Tennessee has been mired in frustration in most sports for years now. Whether it has been the decade of football frustration, the illness and loss of Pat Summitt, Bruce Pearl and Donnie Tyndall's NCAA misadventures, or the steep decline of Tennessee baseball, really only softball has remained as an annual beacon of hope. Tennessee fans across all sports have steadily begged for improvement, and with each new hire their hope has been renewed, yet their faith has seldom been rewarded. This is about men's basketball, however, and it's worth talking about life during and after Pearl leading up to the impending season.
Bruce Pearl took over a Vols program with low expectations and turned them into a perennial tournament team, starting with his first season in Knoxville. He finished his time in Knoxville with a 145-61 overall record, 65-31 in conference play, and made the tournament in each of his six seasons in Knoxville. Barring his final, tumultuous season at Tennessee, he won 21 or more games every season. He also took the team to two Sweet Sixteen exits and an Elite Eight departure.
After his termination at Tennessee, the Vols were taken over by Cuonzo Martin, who had just finished a rebuilding project at Missouri State. He took over a newly depleted Tennessee team that had lost their top three contributors and seven of the top ten players from the year before and helped the team to finish second in the SEC, although they just missed out on the tournament after failing to win an SEC tournament game. The next season the team started slow and finished fast, sitting on the bubble heading into the SEC tourney. A second round loss left them as one of the first four out. Then 2014 happened. A team with high expectations got off to a poor start, and at the point at which they were sitting at 16-11, enraged fans began a petition to see Martin terminated. The team rallied to a 5-1 finish and were one of the first four round participants. In the end, the team barely fell in the Sweet Sixteen to Michigan. While the motives can be questioned, Martin resigned following the season's conclusion and took the head coaching job at Cal.
Donnie Tyndall would be the next head coach. He took over a team with only one returning contributor. Roughly one-third of the roster were new players he brought on board. He led the team to a 16-16 record and then he was terminated due to allegations and evidence stemming from his prior stop at Southern Miss. Back to the drawing board yet again for Tennessee basketball.
Luck struck finally for the Vols as Texas terminated their long-time coach Rick Barnes. The Vols swooped in and snatched up the highly successful coach. At this point, the Vols were in full rebuilding mode after three coaches in as many years, and they finished with a 15-19 record. Last year, they finished 16-16 despite some significant personnel issues in the post and at point guard.
Now it's time to find out what the 2017-18 team will be able to do. The Vols return six of their top ten scorers from last season and seven players who averaged double digit minutes per game a year ago. Also back are four of the top five rebounders from last season and their top two players in assists. Jalen Johnson is coming off a redshirt season and represents a long guard capable of making plays from the wing. Forward John Fulkerson is on the mend following a serious injury to his right arm last season, leading him to a redshirt after averaging 4.3 points and 4.2 rebounds through the first 11 games.
Rick Barnes and staff got to work on the recruiting trail and made major strides in helping this year's team in terms of scoring and play in the paint. Redshirt senior graduate transfer James Daniel III was the NCAA scoring leader two years ago, averaging 27.1 points per game. For his career, he's averaged 21.5 per game. He brings an immediate scorer to the guard position. Chris Darrington is a bit more of an unknown commodity for the upcoming season, but he was a quality player for Vincennes University in the JUCO ranks, averaging 20.7 points per game, 5.1 assists, and hitting on just over 43% of his three point attempts. He was the Vols leading scorer during their European exhibition tour with a 14.3 point per game average.
In the paint, the Vols brought in at least two players ready to make an impact this season, and one of them may already be positioned to start for the Vols after a big trip to Europe. Derrick Walker may be the missing piece in the paint for the Vols, averaging 13 points and 8 rebounds per game during the European tour. He and last season's freshman phenom, Grant Williams, provide a big bodied duo with solid height at 6-8 and 6-7 respectively. The Vols dipped into the international waters to bring in Yves Pons, a Haitian native who played his high school ball in France. The 6-5, 205 pound wing player is an athletic slasher who can jump out of the building and rack up blocks. They added height in Zach Kent, who at 6-10, 224 probably could stand to redshirt and build on his frame. He's a flex player comfortable playing both in the paint and from behind the arc, hitting on 40% of his three point attempts during his junior season while also averaging nine rebounds per game.
Let's dive into things position by position now, beginning with point guard. Following averages of 7.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game in 23 games played (17 starts), Jordan Bone is the presumed starter at point guard entering the season. Bone appears to have earned the faith of head coach Rick Barnes to serve as the floor general, although he would do well to keep an eye over his shoulder. Lamonte Turner is a bit more of a combo guard, but he played in all 32 games last season with averages of 8.2 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds. For now, he appears to remain entrenched at point guard, but there are options among the new faces on the team. Chris Darrington and James Daniel III, despite also being combo guards, are also strong options at the point. At least early in the season, expect all four to get significant looks as the staff attempts to identify their best lineup ahead of SEC play.
At shooting guard, Jordan Bowden looks to lead the way. The 6-5 guard gives Tennessee length they've lacked at times since the departure of Jordan McRae and Josh Richardson. Bowden averaged 7.9 points per game and 2.9 rebounds last season while starting in 28 of 30 games played. Darrington and Daniel, although mentioned with regard to the point guard position, are both probably more natural shooting guards and will see plenty of minutes there as well. 6-7 guard Jalen Johnson is an option at the two or the three once he recovers from off-season surgery. He's a slashing guard in the mold of McRae when he first arrived on campus.
Small forward. Wing. Call it what you may, but this is perhaps the most athletically gifted spot on the roster right now. Little big man Admiral Schofield has a good case for holding the starting job down here all season. Despite only standing 6-5, the 238 pound forward looks like an SEC caliber defensive end physically and he plays with that kind of tenacity. Last season, he only got one start following the move of Robert Hubbs III to wing, but despite that he improved on his freshmen averages, putting up 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game following a freshman campaign in which he started 22 games but only put up 7.6 points per contest and 4.0 rebounds. A newcomer to this mix is Yves Pons, who doesn't have the same physically imposing physique but has ridiculous athleticism. The aforementioned Jalen Johnson is also an option here, where he would be the tallest option but also the skinniest.
Power forward might be the most exciting spot on the roster right now. Last season, Grant Williams, an underheralded freshman, forced his way onto the Freshman All-SEC team with a dominant campaign in which he averaged 12.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while also averaging just shy of 2 blocks per game and tacking on almost a steal per game for good measure. Hearing that, you'd assume the 6-7, 241 pound forward would be a lock to start, and yet a new freshman phenom may very well have unseated him. 6-8, 238 pound big man Derrick Walker arrived on campus ready to play and quickly established himself as a force on the floor during an overseas trip to Europe in which he averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds per game. A third strong candidate for minutes is working his way back from a major injury suffered last season. John Fulkerson was the early standout among the young forwards last season, breaking through quickly with 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game through 10 games and 6 starts. He was also averaging almost a block per game and just over a steal per game. He was also proving to be a decent distributor from the paint with an assist per game. Regardless of which of these three is on the floor, fans should feel comfortable that the job is in good hands.
Center has an experienced starter in Kyle Alexander, but he's also someone who has been working to get his legs under him. The big man hails from Canada and has shown steady improvement following each season, but he may have truly taken a significant step this summer when he averaged 9 rebounds per game in Europe. Alexander averaged 3.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and a block per game last season, one in which he registered 23 starts after starting just 11 contests the year before. Particularly against teams with smaller frontcourts, it's possible Walker, Fulkerson, or Williams could supplant him to start those games. An intriguing possibility to play this season might be Zach Kent, a player many thought might be on his way to a redshirt. A 6-10, 224 pound freshman, Kent is a big man with the shot to knock down threes. Kent has been mentioned by Barnes as a candidate to play at power forward as well in order to allow him to step outside. He's been mentioned as possibly the most improved freshman over the summer, so he may have a shot to avoid the redshirt.
All that sounds great, but ultimately people want to know what they should expect from the team. While the November 2nd exhibition against Carson-Newman will give us our first look at the team, the best preseason test will come against Clemson in South Carolina on Sunday. At a glace, I see six likely losses. The two meetings with Kentucky, on the road against Purdue, home against North Carolina, and home contests with Texas A&M and Florida. I'd say at this point a realistic expectation for the team is probably something along the lines of 18-12 to 20-10, which would likely leave them firmly sitting on the bubble around 4-6 in the SEC standings. That assumes reasonable health and steady progression from returning players and significant contributions from the newcomers. This is the first team Barnes has had in Knoxville with the size to compete as well as the shooting and athleticism to keep up with the majority of teams they'll face.
For a bit of perspective on how close Tennessee was last year to a big season, they lost by 8 points to Sweet Sixteen participant Wisconsin, 2 points to eventual national champs North Carolina, 10 points to national runner up Gonzaga, 4 points to tournament team Arkansas, 10 points to Final Four team South Carolina, beat Kentucky at home...well, you get the point. A late season collapse last year had much to do with poor shooting averages and injury issues. A stronger frontcourt and deeper group of guard who can hit threes and attack the rim should allow Tennessee to finish off some of the opponents they faded against down the stretch last season.
Assuming a true best case scenario, there's a slim chance for Tennessee to wind up with a 24-6 record (only counting on regular season games definitely scheduled). At that point, Tennessee would likely be a top three SEC team and a lock for the SEC tournament. That's no doubt too much to hope for, but 18-20 wins certainly seems reasonable for a team that finished last season at 16-16 and returns five of their top seven scorers and four of their top five rebounders. At some point, the solid recruiting and development will lead to wins, and I'd wager this is the season in which fans see returns on their emotional investments.
