If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .
. . . make it the VolQuest article on team-building and culture under Rick Barnes. It’s subscription-only, but it’s worth it. Runner-up this morning is a reheat from GoVolsXtra on Barnes’ family and faith.
Hoops
Tennessee is seeking that balance between staying sharp and making the most of the rest afforded by the double-bye they earned for the SEC Tournament.
Despite coming off a historic season, some ESPN dude says they can’t win the NCAA Tournament because they shot worse from 2-point range than their opponents in conference play. Odds are they won’t win it all, but that reasoning is kicking my skeptical face contortions into overdrive.
If you’re looking for an SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament hub, the SEC Network has a good one.
Alvin Kamara
Kamara might be Superman, but he can’t resist Girl Scout cookies, either:
What would you do if @A_kamara6 showed up at your Girl Scout cookie sale? What kind of cookies did you buy, A.K.? pic.twitter.com/AO4JsqhOgS
— WGNO (@WGNOtv) March 7, 2018
No, really. He didn’t just stop by for a photo, and he didn’t buy just a box or two. He bought them all:
All the boxes on the table…. they in my freezer.♂ https://t.co/5BslJzLGxj
— Alvin Kamara (@A_kamara6) March 7, 2018
Of course, unlike you and me, Kamara can get away with eating every box of Girl Scout cookies in the French Quarter because he also does stuff like this:
.@A_kamara6 putting in that WORK! pic.twitter.com/53I8ONF1Xn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 7, 2018
Football
The Vols have added quarterback Jacob Cendoya as a preferred walk-on to the Class of 2018.
Wanya Morris, a 4-star tackle, has narrowed his choices down to Tennessee and Auburn.
Other Vols tidbits
Oh, horror of horrors, Butch Jones is wearing clothes and talking to people!
Meeting of the minds here at @AlabamaFTBL Pro Day.
We are live on @SECNetwork starting at 1pm est.@mspears96 @TomLuginbill @MattBowen41 pic.twitter.com/dXFsjVEXZj
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) March 7, 2018
The Sporting News is reporting that ESPN and Fox are willing to pay Peyton Manning $10M a year to help save Thursday Night NFL football. Even Jon Gruden only got $6.5M to do what he did.
Tennessee baseball lost 21-2 (!) to James Madison yesterday.
The most amazing thing about the Kamara video is that the Jeep is in drive and there’s a guy pressing the pedal to the floor. Yeah that’s awesome. If I could do that I’d eat cookies all the time too.
So who’d you like to face tomorrow? LSU or State?
I don’t really know. I was afraid of Mississippi State for most of a half, but the end result was comfortable. If I had to choose right now, I’d probably go with LSU. You?
I think they’re both teams we can match-up well with, but I think we’re just good at stopping the pure offense stuff LSU relies on. Their only SEC road wins were a beat-up/suspended Texas A&M squad and an Arkansas team they could beat at their own game.
On the other hand, Mississippi State looked quite awful in their last 2 games, losing by 22 to us and 19 to LSU.
Them surviving to Friday would mean they had a better result today, obviously, but they’re a bounce in OT against USCe away from being 2-5 in their last 7 with 1 of the wins over Ole Miss.
I’ll go with LSU too. Miss State might gain some confidence back if they win, especially big. Then try harder to get a win over us and Florida for a long shot at a tourney bid.
The Billy Donovan quote in the VolQuest story about wanting the most second round picks in the draft is a great one.
Yeah, I loved that. And then adding one superstar to that mix instead of building an entire roster of superstars seems like a good idea.
Also has anyone checked Lunardi’s latest bracket? Looks like he dropped his love affair of a Tennessee-Purdue matchup by having Cinncy as the 2 seed and Virginia as 1. Honestly I think we could beat any of those teams on a good day even starting in Dallas.
Well that first game today looked like a thriller. However the question is if Bama has turned it on enough to beat Auburn? Also who’s finally ready to see what the fuss over MPJ is all about?
He…looked like a guy that hadn’t played basketball in 4 months.
Also, having Mizzou go down in their opener can’t be ideal for the bottom line of a St. Louis tournament. It probably just means more blue in the building starting tomorrow.
Blah.
I seem to remember a time not too long ago when Butch was freaking out at the sounds of Sweet Home Alabama, now it’s his ringtone. Such is life for an a football coach.
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/tennessee-football/video-butch-jones-tizzy-mystery-sweet-home-alabama-vols-practice/
Tennessee vs Miss State
Let’s get the win tomorrow!