LOUISVILLE, Ky — The tears flowed in the Tennessee locker room. Jordan Bone couldn’t look up as he spoke. Kyle Alexander never removed the towel over his head. The pain was obvious and clearly evident. The great ride had come to an end. Sports can be cruel. It can bring the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and in college basketball, in the the month of March it can end in a second creating a fervor of emotions.
Thursday night’s 99-94 overtime loss to Purdue brought anger and disappointment to Vol fans. But some of that anger stems far more than from a single loss. Far more from a single sport. It’s anger from a decade of not winning and not playing for championships. A decade that has seen more coaching and administrative hires than the University saw in the decades of the 80’s and 90’s combined. A decade of not being relevant enough if relevant at all.
So I get the venom. I understand the anger and the frustration. I covered it as you have experienced it. But what shouldn’t get lost in the TV remote throwing, dog kicking, impulsive Tweeting and message board posting moment of Thursday night’s gut wrenching abrupt end to the year is the ride this program took fans on this this season.
Now, I’m not saying the loss doesn’t suck. I’m not saying the anger is unfounded. I’m not sure that was a foul on Lamonte Turner. I’m not convinced Carsen Edwards heel wasn’t down when he caught the ball. What I know is that Tennessee didn’t play well enough win. You don’t shoot 50% from the free throw line and win in the Sweet Sixteen. You don’t let a team shoot 54% from the field and win. Yet, with 2.2 seconds to go, Tennessee was a half tick away from a 5-second call and a questionable foul call with 1.8 seconds to go, the Vols were poised to pull off a rally for the ages, survive and advance.
But they didn’t and a season where Tennessee was ranked #1 for a month but never cut down a net has come to crashing end. Some will label it disappointing. Some will call it a failure. Many will criticize the year in some way and that’s fair. It’s what you do in sports.
However when the anger subsides, there is a bigger picture. It’s a picture of toughness and one of fight. It’s the picture of Tennessee basketball. A program that is currently the poster child for Vol athletics. They are the vision of what Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer wants his programs to be. As Admiral Schofield said following the loss, Rick Barnes’ program, a program that this team has created, is the blueprint.
“I think we have set a standard for what athletics can do when you buy into your culture,” Schofield said. “When you buy into what it takes to win. As a University we should pride ourselves in being tough. It shouldn’t just be our basketball program. It should be everyone. Just like ‘one fly we all fly’ touched the nation and our University. The way we played the game, the way we approached every day, the attitude we instilled into this program, it should bleed into every sport. I think from here on out there’s no reason why the Tennessee Volunteers shouldn’t be in the conversations to win championships in every sport. I’m appreciative to be a Vol and things are only going to get better at Tennessee.”
If you don’t believe they are the blueprint take at look at Fulmer’s core values for his athletic department.
Communication – Open and honest communication—no surprises—as we pursue our goals. Check Trust – Trust is earned, not given. Every day… be trustworthy. Check Warmth – You know that I care about you, and I know you care about me; together, we care about our student-athletes, our university, our state, our fans and our community. Check Intensity – We attack each day with great intensity to achieve our goals and be the very best at our chosen calling. Check
Fulmer has those values posted throughout the Anderson Training Center. Maybe he should put a picture of the 2018-2019 Tennessee basketball team next to it.
This basketball team embodied everything you want in college athletics.
As fans losing always hurts. It’s cruel. Today maybe it hurts a little more because of the affinity fans have for this collection of guys led by a coach that many thought might be washed up when he got to Rocky Top. Or maybe it’s just because everyone is tired of losing. As I said it sucks.
In time the anger will subside, the venom will go away. The disappointment of what could have been will take longer.
But the appreciation will only grow for a group of guys that made winning fun, captured your fandom and hopefully showed what everyone inside and outside the University what Tennessee athletics should be about.
