It's actually pretty weird, though, to think about how much money we spent to renovate TBA and build Pratt . . . contrast that with what we're willing to spend on a coach. It's a little backwards. You could make the same argument for football facilities, probably. We'd be in better shape economically if we had scaled some of that back.

Yup.  Hamilton's "legacy".  Although I suppose it's nice to have the facilities....

He was not there to accept. However, Marlon Brando accepted for him 

Okay.  I am missing the Marlon Brando reference. 

But is this a referring to when he went on a crazy rant at the Oscars or something?   

"No, really.  It IS this big.  I swear!"   

Not really.  I'm glad Hart isn't bowing to the pressure to pay the buyout.  Coaches need to be held to their buyouts, and they need to be responsible for them, not the school hiring them.  UT has had enough of buyouts over the past decade.  Don't need to be paying one that isn't even ours. 

Agree 100%.

Cheap hiring is one thing, being stupid another.

I know it's irrational....I don't care!

Too much about how Martin left reminds me of how Fulmer left.  Irrational fan expectations. 

IMO.

I just don't want the "mojo" of another Tech coach.   

We need to find out who World Wide Wes recommends, apparently.  Because then instant recruiting success can follow.   

It's irrational, but I don't want another LaTech coach.

Too much like "deja vu, all over again".   

Particularly if he wants that kind of money.  We can do better IMO.

I think Hart will ultimately make a good hire, but we will see.

HBTY

It looks to me like Haith was facing even more pressure than Martin.  He took a 32-4 team in his first year and lost to a #15 seed.  A 2 seed losing to a 15 seed has only happened a handful of times since they went to a 64-team field.  And then there is the infamous NCAA sanctions, of course.  I can actually see him leaving more than Cuonzo.

Bandit better check your stuff man Martin said today on a radio program that the Petition was not a factor and he thought that leaving UT for Cal was a matter of a better fit for him and his family.  One of the things not reported is that Mama Martin was not super happy in Knoxville.
 
Also Martin reiterated that he respects the passion of the fan base in Knoxville and for UT and that he wants a passionate fan base since it is better to have passionate fans than to have people the dont care.  

He said that in the article I linked also. Read what the players tweeted again...they sure were not happy and I am pretty he wasn't also happy with the criticism IMO.  

Yes, criticism is expected, but what he faced IMO went beyond normal expectations.  What it boils down to is that Pearl is practically impossible to replace in terms of what he did at UT.

Pearl is at Auburn and his unpopular successor is gone.  Time for everyone to move on.  Probably for the best.  But the odds are ...IMO astronomical....  that Martin wasn't happy with the way he was treated.

It's no big deal though.

I guess I do find some irony in that some fans who said Martin needed to "man up" are the same ones complaining about the media coverage of his departure that mentions criticism by fans.  Pot, kettle, don't dish it out if you can't take it, etc.  

Now that is some funny shizzle.   

But Cuouzo was quoted earlier in the season as saying that he wouldn't recruit players who were committed to other schools. 

Seems to be a hypocritical move to me. 

But he already recruited this kid.   

I thought the kid was an intriguing possibility, especially since we lack inside talent, but honestly we didn't lose much.  Not sure the new coach would keep him anyway.

But the guy literally had ZERO other offers...not even from a D II school or community college, and was unrated on Rivals.

A "project" to be sure.

I am wondering how many recruits the new coach will keep and if he can land Rhett....

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10790903/tennessee-volunteers-men-basketball-job-extremely-attractive-athletic-director-dave-hart-says

"You look for somebody that can recruit," Hart said. "Our lifeblood is recruiting in all of our sports. When you go into a process like this, you want to be sure that the person you're hiring is an outstanding recruiter.

Makes sense...Martin's recruiting was mediocre at best.

And we definitely need a quick start in recruiting.  I like Hart better all the time.

Fans are critical and demanding. If this is problem enough for Cuonzo that he has to leave his job, then he doesn't need to be coaching at the highest levels because he doesn't have the stomach for it.

I think it was more about Hart having no confidence in him than it was the fans. I'm also not convinced Cuonzo was ever enamored with being here in the first place.

Criticism is part of the job, no doubt.

Signing a petition to bring back Pearl during the season....not so much.

if it was, the little boy needs to go back to a little school.

What about the players?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2014/04/15/cuonzo-martin-california-bears-tennessee/7740323/


Tennessee players said they heard all the criticism and the chatter from the "bring back Pearl" movement.

Senior guard Jordan McRae tweeted: "Can't treat people any kind of way and expect good in return.​" Senior forward Jeronne Maymon tweeted: "Not even surprised... It was just a matter of time! #RESPECT"

In the scale of things, I will give more weight to what those two say than any amount of fans.

And anyone having a problem with this statement:

Despite the recent success, Martin's tenure at Tennessee was marked by criticism and dissatisfaction from many in the fan base.

Is not dealing in reality, because it's a simple statement of fact.  Or do you or anyone disagree?  Was there criticism and dissatisfaction with Martin?  On the other hand, there isn't any criticism of fans in this statement.  Some fans might read that in I suppose.  I won't speculate "why" they would take the above as a criticism, but I could.   

Prior to CCM resigning, but the buyout was going to drop big time. In other words, Hart said "Ok, you just went to the sweet 16, I can't fire you now, but your recruiting is shizzle and I know we're going to suck soon, so I am going to make it easy to fire you next year - on the pocketbook. Interested? No? ok then bye bye"

CCM made the right move for him, and Hart was very wise to do what he did.

I like the way Hart handled this.  It's what I would have done.   

Louisiana Tech! 

LOL!  I know, right? 

Apparently Martin's agent told Cuonzo to not sign the extension until the buyout was reduced below 750K.  Apparently Hart was doing his level best ot mkae sure Martin recompensed UT if he bolted in the next two years.  Cuonzo was worried about the buyout to the extreme and this is evident in Hart's statements as well......

Martin was gonna bolt no matter what and the "its all the fans fault" BS is purely smokescreen by the spinmeisters that Martin is talking to.  Yeah the Pearl petition was a distraction, but unlike midtnvol I think you have to have on the court success as well as running a clean program and selling the program as well.  Pearl did get that, Martin apparently was Derek Dooley times 2 in that he went days during the offseason not talking to his STAFF.  Not only the AD but his STAFF.  So if that is the case I think Martin thought he was another Gene Keady!!!

Oh come on.  How could the petition NOT be a factor?  Are you seriously claiming that?

I don't think it's that bad is it?

What? No link?   

yep, the article is very critical of Vol fans. It includes the football program too. Mentions Gruden. It implies the whole athletic department is dysfunctional. Some of it is legit,some of it is just a hack piece. It does try to embarrass Vols fans.

The Gruden thing deserves to be mocked IMO.  It makes me think of Mayberry....

COOTER:  Hey, Gomer, I done heard Gruden was a'comin' ter Tennessay!
GOMER:  Well Shazam!   I cain't wait!
BARNEY:  Andy, you know you need me to escort him on the sideline.
ANDY:  Now, wait a minute fellers, I'm not sure about this thing....
GOMER:  No, it's true, he's a'comin' here!  His wife used ta be a cheerleader!

Etc.....

This is the sort of situation where, if you're not "local", and haven't been taking the temperature of this fanbase for the past few years, then you really have no idea what you're talking about.  

One of the overriding themes I keep seeing in these national articles is that Martin took over a program that was "crippled by NCAA sanctions" when no one else would.  Oh really?  And what WERE those "crippling" sanctions, exactly?  They gave Bruce Pearl a 3 year show cause.  That was it.  No scholarship restrictions, no recruiting restrictions, nothing.  Yet they make it sound like Martin had rebuilt the program from scratch after a 5 year death penalty and overcame the odds to win a championship with Jimmy Chitwood and a bunch of nobodies.  I guess the truth just doesn't fit their narrative.

It was crippled by two All SEC players leaving, that's for sure.

"This is Kent Dorfman, he's a legacy from Harrisburg Pennsylvania"   

I'm pretty sure that eventually, we will hire a men's basketball coach.

In the meantime....    

No way.  No more legacies.   

Just in time for the end of Justified, which I am sure was intentional.  What the heck, I have a "slot" free.   

That is, as much as we were probably going to suck next year, I am not sure we can get anyone better than Martin.

I hope I am wrong though.

No matter who we get, it's going to take at least a couple seasons before we really know what we have.

But given the great patience our fan base has displayed lately, I am sure the new coach has all kinds of time to prove himself.