Consider this: The University of Tennessee is now the home of the defending national champion in women's basketball and the current number one team in men's basketball.
As a graduate of the school, I won't pretend to be objective about this. It is a wonderful time to be a hoops' fan of UT.
For years, the men's program had been a great source of frustration because it was obvious the school had the resources to build a top flight program. However, there always seemed to be a missing ingredient. Some years we had good players, but a coach who did not know how to use them. Other years, we had a coach who would work his butt off, but didn't have the talent to get the team over the hump. Congratulations to Coach Bruce Pearl and his team for getting everything to come together.
As for the women's program, what can you say about Pat Summitt? Her resume of seven national championships and countless conference championships speaks for itself. Not only is she successful, but she is also classy. She has never embarrassed the school in the way that somebody like Bobby Knight has.
There is still a long way to go in the season for both teams. The men play at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night, and one has to wonder how much the Vols will have left in the tank after their emotional victory over Memphis. It is one thing to be ranked number one. It is something entirely different to stay there.
Whatever happens, it will be a lot of fun watching both teams play down the stretch and then into the tournament.
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3 comments:
Better watch out for Vandy tonight. The Commodores are tough at home.
Gonna be close, but I bet Tennessee prevails.
Even though I - as a native Nashvillian - am a closet Vandy fan, I bet the score'll be something like ...
UT 73, VU 65
Vandy 72 Tenn 69. Well, Tennessee's reign as #1 will be a brief one. Vandy played well and deserved to win. The future looks bright for both teams.
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