Blackshear withdrawing from NBA draft
- Thread starter HRTheCard
- Start date
Which makes it even more impressive. A 22 point dog tied at half and winning by 20.
Because until Barnes does something of note at UT, they are still the school that has 1 E8 in their entire history.
The only dude that contained Kevin Durant and kept him from greatness in college… ..and a FF, was Rick Barnes.
Barnes has given UT the most wins in a season that they have ever had. Barnes has a winning % against Cal which gets paid more than any other coach in the game. Barnes made UK fans hope and pray that a couple of UT 3 star players would go early into the NBA draft. Barnes was the coach of the year for the country. So, take a note of it...
I thought Kentucky fans a much higher opinion of their team and program. You would think a coach and team has accomplished “something” not losing the season series against them in four straight seasons, but alas they don’t think it takes much to consistently beat the Cats over four years.
I think Tennessee fans may hold your team in higher esteem than you do. We tend to think we are on the rise when we consistently compete with the big boy in the conference over several seasons.
I think Tennessee fans may hold your team in higher esteem than you do. We tend to think we are on the rise when we consistently compete with the big boy in the conference over several seasons.
You realize that knocking Barnes is knocking the SEC?
How is a crappy coach doing so well in that league with average talent?
I don't really think you are on the rise anymore. You have been an upper echelon SEC program the last two years. Problem is all of that talent is gone. I know you have a solid class coming in, but when you don't have a bunch of elite freshman I really think it'll be tough to replace the "big 3" for you guys in Bone, Admiral and Grant Williams.
Barnes is a good coach who has a pretty bad postseason resume considering he's been at P5 schools for like 25 years.
Well it must be correct if you agree.Bring up UT and all the UK fans come out of the woodwork
P.S. I agree with you guys completely
Me too it keeps adding talent each year.
BTW, that is a lot of players. no wonder....
But anyway it is all about the players reaching their dreams and getting contracts. 2 Billion strong.
Me too it keeps adding talent each year.
BTW, that is a lot of players. no wonder....
But anyway it is all about the players reaching their dreams and getting contracts. 2 Billion strong.
Looks like most of them need a dusting
Meh, dust is better than vacated banners that weren't there long enough to collect dust.
Landing blackshear would go a long way in neutralizing KU's front court. You cant beat experienced talent.
I actually like the backcourt of Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bowden, and Josiah-Jordan James. I think that's worthy of a top 25 team. The question marks are depth and the frontcourt. I think Fulkerson can be productive. Not sure about ORN or Burns, haven't seen them play. They're outside of my top 25, probably in the 40-50 range for me. But I'd be really intrigued if Victor Bailey could become eligible this year.
That’s great, but lets see how he does over the long haul.
It's a very small sample size to this point. Now he's looking at a rebuild. That's what Cal does every year.
It might take Barnes 3 years to get Ut back to the level.it was at the last 2 years.
And yes, Cal makes more money that RB, he also has a title and four final fours in his first 6 years at UK.
Yup, when your goal is changing the lives of entire families and making incredible dreams come true it is the biggest day of the year.
I know you wanted to poke fun at the thought of the NBA draft being the most important day for UK coaches and players, but if you don't understand why, I can't help you.
Players make or brake a coach. Admiral, Jordan Bone and Grant Williams will make any coach look great. Even you can't deny that.
Me knocking RB certainly does not knock.the SEC down. Maybe you should take a look at what the SEC has done in the NCAAT. Take whatever timeframe you want, the SEC has greatly outperformed the BIG12. Congrats to The B12, finally Someone other than KU accomplished something when it mattered. Still didn't win it all, but at least one of the 9 also rans in that god awful conference did something of note.
You picked a very poor topic to toss out there while trying to fight back. When your team is in the BIG12, you should not talk about conference strength.
It took Barnes only one year to get where Barnes was in the last two years. He rebuilt when he got here.
Barnes took a bunch of 3 stars and less and turned them into 5 star slayers. Cal didn't do that, but he was a victim of it.
God, you’re delusional. LOL. Please break down how the SEC (meaning teams other than Kentucky) has “greatly outperformed” the Big 12.
Nevermind that the Big 12 destroys the SEC year after year head to head and in all the computer rankings.
As for Barnes, it’s hilarious that you’re arguing that those schmucks would make any coach look great, yet Durant couldn’t.
And while you’re trashing Barnes, you might want to consider how often Calipari has fallen short of expectations. Several times he’s began the season at the top of the polls, only to fall to the bottom of the top 20 or out of the top 25 altogether.
Last edited:
Again, it's a small sample size and even though he did a great job, he also had a bunch of really solid players that bought in.
UT ran into a scolding hot team in the NCAAT last season or they were FF bound probable, but that happens.
Now that Peanut Butter & Jelly are gone, the rebuild is on. Lets see how he does. All we have so far is a 4 year sample size at UT.
Compare Barnes's first 4 years at UT to Cal's at UK (I'm only saying that because you brought up the comparison and stated that Cal makes more money, well duhhh, he should).
Bottom line is, they don't compare. His first two years were very poor, but the last two years were good. UT's only real accomplishments are a few wins over UK and a win over Gonzaga last November. Great.
Lets wait and see how he does now without Admiral and Williams. Reloading isn't easy.
Unless we get blackshear we step back some this year. As duke said be a really good backcourt but uncertainties in front court.
But we are Tennessee, we don’t expect to immediately be a top 10-15 team every year. Outside of UK, no SEC team is in the top 2-3 teams in the league every year. The rest of us rotate in and out of that, some more than others. Tennessee is going to have a nice stretch over a 7-8 year period where we get in there more than most sec teams. We did not play a single four star recruit last year. We have a couple this year. This falls class is going to load up on players ranked 25-75 in the country and be a top ten the way it looks.
Yes we had a great group, but we are allowed to recruit and bring in new players. We just will have to go with the 2-3 year players more than the one and done types, we do have a five star freshman.
For Tennessee that means we are on the rise even if we dip a bit some years in there.
First, how is it Calipari's fault that preseason polls have freshmen led UK teams rated top 5? Calipari has no control over that, so your comments about Calipari falling short of pre season guesses is ridiculous.
How often has UK or Calipari lost to a lower seeded team in the NCAAT? How often has Self lost to a lower seeded team? How often has Self lost to a mid major in the NCAAT? Calipari?
How often have both schools fallen short of seed expectations in the tournament?
Screw pre season polls where it's just a guess by some media members, lets talk about where it matters, the NCAAT. Bucknell, Northern Iowa, WSU and Bradley ring a bell?
Sorry you can't see that the SEC has easily outperformed the BIG12 in the NCAAT. How the hell can you argue that? Is there a title winner other than KU (2008 and 1988) in the modern era?
The SEC has three different programs that have won titles in the modern era (2 programs with multiple titles) and 5 different programs reach the FF.
As far as the SEC/BIG12 challenge, those games are played in January and since the big12 only has 10 teams, 4 SEC teams get left out. Two years in a row Auburn was left out and last year LSU was also left out.
So, the BIG12/SEC challenge isn’t even an equal competition, but nice try. Not really.
Plus, the SEC, is 1-1-1 the last three years in the challenge while fighting with one arm tied behind its back.
You might want to sit the rest of this game out if you're going to throw out some cheese like that.
Last edited:
It was not a small sample size, it was an entire rebuild and in short order. The amazing thing is Barnes rebuilt UT with players that no one wanted. That is coaching!
I agree, UT was elite last year and played well enough to be FF. There is no shame in the loss to Purdue.
You brought Cal into the conversation, not me. However, Barnes having the advantage head to head against Cal while rebuilding an untalented team with no names is remarkable. I have no issue naming Cal an elite coach, but it is obvious that Barnes is also an elite coach.
Barnes is already upgrading the talent (recruiting) and there is every reason to believe that UT will be a force to reckon with when that fresh talent jells.
I would love it if Cal was able to coach his players for 3 or 4 years. Can you imagine how good UK would be every year if he didn't have 5+ players leave after every season? He plays freshman oriented teams every year.
In 2009/10, right after an NIT season, Cal had UK in the E8 with a bunch of Freshman mixed in with some good leftovers.
Rick did well, but he had the same team for 3+ years. His first two years were disasters.
Now he has to rebuild again, lets see how that goes before we crown him elite. He still hasn't made a FF happen for UT and it ain't happening in 2020.
I will go back and look, but I believe you brought the RB vs Cal comparison into this when you talked about how Cal makes more money. I don't recall making comparisons prior to that.
Edit:
Yup, post #84 is where you brought in the Barnes vs Calipari comparison. See below:
"Barnes has given UT the most wins in a season that they have ever had. Barnes has a winning % against Cal which gets paid more than any other coach in the game. Barnes made UK fans hope and pray that a couple of UT 3 star players would go early into the NBA draft. Barnes was the coach of the year for the country. So, take a note of… ."
Tourney success isn't just about totaling final fours or titles. If, for instance, the Big 12 has far more elite 8s and overall tourney wins but a few less final fours, that doesn't mean the SEC "greatly outperformed" them. Do you have a comparison of tourney wins (subtracting KU and Kentucky)?
It's also not all about the postseason. Shit happens in the tourney. Remember the #1 overall getting blown out by a 16 seed? And remember a few years ago when the SEC went something like 1-30 in OOC vs the top 25? One of those events was a fluke; one wasn't.
The B12 is definitely behind the ACC and B10 historically, but the SEC is garbage nearly every year. A few random runs here and there don't change that.
As for Self, he has nothing to do with the argument. I'm not the one knocking the coach who has kicked ass in my supposedly underrated league the last few years. It would be like me knocking Beard.
But Self rarely finishes the year way below preseason expectation. Generally he's where he was expected to be or higher. And he's had a shitload of injuries/suspensions to top players over the years. In his typical year, he begins the season ranked in the lower half of the top 10 and reaches the elite 8. Hard to call that underachievement, even if they earned a 1 seed. A coach shouldn't be criticized for exceeding expectation in the regular season. Yeah, there have been some early chokes, just like K, Wright and everyone else. It happens. But Calipari has been underwhelming fairly often in the regular season. That's not a fluke.
Cal makes his bed with one and dones, so that is where he must sleep. That is the weakness of recruiting superstars that will be gone in a year.
I stand corrected on who brought up who.
Yeah, shit happens in the NCAAT, but eventually the cream rises to the top. 9 out of 10 programs, until last season, have been at or below average. They've been first weekend teams over and over and over. Yeah, shit happens, but when the results are the same every year, maybe it's more than just the randomness of the tournament.
Yup, Self has played to seed more times than not, but he does have a plethora of losses to mid majors early in the tournament.
The rest of your post is just garbage. Yeah, there was a point in time when the SEC was much like the Big12, one great program and a bunch of average or bad teams. You can point and laugh at the SEC all you want, but the SEC has way more titles and final fours. Also has more teams that have won titles and made the final four. You can knock those accomplishments, but those teams had to win 4, 5 or 6 tournament games to get there. Those sucky SEC teams (UK, Florida, South Carolina, Auburn and Arkansas) all did that.
Yup and I've stated it before, I hate the one and done, I am good with guys like John Wall and AD leaving early, but it's gotten ridiculous. Some of these guys accomplish very little in their one year at UK, but because they have potential, they leave and the NBA gladly takes them. Then they're playing D-League ball within a couple years because they got lost in the shuffle.
Calipari would have an incredible wins/lost record if he used the same method Barnes uses. He did it at UMass, but times change.
I think Barnes has a done a great job to this point at Tennessee. His last few seasons at Texas were underwhelming so I was skeptical of the hire. But sometimes people just need a change to get going again.
That said, despite Barnes having the head to head advantage in his time at UT(which I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see continue because Cal coaches like ass against his buddies), Cal has still way more wins, and 3 times as many tourney wins during Barnes 4 years at UT and I would not at all be surprised if this past season ends up being the high point of Barnes time at UT. I do think he will consistently get Tennessee to the tournament.
That said, despite Barnes having the head to head advantage in his time at UT(which I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see continue because Cal coaches like ass against his buddies), Cal has still way more wins, and 3 times as many tourney wins during Barnes 4 years at UT and I would not at all be surprised if this past season ends up being the high point of Barnes time at UT. I do think he will consistently get Tennessee to the tournament.
Barnes is bringing in much higher rated recruits than what he had to support his accomplishments, so far.
It is sensible to believe that he will continue to have UT performing at a high level over all.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but excluding KU and Kentucky, the B12 has 236 tourney wins and the SEC 214.
Funny that it's suddenly acceptable to use the modern era timeframe. You guys completely dismiss that when it's used to compare individual programs to Kentucky.
The SEC is still one good program and a bunch of bad or average teams. Florida had some good years under Donovan. Now they're back to average. Auburn catching lightning in a bottle doesn't mean they've suddenly "arrived." They're more likely to go the way of South Carolina than to develop into a perennial contender.
Two football conferences. One elite program in each. And one league has been dominated head to head. Sorry, the facts are the facts. Spin it all you want, but it's kinda pathetic.
But the format has also kept out Missouri and some other terrible programs, so it's worked in your favor as well.
And LSU and Auburn participating the last few years would hardly make up the 10 game deficit.
Good call, I forgot both of those. So that's 7 sucly SEC teams that have made recent final fours. Gawd man, the SEC really sucks.
Similar threads
