The game is a sellout, Crews won’t play, and other random thoughts

• Thompson-Boling Arena will be full tonight. A packed house for the opener against a team picked to finish from the middle-to-bottom of their conference. Wow. Let that sink in for a little while. Tennessee men’s basketball, former redheaded step-child of the UTAD, is drawing a sellout crowd in one of the largest college arenas in the country for a nonconference game against a team that finished last season with a losing record. It’s been a sellout for a couple of weeks, but I guess it didn’t sink in until I read on Hoopsville that basketball tickets for tonight are selling for a higher price on Ebay than the football tickets for tomorrow are.
• Let’s temper the enthusiasm from the previous bullet point a bit. I guarantee you that a few hundred– maybe more than a thousand– big money seats will go unused tonight. As excited as 90% of the fanbase is about BruceBall, the culture around here has still not changed completely. It takes time.
• According to Bruce, Duke Crews has been limited in practice and is doubtful to play tonight. Considering we have a strong 10-man rotation without him, I think the coaching staff will play it safe and he won’t dress.
• Thinking about that 10-man rotation and Duke Crews . . . what happens when he returns? For that matter, what happens in late December or early January when J.P. Prince comes back from shoulder surgery and is eligible and ready to play? I doubt anybody expects those two to ride the pine, considering what we know about Duke and what we’ve heard about J.P. Will Bruce and Co. really stick to a 10-man rotation, as he has indicated, or will he use that as a motivator for all the players to stay hungry? It’s very, very hard for me to imagine that those two won’t play . . . and equally as hard to find 2 guys currently in the rotation that Bruce would bench in favor of them.
• Brian Williams has been called “Big Baby” by his teammates since he arrived in campus. Various message board discussions have determined that this nickname sucks, if only because the SEC had another “Big Baby” for a few years– a “Big Baby” that we all hated. Bruce, ever the kind and thoughtful coach, helped us out and inadvertently chose another nickname for the 6′10″, 270 lb freshman.

That’s no moon . . . it’s Brian Williams.

 

• Speaking of the Death Star, Bruce continues to say that there’s a battle for the starting center position between Williams and Wayne Chism. Is he serious? I think those of us who saw Williams in the exhibition games could see the potential and what he has to offer, but does Bruce really think he’s ready to start over Chism? We were all pretty excited about Chism’s future at the end of last season, as I recall. I think Bruce is just challenging Wayne to work hard and play more consistently. He’s been very vocal publicly about this competition for the starting spot . . . maybe more than you’d expect. So I’d guess that’s exactly what he’s doing.