re: Tennessee 61 @ #8 Wichita State 70 FINAL

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I know Forbes personally so I may be a little biased, but I think he's ready for the next big step.
He's constantly recruiting and building key relationships, and winning programs seem to follow him around. He loved the University of Tennessee and know he'd love to go back to coaching there if the opportunity was given to him.
His Rolodex is quite extensive and has connections in Texas, Midwest and southeast. Would be great for UT. Chris Jones was his best recruit while in JUCO and Chris is now the starting point guard for Louisville.

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Thanks for the info and it's ok to be a bit biased (we all are to some degree whether we know someone personally or just know of them). He does sound like he's pretty darn ready to step-up.

And that he loved being at Tennessee is a big bonus in my eyes -- we really do need coaches like that. It's hard to give your best to anything when you don't love or at least like where you're at and what you're doing. That's a coaching intangible that I think is often overlooked in determining whether or not a coach will succeed at a place. (Coach Summitt went into labor during a recruiting trip, hopped back on the plane, and when things got worse demanded they not make an emergency landing until they reached Tennessee).

Men's basketball, in particular, needs a coach like that even more -- apathy killed UT men's basketball decades before Pearl arrived and raised it from the dead. If he'd only been half as successful people would've loved him for that alone.

But Forbes would know all of this and what a fan base like ours needs which is another plus.

Forbes is not a showman like Pearl. Much more of a blue-collar, keep your head down guy. He is very well known and respected in JUCO circles, but there have been some serious questions about how he got players at UT. He was heavily involved in some of Pearl's more shady recruitments like Josh Selby, Scotty Hopson, Chris Jones, JayVaughn Pinkson, etc.

I just don't think anyone who was involved in that whole mess has much of a shot at returning, at least for a while.

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I don't think many fans would be happy if he was named the head coach, but I would love to have him back on staff.

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If Martin is fired and Pearl is off the list then it will be a situation where the AD hires whoever it wants and fans either come around or they don't. It won't be a situation where everyone is happy or even most are happy.

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Forbes is not a showman like Pearl. Much more of a blue-collar, keep your head down guy. He is very well known and respected in JUCO circles, but there have been some serious questions about how he got players at UT. He was heavily involved in some of Pearl's more shady recruitments like Josh Selby, Scotty Hopson, Chris Jones, JayVaughn Pinkson, etc.

I just don't think anyone who was involved in that whole mess has much of a shot at returning, at least for a while.

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In fairness, who could be a showman the likes of Pearl but Pearl?

As to shady recruiting... it's college basketball: the dirtiest, most scandalous sport, in the US. The cleanest school in the entire sport makes the scandals of several big time football schools look like examples of recruiting integrity.

Good Game Vols,

Was at the game on the floor, GA for Wichita State, and gotta say your team has some talent and size. This was exactly the game I thought it would be, hard fought with the Shockers coming out in the 2nd and getting control by the end. Our D is scrappy and usually frustrates the other team by the end, I mean we made a Mormon so pissed he got ejected for throwing elbows in the BYU game

Also be glad it wasn't in Koch Arena on campus...

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Their on-campus arena is smaller and extremely, extremely loud.

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I thought I had hearing loss after the Oral Roberts game.

We go to Bama next and I told coach to be ready to play in an airplane hanger.

Also careful about the Mississippi State stuff. We may be sucking and rebuilding right now but just remember State has been one of the most successful teams as far as conference wins and championships go over the past 15 years. Anyways good game and as far as this outsider's perspective goes, I miss Bruce Pearl as your coach.