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10 times Tennessee Vols athletics raised fans hopes too high

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers talks in the press conference after a game against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers talks in the press conference after a game against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

9. Jerry Green 2001 flameout two months after men’s basketball reaches No. 4

In 1997, Jerry Green inherited a Tennessee Vols men’s basketball program in that hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1989. However, he also had an elite group of young talent, led by Tony Harris, thanks to Kevin O’Neil’s three years worth of recruiting. The result was what would be the best four-year run in the program’s history before Bruce Pearl.

UT made its first tourney in eight years in 1998, the second round in 1999 and its first Sweet Sixteen in 2000, as Green added to that talent with guys like Vincent Yarbrough, Ron Slay, Marcus Haislip and Jon Higgins. In 2000-2001, the program had with everybody back. And in January, they looked like they were ready to meet expectations, as they were 16-1 and No. 4 in the country.

Three losses in four games followed, but nobody read much into that, as all three were on the road, and two were against ranked teams in the Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats. But after a win over the Vanderbilt Commodores, everything changed. UT, at 17-4, lost five straight, including three at home to Kentucky, Florida, and the Georgia Bulldogs, all of whom swept them.

Green said Vol fans criticizing him could “go to K-Mart.” The program limped into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed and lost to the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round. It went from No. 4 on Jan. 16 to 22-11 and out of the first round on March 16. The season was a tease of teases, and Green resigned under pressure, which brought about Buzz Peterson and four years of futility.

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