Wayne Chism ballin!!

Ok so if you've had a conversation with me at all this season about UT basketball then it comes as no surprise to you when I say that I generally don't like our Vols team this year.  I felt that way long before our 4 "scholar" athletes got busted for playing a real life mission of Grand Theft Auto, so don't think I'm just jumping on the bandwagon here.  Already in the early part of the season I had witnessed too much laziness, too much misappropriation of talent, too much thuggery (thank you JP Prince....who talks trash at the tip??!!), and too much selfish play.  I thought this team was destined for a repeat of last season's team.....you remember the team that showed no heart, no passion, and no killer instinct.  I was ready to accept the fate of another under-achieving, waste of a season.....but then the greatest thing that could have happened to this team did!!!

4 Vols who thought that they were invincible to the outside world got a reality check and woke up something in their teammates

Now I'm a realist here folks....I don't think that our team is all of a sudden gonna beat Kansas, or dominate Kentucky....but I do expect them to play with an energy, passion and fervor that we haven't seen since Lofton and JaJuan were the leaders of this program.  I have already had good friends close to the program tell me just how much the practices have changed this week.  Instead of Tyler Smith being the team leader by default...(the only thing he leads this team in is full body tatoos)...leaders are being identified by their actions and words.

I don't know what the rest of this season holds for the Vols but I would much rather watch the bunch that last night elevated their play and finally fought a little bit.....I would rather watch a focused and passionate Wayne Chism, Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Kenny Hall, Renaldo Woolridge, Skylar McBee and ......yes even JP Prince..........then to watch the 4 morons who tarnished the reputation of our team, school and coach be allowed back only to infect this team again.

The Vol nation is an easy one to please as a player.....show up....play hard.....appreciate the opportunity that you've been given.....and make a big shot or two from time to time.

Let's hope that this situation serves as a wake-up call to not only our basketball program but to all athletes and coaches not just at UT but across the whole country....(at least in the the SEC since that's all that matters anyway)

Wayne Chism for Heisman!