Schasz Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 I guess Lutz heads the Vols search to become HC. http://tennessean.com/sports/ut/archives/0.../67238474.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Tough place to coach...Football is king...then womens hoops....they play in a HUGE arena and can't fill it. Didn't work for a lot of coaches.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Court - you are correct but WU was in the same boat until Romar showed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 At Washington, Bob Bender was there for 8 years before Romar and had a losing record. Tennessee is on its 4th coach in 11 years and the last two coaches have had a winning records (although Buzz just barely hovered over .500). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted March 22, 2005 Author Share Posted March 22, 2005 The HC before Peterson (Green was his name) had them in the Big Dance and did have a winning record. It only takes a good recruiting class or two and they could be dancing to Rocky Top all the way to the Big Dance. They got plenty of money so there is no real excuse not to have a decent mens basketball program. I don't buy that it cannot get done at UT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Courtside is correct, football is king at UT, followed by women's bball. Going to high school in Nashville, I probably knew about 50 people that went to UT. Most of the people I talk to about their basketball team don't have a clue and actually, couldn't even remember if they ever attended a game there. UT football is a religion in middle and east Tennessee. It's pretty wierd actually. Can Lutz change that? I highly doubt it. If he can sell out the 28-29k arena they have, that would be a major feat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted March 22, 2005 Author Share Posted March 22, 2005 I won't argue that they football is a religion at UT, but I also believe that they want the Vols mens basketball team in the Big Dance. My wife is an Alum of UT and she did attend the mens basketball games all of the time...of course she also graduated from Collinsville HS so she was raised on basketball back in the day that C-Ville regularly competed and won Illinois HS championships. I can tell you that she cares about seeing a competitive mens basketball program, and I sincerely doubt she is the only Alum that feels that way. If they didn't give a damn about basketball then they certainly wouldn't have fired Peterson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Oh, don't get me wrong. UT takes quite a bit of pride in their sports. They want to win, and they want to win big. If you don't, you're outta there. I remember the year after UT won the National championship, they didn't make it back to the championship game. Fans were so pissed they couldn't even sell out their tickets to the major bowl game they were in (i forget which one). I guess I was eluding more to the fact that IMO it is a very difficult place to be a coach. Between Pat Summit and Phil Fulmer, you have two hall of fame coaches who have been around for decades. That's a lot to live up to. Then you will always have to play second (or should I say third) fiddle as the basketball team. I'm sure UT can offer more money and better facilities than Charlotte can dream of. But I don't know how long Lutz would stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I agree wtih Nashville....Schasz...I didn't say it couldn't be done...I believe it can be done....but it would take a special coach for it to happen. ....a lot stacked against someone in the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 attract fans. Look at FL, ALA, OK, TEX, Ohio State....all schools where Football sits at the right hand of God. But if their BB team suddenly comes up a winner the fans come, get excited, buy jerseys, etc. If Lutz can accomplish what Donovan has at FL or Barnes at TEX, UT arena will be swimming in Orange Crush. Same applies to the Bills....let UB get them off to an 11-0 start some year with an exciting brand of ball and bring in some national teams for a few major upsets...Bang, just like that Savvis will have 15-16,000 fans. Personally, I'm gonna miss Lutz at Charlotte. Yeah, he's a crybaby but a hell of a coach and decent recruiter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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