Tennessee Men's basketball opinion question

[WoodstockVol]

If Tennessee wins 20 and goes dancing,I'll have to take another look at Cuonzo. I'll say maybe

[Inspector Vol]

I think he is staying another year regardless. Last half of last year and this year has been great from an effort standpoint. Just need to figure out how to start better. Of course more talent will help everything. We are still limited in talent so I think he is getting about all there is out of them.

[Creek Walker]

His body of work is what it is at this point. Honestly, I don't see how getting an NCAA bid or not getting a bid should change anyone's outlook on his coaching ability. What the team has accomplished on the season as a whole should make that determination.

Frankly, a 19-win Tennessee team should be NCAA-bound. Period. But given the selection committee's treatment of this program ever since Bruce Pearl's first team over-achieved with the No. 2 seed, I don't expect UT to get a bid without at least one win next week.

Myself, two weeks into January I wouldn't have cried if Cuonzo had been fired after this season, although I knew it was a given that he would get at least one more year. At this point, though, I think he's done a good job. I don't have an explanation for why the team has started so slow the last two seasons; I hope that isn't the start of a pattern. One key difference between this year's team and last: last year the team seemed worn out physically and emotionally by the end of the regular season and fizzled in the postseason. This year's team still seems to have some juice. There are some struggles at times but it seems like over and over the team finds a way to get it together and make a key run to earn the win -- see TAMU, see Auburn, see Missouri.

[Memphisvolunteer]

I was never on the fire him bandwagon.  It is still way to early in his tenue to be thinking that.  We have all learned from football that a revolving door in coaching isn't the way to go.   With that said, you look at this year and coach had to go half the year not knowing if one of his best players would play this year and then when it was decided that he wasn't, he had to teach Stokes how to be the go to player.  Then you look at the way the refs were calling games against Stokes early in the year.  Add to it what he has done between this year and last year with McRae.  Plus you look at what we have next year....Stokes, Maymon, Hubbs, Golden, McRae....we will be scary good next year.

[101stDad]

I haven't seen anything to this point that says "fire him".  He took over a the program in a far less than ideal situation and has had to deal with the mess that he inherited. 

His incoming recruiting class is good and should address some immediate needs.  As long as we see progress, and I think we are seeing some now, he's still fine with me. 

Martin's "worst fault", if you will, is that his personality is 100% opposite of Bruce Pearl's.  If people will stop expecting him to be Bruce Pearl, Martin will be fine.  I just hope he isn't fond of hosting barbecues.   

[Clockwork Orange]

As I see it there are five elements of college coaching, not all necessarily weighted equally (that part varies by sport). Here's how I grade Martin on each element, considering only his two years at UT:

Recruiting: C

Stokes was a good get but we were lucky to get him because we had the scholly; we were far from his first choice. Hubbs is also a good pickup and Martin gets full credit there. Everyone else brought in by Martin can be considered a reach for the level UT basketball was at when he came, and his failure to bring in an SEC caliber PG in two recruiting classes is a major failure.

Player development: A

Just about everybody is getting better, and there's a mental toughness to this team that has helped them beat better teams, late in the year, in crunch time. Josh Richardson, Armani Moore, and Quinton Chievous were not good recruits but they are all turning out to be contributors, which speaks to Martin's off-the-court coaching.

In-game Xs and Os: C

I'm certain we've lost a half dozen games because of Martin's failure to adapt his offense and defense to his personnel and to game circumstances. I'm prepared to raise this grade, as he's made adjustments since January that have led this team to play FAR better, mixing in a zone defense and letting his players take more chances on both ends. The start of next year's team will go a long way to determining whether a C is high enough for not, IMO.

Off-the-court player management: A

Martin is a quality man and a quality leader; we are not having discipline, academic, or chemistry issues at all from what I can tell.

Fan engagement: C

This was never going to be Cuonzo's strength as a coach. It's just not his personality. He's no Bruce and he's no Ray. This factor probably doesn't even matter at basketball schools, but we know it matters at UT. If he wins, though, the groundwork Bruce laid and the respect people have for Cuonzo as a man will help make up for this shortcoming.

So I guess overall it would be fair to give him a B. Had things not changed late this season, it would have been a C at best. I hope he doesn't put us through this again next year.

[SmokeyJoe]

Let's not forget he didn't have his best player, Maymon, all year. That had to have an effect. With Maymon, we are probably 25-5, 24-6, 23-7. He has done well this year imo. It was ugly for a while...

[SmokeyJoe]

That ugly loss & score at Georgetown looks a whole lot better now!

[SmokeyJoe]

OTOH the two losses to georgia give pause. Just keep winning THIS year!

[BanditVol]

Let's not forget he didn't have his best player, Maymon, all year. That had to have an effect. With Maymon, we are probably 25-5, 24-6, 23-7. He has done well this year imo. It was ugly for a while...

Yeah this.  I give him a pass for the first season.  Not only did we have a new coac with a really charismatic successful guy leaving, but our two best players also quit.

This year Maymon was a factor but we should not have been depending on one guy so much, which I think does reflect on the coach a bit.  In a way maybe the Maymon injury was a good thing, because it exposed that overdependence and forced the rest to step up.

Next year he won't really have any excuses, and I am frankly not sure how good an excuse the Maymon injury is anyway, but it certainly should not be completely discounted.