Tennessee vs Texas A&M Preview

Two weeks ago Texas A&M was the best team in the best SEC of at least the last decade. The Aggies were ranked fifth in the Christmas Day AP poll, 11-1 with a three-point loss to Arizona the only blemish. They beat West Virginia – currently ranked second in the nation – by 23 points in the season opener. They won at then-#10 Southern Cal by 16. They were rolling.

Then there was some weirdness. DJ Hogg served a three game suspension. Robert Williams missed a game with illness. Admon Gilder missed five games with a knee injury. Duane Wilson has missed three and counting with another knee injury. Tyler Davis, who leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, is one of only two Aggies in the top eight in scoring who has played every game this year.

In the midst of all this lineup shuffling, they entered SEC play. They lost at Alabama by 22. Then they lost at home to Florida by 17. Then they lost to LSU on a last second shot that “heave” doesn’t even begin to describe. Then they went to Rupp with most of their lineup healthy, and may or may not have gotten hosed on a pass interference no-call in another one-point loss. And now A&M is 11-5 (0-4).

In KenPom, Tennessee is the best team in the SEC (and 15th nationally). Texas A&M, Auburn, Kentucky, and Florida are 21st-24th. So technically this is a match-up of the two best teams in the SEC via KenPom, but really it’s just another big challenge in Tennessee’s schedule, one that could go to number one in RPI by Saturday night.

What Texas A&M does well:

  • These dudes are tall (so, you guessed it: offensive rebounding). The Aggies are 32nd nationally in offensive rebounding percentage at 35.3% (just ahead of the Vols at 35.2%). They’re not quite as strong as North Carolina, Auburn, or Kentucky in this metric, but they come about their numbers the old-fashioned way:  Tyler Davis and Robert Williams are 6’10”, DJ Hogg is 6’9″, and they can bring Tonny Trocha-Morelos off the bench, also 6’10”. They lead the SEC with 55 offensive rebounds in four games.
  • Defense (when at full strength). On the year, the Aggies allow just 38.8% from the floor, 18th nationally. In four SEC games, they allow 47.8%, last in the conference. They held West Virginia to 34.3% and Southern Cal to 28.2%. But they allowed Kentucky to shoot 55.8%, despite being as healthy as they’d been in the last two weeks. Florida shot 51.6%, Alabama 45.6%, and LSU 40%.
  • A veteran team that shares the basketball. Behind the Vols, this is the second best team in the SEC in assist percentage at 60.7%, 25th nationally. Robert Williams is a sophomore, but the rest of their major pieces are juniors and seniors. They had 22 assists on 31 made shots in the win over West Virginia. But they also look a little like Tennessee last year in this stat:  10-1 with 15+ assists, 1-4 with 14 or fewer.

What Tennessee can do to win:

  • Beat their size at the three-point line. The Aggies are 10-0 when holding opponents to 30% or less from the arc, 1-5 with losses to Alabama (30.4%), Arizona (31.8%), Kentucky (33.3%), LSU (42.9%), and Florida (17-of-28, 60.7%) when they don’t. The Vols shoot 39.5% on the season (33rd nationally) and in conference play (third in the league). Tennessee’s best looks have come playing inside-out; we’ll see how A&M’s size might affect that strategy in creating good offense from good ball movement.
  • Win the turnover battle again. Last year it was the most important stat in Tennessee’s SEC-opening win at College Station:  16 Texas A&M turnovers led to a 10-point Volunteer win. A&M has 54 turnovers in SEC play, most in the league. If the Tennessee defense can continue to force turnovers, and the offense can continue to create good shots, the Vols will have a good chance to send A&M to 0-5.
  • Who dictates the game? The Vols have won in chameleon-like fashion this year. They beat Purdue’s massive size by way of great defense and clutch shooting. They locked down Arkansas for 36 minutes, then got blown by with foul trouble at the end. They stood toe-to-toe with North Carolina on the offensive glass, then were obliterated there by a smaller Auburn team. They slowed it down against Kentucky, defended without fouling, and won in the grind. Then they were happy to get into a footrace with Vanderbilt and won by scoring 92 points. The Vols can win in more than one fashion, which is great. Is there a style of play Tennessee actually prefers and can dictate to an opponent? This may be a question for the back half of Tennessee’s conference schedule, when things get a little easier. If not, it’ll take a Purdue-like performance in defending A&M’s size without getting Grant Williams and Kyle Alexander into foul trouble to get this one home.

A win here would get the Vols through their early conference gauntlet at at least .500 after a trip to Missouri next week. There are six SEC teams in the KenPom Top 40 behind the Vols; by next weekend Tennessee will have played all of them except Florida, with only one game against the Gators and a trip to Rupp left on the schedule. I thought at the beginning of league play a 3-3 start would be a good sign; I didn’t see the end of the Arkansas game or most of the Auburn game coming, but the Vols have righted the ship since then and none of us saw A&M’s 0-4 start coming. A win here ensures the Vols will stay on the path to contending for an SEC title and a favorable NCAA seed.

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

 

Roster management for Tennessee’s new schemes

Now that Jeremy Pruitt has arrived on Rocky Top full-time, his first order of business — after learning everyone’s names — is shoring up his first recruiting class. National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 7, so he has about four full weeks to put the finishing touches on a class that already has 14 signees thanks to the early signing period this year. The class currently ranks 16th in the nation, 5th in the SEC, and 2nd in the SEC East, and there is plenty of time and room to move up.

What, exactly, is Pruitt looking for? Apart from getting quality guys, it’s all a guessing game at this point. He’s said that character matters, and he’s said that he has certain criteria in mind for each position, but beyond that, he’s not really tipping his hand.

The kind of player Pruitt most desires depends of course on the schemes he plans to run, so let’s first make some educated guesses as to what Pruitt’s offensive and defensive schemes might look like. It’s important to note that Pruitt will likely adapt any scheme to the players he has on the roster, so while he will certainly be recruiting toward his ideal, what we see from his team in Year 1 may well be different by Year 4.

Defensive Scheme

It’s not a stretch to expect Pruitt to utilize the defensive scheme that has worked so well for him as defensive coordinator at Alabama, Georgia, and Florida State since 2013. This article from Florida State blog Tomahawk Nation notes that FSU moved almost immediately to a 3-4 defense when Pruitt was hired in 2013 despite initially saying that they probably would have to wait for a recruiting class or two. Assuming something similar happens here at UT this year, Pruitt may go ahead and rip off the bandaid and make the move to his preferred 3-4 even if he doesn’t yet have the ideal personnel to do it.

What personnel does he need? This excellent article from SB Nation suggests that the ideal defensive roster in a 3-4 scheme should look something like this:

  • 3-6 nose tackles;
  • 6-10 defensive ends;
  • 5-8 inside linebackers;
  • 5-8 outside linebackers;
  • 4-8 safeties; and
  • 5-10 cornerbacks

Here are the suggested ranges for size and speed for each position:

 

That information is for a two-gap 3-4 scheme, and it appears that Pruit may run a newer one-gap 3-4 variation, so Pruitt may well be looking for different numbers, sizes, or speeds.

Offensive Scheme

What offensive style Pruitt’s team runs is more of a mystery. Offensive coordinator Tyson Helton was most recently the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for USC. Prior to that, Helton was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Western Kentucky under Jeff Brohm, who’s been heavily influenced by Bobby Petrino. This style of offense may best be described as a modern-era pro-style and is characterized as a balanced, up-tempo, explosive offense that features mutiple options and layers of misdirection that stress the attention of the defense before exploiting its weaknesses.

The SB Nation article on ideal rosters for popular schemes includes two spread schemes and a traditional pro-style, so it doesn’t specifically address what we might see on the field starting this fall, but here is the suggested ideal roster for the traditional pro-style scheme:

  • 4-6 running backs;
  • 3-4 quarterbacks;
  • 3-6 tight ends;
  • 8-13 wide receivers; and
  • 14-18 offensive linemen

If I had to guess, I’d say Helton’s system would be on the high end for tight ends and wide receivers.

Here are the suggested ranges for size and speed for the offensive positions:

 

Later, we’ll take a look at Tennessee’s current roster and the current signees to see where Pruitt may be looking to build toward the future with this year’s recruiting class.

Out of the Chute: Previewing the First Weekend After the Dead Period

Coming out of the dead period with the #14 ranked class nationally by Rivals.com and fresh off a dominating second half performance by his defense in Alabama’s National Championship Game win over Georgia, Coach Jeremy Pruitt is set to host an impressive group of visitors this weekend.  And while the visitor list will likely change (and hopefully expand) in the coming days as things get shuffled around, there are already some incredibly important targets coming to Knoxville.  Check it out below:

LB JJ Peterson – One of the jewels of the class, Peterson is an instant contributor at LB and is the kind of prospect we can get used to seeing Pruitt recruit.  Having committed last weekend at the Army All-America Game despite never having been on campus due to his close relationship with Pruitt and new DC Kevin Sherrer, Peterson will no doubt be looking to familiarize himself with campus, his future teammates, and the rest of the coaching staff.  And Tennessee will be looking to make sure his commitment is 100% concrete and that he shuts his recruitment down.  Finally, Peterson will be looking to peer recruit his good friend and fellow South Georgia stud LB Quay Walker

LB Quay Walker – As mentioned, Walker is both a high level LB prospect and a good friend of Peterson.  The former is why Walker is being recruited heavily by the likes of Alabama, UGA, UF, and the Vols.  Walker is thought to be a lean to UGA right now, but interestingly he moved his Tennessee visit up to this weekend from its previously scheduled spot on February 2nd.  It’s an interesting strategy by Pruitt: on the one hand you get his first visit right out of the dead period with the chance to make a major move before he goes on his other visits – or, in the best but unlikely case, get a commitment and have him shut it down- and come with his good buddy JJ.  On the other hand you’re taking your big swing 3 weeks before NSD and your rivals will have their chances to make impressions that could supersede whatever good vibes Walker has coming out of Knoxville.  While he’s committed to Bama and says UF was his dream school growing up, in my opinion this one is going to come down to UT and UGA so this weekend will be key

CB Eddie Smith – Smith, a former TCU commitment, is the type of long CB who Pruitt covets.  His recruitment has picked up a bit and he is currently scheduled to OV to Alabama and Arkansas after his trip this weekend.  With Bama offering on Thursday this one could get hairy.  However, I’ve got him on commitment watch while he’s in Knoxville, as I think the staff will put the pressure on to land what they hope is the first of 3-4 DB commitments to come

WR Geordon Porter – Porter is a California speed merchant who was formerly committed to Notre Dame but decommitted a few weeks ago.  He’s got good size at 6’2 and is young for his grade so likely has some growing to do.  How many WRs Tennessee has room for to go with Alontae Taylor is an open question, and Jacob Copeland is without a doubt at the top of the board.  That said, Copeland is going to be a very tough pull from out of Florida with Texas A&M, Alabama and UF all scheduled to receive OVs before Signing Day.  Therefore, in my opinion pushing for a commitment from Porter, who is picking up offers from top programs at a rapid rate (UF jumped in yesterday) would be a prudent move.

CB/RB C’Bo Flemister – An interesting prospect, Flemister put up killer numbers as a RB in middle-of-nowhere Georgia and was set to sign with Georgia Tech until Tennessee called and asked him to wait and consider the Vols. What’s unknown is whether UT is recruiting him as a pure RB or as a CB, where his 6’0+ frame and athleticism would fit Pruitt’s mold.  Flemister currently isn’t entertaining any other offers, so it remains to be seen if Tennessee needs to push this weekend.  He’s a high level athlete who ran track in high school and projects as a solid player at multiple positions, so I could see him possibly ending up in the class late if Pruitt is looking for a “best available” type player

WR Brandon Aiyuk – A recent addition to the WR board, Aiyuk is visiting Knoxville without an offer from the Vols.  He’s got a pretty low recruiting profile – no P5 offer yet – but he had a really nice season and brings a good size/speed combo to the table.  My sense is that he’s a ways down the WR board, certainly behind Porter, but the staff is covering its bases and making sure no stone is left unturned by bringing him in

OLB/DE Michael Williams – A mid-week addition to the visitor list, Williams is an absolute freak athlete.  He played QB for his high school team at 6’2, 240 and displayed the kind of athleticism that makes one think he could make one heckuva JACK LB in Pruitt’s system.  He’s had standing offers from instate LSU as well as Alabama, Texas and others, but at this point he’s wide open and it doesn’t appears LSU and Bama in particular have room.

Getting a start on 2019

Tennessee will also have a really nice 2019 group in town, including a large contingent of studs from Grayson, HS in Georgia (LB Owen Pappoe, OL Wanya Morris, RB Ronald Thompkins, LB Kevin Harris, WR Kenyon Jackson, and DB Kenyatta Watson), fellow Georgians Jaylen McCullough and Jalyn Phillips (both stud DBs), and instate stars OL Jackson Lampley, and DB Adonis Otey (fellow instate targets WR Trey Knox and ATH Lance Wilhoite are tentatively scheduled to be there as well).  Joining them will be the #1 OL in the country in 2019 in Darnell Wright from West Virgina, who will be making his third visit to Knoxville since July 2017.

Although it’s obviously very early, getting this volume of high level prospects to campus in a short period of time is a very good sign of what kind of elite level talent I expect Pruitt to be able to attract to Tennessee.  Between his own prowess on the trail and the staff he’s assembled, the Vols are going to be back to competing with and winning battles over other championship level programs for the top prospects in the country.

Other Visits to Watch

Southern Cal is hosting two of the top CB targets of Tennessee and everyone else this weekend in Olaijah Griffin and Isaac Taylor-Stuart.  The Trojans are thought to be the biggest threat to the Vols for Griffin, who recently decommitted from UCLA and named the Vols his leader.  So escaping this weekend without losing that pole position, or worse having Griffin commit to USC, is imperative.  Taylor-Stuart is another elite Cornerback who the Vols are in on, and the Trojans are real players too.  He’s scheduled to OV to Knoxville the first weekend in February, so this is just the first obstacle to getting the opportunity to take a shot at the 5-star CB

Auburn will have three Tennessee targets on campus this weekend as Coynis Miller, Dylan Wonnum, and Roger McCreary will be on the Plains.  Miller is the prototypical 3-4 NG, and while he’s a Tiger commitment he didn’t sign in December and is scheduled to visit Knoxville on the January 26th weekend.  Auburn will no doubt try to lock him down and convince him not to take that or any other trips, so that’s one to watch.  Wonnum is a relatively new target and along with Johncarlo Valentin represents what’s left of the OL board.  He’s got an older brother at South Carolina and the Cocks are the perceived leader, but Auburn is a real threat to land him.  Wonnum doesn’t have an OV with Tennessee scheduled yet, but this is still one to keep an eye on.  McCreary is a former South Alabama commitment that got December offers from both Auburn and the Vols and is scheduled to OV to Tennessee the weekend of 1/26.  He’s likely down the board for both programs, but he’s an SEC-level CB and a good option for both.  I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see him pull the trigger for Auburn this weekend, but if he doesn’t he’ll become a real option for the Vols

UNC will host current Tennessee commitment Antony Grant as well as former FSU commitment WR Antoine Green.  Grant is still being recruited by the new Vol staff, though perhaps as more of an Athlete than a pure RB.  He OV’d to Virginia Tech  in mid-December and right now the Heels and Hokies look to be the biggest threat to Tennessee.  He hasn’t yet scheduled an OV to Knoxville, so his recruitment certainly remains in flux.  Green is a nice-looking WR prospect who visited Knoxville for Orange Carpet Day back in June but then committed to FSU before the coaching change in Tallahassee.  He’s scheduled to visit Tennessee officially the first weekend of February but has said he’s leaning to UNC so this will be one to watch to see if he makes it out of this weekend without committing to the Tar Heels

Others

Glenn Beal, who last night named Tennessee his leader and said he is close to a decision, will be at Texas A&M this weekend.  He’s a TE/DE prospect out of New Orleans with great size and athleticism who LSU doesn’t have room for, so this looks like a two-team battle right now with Ole Miss trying to weasel its way in.  Unless the Aggies can really knock his socks off look for Beal to pop for the Vols soon

Malik Langham will be at Vanderbilt this weekend, and while the Dores have been on the incredibly talented DL for a while they have a long way to go to be real players in this recruitment.  Langham will follow his trip to Nashville with OVs to Alabama, Florida, and then Tennessee on February 2nd.  This one looks like a Vols-Tide battle and will come down to the visits.  He’s an outstanding prospect who would be a huge add to the class

Caleb Johnson will be on an OV to Georgia this weekend.  The OLB/DE target took an official to Tennessee back in the fall and while his recruitment has been quiet it’s picking up steam and he now also has one scheduled for UF next weekend.  He’s probably down on the list for both UGA and UT but with UF not having any DL signees/commitments they might start pushing

Tyson Campbell will be at Georgia on an official visit.  While Campbell unfortunately isn’t a Vol target, this will be one to watch for Vol fans for a handful of reasons.  UGA signed 20 players in December and presumably have 5 spots remaining. They also have three commitments from February signees, so their spaces are very limited. UGA is still pursuing multiple players, and are the presumed favorites for both Campbell and LB Otis Reese.  Notably, they are also in hot pursuit of top-end Tennessee targets Quay Walker and Isaac Taylor-Stuart.  So while I’d hate to see UGA land yet another 5-star player, it might end up playing to Tennessee’s advantage in this case if it keeps them from having room for someone the Vols want

Tennessee 92 Vanderbilt 84: Yep, we can win this way too.

Tennessee took Vanderbilt’s best punch in the first half, and the Commodores continued to throw blows deep into the second. A Vandy team that loved to shoot threes but had struggled to make them erased that problem in the first half with an 8-of-15 performance, pushing their lead to 10. Quietly, the Vols were hot as well. In the second half, a more perimeter-focused defense held Vandy to 3-of-11 from the arc. The trade-off was better looks at the rim, particularly for freshman Saben Lee. His 21 points could have been the story.

But Tennessee’s quiet heat from the first half was an eruption in the second, and the night ended with, “It’s great…to be…” ringing through Memorial Gym. The Vols shot 56.6% from the floor, 7-of-13 from the arc, and 25-of-28 at the free throw line.

The Vols got the lead in a little more than seven minutes in the second half, sparked by Jordan Bowden. The two rivals continued to trade blows for the next three minutes, with Vandy’s last lead coming with 9:12 to play. Free throws from Matthew Fisher-Davis cut it back to two at 7:10. But from there, Vanderbilt’s punches lost their power. And Tennessee body-blowed them to death with Grant Williams, before Jordan Bone delivered the knockout with a three to put the Vols up 10 with 2:44 to go.

But it was Williams who did the real damage all night long, turning in one of the greatest performances of the post-Allan Houston era at Tennessee.

37 points was not only a career high, it is the most any Vol has scored since Ron Slay got 38 in 2003. That means tonight Williams, who scored 30 twice last year, passed the career highs of Steve Hamer (31), Scotty Hopson (32), Jordan McRae (35), Chris Lofton (35), and Kevin Punter’s 36-point game two years ago. He did it on just 20 shots, making 12 while adding 13-of-15 at the line.

Tennessee has played so many good teams this year, we’ve gotten used to seeing the opponent have a better answer for Williams. Vanderbilt, without Kornet in the middle, had none. And it was obvious from the opening tip, a glimmer of hope at halftime that Williams’ automatic looks from the paint were more likely to keep falling than Vanderbilt’s threes.

And Williams doesn’t get 37 without Adrmial Schofield getting 22, following up his 21 from the Kentucky win. He added nine rebounds, four of them offensive.

That glimmer of hope even when the Vols were down 10 on the road at Memorial? It’s one of the signs of a really good team: you learn not to give up on them, or even to panic. There may be other down-10’s in this year’s SEC. But the Vols – other than a few late minutes against pressure from North Carolina and Arkansas, and what looks less and less like an off night against Auburn – are remarkably steady.

Tennessee thrived in the non-conference with defense; they’ll probably have the lowest field goal percentage defense in the SEC through four games, and they should be 3-1. The Vol offense has been at its best all year when driven by great ball movement and assists. Tonight, Tennessee just got the ball to its best player and got out of the way. And it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Tennessee team willingly get into a game they need to score 90 points to win, and do just that, on the road. But yep, this Tennessee team checked that one off tonight too.

Just a big, satisfying win with a historic performance from Tennessee’s best player. The Vols go to 11-4 (2-2) and crack the Top 15 in KenPom. Up next is Texas A&M, ranked fifth in the AP poll at the start of SEC play and now 0-4 after a last second loss at Rupp. There are no nights off, but a Tennessee team capable of winning multiple ways is built to last in this conference.

Go Vols.

Tennessee at Vanderbilt Preview

How’s the Kevin Stallings/Vanderbilt break-up going in year two? The ‘Dores lost in Dayton in Stallings’ last year, then became the first team to earn an at-large bid with 15 losses (as a 9 seed!) under Bryce Drew before a heartbreaking end against Northwestern in round one. So far this year Vanderbilt is 6-9 against the nation’s 10th most difficult schedule. Stallings, charming as ever, had the first losing season in 17 years at Pitt in year one, and is currently 8-8 with three double digit losses to open ACC play.

There’s no Luke Kornet, but all the other names you know and love are back:  Jeff Roberson, Matthew Fisher-Davis, and Riley LaChance all average between 11-15 points while playing 28-32 minutes. Freshman guard Saben Lee adds another 10.5 points. There’s a problem from there, though:  no one else averages more than five points per game, a hodgepodge of seven other guys playing between 11-18 minutes.

Vandy beat Alabama 76-75 last week for their first SEC win. Their next best win this season is your choice of Radford or UNC Asheville. But all of their nine losses are to teams projected to finish in the RPI Top 100, six of them in the RPI Top 50. Only a couple were particularly competitive – an overtime loss to then-#10 Southern Cal, home losses to Kansas State and MTSU by a combined eight points in the same week – but I wouldn’t sleep on this team just yet.

What Vanderbilt does well:

  • Let it fly. Vandy takes 26.1 threes per game, and leads the SEC with 85 in their first three conference games. There’s a stark contrast on the stat sheet:  LaChance shoots 43.7% from the arc, Roberson 41.9%, and then a fairly significant break. MFD is at just 33.7%, Payton Willis at 35.3% off the bench, and there are a bunch of guys shooting percentages with a 1 or 2 in front of them. The team shoots 32.7%, 278th nationally. This reeks of a team that could suddenly get hot (and they did hit 10-of-25 against Alabama), but so far, being not so good on percentage hasn’t kept them from taking them.
  • Limit turnovers. The Vols feasted on Kentucky in this department, but will find a different and much more experienced animal in Nashville. Or at least that was the case until South Carolina turned them over 19 times in their last game. Before that, the Dores averaged just 9.8 turnovers in their previous six games.
  • Defending threes. Opponents shoot 31.4% against Vanderbilt from the arc, 47th nationally. This hasn’t made a big difference in wins/and losses:  the ‘Dores have five losses where the opponent shot less than 30% from the arc, which is fascinating. The Vols did a good job against Kentucky getting open threes against a team that typically limits their effectiveness; they’ll need more of the same here.

What Tennessee can do to win:

  • Defensive excellence returns. Tennessee is still 14th nationally in defensive efficiency via KenPom, in part because we’ve played the nation’s third toughest schedule by offensive efficiency. And the Vols beat Kentucky despite allowing 46.2% from the floor. But the Vols are allowing 46.5% in three SEC games, worst in the SEC. The Vols, of course, have played three excellent offenses. But now, against a team that loves to shoot threes, on the road, in a rivalry game…the best way to win is for Tennessee’s defense to take all of that out of the equation with a return to its own excellence.
  • Complement good offense at the free throw line. Tennessee’s assist rate has been a big story all year. But the Vols are backing that up with good work at the line in SEC play:  66-of-87 (75.9%) is first in makes, second in attempts, and fifth in percentage through three games. Grant Williams is what you’d expect with an average of 4.8 free throw attempts per game. But the rest of the scorers have been really good here too:  Schofield, Bowden, and Turner all have 38 attempts this year, and Jordan Bone has 42. Everybody can attack and everybody can get to the line, on top of a strong ball-sharing offense to begin with.
  • Handle success. The Vols only had 24 hours to process their win over Purdue, but came out hot against Villanova before falling short. There’s a little more distance between the Kentucky win and this trip, and the Commodores aren’t as good on paper as many of the teams the Vols have already faced this year. How will Barnes have his guys ready to go tonight in Nashville in a taking-care-of-business situation?

We continue to have the television schedule of a team picked to finish 13th in this league instead of the one currently ranked first in KenPom and RPI:  9:00 PM ET, SEC Network. Go Vols.

Tennessee’s Assist Percentage Continues to Amaze

Kentucky has a bad habit of having guys an undersized Tennessee team just has no good answer for. Last night it was PJ Washington: 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, plus three steals and two blocks. He did all of that in just 23 minutes, which is impressive, but ultimately helpful for Tennessee, as cramps kept him from playing any more than that. Last year it was Bam Adebayo, who had 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in Knoxville.

But Tennessee has countered with effective play from undersized forwards against Kentucky’s bigs. Two years ago Armani Moore had 18 points and 13 rebounds in Knoxville. Last year Admiral Schofield had 15 points off the bench. And last night, Schofield had 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals in one of the best games of his career. And the Vols have three straight wins over Kentucky in Knoxville (and seven of the last eleven).

The Vols broke what had been their hardest and fastest rule this season:  hold the other team under 40% and win, don’t and don’t. Kentucky shot north of 55% in the first half and still finished at 46.2%. Only Arkansas has done better against the Vol defense this year.

But though the defense struggled to find its footing early, the Vols took the thing they were best at – successfully sharing the basketball – and did it better than ever last night. Tennessee had 23 assists on 25 made baskets, 92%. With a flu-ridden Jordan Bone playing only nine minutes, James Daniel and Lamonte Turner picked up the slack with 11 assists between them. And the Vols also worked inside out, as Schofield, Grant Williams, and John Fulkerson combined for another 11 assists.

It is, obviously, the best performance of the year by assist percentage, and significantly better than anything the Vols had done against a power conference opponent (70% against NC State is the next best performance). Tennessee is back up to fourth nationally in that stat at 66.8%; Michigan State, the nation’s new number one (but probably not for long after a loss to Ohio State), is the new leader. Look at how good the performance against Kentucky was compared to the best game in assist percentage in previous years:

  • 2017: Appalachian State (74.3%)
  • 2016: Gardner-Webb (75%)
  • 2015: Tennessee State (78.3%)
  • 2014: Tusculum (85.7%)
  • 2013: Mississippi State (67.9%)
  • 2012: South Carolina (73.7%)
  • 2011: Auburn (73.9%)

That’s as far back as the advanced gamelogs go at Sports Reference, but consider the Vols also cracked 80+% this season against Lipscomb (88%) and Mercer (86.7%). Tennessee has successfully shared the ball better in three games this season than in any other game in at least the last seven years. And the top performance came against Kentucky.

As I type on Sunday evening, Tennessee’s strength of schedule is second nationally in RPI, fourth in KenPom. That’s so impressive that, last year, you could make a legitimate argument for Tennessee as an NCAA Tournament team when they surged to number one in strength of schedule after beating Kentucky and Kansas State back to back…to get to 12-9 overall. This team is 10-4 with two RPI Top 15 victories at the moment. And at the same moment, the Vols are the highest rated SEC team in both RPI and KenPom.

Look, this league is going to get nuts. The only winless team is the one that was in the top five when conference play started 10 days ago. The only undefeated teams are Florida, who was in free fall 10 days ago and needed heroics to beat Missouri on Saturday, and Auburn, suddenly allowing us to make the argument that all four of Tennessee’s losses are to really good teams. The entire league is still in the KenPom Top 90. There are no cupcakes on the menu. That Tennessee could be objectively considered the best team in a league like this right now? It’s quite the accomplishment, one that fittingly includes a win over Kentucky.

Lots of work left to do. But lots of good work already on this resume. Don’t stop now.

Go Vols.

 

Vols beat Kentucky, 76-65

Tennessee overcame a rough first half and pulled away in the second to beat the Kentucky Wildcats 76-65 in Thompson-Boling Arena this evening. Admiral Schofield led the way with 20 points on 8-13 shooting, and he added 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and a block, not to mention the exclamation point slam in the final seconds.

Grant Williams and Lamonte Turner each also hit double figures, and the team held Kentucky’s Kevin Knox and Hamidou Diallo to 6 and 5 points, respectively.

The game marked Tennessee’s third straight win over Kentucky in Knoxville for Rick Barnes’ team. Heading into the game, Kentucky’s three-point defense (29.2%), shot-blocking, and offensive rebounding were the concerns. Not to worry, as the Vols hit 8 of 22 three-pointers (36.4%), and Kentucky blocked only 4 of Tennessee’s 55 shots and rebounded only 8 of their own 52 attempts. Tennessee turned Kentucky over 16 times.

The win brings Tennessee to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in the SEC, two games behind 3-0 Florida. Up next is Vanderbilt, on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. in Nashville.

Tennessee Vols Get Monstrous Recruiting Puzzle Piece in JJ Peterson

 

If you watched Tennessee play football in 2017 and you then watched Alabama’s performance in the College Football Playoff semifinal trouncing of Clemson, you know the Vols have a long way to go to get to that level.

But it’s a strong first step that UA’s defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt will be leaving to become Tennessee’s head coach, and the staff he’s built in Knoxville proves he’s serious about bringing a top-tier defense.

Now, all he needs are the players.

UT got one of those players on Saturday afternoon when 4-star outside linebacker JJ Peterson chose Tennessee over a host of other top schools — including long-time leader Alabama — during the U.S. Army All-America Game.

“Peterson is a really athletic, versatile linebacker, the type of player Tennessee is going to need to run the kind of defense Jeremy Pruitt wants to run,” GoVols247 recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan told me earlier today. “He’s capable of coming in and starting right away, or at least playing a significant role from Day One.

“It’s a huge pickup, to say the least, for Pruitt and his staff. And it’s the best example yet of the types of relationships Pruitt can build and the big-time recruiting battles he’s capable of winning. Peterson hasn’t even been to Tennessee’s campus yet, and the Vols just beat out Alabama to land him less than a month after Pruitt’s hiring. That’s the kind of addition that really sends a message.”

With Pruitt’s deep ties in Alabama and Georgia, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see UT starting pulling kids of Peterson’s ilk every year from those areas. It doesn’t hurt that the Vols’ defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer is Georgia’s linebackers coach and a dynamic recruiter. Add Charles Kelly, Chris Rumph and Tracy Rocker to the staff, and that’s a group of defensive coaches who can make a dent on the recruiting trail.

 

As for Peterson, he’s an electric athlete that has the kind of speed on the second level the Vols don’t currently possess. The 6’2″, 210-pound defender from Colquitt County (Georgia) plays for legendary coach Russ Propst and was a high school teammate of current Vols Ja’Quain Blakely and Shawn Shamburger. That’s not a bad pipeline for UT to have.

Peterson is the nation’s second-ranked outside linebacker, according to 247Sports, and he has high marks in all of his agility ratings. According to his profile, his evaluation is as follows:

“When you watch Peterson, he is a blur at times between the lines. He is an outside linebacker you see make plays in space, get to the quarterback off the edge, and one that can drop into coverage and hold his own. He plays with aggression, effort and speed at all times. He has great size and he explodes through the ball carrier when he makes the tackle. He has all the traits you look for in an elite linebacker. He could play outside or inside on the next level.”

That’s huge news for a Tennessee team desperately needing playmakers to pair with studs on the defense like Nigel Warrior and Darrin Kirkland Jr., who’ve been under-coached during the Butch Jones era. The Vols lost one of those this week when Rashaan Gaulden elected to forego his senior season in orange for a shot at the NFL.

Peterson, as Callahan said, possesses the ability to start or at least contribute right away. If UT transitions to a 3-4 base package, as expected, it will need all the linebackers it can get. Guys like a healthy Kirkland will certainly be on the field. Others such as Daniel Bituli, Will Ignont, Solon Page III, Quart’e Sapp, Austin Smith, recent JUCO signee Jordan Allen, and Shanon Reid give the Vols depth at the position, but only Kirkland and Bituli are proven commodities.

Peterson is an athlete who will be difficult to keep from the field. His pledge surges UT to 16th nationally and fifth in the SEC, according to 247Sports. That’s not bad considering the Vols were in the 60s when Pruitt came on board.

This coup is the biggest of the 2018 cycle, surpassing Alontae Taylor and Dominick Wood-Anderson. DWA also had UA out front until Pruitt swept in and stole him on JUCO national signing day, so that’s two major pieces of the puzzle who are expected to step right in and contribute immediately.

Peterson’s pledge is a sign of things to come, and if the Vols can add players like Peterson’s good buddy and current Alabama commitment Quay Walker, stud cornerback Olaijah Griffin and others, this may not be such a stretch to think Tennessee could be much-improved on the defensive side of the ball in 2018.

Vols Find Strength & Conditioning Coach in Houston Texans’ Craig Fitzgerald

New Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt has found the man he expects will prepare the Vols to morph into a bigger, more physical SEC program. On Friday, the Houston Chronicle reported that Craig Fitzgerald resigned from his post with the NFL franchise in order to come back to college and lead the Vols.

Fitzgerald replaces Rock Gullickson, another long-time, respected NFL strength coordinator who was hired by coach Butch Jones and left with the entire staff besides Robert Gillespie. Fitzgerald has that blend of being a young, energetic guy while also being a veteran with as good a resume as Tennessee could hope.

A friend of mine works in the Texans’ front office, and he had this to say of Fitzgerald:

“Super good dude. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. I guess I’ll just have to hope our next guy is as cool. From a football perspective, I think it would be hard to find a guy with much better of resume. I don’t know a whole lot about the options that are out there, but it’s hard to be disappointed with a guy that has experience at several power five schools (including the SEC) on top of four years with an NFL team.”

This seems like a coup on the surface for the Vols. Fitzgerald was with Bill O’Brien during a successful run at Penn State before following him to the NFL. He was also the South Carolina Gamecocks’ S&C coordinator under Steve Spurrier for three years.

Here’s a video with Fitzgerald talking about some of his methods. This Men’s Health article sheds a little more light on Fitzgerald, who is widely respected in his profession. Buddy Zach Ragan over TennTruth has some quality info on Fitzgerald, too.

This is perhaps the most important low-profile job UT can possibly fill, so it’s essential that Fitzgerald is a home run, and in scouring the Interwebs, I haven’t found one negative thing about it. Under Jones’ regime, the strength and conditioning program was in shambles, and Butch’s botching of that position arguably escalated his demise.

Jones brought Dave Lawson with him from Cincinnati, and though Lawson was unheralded, the Vols seemed to be turning a corner under him after Derek Dooley’s revolving door of S&C coordinators did UT no favors, either. When Lawson and some players and coaches butted heads, Jones removed him and gave the job to associate coordinator Michael Szerszen, which was a complete disaster.

Following Szerszen’s disastrous year, Gullickson was brought in — but you can’t fix strength issues in one year, and the Vols had their share of them. Obviously, Jones’ philosophy was flawed when it comes to the type of body molding he wanted, because Tennessee routinely got pushed around on both lines of scrimmage during the regimes of both Jones and Dooley. Also, as injuries piled up the past two seasons, it became clear there were physical issues.

Now, the Vols turn to Fitzgerald as they hope to rebuild their roster to transition to a 3-4 defense, a pro-style, man-blocking scheme on offense and, most importantly, a quality, capable team that can actually compete in the SEC.

Fitzgerald has his work cut out for him.

Tennessee vs Kentucky Preview

The Vols have won six of the last ten in this series in Knoxville, including the last two. On the surface it might feel like these two teams are going in completely different directions:  the Vols are a frustrating 0-2 in league play after a stellar run through the non-conference, while Kentucky followed up a frustrating loss to UCLA with an absolute beat down of Louisville and a 2-0 start in conference. But Sagarin gives the Vols a 46% chance to win; I’d expect another close one.

Close is going to be the nature of the beast every night in this league. Of the ten SEC teams to play two conference games, only two (the usual suspects from Florida and Kentucky) are 2-0. The Cats themselves beat Georgia and LSU by a combined eight points. Texas A&M was the best team in the league a week ago, now they’re 0-2 with a 22-point loss at Alabama and a 17-point loss at home to Florida. Welcome to this year’s SEC.

This Year’s Lexington D-League Squad

We bid farewell to Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, and Isaiah Briscoe. In their place are, you guessed it, five freshmen.

6’9″ Kevin Knox gets 14.6 points and 6 rebounds, with 6’5″ Hamidou Diallo just behind at 14.4. Facilitating much of this is 6’6″ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 12.1 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.3 steals. 6’7″ PJ Washington goes for 10.6 and 5.3 rebounds, and 6’0″ Quade Green adds 10.5 per game. Knox is on the floor by far the most at 33.1 minutes per game.

What Kentucky does well:

  • Defending the three-point line. The Cats give up an impressive 29.2% from the arc, ninth-best nationally. Georgia and LSU went 8-for-45 (17.8%). Tennessee hasn’t been living from outside, and as many have noted, Jordan Bowden could probably use an even greener light. But the length and athleticism you can assume from a Calipari squad is once again making it difficult for opponents from the arc:  last year they finished 12th nationally in this stat.
  • Two things Auburn was good at:  shot-blocking, where the Cats are 20th nationally in block percentage, sending back 15.7% of opponent shots. PJ Washington is a factor here, but two guys playing fewer minutes are also really strong:  Nick Richards averages 1.4 blocks in 16.9 minutes, and Wenyen Gabriel averages 1.4 in 22.8.
  • …and offensive rebounding, hooray! After Auburn’s absurd performance Tuesday where they rebounded half of their misses, the Tigers are fifth nationally in offensive rebounding percentage at 38.1%. Kentucky isn’t far behind at 36.6%. I don’t know if we should be worried about seeing the same problem twice in a row, but I’d imagine Barnes is happy to have the teaching moment.

What Tennessee can do to win:

  • Turn Kentucky over. If a young Calipari team is bad at something…it’s free throw shooting, of course (68.8%). If there’s a second option for this team, however, it’s turnovers. UK is 199th nationally in turnover percentage, giving it away on 16.6% of their possessions. Tennessee is 61st nationally in opponent turnover percentage at 19.2%. The home floor can help. The Vols have not been shy about going up-tempo when the opponent wants to run; if that happens here, Tennessee needs to come out on top in the turnover department. The Cats had 18 turnovers in their loss to Kansas; 12 of them were steals.
  • Be the more mature team. Sometimes the non-juggernaut Calipari teams take a minute to adjust to the night-in, night-out grind of SEC play. The 2016 team started 3-2 in league play, 2-1 in 2014, 3-2 in 2013, and 5-5 in 2011. Tennessee obviously isn’t setting the SEC world on fire right now, but has far more experience with this routine and could take advantage.
  • Bring the necessary effort. I’d wager what happened on the offensive glass against Auburn won’t happen again, at least to that extent. But Tennessee also has to focus in if it wants to keep living in the same conversations the Vols have enjoyed since the Bahamas. Winning this one should keep Tennessee in the Top 25, would give another Top 25 win to their resume, and allow the Vols to keep thinking about contending for the SEC title and a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament. But an 0-3 start in league play keeps you out of the conference title conversation by default, and would swing the overall conversation back to, “Wait, let’s just make sure we get in this thing.” The Vols have been better than that for the majority of the year. The necessary effort against Kentucky is a 40-minute effort; many, many Tennessee teams as good or better than this one have played 32-to-36 good minutes against the Cats and lost by 6-10 points. I’d expect Barnes to get more out of this team Saturday night than he did on Tuesday. And as it’s done all year, that should be enough to give Tennessee a chance to win.

It’s just the 15th ranked vs ranked game for the Vols at Thompson-Boling; the Vols are 10-4 in those games after the loss to North Carolina. A late tip for your Titans playoff viewing pleasure:  9:00 PM on the SEC Network. Go Vols.