Quickie Talking Points this morning:
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NCAA Diaries March 28 | UT Sports TV
[Video of the Michigan State game, beginning with the pre-game locker room speech and concluding with fans welcoming the team home. Good stuff. -- Joel] -
Chattanooga Times Free Press | Bright orange future for Vols
"We've got some great kids coming in," [Bruce Pearl] said. "We're going to be a good basketball team again next year. We're very blessed." Those great kids include 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward Tobias Harris of Dix Hills, N.Y. Rated the nation's top power forward by Rivals.com, Harris is reportedly as skilled in the classroom as on the court, where he has averaged 25.3 points and 10 rebounds a game. He'll be joined by two guards from Georgia: 6-6 Jordan McRae of Liberty County High School and 6-1 Trae Golden of Powder Springs. McRae is considered one of the top 10 shooting guards in the 2010 recruiting class, and Golden is the No. 55 prospect overall nationally. -
Guard Selby Confirms Announcement Date " MrSEC.com
Point guard Josh Selby from Lake Clifton High School in Baltimore, Md., will announce his college decision on April 17 at the Jordan Brand Classic in New York. Selby confirmed the announcement date in this interview with boxofmess.com. Selby said the schools he’s considering are Kentucky, Tennessee, Arizona, Kansas and Connecticut. -
"A LOOK AT THE CHECKLIST" | The Vol Historian | GoVolsXtra.com
[This is a great list of Bruce Pearl's accomplishments and contributions to the Tennessee men's basketball program in his short time here. -- Joel]
Energy high, but 'rah-rahing' a downer " GoVolsXtra
"The intensity is great," Dooley said. "What I'm most concerned about is understanding what competitive spirit is. That's, No. 1, never getting affected. I think that we have a tendency to let our emotions get the best of us when it gets a little heated, and that's the worst thing that can happen.
"Having a lot of extracurricular talk and activity after the play is wasted energy. Kind of defining the culture of how we compete I guess is a little bit of a change."
Myles confident at safety " GoVolsXtra
Tennessee might not have another Eric Berry at safety.
It could have another Janzen Jackson though, which should be enough to make life without its superstar a little easier.
Darren Myles didn't get as many chances to shine as a freshman, didn't enter the spring as a lock to win a starting job and hasn't drawn comparisons to Berry the way Jackson did a year ago. But through five spring practices, finding any differences between the two on the field hasn't been easy - which is exactly how Myles wants it and might be the best way for the Vols to transition in the secondary.
And for last year's team, improving in every facet of special teams is a big part of the puzzle for success in 2010. "Coach Dooley said if he's not like top five in the country, he's going to be mad at us. So, I'm not about to get in trouble. That's the way I look at it," running back David Oku, who led the Vols with 863 yards in kick returns, said.
Stephens pleased with spring performance " GoVolsXtra
Stephens said he is focused on what he does, not what the other quarterbacks are doing and the snaps they're getting.
"I'm not paying that much attention to it," Stephens said, "but I'm going first and Matt's going second. Other than that, I'm not really thinking about the way (snaps) are split up."