At this point, it is fair to say that Bruce Pearl owns Billy Donovan. The Vols' coach is now 5-1 against arguably the best coach in college ball today after last night's thrilling 89-86 win over the Florida Gators. The win gave Tennessee an outright SEC championship and might have burst the Florida tournament bubble.
The Gators came out on fire, just like in Knoxville, but, just like in Knoxville, could not sustain it. The Vols never seemed to rattle even though they did look rather lifeless in the first half.
The second half of this game might be my favorite performance of the year from the Vols. First, it was Tyler Smith refusing to let the Vols go down as he demanded the ball and made tough shot after tough shot. Then it was JaJuan Smith stroking deep 3's over Gator defenders. Then it was Chris Lofton being Chris Lofton, rubbing off in-his-face defenders to find an inch of space for yet another three-pointer. Then it was Wayne Chism, who looks more and more like an NBA prospect every game, stepping up with a couple of big time post moves and two clutch free throws. Heck, without J.P. Prince and Jordan Howell stepping up off the bench during the 1st half, the Vols might have been blown out early. This was an all-around marvelous performance on the road in the SEC against a team fighting for its season.
Random thoughts and observations:
* I guess Jordan Howell's shooting slump is over? He looked confident with the ball last night. Ramar Smith was back to his sloppy self. I couldn't help but notice him laughing outside the huddle in the final moments of the game. There is no reason to read too much into that (people always do), but it sure seems like he should be seething about watching Howell play the critical final moments instead of him.
* Can we get a new scorekeeper in Gainesville? That was ridiculous. JaJuan had to go to the bench for no reason. Prince had to go to the bench for no reason. Get the fouls right, guys. It isn't that hard.
* The Vols continue to let people off the mat. Up 79-69, it looked like Tennessee was ready to finish the Gators. It does worry me that the Vols are not able to close the deal, but they always seem to finish the game the right way.
* What a huge rebound by Tyler Smith on JaJuan's missed free throw! After the awful, awful, awful over-the-back call on Ramar (that is a high school call if I have ever seen one - Lucas never even jumped for the rebound), Tyler's ability to slip/push his way to the rebound in that spot was a big play in the game. I read a national article this week touting Tyler for PofY in the SEC. He deserves it.
* Glad to hear Larry Conley point out the obvious that many others are missing about Lofton this year - his numbers are down in part because he does not need to shoulder so much of the load anymore. There are too many offensive weapons this year for him to launch the deep, off-balance 3's he did last season.
* No matter how the referees call the game, the Vols do not adjust. Last night, the guys in stripes called it tight (the Gators were in the double bonus with 8 minutes left in the game), but Tennessee just keeps pressuring and playing aggressively. I like it. The Vols can afford the fouls and, eventually, that kind of pressure takes its toll.
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4 comments:
Great win by the Vols. I would also like to announce that this game revived my loathing of Florida. Am I the only one that cannot stand Nick Calathes? For some reason he just oozes D-bag to me. With those racing stripes on the side of his head and the fact that he looks eerily like Iceman from Top Gun...and it probably doesn't help that he has serious game. I am not sure why my Florida hatred has remained relatively dormant while they won championships the past two years...maybe its because the vols have played so well against them I have been focusing on the home team. No more...Billy Donovan=suck;Nick Calathes=suck;Florida fans=suck;That commercial where Florida people in everyday life walk by each other and say "Go Gators"=suck. Screw SEC loyalty, i'm back to being a hater. End rant
I've been thinking about an article that strikes me as accurate, but problematic if I don't write it correctly - how white basketball players seem to generate more loathing than others. I don't know why exactly, but it seems to be true. Quick - name the most hated players in college basketball history.
J.J. Redick
Tyler Hansborough
Christian Laettner
Bobby Hurley
Adam Morrison
Greg Paulus
Dane Bradshaw
Maybe it is more of a Duke thing, but those guys all faced an inordinate amount of fan hatred and they all have something in common. I thought about mentioning how much Calathes annoyed me as well, but wanted to save it for this potential article. Oh well.
Joakim Noah was also hated pretty badly, so he works against the theory. Is there a black player who has gotten as much universal disdain (not isolated disdain like Eric Gordon) as these white players?
As for Florida, Donovan is a likable guy. I think that is why you have laid off him for so long.
Yeah, I guess Donovan is likeable. But the replay of him acting like a mad man when he got T'd up really got me. Also, could it be that the loathing is interrelating with the media's overhyping of these same white players. Maybe your average white college b-ball fan doesn't feel comfortable putting down a black player in the same way they would one of those players on your list because they are worried about being perceived as a racist. And really good white players often stay in school for 4 years because, well they aren't athletic enough to be high draft picks otherwise. So these players have four years to build up their anti-fan base unlike one and done or two year black players. And yes I know I am treading dangerous water here
I can't believe I forgot this game was on last night. I'm so embarrassed.
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