This is interesting approach: admit that someone is a talmid chacham, and then proudly report that your teacher will not quote him. I am compelled not to believe your testimony despite it being so compelling as it reflects negatively on the talmidei chachamim you learned from. Reminder: beis Hillel would quote b shammai first and that was the reason for their success.
It might be that your teachers didn’t see you or your class up to the proper level of learning and would reduce debate to improper level, so they stayed quiet.