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UT Head Coach Bruce Pearl 2/1/2006 TENNESSEE HEAD COACH BRUCE PEARL:“I called coach Ray Mears Monday and visited with him for a while. He was doing well, and he was looking forward to getting back to see some games. I told him I wanted his permission, and his blessing, to bring out the orange jacket for the Vanderbilt and Kentucky games. He fully approved of it. I said, ‘if you want me to, I will just wear it for one game or the other,’ but coach Mears told me I should wear it for both.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
“I bring this up because the Vanderbilt program is a very good one. This is the biggest win of the year for us. The reason I say this is such a big win is Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee are all competing for the Eastern Division title. When you beat one of those three, it counts twice, a win for you and a loss for them.
“Vanderbilt is well-coached. I do not look forward to coaching against Kevin Stallings again — he does it right. We were extremely challenged in the first half and were fortunate to be down by only six points at halftime. We were badly outplayed.
“Our defense was a big factor in the second half. Major Wingate and Andre Patterson were strong under the boards in the second half. And C.J. Watson turned his game completely around. We turned down very few shots in the first half, and Vanderbilt turned down very few in the second half. Dane Bradshaw will get more rebounds than his teammates, no matter who is on the floor with him. He is the glue that makes it go. He is our team’s identity.
“Chris Lofton missed on a few open looks tonight, but he and the other guards did a good job at holding Shan Foster to seven points. Vanderbilt did a good job against our pressure; however, they did have more turnovers than usual. Vanderbilt was patient in the first half and we were patient in the second half. Fatigue was a factor — those were two tired teams out there. All we did in this game was hold serve, but the schedule favors Vanderbilt down the stretch.” |
