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Date Posted: Wed March 16, 2005 17:41:12
Author: TNRam
Subject: see inside for explanation
In reply to: Stout for 3 's message, "Just curious about Peterson, Jerry Green made 4 NCAAs in a row and he missed 4 in a row. Were there extenuating circumstances?" on Wed March 16, 2005 13:13:24

Green was not a good communicator - to his players, the press, or the UT fan base. During his last year, UT was ranked #3 nationally, but then lost a number of games late in the season, got an 8 seed in the NCAA tourny,and was upset by Charlotte in the first round. There was a widespread perception that Green had lost control of his players (on and off the court) and couldn't get them to play as a team. Also, his last two recruiting classes were subpar, and the downturn in the program was well on its way when he was fired.

Buzz Peterson came in having just led Tulsa to an NIT championship. His first recruiting class was largely composed of players Green had recruited. Plus, Marcus Haslip left prematurely for the NBA. Buzz was everything that Green wasn't - a superlative communicator who was well liked by players and fans alike. There was some disappointment when the team failed to get past the early rounds of the NIT, but there was considerable optimism heading into this year that the team was headed back to the NCAAs. But then a string of unfortunate events hit. First, prized recruit and HS All-American Jackie Butler declared for the NBA draft before he ever played a game for UT. Two players who figured to log significant minutes transferred to other schools. The team played unevenly during the first half of the season, but seemed to have righted itself after beating Florida in Gainesville. But the starting center Brandon Crump was injured for several weeks and as soon as he returned, the team's leading scorer Scooter McFagdon was hurt for several more weeks. So the team had a disappointing season, but there was cause for optimism with HS All American Tyler Smith signed and Jamont Gordon of Oak Ridge Academy viewed as likely to sign. Plus Tennessee won five games against teams that made the NCAA tourny (it lost 9). When the UT AD fired Buzz Peterson, he stated that Buzz had many of the qualities that UT looked for in a coach but cited the W-L record (two games above .500 over four years)as the reason for the firing.

Coach K didn't turn Duke into a consistent winner until his 5th year there. There are a lot of people in Knoxville (80 percent according to one poll) who think that Buzz would have succeeded if he had been given another year or two. I am one of them.

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