I'm a bit depressed this morning that the magical season for UT's men basketball has come to an end. It's sad to see our great run come to an end and I'm sorry that our three seniors couldn't go out as national champions.
That said, as I reflect on the season, I can't help but be satisfied with the run Tennessee made as a whole.
A lot of great things happened this year. Nationally, the program rose to prominence (much to the chagrin of many of the "old school" basketball people who can't handle that the Vols are good and will be for years to come. You can see it just in the seeding we got and the way CBS scheduled our games and covered us). We were number one in both polls for a week. We won the regular season SEC Championship for the first time in 41 years. We are the state champs of the Volunteer State, beating Memphis, Vanderbilt and MTSU. That fact alone will be a huge boon in in-state recruting for YEARS to come, thus giving me optimism for the future. We won a record-setting 30 games. The team helped put the Volunteer state on the map as a basketball powerhouse.
And the basketball team created a pride and a buzz among Big Orange fans that you generally see reserved for the football team and the Lady Vols.
Looking at all of that and the sheer amount of fun I had watching our team and enjoying the success, I deem this season a huge, absolute success. Yes, we didn't win it all and maybe we peaked too soon (beating Memphis) but it was still a great ride. And with Bruce Pearl at the helm, I have a feeling this is just a taste of what's to come. And I can't wait.
Labels: tennessee basketball
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/28/2008 06:20:00 AM |
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