Sitting here tonight, I'm reminded of Buzz Peterson and Jerry Green

I remember walking out of Thompson-Boling Arena on February 9, 2005 and vowing that I wouldn't return as long as Buzz Peterson was the coach. UT lost to Alabama that day -- the fifth loss in six games. It dropped the Vols to 11-12 on the season, 4-7 in conference play. Every game I went to that season, and it was a lot, ended in defeat. I was tired of it. I really wanted Peterson to succeed. But it had become apparent that he would never succeed. He was fired a month later.

I also remember sitting in Thompson-Boling Arena in February 2001, when Tony Harris came off the bench in street clothes and raced to the other end of the court to throw himself into a dust-up with Kentucky players, and was ejected. That was the defining moment of the Jerry Green era -- and it came in the midst of yet another loss for a team that had started 16-1 but lost 8 of its next 10 games.

Peterson was a class act as coach, he just wasn't a very good coach. As it turned out, winning the NIT at Tulsa didn't translate into success in the SEC, and being Michael Jordan's former college roommate didn't give him enough pedigree for the job. He failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 4 seasons as coach, despite inheriting some really good talent and keeping the shelves stocked with talent while he was here.

Green won a lot of games, he just didn't have much class. His players acted like thugs. They didn't have respect for much of anybody, least of all him. He didn't have much respect for anybody, either. With the help of Kevin O'Neill's recruiting, he put together the most talented team in Tennessee history and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in the program's history.

It's one thing to play with class, and it's one thing to play at a high level, but it's a rare thing in college sports to play at a high level and do it with impeccable class.

This Tennessee team did that. I couldn't be more proud of them. The University of Tennessee has been blessed with some great ambassadors through the years, but never has there been a team and a staff that represents this university the way Rick Barnes and his team have. Look around at all the scandal that's unfolding in college basketball right before our very eyes...FBI investigations, wiretaps, imprisoned assistant coaches, suspended head coaches. There aren't very many programs at the top of this sport that have escaped being linked to scandal in some way. But Barnes has taken Tennessee to arguably its loftiest heights ever and he's done it without even a whisper of impropriety.

If you had been sitting in my living room tonight, you wouldn't have seen a 40-year-old man any closer to actual, real tears over a stupid game than when Barnes addressed his team in the locker room for the final time. I remember exactly where I was on September 10, 2010 when Bruce Pearl tearfully admitted wrongdoing at that press conference. I thought Tennessee basketball as we had known it was over. I didn't expect to ever relive the joy of the Pearl era. But these past two yeas have sure been fun. And I've never been prouder to be from East Tennessee and a fan of this university's sports programs than I am right now. I, for one, will never forget this season, these players and these coaches, and the way they conducted themselves on and off the court.

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