Loyal readers - by now, you know my admiration for Coach Pearl. I love the press, love the offense, love the rotation, love the showmanship, etc.
But I don't know what he is doing right now.
The Vols played an uninspired game in the opening round of the NCAA tournament yesterday to knock off a game, but not very good, American team. The Vols threw awful passes, played lazy defense and generally looked like they were bored.
Was it disappointment about being a #2 seed? Are the Vols too fat and happy after their #1 ranking? Are they just not that good?
They certainly did not look like potential National Champions.
National Champions are not experimenting with line-up changes during the tournament. Yesterday, Ramar Smith sat the entire 1st half while Jordan Howell sat the entire 2nd half. According to Coach Pearl's post-game comments, Howell's days on the floor for the Vols are over as J.P. Prince will become the back-up point guard.
Huh?
Shouldn't this decision have been made a month ago? Is Prince really a point guard at all? I don't understand making such drastic line-up changes at this point in the season.
The results, I'm afraid, were evident during yesterday's game. The Vols looked lost. There is no doubt that the players were thrown off by the changes. Teammates look out for each other and they may very well have sent their coach a message yesterday about their feelings.
Coach Pearl has made all the right moves for three years, but I'm baffled by the ones he made yesterday.
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1 comment:
I'm really worried about today.
Also, I've been pretty slammed of late at work. I doubt I'll be able to put up that Red Sox preview in the near future.
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