re: Vols choke away two wins this weekend

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You will never get the basketball only fans to realize this. Basketball pays for itself. They don't realize they would have to fork over some of that cash to the other sports if not for football.

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The last time I looked, basketball was over $10 million in the black. That doesn't even take into account that UK basketball, along with the horse industry, is the "brand" that defines Kentucky and generates a tremendous amount of indirect economic activity in the state; far more than football. Just because those dollars don't appear on UK's profit and loss statement doesn't mean they aren't important. Take away UK basketball and UK's national exposure, enrollment and student recruitment drop. The City of Lexington would also take an economic hit.

Don't get me wrong, I really care about basketball just not at a religious following level like I do with football. There is no reason Tennessee can't be a really solid basketball program in the long term. We have the facilities, fan base and recruiting base that potentially allows us to be a perennial NCAA tournament team.

I think Pearl made a mistake going to Auburn even though he may have figured that would be his best opportunity to coach again at Division 1 after his NCAA troubles. I can't see Auburn recruiting well enough to compete with the top national powers even with Pearl. Auburn is even worse than Tennessee as far as tradition/facilities, etc. Pearl may well know this and use Auburn as a stepping-stone, ala Petrino

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I mean we were picked to finish 13th in the SEC. What did you really expect with 8 new players on the team this year?

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Lol, I think I've seen fans from about every team but UK, FLA and Arky on here claim their team is picked to be 13th or 14th in the conference. Talk about poor mouthing your team! Tennessee lost a stud post player and a decent guard but still has a senior and two juniors leading the team. Punter knows how to get his shot and Moore and McGhee can both operate effectively in the post. Punter must have transferred because I don't remember him from last year. Not a big fan of Richardson's play but he has the talent if he learns to operate as a part of the team. Not 13th by any stretch of the imagination.

Horrible thread.