Tennessee Volunteers Basketball: “D-II” Spells Disaster for Vol Basketball

This past March, the University of Tennessee Volunteers reached new heights in the history of its basketball program with its first ever Elite Eight birth.

It was the highpoint of a program that is entering its 102nd year of existence. However, since that historic run deep into the postseason, which had them within an eyelash of getting its first taste of April basketball, things haven’t exactly gone as Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl had planned. 

The immediate aftermath of the season left most Vol fans satisfied with the progress of a program that, as recently as the beginning of the decade, was mired in mediocrity. But it certainly left a lingering feeling of desire for more.

The loss of three senior leaders was certainly going to be a major obstacle in gearing up for the next campaign. But most felt that the Volunteers could combat that loss with an influx of talent and depth from the high school and transfer ranks.

If you asked anyone last spring what they thought would be the state of Tennessee basketball come this November, I think the general consensus would have been that we would be young, talented and deep as ever. That may still be the case, but this September things took a turn for the worst.

It was revealed that Bruce Pearl had knowingly violated NCAA rules by hosting recruits in his home for a barbecue and lied about it to NCAA investigators.

In October, the NCAA announced their intentions to target the Tennessee Athletic Department for a full-fledged investigation. Things arguably reached their lowest point on Monday when Tennessee, a consensus top 20 team this preseason, was handed a blowout exhibition loss at the hands of the Division II University of Indianapolis.

"Mostly it's embarrassing," guard Melvin Goins said in an interview with Drew Edwards of UTSPORTS.COM. "I think that's the one word that wraps it up. Just an embarrassment to ourselves and to our fans."

Embarrassing is certainly one way to describe a loss to an Indianapolis squad that had already been blown out by Purdue this preseason. Another word would be disheartening for a team that many consider to be the deepest in the history of Tennessee basketball.

It just goes to show that it doesn’t matter if you have 13 players to contribute or six. In basketball, you are only as good as the five you can put on that court at any given time, and Indianapolis proved on Monday that they were the proud owners of the best five either team had to offer.

The question now is where does Tennessee basketball go from here?

Luckily, there is a precedent for a loss like this to give a serious boost to a struggling national power. Last season, Syracuse recovered from a preseason loss to D-II Lemoyne, and the year before preseason top 10 Michigan State suffered a loss at the hands of Grand Valley State, who also happens to play in the NCAA second division.

Both of these teams recovered to have a good regular season and make solid postseason runs to the Sweet 16. It is tough to argue that Tennessee doesn’t have the talent to make a similar run, but the entire process hinges on Bruce Pearl’s ability to use this loss as a much-needed kick in the pants.

The most important thing, in this fan’s opinion, is going to be the development of leadership in the locker room, because all indications seem to point to a lack of enthusiasm and energy being the cause of this harrowing defeat.

It may fall partially on the coach to prepare them better, but I believe, ultimately, it is the sole responsibility of the players to keep their energy level up. Any repeats of Monday night’s mental lapse could prove extremely costly against the more talented teams on the UT schedule.

One thing is for sure: If Tennessee plans on following in Syracuse and Michigan State’s footsteps, they must avoid the hangover effects a loss like this can have. Tennessee won’t have very long to feel sorry for themselves. The Vols are involved in some pretty loaded preseason tournaments in the early going, and they are going to need all hands on deck to right this ship.