Gameday Today: regular season hoops homestretch, more football details emerge

Hoops

If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out Will’s latest post on Tennessee basketball, which analyzes what, specifically, makes the team hum. Spoiler alert:

. . . Tennessee’s best basketball is a balanced effort from Williams, Schofield, Bowden from the arc, and getting just enough (but not too much) from its three guards.

The post is full of great information, so go read the whole thing.

Assuming they continue to do what they do, the Vols are in good shape to finish second in the SEC regular season race.

Also, there’s this fun fact about guard Jordan Bone:

Football

The Vols are not especially happy about losing punter Trevor Daniel, but they are excited about incoming punter Paxton Brooks, even if he is shaped like a chopstick.

They also love incoming defensive lineman John Mincey, the “Country Killer” who doesn’t have the time or inclination to waste on “Twitter, Snapchat, and all that stuff.” Old men everywhere, rejoice.

But while Jeremy Pruitt and his staff love these guys, he is actively discouraging any unrealistic expectations for them, warning that some of the positions they recruited this cycle are “developmental” positions that take time. What is this “development” wizardry you speak of?

By the way, Pruitt has also apparently told the media that his starters are supposed to be available for two special teams units and that non-starters are supposed to be available for three to four.

And even though the Vols might be in the market for a grad transfer or two at quarterback and/or offensive line, don’t expect anything to happen for a month or two on that front.

Tidbits

The No. 11 Lady Vols lost to Alabama 72-63 in Thompson-Boling last night. That’s the first time Alabama has won in Knoxville. Ever.

Tennessee baseball gets underway today against Maryland. The first pitch has been postponed until 6:00 due to weather.

ESPN and FOX are both after Peyton Manning for the broadcasting booth.

What does Tennessee’s best basketball look like in mid-February?

Five to go. Auburn just keeps winning, still two up on the Vols. The Tigers have a pair of games with South Carolina book-ending three tests against likely NCAA Tournament teams (Alabama, at Florida, at Arkansas). Tennessee has just one such test with Florida, plus two with Georgia and a quick trip through the state of Mississippi. It’s not over, but it’s close.

The larger concern for Tennessee is (re?)discovering its best basketball with March on the horizon. A six-game winning streak and whispers of a one seed came crashing down in a 28-point loss at Alabama, and the Vols nearly squandered a pair of double-digit leads against South Carolina in Knoxville.

Tennessee is still 13th in KenPom and RPI, and right on the 3/4 seed line in the Bracket Matrix. It’s been an amazing year. How can the Vols work to ensure their best basketball isn’t behind them?

A couple of benchmarks still hold up: Tennessee is 14-1 when shooting better than 36% from the arc, 17-3 when getting an assist on at least 45% of their made baskets. Share the ball, make threes, win the game. But I think what really makes Tennessee hum goes deeper than that.

Grant Williams averages 16.2 points per game, 21.3% of Tennessee’s scoring load. The Vols don’t go as he goes – Texas A&M and Iowa State are the only power conference teams to hold him to single digits, and Tennessee won both those games – but they do go to him first. Tennessee’s offense also looks to create opportunities for Admiral Schofield, next in scoring at 12.3 per game.

Those two are generally consistent in both wins and losses. The difference between victory and defeat for Tennessee is most often what the rest of the team does. And when the Vols are at their best, the rest of the team does two things really well (all this data is compiled from Sports Reference).

One: Jordan Bowden hits threes. Tennessee is 14-3 when Bowden hits at least one three, and 12-1 when he scores in double digits. The Vols looked to him like never before against South Carolina, and he delivered: 4-of-10 from the arc and 14 points. That performance broke a chilly 3-for-20 streak in the previous five games. Bowden is still one of the league’s best shooters at 44.2% from the arc. When defenses have to account for him on the perimeter, everything runs better in Tennessee’s offense.

Two, Tennessee is at its best when its guards produce, but not too much. You never know who is going to be the one on any given night between Jordan Bone, James Daniel, and Lamonte Turner. But there is a statistical sweet spot for the three combined:

  • When Bone, Daniel, and Turner account for less than 20% of Tennessee’s points, the Vols are 3-2. Two of those three wins are Presbyterian and Furman. The two losses are UT’s worst offensive performances of the year: at Missouri and at Alabama. Those are the only two times the Vols have scored less than 60 points; Tennessee’s three guards combined for 10 points in Tuscaloosa, 11 in CoMo.
  • When Bone, Daniel, and Turner account for more than 50% of Tennessee’s points, the Vols are 1-2. The one win was at Iowa State, which Tennessee’s defense gets credit for as much as anything else. The two losses are Arkansas and Auburn, late-game shootouts fueled by foul trouble and great guard play on the other bench. This team is not built to win playing through its guards first.
  • When Bone, Daniel and Turner account for 21-49% of Tennessee’s points, the Vols are 15-2. And the two losses are no-shame affairs to Villanova and North Carolina. All of Tennessee’s best wins – Kentucky x2, Texas A&M, Purdue, NC State – are in this realm. Their average contribution is around 31%. Here are their game-by-game contributions.

The Vols are still eighth in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings. They’re good enough to win even when shots aren’t falling. But Tennessee’s best basketball is a balanced effort from Williams, Schofield, Bowden from the arc, and getting just enough (but not too much) from its three guards. And this group of six players all contribute to Tennessee’s stellar assist percentage: all of them average between 1.5 and and 3.5 assists per game.

These last five games offer a last chance to improve before the stakes are raised. The strength of the league means the SEC Tournament quarterfinals will look a lot like the second round of the NCAA Tournament. If there are no upsets on Thursday in St. Louis, Friday could feature eight tournament-bound teams; seven of them are an eight seed or better in the latest Bracket Matrix. The Vols could finish second in the league and face Kentucky in their first game of the SEC Tournament. Nothing will be easy.

How easy will tomorrow’s test at Georgia be? The Dawgs have two wins in their last eight games, but both are against Florida. Mark Fox might be coaching for his job; Georgia is 14-11 but should miss the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in his nine years. Winning really big in football can make one a little more hungry in basketball.

Their struggles may also keep Yante Maten from SEC Player of the Year, despite averaging 19.5 points and and 8.7 rebounds in one of the slowest offenses in college basketball. The Dawgs are also one of the worst teams in the nation at forcing turnovers. It could be a good opportunity for Tennessee’s offense to get back in its groove.

6:00 PM Saturday, SEC Network. Go Vols.

 

 

 

Gameday Today: additions to the football staff, opinions, and game times

Football Staff

Tennessee reportedly made two hires yesterday: former Heisman-winner and Alabama offensive analyst Chris Weinke will coach the running backs and JUCO offensive mastermind Joe Osovet will be an offensive analyst.

And in case you only read the headline saying that Robert Gillespie “didn’t like” being fired, here’s the whole quote from Phillip Fulmer:

“This is a big boy’s business,” Fulmer said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. “He understood. He was very professional. We talked yesterday. It was simply a matter of Coach Pruitt doing what he thought was right for his program and Robert.

“Robert was fine. Robert is OK. He didn’t like it, I’m not saying that. But he’s OK. He understood. It’s a big boy business.”

Everybody’s got one

With news being pretty scarce, everybody’s starting in with their opinions:

Here are the Vols signees who will make an immediate impact this fall, according to SEC Country.

And here are the three top targets for Pruitt in next year’s recruiting class, according to Gridiron Now, and the top four needs for that class ($$$), according to Rivals.

Pruitt himself has opinions, too, and one of them is that 3-star defensive lineman signee Kurott Garland is going to be a “really good football player.”

According to Tennessee safeties coach Charles Kelly, here are the three characteristics every safety needs to possess.

And just to keep this particular fire burning, CBS also thinks that Tennessee is still one of the most talented teams in the nation.

Other fun stuff

The No. 11 Lady Vols host Alabama this evening at 6:30.

The Vols baseball season begins tomorrow as the team opens with a three-game series against Maryland at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

 

 

Report: Vols hire Chris Weinke as running backs coach

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt isn’t wasting any time replacing running backs coach Robert Gillespie. GoVols247 reported yesterday, only a day after Gillespie and Tennessee parted ways, that the Vols are replacing Gillespie with former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke.

Weinke spent last year as an offensive analyst for the Alabama Crimson Tide and worked closely with Pruitt. Prior to that, he was a quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams and the Director of Football at IMG Academy in Florida for five years. He coached current Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough while at IMG.

In his playing days, Weinke won the Heisman in 1999 and led his Florida State team to the 1999 BCS National Championship. He spent six seasons with the Carolina Panthers and one with the San Francisco 49ers.

Vols add offensive guru Joe Osovet to support staff

The Vols add yet another guy to their growing coaching support staff with the arrival of Joe Osovet, a top JUCO coach known for his offensive prowess. He’s expected to be an offensive analyst.

Osovet made the announcement via his Twitter account:

Osovet is the head coach and offensive coordinator at ASA College in Brooklyn, New York, and has made the ASA Avengers a JUCO powerhouse. They compiled a 9-1 record this season and put up 38.1 points and 446.3 yards of total offense per game. They scored 67 points or more in three games. Over the past six years, he’s scored 75 points or more five times. Osovet has been heavily utilizing RPOs since 2001 and has studied under Rich Rodriguez and Art Briles.

Osovet had been a candidate for the then-vacant wide receivers coaching job, but that gig went to David Johnson. Nevertheless, he and Jeremy Pruitt apparently go way back to Pruitt’s days at Georgia, and Pruitt wanted him on the staff badly enough to offer him a quality control assistant.

Gameday Today: Separate ways for Gillespie and Tennessee, Pruitt’s spring practice plan

Tennessee and Robert Gillespie part ways

News broke yesterday that Vols running backs coach Robert Gillespie is leaving Tennessee. This was a surprising move, as Gillespie was the one guy from Butch Jones’ coaching staff that had not been dismissed, so it seemed like he would be around for the long term or at least through the end of the last year of his contract. But instead, he’s gone.

Most reports are that this was a mutual decision, although John Brice added this juicy bit to his post on the subject:

Per sources, Gillespie did not mesh with Pruitt and the Vols’ new staff. In part of his culture change identified as necessary to push Tennessee forward, Pruitt found what sources said were “stale” mindsets.

I have to say that I did notice some palpable awkwardness at the Knoxville post signing day event when Gillespie and Jeremy Pruitt were both asked about Gillespie staying on. They said the right things, but there was no expected mutual gushing.

The initial reports are that former Florida State quarterback and Alabama analyst Chris Weinke is the guy to watch to replace Gillespie.

Oh, and player personnel director Bob Welton, who’s been on Tennessee’s staff since 2013, is also leaving. But FSU defensive quality control coach Bert Biffani is arriving. I know that we fans generally have no clue about the guys in these kinds of support positions, but I’m becoming more and more convinved that they matter — a lot — after seeing Alabama’s press box filled with an army of clipboard-carrying dudes nobody’s ever heard of. I’m glad to see Tennessee getting into the arms race.

Other Football

Coach Pruitt has outlined his plan for spring practice, and it’s a bit different than it has been in the past. The team will be practicing three days per week over a five week period, which will give the players a day in between practices to internalize the new things they’re being taught. They’re also going to sort of double up and continue to lift like it’s the offseason even during spring practice. Spring practice begins on March 20 and ends with the Orange and White Game on April 21.

Pruit is super high on 3-star defensive back Trevon Flowers, calling him the “steal of this class.” Flowers didn’t play football at all in high school until his senior year and yet has the skill set to play any of the six defensive back positions.

NFL Draft analyst Chris Landry identifies VFL John Kelly as a potential sleeper, one who “has a chance to be a better pro than he was in college.” He also says that Kelly was criminally underused, so there’s that.

VFL Johnny Majors is going to receive the Doak Walker Legends Award this week in Dallas.

And finally, former athletic director John Currie told agent Jimmy Sexton that Lane Kiffin “will never be the head coach as long as I’m the athletics director here.” He was right about that, he just didn’t know that he’d only be athletic director for a couple more weeks.

 

 

 

Vols draw on renewed energy to survive a scare from South Carolina, 70-67

The Tennessee basketball team was looking to put a humiliating loss to Alabama last Saturday behind them with a great performance against South Carolina last night, and it’s a good thing they came out with a lot more energy and focus than they displayed against the Tide because without it, they would have lost to a Gamecocks team that was on a five-game losing streak.

As it turns out, though, that energy, effort, and focus translated into a good 70-67 win over Frank Martin’s South Carolina team in Thompson-Boling last night.

They looked much better right out of the gate, but the Gamecocks were looking good as well, and the Vols had a tough time pulling away. They led by as many as 10 points in the first half and went into halftime leading 38-34.

Carolina came out swinging in the second, though, and tied the game at 40 early. When Tennessee answered by going on an 18-5 run, the Gamecocks responded with a 10-0 run of their own.

As the game wound down, Carolina continued chipping away at the Vols’ lead and narrowed it to a single point with 36 seconds left. At that point, the Vols advanced the ball to halfcourt, called a timeout, and designed a play for Grant Williams on the block. Good call, as Williams hit a well-contested shot just before the double-team arrived and put his team up 70-67 with 11 seconds to go.

Rick Barnes instructed his team to foul on Carolina’s final possession, and they didn’t, but Carolina missed a desperation three anyway, and the Vols went to the showers with a 70-67 win.

Williams led Tennessee with a solid all-around night:

Despite the return of the energy, defense, and focus that has characterized this team most of the season, the recent trend of turnovers by Tennessee’s guards is beginning to become a bit worrisome. It’s entirely unexpected for a team with such a high assist percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio on the season.

But it was a win, and the Vols move to sole possession of second place in the SEC standings with a record of 9-4, 1.5 games behind Auburn. Next up is a trip to Georgia this Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

 

Tennessee Vols vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: game time, TV channel, and game thread

The Vols, still licking their wounds from a tough night at Alabama last weekend, hope to put it all behind them against South Carolina at home tonight. The game tips at 9:00 and will be televised on ESPNU. Online, you can catch it at WatchESPN.

See you in the comments below.

Go Vols!

 

Gameday Today: Basketball turns the page to South Carolina

Hoops

If you care to hear Rick Barnes talk about all of the things that went wrong against Alabama Saturday night, you can do that here:

If you prefer, you can just skim the transcript. Paraphrase: We didn’t follow the scouting report, nobody did anything right, and bus rides are never fun.

Seriously, though, there’s this: “I hope you’re never who you are.” It was a toss-away line, but I absolutely love the philosophy it evidences, that everyone always needs to and can improve.

The team gets a chance to rinse out that nasty aftertaste of sulphur and sweat tonight at home against South Carolina, which is on a five-game losing streak. The game tips at 9:00 and will be televised on ESPNU.

And besides, apart from the misery of the weekend, the Vols still have a terrific resume. They have some really good wins against really good teams, and in addition, their only losses have come to good teams as well:


In fact, in ESPN’s latest power rankings, the Vols are still No. 13, just behind Duke, Kansas, and North Carolina, which is pretty good company, assuming you’re talking basketball.

Football

Now that both National Signing Days are behind us, it’s time for everyone to start taking a closer look at what we have on campus.

The coaching staff is loving 4-star offensive lineman Jerome Carvin.

The Vols are expecting great things from new wide receivers Alontae Taylor and Cedric Tillman.

Dominick Wood-Anderson is reportedly the “prototypical NFL tight end.”

If you need another reason to root for incoming JUCO linebacker Jordan Allen, check out this great story from 247Sports.

Incoming running back Jeremy Banks probably signals a shift to recruiting bigger backs.

Running backs coach Robert Gillespie says he wants to “own” the city of Memphis.

Safeties coach and special teams coordinator Charles Kelly is calling Jeremy Pruitt the “most talented coach” he’s worked with in 26 years.

And hey, here’s that same glimmer of hope: The Vols are still talented, even after going 0-8 in the conference last year and finishing this recruiting season with only a Top 20 class. ESPN even puts them on their list of teams with enough talent to get to the College Football Playoff. Coaches matter, so let’s hope we have the right ones.

And speaking of coaches, don’t miss this hilarious look at the Tennessee coaching staff from Spencer.

Other notes

Tennessee basketball is working on a redshirt for freshman forward Zach Kent.

Four-time All-American Chamique Holdsclaw and former assistant coach Mickie DeMoss are two of the seven-person class to be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame this year.