Alex Pitman
The Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball team could potentially be tipping off for the last time tonight against Purdue. While only making it to the Sweet 16 after the season this team would be a little disappointing, fans should be so proud of this program and this team specifically.
It wasn’t that long ago when this teams senior class went 15-19 with a 6-12 conference record. Things were not looking good for the program. After forcing Cuonzo Martin out after a decent stretch, Donnie Tyndal coached a young squad to a 16-16 record, but left after facing NCAA academic violations. That’s when Rick Barnes stepped in for the Big Orange. After that abysmal first season, Barnes has improved his teams record every year now. Under his leadership, Tennessee won a share of the regular season SEC title. This season was perhaps the best one yet. The Vols tied a school record 31 regular season wins while holding the number 1 spot in the AP poll for over a month. Tennessee is now on the map as a basketball school thanks to Coach Barnes and the special core of players such as Admiral Schofield, Grant Williams, Kyle Alexander, Jordan Bone, and Jordan Bowden.
While the end of the season may have been a bit disappointing for the Orange and White, this season has been special. Not only was this the best team in all of college basketball for a long time, but the bond that this team has with each other and the school is unprecedented. We don’t see a roster play for this long together and develop the way that they have. Let me remind you again, when Schofield and Alexander were freshman, this team went to 15-19. Now, they just won 31 games and are one of the top teams in the nation. They’re such a great group of individuals as well. They’re the kind of team you just want to root for. Whether it’s Grant Williams and the bench squad getting heated in a game of Catan or Admiral Schofield taking himself out of the game against Iowa because he knew it’s what his team needed. They’re a family and you don’t see many families like this in college basketball anymore.
Hopefully the Vols will play to the best of their ability and continue their fantastic season, but if it does come to an end against a great Purdue team tonight, Vols fans should hold their heads high. This team has come such a long way and they did it the right way. Whatever happens, it is great to be a Tennessee Vol!