while we did play carson newman, they all looked way better than recent freshman classes at TN. also, the energy of this team is night and day from last year. DD and Cooper clearly affected more than just the basketball court. it's one thing to fall short b/c you get beat by a better team. it's a whole different thing to have a bad season due to personalities and conflict. there was no one waiting around at this first game for DD to take over or to decide if she felt like playing. as a fan, this is way more tolerable, regardless of the result.