Category Archives: Basketball

Vols hoops nabs commitment of 2018 4-star center D.J. Burns

GoVols247 is reporting that Tennessee hoops has landed the commitment of Class of 2018 4-star center D.J. Burns. The Rock Hill, South Carolina player chose the Vols this afternoon over South Carolina.

According to 247Sports, Burns is the No. 103 overall prospect in the Class of 2018 and the 12th-best center in the nation. That makes him the highest-rated signee under Rick Barnes at Tennessee. He’ll take one of the Vols’ two remaining scholarships.

Burns was originally a 2019 prospect but recently reclassified to the 2018 class. He’ll be joining a team that returns nearly everyone from a 2017-18 season that surprised many and ended with an SEC Championship and an NCAA Tournament bid.

Some of the credit for this commitment apparently goes to team chaplain and VFL Chris Walker:

It’s official: Admiral Schofield returning to Tennessee

It’s been a badly-kept secret for the past week or so, but now it’s official: Admiral Schofield is returning to Tennessee for another year:

Schofield was a First-Team All-SEC pick last year, and he’ll be joining SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams to reprise the one-two punch that surprised nearly everyone last season on the way to an NCAA Tournament bid. In all, the team returns 11 of 13 scholarship players, which is one of the main reasons the team has been rated as high as No. 3 in preseason polls. Schofield was second on the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game, and he led the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game. He scored in double figures in each of his last 11 games and was arguably the team’s most valuable player late in the season.

Schofield went through the NBA pre-draft process, but by not hiring an agent, he retained the option to return to school instead of committing to the NBA. He worked out with Oklahoma City, Brooklyn, Memphis, and Denver, among others, before making his return official.

Ten Ideas for Non-Conference Scheduling in Basketball

While we’ve been kicking around ideas for Tennessee’s non-conference future in football and looking at what the rest of the league has done in that department, Tennessee’s basketball team announced two games for next year. The Vols have a neutral site date with Gonzaga and a visit from West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The basketball team, fresh off an SEC Championship and a three seed in the NCAA Tournament, will be carrying the torch for the athletic department in the short-term. And with Rick Barnes’ track record, there are plenty of reasons to believe they can sustain this kind of success.

That being the case, the Vols can resume the fearless non-conference scheduling in basketball Barnes employed at Texas (and Bruce Pearl employed at Tennessee). Gonzaga, for instance, is just about the best friend your RPI can have: in the last six years the Bulldogs are 193-28 overall. They’re a smart addition to a 2018-19 schedule that includes return visits from Wake Forest and Georgia Tech which don’t look as tough as we hoped when they were scheduled. The Memphis rivalry is back, but give Penny Hardaway a minute before expecting more from the Tigers after a 40-26 run from Tubby Smith. Tennessee will also get two of Kansas, Louisville, and Marquette in the preseason NIT in November.

Getting West Virginia in the SEC/Big East Challenge is a nice addition, and continues to show how the event schedules to your reputation: in the last four years the Vols have played TCU, Iowa State, and Kansas State twice. If Tennessee continues to excel in basketball, they’ll continue to have more exciting match-ups in this series.

And if the Vols are indeed excelling, they should continue to schedule up in non-conference play. I have no doubt Rick Barnes will continue to pursue championship-caliber competition outside the SEC. In doing so, here are a few ideas centered around teams the Vols haven’t hosted in a long time, if ever (thanks again to those who work hard to produce Tennessee’s media guide, where all this info is pulled from):

Never Played in Knoxville:

  • UCLA – The Vols and Bruins met once in Atlanta in 1977, both ranked in the Top 10 at the time.
  • Notre Dame – The Irish beat Tennessee in the second round of the 1979 NCAA Tournament, the only meeting between the two schools.
  • Indiana – Four neutral site meetings, the last in the 1985 NIT semifinals in New York City. But the Vols and Hoosiers have never met on each other’s home floors.
  • Villanova – Two meetings in Philadelphia in 1950 and 1971, then the 2011 preseason NIT and last year in the Bahamas. But the defending champs have never been to Knoxville.

It’s Been a Minute:

  • Duke – Fifteen meetings all-time, but only one since 1980 (2011 Maui). The Blue Devils haven’t been to Knoxville since 1976. It’s been so long, Duke was only ranked in two of those 15 meetings.
  • Purdue – A home-and-home in 1980-81 is the only on-campus meeting between the Vols and Boilermakers, who played a pair of classics in preseason tournaments in the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
  • Arizona – A home-and-home in 1982-83, then the first game of the year in Albuquerque during the 1998-99 season.
  • Michigan – The bane of our NCAA Tournament existence in 2011 and 2014, the Wolverines were in Knoxville for a 1984-85 home-and-home.
  • Cincinnati – Four meetings in the 1950s, then a home-and-home in 1992-93.
  • Michigan State – The Vols and Spartans played a home-and-home in 1993-94, then met in the 2010 Elite Eight. Rick Barnes scheduled a bunch of neutral site games with Tom Izzo during his time at Texas.

Duke is an obvious choice (as is Texas from a fan and TV perspective, but I don’t think Barnes wants to go there). But who else would you like to see the Vols face?

Gameday Today: When Al Wilson gets hyped, it’s time to get hyped

Football

We are (probably!) under 100 days (or so!) away from football season!

When Al Wilson gets hyped, it’s time to get hyped. And Al Wilson is hyped about the return of Phillip Fulmer and the arrival of Jeremy Pruitt.

News Flash. An anonymous opposing coach tells Lindy’s that Butch Jones didn’t do a good job last year. If I was still 14, I would say, “Duh.” If I was 8, I’d say, “A-doy.”

Good news. Brad thinks that the lack of expected post-coaching-change attrition may signal that the players currently on Tennessee’s roster actually want to be coached.

A year early, but we’ll take it. Jimmy Hyams hits the gas by reminding Vols fans of the first-year-to-second-year jumps at LSU by Nick Saban, at Alabama by Saban, with Mark Richt and Kirby Smart at Georgia, and Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. He then slams on the brakes:

But you wonder if Saban or Richt or Stoops or Smart faced at their new schools what Pruitt faces at Tennessee.

Yeah.

Saturday Down South asks Pruitt some interesting questions, including his thoughts on how recruiting has changed recently and which positions he thinks have the best opportunity for early playing time.

Coach Pruitt continues to Say Stuff during his Big Orange Caravan Tour, and he’s apparently making more of an effort to not rub fans the wrong way.

Also this: GoVols247 is ranking the entire Tennessee roster. Here’s Nos. 45-31. . . . The Vols have hired VFL CJ Fayton as Director of VFL Programming.

Hoops

Tennessee’s basketball team will play Gonzaga in Phoenix on December 9 this fall. It should be a good one, as the Vols are No. 3 in Gary Parrish’s preseason Top 25 and Gonzaga is No. 5. Tennessee is also likely to host either Kansas (No. 1) or West Virginia (No. 17) in this season’s Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Awwww. Admiral Schofield got up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the royal wedding with his mother.

Other fun stuff

Ladies and gentlemen, Terry Fair:

Tennessee is winning at APR.

SB Nation has everything you need to know about the recent Supreme Court ruling on sports betting.

Vols hoops hits No. 3 in CBSSports’ preseason Top 25

CBSSports‘ Gary Parrish published his college hoops Top 25 yesterday, and he has the Vols slotted in at No. 3. Tennessee’s in lofty company, as Kansas and Duke come in at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. There’s another basketball blueblood on the other side of UT, too, with the SEC rival Kentucky taking up residence at the fourth position.

Gonzaga, Virginia, Villanova (only because of the presumed early departures of a couple of guys to the NBA), Nevada, North Carolina, and Auburn round out the Top 10.

Ever since the hoops season concluded, it hasn’t been unheard of to see Tennessee in next season’s preseason Top 10, but No. 3 is as high as I’ve seen. Why is Parrish that bullish on the Vols?

Tennessee should return most of the important pieces from a team that shared the SEC regular-season title. More specifically, the top six scorers are back — among them SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams. So it’ll come as no surprise when the Vols finish at, or near, the top of the league again.

Sounds reasonable, as everyone expects Admiral Schofield to return despite having been testing the NBA waters himself. Only James Daniel is gone from last year’s team, one that won the right to wear those SEC Championship t-shirts, and Richmond graduate transfer Khwan Fore has committed to the Vols.

It’s not a given that even a team with an identical roster to last year would necessarily be able to duplicate or surpass its success. After all, the circumstances have changed. They’ll now be the hunted, and they’ll have to transition from negative motivation (no one believing in them) to something else. But if they can manage those things, it should be a fun season this fall for Vols hoops.

Fore to Play One: Tennessee Basketball Gets Important Transfer in Richmond Point Guard

Any piece basketball coach Rick Barnes can add to his 2018-19 basketball team that will play critical minutes on a team that should make a deep run in the NCAA tournament is important. That’s why Monday night’s news that graduate transfer point guard Khwan Fore of Richmond was big news.

The Vols earned Fore’s pledge over Auburn and a host of others following the guard’s visit to the Plains this past weekend where coach Bruce Pearl tried to lure him to play for the Tigers.

In the end, the Vols won a rugged SEC battle of the top two regular-season teams as both look to put finishing touches on quality groups returning next season.

Fore made his decision public over Twitter.

The 6’0″, 175-pound guard is a pivotal piece who should step in nicely for the departed James Daniel, who transformed his game from a big-time scorer at Howard to a table-setter during the 2017-18 campaign for the Vols. Daniel split time with explosive point guard Jordan Bone and was an integral part of UT’s resurgent team.

Fore, though, is more of a pure point guard; something UT has been missing in recent years. The former Huntsville, Alabama, native will joint fellow North Alabamian Lamonte Turner on the Vols roster. Tennessee has enjoyed success in that area in recent years, also landing former guard Detrick Mostella from the area. Fore is an experienced player who’s appeared in nearly 100 games for the Spiders. He started 26 games this past season and averaged 11 points per game.

Though Fore isn’t known for his marksmanship, he is a quick guard who can slash to the basket and whose game thrives on penetration, much like Bone’s.

A couple of weeks ago, Fore told VolQuest.com’s Rob Lewis:

“I definitely want to go somewhere where we’re going to be able to win and make the tournament, with the kind of success they had here already they’re definitely set up to do that,” Fore said in an interview following his trip to Knoxville two weeks ago.

“The coaches told me that they need a guy like me, someone that can penetrate, finish and play tough on the ball defense. Those are my strengths.

“One thing that I really liked about Coach Barnes was that he didn’t just talk about the things I could do, he talked about my weaknesses and how they could help me get better.”

Though Barnes’ high school recruiting hasn’t landed many marquee names, he’s shown a propensity for evaluation, development and fit. The Vols are thriving because of it. Barnes also is proving he knows how to go out and add important missing elements to his team. Daniel was a major part of the success of the past season, and though JUCO guard Chris Darrington didn’t pan out, Darrington’s transfer led to the opportunity to sign Fore.

He’ll be a vital piece this year, and the Vols could go a long way. Getting another guy who can penetrate and dish to a group of players poised to win big is big news.

Major Vol Hoops Roster Developments Make the Future Look Even Brighter

From Thursday to Sunday there were some relatively significant developments for the Tennessee Basketball program, all of which were positive: 1) News broke that end of the rotation guard Chris Darrington would be transferring, thereby opening another scholarship for Coach Rick Barnes to work with, 2) The esteemed Rob Lewis from Volquest broke the news that 4-star 2018 PG James Akinjo will be taking an official visit to Knoxville the weekend of April 13-14, and 3) 2019 PF DJ Burns took his official visit to Tennessee this weekend.  Below we’ll take a more in depth look at each development and how they intertwine with each other

Darrington Leaves the Program, Tennessee Has Opportunity to Improve

On Friday it was announced that guard Chris Darrington would be given his release to transfer from the program.  While I’ve been more bullish on Drrington that many due to his performance in last summer’s European trip and even in the non-conference portion of last season’s schedule, it was clear that he faced an uphill battle to have a real impact on next season’s team.  He’s a great kid who was dealt a tough hand off the court during the season due to the death of his childhood friend and just never seemed to recover his confidence when his play slipped and his playing time therefore dropped.  He was a popular member of the team and I’m sure his teammates will wish him well.

All that said, this does present an opportunity for Barnes that he simply did not have before.  Tennessee can use its two scholarship openings to add some combination of a high school player, a grad transfer who’s immediately eligible, and even a transfer who has to sit out a year.  They also have positional flexibility that they simply didn’t have with only one opening.

PG James Akinjo (more on him below) is the clear #1 option on the high school front, and what happens with him will likely impact the direction the Vols go with the other spot (or with the remaining two if they don’t land him).  However, with the spring AAU circuit starting and the skaeout from coaching changes still happening, there will likely be a handful of new targets that Tennessee takes a look at.  An immediate example is Carlos Curry, an MTSU signee who asked out of his LOI last week and was immediately offered by Florida State.  Along the Seminoles (where he took an unofficial visit this past fall), Ole Miss (where former MTSU coach Kermit Davis is now the head man), Georgia, Witichia State, and Cincinnati have all been in contact.  And so has Tennessee.  Why?  Because he’s nearly 7’0 and 245 lbs and this weekend at The Opening tournament in Atlanta he was showing range out to 18 feet (projecting to be able to hit 3s as he continues to develop) while using his length to protect the rim.  When he signed with MTSU he did so over offers from Oklahoma and WKU and interest from FSU and Clemson among other ACC schools.  So while he’s not a no-doubt blue-chipper he’s also not exactly under the radar, and he looks like a legit SEC propsect.  We’ll see if anything comes of Tennessee’s interest, but it’s clear that with another scholarship to play with the Vols are going to explore every option out there.

Given the aforementioned hype that the program has and its status as an SEC and National title contender, should the Vols look to go the grad transfer route they are going to be a very attractive option for the best players on the market who are looking to be a part of something special.  At the same time, a grad transfer would mean that Tennessee still has four total scholarships for a 2019 class that is already looking good and has a chance to be special. Finally, the Vols could also look to land a transfer who would have to sit out a year but would have multiple years left to play.  The most prominent of those so far to be mentioned with Tennessee is Utah State SG McEwen, who Lewis has mentioned as someone to definitely keep an eye on.  McEwen, who would be a sit one/play two player, averaged 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.3 minutes per game as a sophomore at Utah State and is being courted by Iowa State and Creighton among others. The tie here might be that McEwen is originally from Canada and Barnes as well both assistant coaches Rob Lanier and Desmond Oliver have deep connections in Canada basketball having signed three Canadians while at Texas (NBA players Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph as well as Myck Kabongo) and have at UT signed two in Ray Kasongo (who since transferred) and Kyle Alexander.

The bottom line is that as good as Tennessee was last year, and as much development as this roster still has in front of it, Barnes has a real opportunity to increase the overall talent and depth of the 2018-2019 roster while also adding pieces for the future.  And he can do so in a variety of ways.

 

Akinjo Scheduled Official Visit to Knoxville

While Barnes has emphatically stated that his preference for what was then the lone open scholarship for 2018 was another Guard, it has been hard to find a high level high school prospect that the Vols had a shot with.  That changed when 4-star California PG James Akinjo scheduled his official visit to Tennessee for this coming weekend.

Akinjo is a 6’0, 170 lb player who burst onto the recruiting scene last summer when he earned MVP honors at the 2017 Peach Jam, averaging 18.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds and leading his team to the tournament championship. After taking an official visit to UCONN he signed with the Huskies in the early signing period over offers from Indiana and Virginia among others, but after Coach Nate Ollie was let go he received his release and went back on the open market.

When you watch his tape you see a very hard-nosed kid who is fearless going to the rim and a strong finisher; can get there basically whenever he wants due to his quickness and strong handle; can shoot from the outside and has a quick release; and knows how to get his teammates involved.  He also appears to be a willing defender, which is key if he were to sign with the Vols and play for Barnes.  He’s also young enough to classify for 2019, which means he’s got plenty of upside physically and mentally with the game. Without a doubt Akinjo would be a huge addition to the team both immediately in 2018 as a 3rd primary ball handler behind Jordan Bone and Lamonte Turner and also moving forward as Bone and Turner eventually move on.

Akinjo has received intense interest from the likes of Arizona, Georgetown, Cal, and Wichita State, and was at Georgetown this past weekend on the first of four available official visits.  Interestingly, Arizona, who many thought would be a prime contender, picked up a commitment from a different 4-star California PG over the weekend which could very much impact Akinjo’s decision.  Tennessee will certainly have a chance to move into the front of this recruitment this weekend.

Vols Brings in 4-Star 2019 PF DJ Burns for Official Visit, Look to Keep 2019 Momentum Going

After having been on campus multiple times over the last 1-2 years, 2019 stud DJ Burns took his official visit over the weekend, bringing his parents with him on the trip.  Bringing a 2019 prospect in almost seven months before he can sign is a strong sign that Barnes and Co. feel very strongly about their position and the hope is that while he did not commit while on campus he will do so in the coming days and will shut down his recruitment.

Burns is a rugged, 6’9 260 lb forward whose calling card is his combination of brute strength and an advanced post-up game that comes from great footwork, hands, and soft touch around the rim.  His high school coach has incredibly high praise for him, saying, “I think with him he always is developing and always is a great passer. His foot work and feel for the game is unreal. I see this kid as being a pro someday.”  From here it looks like his floor would be freshman year Derrick Walker in that he’s physical and incredibly skilled and that his ceiling is very high and will depend on further growing/body shaping/conditioning, etc.  He is a great student and also appears to be a high character kid (see him quoting Rudyard Kipling in this tweet) who, like his host over the weekend, Grant Williams, is also an accomplished musician who plays four instruments.

Depending on what they do with Darrington’s scholarship, Tennessee should have at least three to four scholarships to give in the 2019 class, and pairing Burns with longtime commitment Davonte Gaines, who will head to Hargrave for a 5th year, would be an outstanding start for the Vols.  This is especially true given that the AAU season is just kicking off and the staff would be able to really narrow in on its targets for the remaining spots.  At the same time, the program is about to get a serious uptick in national exposure, as the offseason hype for next season’s team has already begun with the Vols being ranked anywhere from 5th to 8th in a number of preseason rankings.  Additionally, Tennessee will participate in next season’s NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, NY along with Kansas, Louisville, and Marquette, and one can assume that Tennessee will get a marquee matchup in the annual SEC-Big 12 Challenge as well.  These will complement what is annually a strong non-conference slate (which this year will at least feature home games against ACC school Georgia Tech and Wake Forest) under Coach Barnes, giving the Vols a myriad of opportunities to showcase the program.

The staff has also already laid the groundwork to fill the class with very highly recruited players.  Tennessee hosted 5-star PG Jalen Lecque for the Kentucky game this past season (to go with two coaches’ visits – in November and again in March), and was the first major conference offer for 5-star Wing Josiah James.  Additionally, the Vols hosted Guards Marcus Watson (#88), Trey McGowens (#89) and Kira Lewis (#119) along with C Jason Jitobah (#191) for last season’s UNC game.  Barnes started the offseason recruiting by by visiting Kira Lewis today (Tennessee’s 3rd visit, this time with the whole staff), and he doubled up with Top 100 guards by visiting Watson as well.  This was the second time UT coaches have visited Watson, the first being back in January, and not only was he in Thompson-Boiling Arena for the UNC game but he also visited campus last June  Per Lewis, Barnes will be visiting James the following weekend, and it’s safe to say that likely won’t be his only visit.  So while more targets will pop up, the Vols have definitely started to hone in on a handful of top level prospects with whom they have already established firm relationships and who have been to campus already.  It’s a great spot to be in as Tennessee looks to have an outstanding opportunity to bring in its highest rated class in a long, long time, which is incredibly exciting for Vol fans

The Next Step for SEC Basketball

2017-18 saw the deepest SEC of all-time, with eight NCAA Tournament teams breaking the old conference record of six. The championship banner Tennessee and Auburn will hang is the greatest testament to the quality of their seasons.

Seven of those eight tournament teams had a favorable seed in the opening round; only Alabama was truly on the bubble. Six SEC teams won in the first round. It was in the second round when things got crazy. Kentucky, the league’s bluest blood, beat 13-seed Buffalo by 20. Florida, a six seed, lost to three seed Texas Tech by three points. Everything else? Tennessee lost to 11-seed Loyola-Chicago on a semi-miraculous bounce with three seconds to play. Alabama lost to Villanova by 23 points; Auburn lost to Clemson by 31. And Texas A&M beat two seed North Carolina by 21.

The Cats and Aggies then bowed out in the Sweet 16, leaving the league with zero teams in the Elite Eight one year after putting three in the regional finals. The Big 12 added to their claim as the nation’s best conference with three teams in the Elite Eight, followed by the ACC with two.

But while the lasting SEC memory from 2017-18 is depth, the league has also positioned itself to continue to evolve.

Three SEC teams were in the 2017-18 preseason AP poll: the usual suspects from Kentucky and Florida in the Top 10, plus Texas A&M sneaking in at #25. In the first round of Way Too Early Top 25s for 2019?

You get the idea. Behind Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky is a Mississippi State program looking to cash in, star-studded freshman classes at LSU and Vanderbilt, and more of the same from Florida and Texas A&M. A team like Arkansas would have been the third or fourth best in the league almost by default five years ago. Now they might not make the top ten.

As it relates to Tennessee, the league should be tougher than ever…but it should also represent the best opportunity on the Vols’ resume. Much of UT’s case this year was made by beating Purdue and almost beating Villanova and North Carolina. But what we know of the non-conference schedule for next season doesn’t have as many opportunities. Home-and-homes with Wake Forest and Georgia Tech haven’t panned out as both programs have struggled. It’s great to have the Memphis rivalry back in our lives, but I’m not sure it’ll be a resume builder in Penny Hardaway’s first season. And the Vols are in the preseason NIT next year with Kansas, Louisville, and Marquette, but only the Jayhawks will be considered a national threat in the preseason.

We’ll see who the Vols draw in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, but if the league does indeed feature five or six ranked teams throughout the season, their best work will come in conference play. You have to go back to the pre-Bruce Pearl era at Tennessee to find a time when the SEC was good enough to make or break its own teams.

It will only get harder, but the basketball will only get better. One year after showing its depth like never before, the SEC should have a chance to make its case at the top of college basketball world.

Should Tennessee Shoot More Threes Next Year?

Earlier this week Dylan took a look at how Tennessee might adapt its offensive philosophy next season. It’s a great question: should the Vols continue to rely on their physicality and inside presence, or look to space the floor even more with better three-point shooting?

The 2017-18 Vols were not only the program’s second-highest-rated team of the KenPom era (still trailing Cuonzo Martin’s final squad), they were also one of the more complex during Tennessee’s run in the last 13 years. Bruce Pearl’s first squad won with great shooting, turning you over and not turning it over themselves. The 2008 Vols added inside threats with Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism, enabling them to space the floor with Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith while continuing to force turnovers on the other end. The Elite Eight squad in 2010 was one of the worst three-point shooting teams of this era (32%), but played excellent team defense with a bothersome lineup of Bobby Maze and four guys that went 6’7″ to 6’10”. Cuonzo’s 2014 team feasted on offensive rebounds while playing great defense without sending teams to the free throw line.

What was this year’s team best at? Statistically the answer is defense, where the Vols are sixth in KenPom’s efficiency ratings, and, as has been the case all year, assist percentage. The Vols are seventh nationally with an assist on 62.1% of their made shots.

So the story on Tennessee’s three-point shooting goes like this:

  • The Vols shot 38% from the arc, 45th nationally. It was Tennessee’s highest percentage from three since…2006! Pearl’s first team shot 38.8%, 18th nationally that year. The Vols fell slightly to 36.5% and 35.8% the next two years, impacted by the loss of C.J. Watson and, in 2008, Chris Lofton’s cancer. Since 2008 the Vols had not shot better than 34.4% (Cuonzo’s first team) from three until this year.
  • Who was the best shooter on this team? All of them. Admiral Schofield, Lamonte Turner, and Jordan Bowden all amazingly finished at 39.5%. Jordan Bone shot 38%. James Daniel shot 37.2%. Tennessee’s percentage didn’t come from one or two really great shooters, but five pretty good shooters. And four of them will be back next year.
  • But…only 35.7% of Tennessee’s field goal attempts were threes. That percentage is 220th nationally. The production is counter-balanced by what Tennessee did at the free throw line: a free throw rate of 35.5% was solid, 107th nationally, but the Vols also shot 75.7% at the line, 43rd nationally.

The answer, of course, is more complicated than, “Let’s just shoot more threes!” I don’t know if there’s a shooter on this roster who is consistently good enough to build more of the offense around. This year the Vols built it around going inside to Grant Williams (and later playing through Admiral Schofield) and emphasized great ball movement. Tennessee made so many threes in large part because so many of them were good looks off good ball movement. The way the 2016-17 team’s success and failure was so easily identifiable through how many assists they had, you could see this coming at the start of the year.

Dylan also took a look at one area of improvement for the starters on this team. When it comes to outside shooting, I think the greatest room for improvement isn’t necessarily what a player can do to shoot it better from three, but what the Vols could do with Kyle Alexander and Derrick Walker inside next year. If one or both of those guys can make even a mini-leap, Tennessee could have two inside players capable of scoring at a high rate on the floor at all times next season. That sort of dynamic can open things up even more for Tennessee’s guards from the outside, and showcase Admiral Schofield even more in the J.P. Prince facilitator role.

You know Tennessee is going to play excellent defense at this point. Offensively next season, I don’t think the answer is a philosophical shift to more outside shooting as much as an opportunity to get even better looks through the offensive maturation of the players with the most room to grow. And obviously, as a team, the Vols played pretty close the national ceiling all season as a three seed. There is much to be excited about here.

Will Rick Barnes Adapt His Offensive Philosophy Next Season?

The Ringer has a really interesting piece about how while there are very few future NBA players in the Final Four, all four teams are running NBA systems (i.e., spreading the floor with virtually all five players on the court as three-point threats).  It speaks to a few things about the future of college basketball (the NBA is already there) in which positional versatility is incredibly valued while at the same time true back to the basket big men are ever rarer.  All of these are germane to a discussion about the immediate future of the Tennessee Basketball program:

Should Tennessee Zig While Others Zag?

On the one hand, one could make a strong case that Tennessee’s physicality inside with Grant Williams, Derrick Walker, Admiral Schofield (if the opposing defense puts a smaller defender on him), and potentially even Yves Pons given his physique, is the one competitive advantage the Vols might have against most every opponent regardless of relative talent.  And that when the rest of the country is playing small ball, with either UK/Duke/UNC-type NBA talent or not, Tennessee should instead lean on its biggest asset – size and physicality – to win games and go deep into March.  A sort of reprise of the Memphis Grizzlies’ Grit n Grind style where the Grizzlies parlayed the size, brute force, and defensive tenacity of Marc Gasol/Zach Randolph/Tony Allen into a stretch of deep playoff runs when everyone else was talking about how floor-bound big men were a thing of the past and the only way to win was to shoot 50 three-pointers a game.  That was basically Tennessee’s formula this past season and they won 26 games and an SEC Championship and will return just about all of the talent + experience next season.  It would be very fair for Rick Barnes to say let’s do it again, just a little better, right?

Or Should Tennessee Evolve?

On the other hand, the article presents a compelling reason for Tennessee to if not change its philosophy (you can be physical and play great defense no matter what your offensive style is) then at least augment it on the offensive end to get better.

The author states: “The point isn’t that their offenses ensured deep runs in the NCAA tournament. It’s that a more progressive style of play gave them a chance against more talented teams.”  No matter who Tennessee adds in the late signing period to fill its (current) one spot on the roster, the Vols will not be among the most talented 15-20 teams in the country based on NBA potential if not also other metrics.  However, the team is good enough to likely be at worst a Preseason Top 15 team and a strong contender for yet another very high seed in the NCAA Tournament.  Therefore, it would behoove Coach Barnes to both make sure that a worse/less talented team doesn’t use a more optimized offensive strategy to pull an upset while at the same time giving Tennessee its best chance to win against more talented teams. As if to drive home the point for Tennessee, the author very specifically calls out the fact that Tennessee took twice as many long 2s as Loyola did in its one-point 2nd round loss – illustrating that it was offensive philosophy and not talent that won that game for the Sister Jeans.

The article strongly bolsters the case presented here and here that what many of Tennessee’s returning roster – both starters and bench players – can do for their respective games in the offseason is improve their 3-point shooting:

Imagine a team where neither Grant Williams nor Kyle Alexander are solely dependent on post scoring but instead have added respectable and even reliable three-point shooting to their respective repertoires; Jordan Bone is deadeye with an open look that comes from great ball movement from the perimeter as well as inside-out passing; Yves Pons has continued to develop his three point shooting; and both Jalen Johnson  and Zach Kent have earned minutes on the defensive end such that their strong shooting is on the floor…and all of these are in combination with the already deadly shooting of Admiral Schofield, Lamonte Turner, and Jordan Bowden.  That’s a team that is nearly impossible to defend and can adapt to any kind of defense thrown at it regardless of the relative talent on the floor.

Judgement: Make that Change

The first scenario is interesting, more comfortable, and therefore probably easier to lean on if you’re Rick Barnes.  The man has won a ton of games and played in 23 NCAA Tournaments – he’s clearly very good at what he does.  However, in the end I think it’s pretty clear that in order for the Vols to take the next step – unless they’re going to start landing one and done type NBA players and can simply outman everyone, which is extremely unlikely – they’re going to have to adapt their offensive scheme to start spacing the floor better and shooting more threes.  The good news is twofold: Barnes is both incredibly smart and strategic – witness how he handled this team all season – and he has the players with the potential to do this with some simple offseason skill development that requires neither a full overhaul of the existing roster nor anyone completely retooling their game.  It will be fascinating to watch and see what kind of changes Barnes looks to make with his veteran roster so that the Vols are dancing much further into March of 2019 than they were in 2018.