Vols vs. East Carolina

I didn't get to watch the game, but here is what I gathered from listening to the second half on the radio.....

*If radio has a 2-second delay, John Wilkerson turned it into a 5-second one. He seemed so far behind just based on the crowd's reaction. On the other hand, he can make a made free throw sound as exciting as a last second game winning shot. Not sure whether or not that is a good thing or not.

*So much for a sophomore slump. The thing I don't get about Scotty Hopson's incredible play so far this season, is that he has gone from maybe the 3rd best player on the team, to arguably the best player on the team. Are we to really believe that all it took was a slight adjustment to his outside shot? It's easy to see that he is playing w/a ton of confidence. After seeing that, I can't help but wonder if the older guys held him down last year. Tyler F'n Smith made a point to get across in his post-game interview that "his" team does not care how the stats read as long as they get the win. He said it more than once. Hmmmmm......

*Speaking of Tyler F'n Smith, I have one word....Leader. I'm don't know if he knew his role last year. I don't know if the other players accepted his role last year. But both of those things are definitely last year's problem. He repeatedly referred to the team as "my team" in his interview with Wilkerson & Bert. "Whatever I can do to help MY team win". Next Level.

*Speaking of Next Level, A well timed "Money!" from Bert next gets old.

*Can anyone really say after today that Cam Tatum & J.P. Prince are the same player? Tatum is miles beyond Prince.

*Some may think that these blowouts are just blowouts. I disagree. These 30+ point wins are gonna help us a lot as the season comes to a close. Depth is only a predicted possibility when the season starts. In years past, our depth was not used to our advantage because it wasn't actually there. In 2007-2008, UT's greatest year ever. We actually went 9 deep in any game that played. Coach Pearl didn't have to shrink his bench like he would often do last year, and had to do his 1st year. Last season, with essentially the same team, he never went beyond his 8th man. Sure, more than that may have played in every game, but I never believed that the only guys playing significant minutes, sans foul trouble, were Tyler, J.P., Weezy, Maze, Cam Tatum, Tabb, & Scotty Hop. This year Coach Pearl is going to have actual depth because these games are allowing his 9th, 10th, and 11th guys off the bench the opportunity to get real game experience. I can honestly see Kenny Hall, Goins, McBee, & Williams in the game at key stretches. And real game experience for those guys means the press can be run consistently no matter who is on the floor That, in turn, means when February & March get here, we are still going to be running teams out of the gym.

*And finally, Maples should enjoy the ability to speak w/all his new ECU friends about how much more awesome his alma mater is than theirs.