Roster
11 - Kyle Alexander, 6-11, 215, SR
0 - Jordan Bone, 6-3, 174, JR
23 - Jordan Bowden, 6-5, 193, JR
32 - D.J. Burns, 6-9, 272, FR
24 - Lucas Campbell, 6-4, 185, SR
4 - Jacob Fleschman, 6-3, 170, RSO
10 - John Fulkerson, 6-9, 197, RSO
34 - Brock Jancek, 6-8, 212, FR
13 - Jalen Johnson, 6-6, 187, RSO
33 - Zach Kent, 6-11, 225, SO
35 - Yves Pons, 6-6, 209, SO
5 - Admiral Schofield, 6-6, 241, SR
1 - Lamonte Turner, 6-2, 195, RJR
15 - Derrick Walker, 6-8, 236, SO
2 - Grant Williams, 6-7, 236, JR
12 - Brad Woodson, 6-1, 177, SR
Breakdown by Position
Center - This position begins with Kyle Alexander, the ever-improving Canadian big man, but the hope is it doesn't end with him this season. In the second round of the tournament last season, when Alexander went down in the prior round, the lack of a quality number two at center was exposed, and that was arguably the difference between advancing and the loss they suffered at the hands of Chicago-Loyola. Without Alexander, the Vols were forced to turn to younger, smaller players to try and mask the hole, with little success. Zach Kent was redshirting last season as he worked to build onto his slight frame coming out of high school. Kent is a different type of center from Alexander, who is a pure post player. Kent hit 40% from three as a high school junior while playing predominantly in the paint, averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game. Kent is much more of a flexible option in the paint, capable of stepping out and knocking down a three or posting up. D.J. Burns is harder to determine exactly where he'll start out playing, but center is probably the best guess given his size and the needs on the roster. Burns has bulk to spare and solid length, averaging 14.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last year and 14.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.1 blocks two seasons ago. As long as he has the endurance, he's going to have a strong case to make for playing time, at center and possibly even power forward.
Power Forward - The last two seasons, this position has begun and ended with the play of Grant Williams. That makes sense considering he's the defended SEC Player of the Year among his numerous other recognitions from the last two seasons. That's all well and good, but foul trouble and fatigue were issues at times last season, which may have had some impact on the drop in field goal and 3-point percentage, as well as a drop in steals and blocks. Grant Williams will continue to be great, but he needs opportunities to catch his breath. Derrick Walker is probably the best candidate to help him get those breathers. Walker is similarly built and saw his workload increase over the course of last season, playing in 34 of 35 games, averaging 8.8 minutes per contest. He's dropped a few pounds and should be able to handle more minutes while improving his productivity. John Fulkerson is another option here, but Fulkerson has dropped weight and it's a little harder to figure out how he might be used. I think there's a chance he could see himself used at both forward spots to add length at small forward and speed at power forward.
Small Foward - I already touched on Fulkerson at small forward in situations so I won't rehash that again. Let's look at the man at small forward/wing: Admiral Schofield. Schofield was good as a freshman and sophomore, but he really became one of the leaders of the team last season, leading in rebounds, second in scoring, second in steals, fifth in assists, etc. He had such a strong junior campaign that he went through the pre-draft process before electing to return to the Vols for his senior season. Schofield is a reliable shooter from most spots on the floor, and energetic defender, and a vocal and emotional leader. Again, it was a bit tough to find quality replacements for Schofield when he needed a breather or got into foul trouble. Yves Pons is expected to be at least part of the solution after playing sparingly last season. Pons is incredibly athletic and can make plays that most guys at 6-6 would struggle to make, particularly around the rim. Pons can also be a scorer, hitting on two of his three 3-point attempts last season. Another option may be Jalen Johnson, who has the length to contribute on the wing. However, I think the only times he would be there might be in smaller, perimeter shooting looks in which Schofield moves to PF, Johnson to SF, with Bowden and maybe Turner at the guard spots. Otherwise, Johnson will probably be most needed at guard.
Shooting Guard - Jordan Bowden is the returning starter at shooting guard, and he is sound in that role. He led the team in steals while finishing fourth on the team in scoring, assists, and rebounds. The biggest drawback at times with him is the fact that can get lax and fails to display the aggression that has often led to some of his best games in the past two seasons. If the aggression shows up on a more regular basis, he has the potential to be an all-conference performer. Jalen Johnson is listed as a guard and heading into his redshirt sophomore season it's time for him to carve out a role, and that likely role should be as the #2 shooting guard. Johnson has shown an ability to be an effective scorer in his limited playing time. He has the length to be an effective rebounder from the perimeter as well. Another possibility could be Pons seeing minutes at shooting guard, but with it seeming probable that his role behind Schofield will grow that may not be practical. When the coaches want to get both Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bone on the floor together, Turner should slide into the shooting guard spot. Turner is a true combo guard, finishing third in scoring and assists and fifth in rebounds despite coming off the bench. He is the best option as the #2 point guard, so that is likely to be his primary role for much of the season.
Point Guard - Jordan Bone finished second in the SEC last year in assist to turnover ratio and 16th nationally. He's among the nation's best in distributing the ball, and he got more consistent as the season progressed about attacking offensively and taking his shots. He's also a solid rebounder and effective shooter, and he's a willing defender, even if others can be more impactful defensively. Turner is more of a scorer than a distributor, but he doesn't turn the ball over and he's plenty capable of running the floor. Things are thinner at the guard spots this season after the departures of Chris Darrington and James Daniel III, but neither ran for as many minutes as the top three returning guards.
The Schedule
Rather than going game by game, I'll skim through the bulk of the schedule, focusing mostly on the highlights. October 31st and November 6th see the Vols hosting a couple of exhibition games against Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne before opening the season on the 9th against the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana. Georgia Tech on the 13th is the last warm-up before the start of the NIT Season Tip-Off, which will begin with the Vols taking on Louisville. Louisville was okay last season, making the NIT following a tumultuous offseason that saw Rick Pitino lose his job. New head coach Chris Mack comes from Xavier, a program where he had plenty of success, so this is likely to serve as the first real test for the Vols. Win and they'll likely find themselves playing Kansas, so it's fair to say this should serve as a nice gauge for where the Vols stand. Lose to Louisville, and they're still facing Marquette, so regardless the opponent will be a decent one. November 28th and December 2nd see them handle business against Eastern Kentucky and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Then they face off against with Gonzaga on December 9th, which means a possible second game against a top-four opponent within a month. To wrap up December, the best opponent is Memphis on the 15th. The other opponents are Samford, Wake Forest, and Tennessee Tech. Georgia will be the first team up on the SEC slate, and there is a bit of good news in that Yante Maten is in the NBA now and no longer a thorn in the Vols' side. That said, Georgia still looks decent and might actually improve on last year. An interesting start to the SEC schedule. That will be followed by a probable win against Missouri before a tough meeting with Florida, who is a likely tournament team. Arkansas is next. They return two of their top ten scorers. Not great. Alabama is next. Their top player is a Cleveland Cavalier now. Then a winnable game against Vanderbilt followed by a solid top 25 meeting with West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The next three after West Virginia aren't too difficult with South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Missouri before another meeting with a stout Florida team. A quick respite with playing South Carolina ends abruptly with a trip to Lexington to face the Wildcats. Kentucky is easily the biggest challenger in the SEC to the Vols winning the conference. A three-game stretch against Vanderbilt, LSU, and Ole Miss should allow the Vols to regroup after the first meeting with Kentucky, win or lose, before the 'Cats come to Knoxville. The season will wrap with a game against Mississippi State followed by a matchup with former Vol head coach Bruce Pearl and his Auburn squad. A manageable schedule, but a difficult one to be certain.
Predictions
I'm going to guess between 24-6 and 26-4 for this coming season, with 26-4 contingent upon splitting the series with Florida and Kentucky, which seems likely. It may be a bit surprising, but I'm going to go ahead and call for Admiral Schofield to lead the team in scoring. He ended the season as the most consistent scoring threat for the Vols, and after going through the pre-draft process it is likely that he's discovered holes in his game and areas for improvement. I look for Kyle Alexander, who took major strides last season, to take over the lead in rebounding. Jordan Bone has led the team in assists the last two seasons, and there is no reason short of injury why he shouldn't do the same this season. Schofield and Bowden went back and forth for the lead spot in steals, but Bowden has averaged 33 steals per season over the last two seasons. No one else has come close to that over the last couple seasons, so I'll guess at Bowden keeping things going defensively. Last season, Kyle Alexander topped Grant Williams in blocks. It was still fairly close between them, and the last two seasons Alexander has had 90 blocks and Williams has had 105, so this could go either way. The Vols are going to have a very strong case for a #2 seed, and maybe an outside shot at a #1. For now, I'll lean toward being the top two seed with a favorable tournament draw and a solid shot at an Elite Eight or Final Four appearance. This is going to be a season to remember.
