NCAAB Pre-Season Breakdown SEC Edition: Tennessee Volunteers

Rank at the end of the 2018-2019 season: 10th in Coaches Poll; Tennessee Record: (31-6); Lost to Purdue 99-94 in the Sweet Sixteen

Tennessee’s season ended in one of the most entertaining games of the NCAA Tourney. A loss at the hands of a streaking Purdue team led by the high volume scorer, Carsen Edwards and three point bomber Ryan Cline. Edwards finished the game with 29 points while Cline went on to shoot 7-10 from long range. A strong second half by the Volunteers was enough to send the game into overtime but the scoring of Edwards and Cline proved to be too much.

Key Players Lost:

Admiral Schofield, Grant Williams and Jordan Bone were the obvious losses for this Tennessee team. The trio were the teams top three scorers with Williams averaging almost 19 a game, Schofield 16.6 ppg and Bone 13.5 ppg. Jordan also led the team in assists with 5.8 per game. All three of these players were drafted into the NBA. Williams went to the Celtics, Schofield to the Wizards and Bone to the Pistons. 

Losing these key players will prove to be an extremely daunting challenge for the Volunteers next season. The interior presence offered by the duo of Schofield and Williams, aka the “Bash Brothers”, combined with the play making ability of Bone, is not easily replaced.  

Key Returning Players:

In terms of returning players, the most important ones will be Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden by far. Both incoming seniors averaged almost 11 ppg last season. Head Coach Rick Barnes will likely lean heavily on these two upperclassmen to run his offense. They will receive the burden of protecting the hard work that Tennessee has done in establishing themselves as threat in the SEC. The success of Tennessee will shift from the shoulders of the interior to these two guards.   

Notable Incoming Tennessee Recruit:

The incoming recruiting class for the Volunteers is not very deep. In fact it is currently ranked 31st nationally. Far behind the likes of SEC rival Kentucky. What they lack in depth, they make up for in signing one of the best talents in this incoming class. Josiah James, a 6’6 guard, comes in as the Volunteers’ only five-star recruit. He is the 22nd ranked recruit in the incoming class. Watching James play, the potential stares you right in the face. His length and size combined with his ability to pass and shoot off the dribble will be utilized well by Coach Barnes. His game could use the most improvement on the defensive end, where his lack of focus becomes evident at times. Hopefully, the SEC physicality will push him to develop into a dominant two-way player for Tennessee.

Breakdown for Tennessee Next Season:

The loss of the Volunteers’ core offensive players leaves many questions about where the scoring will come from for this team. The switch from a post oriented offense to one that looks like it will be very perimeter focused will not come easy. Coaching the team to fit its best players will be Barnes’ toughest task as the season approaches. 

For this reason I see this upcoming season as a transitional season. Hopefully, for the sake of their next recruiting class, the drop-off is not too insurmountable. Building around James might be the best bet for this team. Barnes would love to see James play to his potential. At the same time, if that comes at the cost of him leaving for the NBA, he might not want it as much. Based on this breakdown, I find it hard to see the Volunteers finishing higher than fifth or sixth in the SEC . The level of competition in the SEC is so fluid that Barnes can push this team to a top five conference finish. 
Next up: LSU Tigers