By Frank Gale / Chronicle columnist
It could be argued that the success Bruce Pearl had early at UT has had a direct effect on shortening the tenure of several SEC coaches. Since his arrival at UT, numerous SEC schools have hired new coaches to try and capture the same magic that Coach Pearl brought to Tennessee. Of those schools that have climbed aboard the coaching carrousel, none has tried harder to change their fortunes in the past few years than Kentucky.
First Tubby Smith had to find refuge in the land of the frozen lakes (Minnesota), and now Billy Gillispie is exiting to parts unknown with a ton of buyout cash to make room for the newest savior, John Calipari.
The SEC East in the past few years has seen new coaches at South Carolina, Georgia and now Kentucky.
Never mind the coaching changes in the SEC West which probably indirectly had something to do with Coach Pearl’s success at Tennessee.
A word of caution for John Calipari, the SEC is a bit tougher night after night than the conferences you have been in before. Still, one would have to believe that he will be able to continue his past successes at Kentucky. The SEC East has just gotten remarkably tougher with this newest hire and Georgia has yet to name their replacement. It should make for a very interesting next season as UT under Coach Pearl try to repeat at the top of the SEC East.
To help them in that quest, the Vols received a commitment this past week from Melvin Goins, a 5-11, 195 lb point guard from San Jacinto Community College in California. Goins decided to play for the Vols next season and will compete for the starting spot with Bobby Maze.
It shouldn’t matter which one starts; both will see substantial playing time in Pearl’s rotation. Vol fans can get their first look at this latest addition to the team this summer when he will participate in the Pilot League
Meanwhile, the news out of the football spring practices has been encouraging. Praises for senior signal caller Jonathan Crompton and the work ethic of the returning players has dominated the reports lately as the Vols get closer to the Orange- White scrimmage April 18th. If you haven’t heard, this year there will be a $5 admission fee to the stadium for the game. Look for a large crowd as curiosity to see the new staff, along with new offensive and defensive schemes will add to the usual turnout.
Even without "Rocky Top" to fill the stadium, the spring game should be a fun day for all Big Orange fans. Let’s just hope that the Vols can turn all the “hype” into wins on the field this fall and make last year’s debacle of a season a distant memory. Go Vols and Lady Vols!
Frank Gale is a Chronicle correspondent, and his column appears weekly.
