:
Well said; agree with all. Go Vols!!! Go Zo!!!
Funny, though, that you should mention someone complaining that Zo's team was "dirty". One of my coaching jobs was as an assistant at the US Military Academy Preparatory School at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Many of our students were active-duty soldiers who came there to get their academics in order before going on to West Point. One year I had a kid from Elizabethton, TN, as it happened, who had come to the school from an airborne ranger unit. He was not a real big guy; in fact he looked more like Howdy Doody than a hardened killer--which he was, by the way! At half-time of one of our games against a much better team, one of their coaches came over to me to complain about how my guy was roughing up their much-bigger guys. I said I would look out for it and say something to him. I watched closely in the second half, and, sure enough, this kid had the most awesome repertoire of subtle little shoves, pokes, nudges, knees, elbows, etc., that I had ever seen! He hadn't been doing that in our practices, I can assure you! In that game, though, guys were reeling out of the scrum under the basket with some of the most pained expressions I had ever seen on the court. No bones were broken, no blood was spilled, but those guys probably had an awesome assortment of bruises after the game. During an early time-out, I pulled the kid aside and asked him to cool it, which he did, but for the rest of the game the opponents were noticeably reluctant to try to mix it up inside. By the way, my guy had double-figures in points and rebounds and was called for maybe two fouls in the whole game. I'm not advocating dirty play, but if Zo's guys can leave that impression on THEIR opponents, we will all have a most entertaining winter!
abnermc writes:
It was said , but it wasn't said by Bum & it wasn't said about Bear.Sorry.
rpvol123 writes:
I also loved this one "Ellis turn around jumper from the baseline " GUNS.......BANG" and also " POPS.....DROPS"
mocsandvolsfan writes:
ahem! If he's having to push off then they are fouling him...imho
VOLFORLIFE writes:
Not really, mocs. One of the best subtle moves a big man inside can make when going up for a shot is to use his left hand (assuming he's right handed) to either give the defender's body a nudge or to push the defender's arm away as he shoots. Not just anyone can do it and not get caught, but if you'll watch some of the better inside players, you'll see it happen all game long!
GO VOLS!!!
JUGHEAD
brokendownoldvol writes:
I was in school when Dale was there and my brother had some classes with him. I am only 5' 7" but he always stopped and talked to me and would play pick-up ball with us. A great guy.
johnlg00 writes:
In general, if the off arm doesn't sweep outward from the front of the shoulder, the offensive player may ward off a defender. If you bring the ball up with two hands and leave the off hand in place while the shooting hand continues the shooting motion, the shooter will usually not be called for the offensive foul. It is the exaggerated "sweeping-away" motion that draws the foul nearly every time.
johnlg00 writes:
I wasn't on campus or even in town when Ellis was there, but I can't recall ever hearing anything against him at all. Quite remarkable for any big-time athlete, or any ordinary person, for that matter.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
I've watched as much as you probably...and most of the time the defense is riding a player to 'cause the push. I agree with you about that particular technique but don't know if Ellis did it. I don't recall really.I remember in the 80's a few men using their free arm to hold off defenders on drives to the basket tho' and yes they still do.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
OK...what john said!
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