Why do our 5 star players struggle?

#28
#28
I feel like most of us agree, but I understand why the question was asked. It would be nice to have a player who just takes over, but I'm honestly happy with what we have and the future that's laid for us. We all knew we'd take a step back this year.
 
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#31
#31
I think most of us surely understand the injury he suffered and obviously is still dealing this year but that maybe doesn't answer your original question. When he's healthy IMO he does things that most "dominant" 5*'s don't do like defense and rebounds that just isn't very flashy.
 
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#35
#35
VOLED said:
Well, he played it enough yesterday to really hurt us.
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Because Vescovi was in foul trouble.

A few of us were questioning the lack of guard talent being recruited a couple of years ago and the failure to build depth behind Bone, Turner and Bowden. I was chastised for saying James wasn’t a PG at the college level. Meanwhile Barnes keeps telling us Bowden and James can run the point. Not long ago Barnes was saying Vescovi wouldn’t even play. LOL, he is likely the most important player on the team.
 
#36
#36
I expect JJJ to have a much cleaner shot next year. Barnes won't let him continue to shoot the way he is currently.

JJJ still has proven to be a good defensive player, a good rebounder, and reliable ball handler for a freshman. Some fans are simply impatient. Most players improve year after year under Barnes. With his size and athleticism, JJJ is bound to be an NBA player, its just a matter if it will be after his sophmore, junior, or senior season.
 
#37
#37
MoCo_Vol said:
Honestly there's probably 5-10 5 stars that are "impact" players in year 1.

There's only 10 freshman in the top 150 in scoring.

And let's be honest that's what you're commenting on. James' per games are very solid for a freshman who isn't the feature guy.

7.3 PPG (46th among 2019 class)
5.6 RPG (16th among 2019 class)
2.8 APG (9th among 2019 class)
0.8 SPG (per game rank unavailable, but total numbers he's top 30)
0.9 BPG (per game rank unavailable, but total numbers he's top 25)

So despite missing 4 games he's in the top 30 of every major category among freshman except scoring. Which I just don't think that's what he's being asked to do, coming into the season I'm sure he was 4th or 5th as the "option" to score behind Turner, Bowden, Fulkerson and possibly Pons. With Turner out and Santiago arriving he's still probably the 3rd option at best.
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Great insightful post!
 
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#38
#38
The most recent 5 star player that Tennessee has had was Tobias Harris and he was the most complete player that Tennessee had that could change a game.

Hopson and Hubbs had holes in their games that the opposition exploited over time.

James will do a lot better next season with a healthy off season and players like Johnson and Springer to push him in practice.
 
#39
#39
sport3500 said:
The most recent 5 star player that Tennessee has had was Tobias Harris and he was the most complete player that Tennessee had that could change a game.

Hopson and Hubbs had holes in their games that the opposition exploited over time.

James will do a lot better next season with a healthy off season and players like Johnson and Springer to push him in practice.
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I thought that Stokes was a 5-star?
 
#40
#40
CA_Vol said:
After watching another rough night for JJJ, I started thinking about why our recent 5 star players seem to never materialize into the dominate players they are supposed to be.

JJJ looks more like a project than a one-and-done type. Hubbs has a rather unremarkable career. Harris I suppose was the best 5 star we’ve had, but he seems to be the sole example of hype and performance. Hopson has a good career, but I he wasn’t dominating.

Why do you think our 5 star guys seem to struggle so badly compared to those at Duke, Kansas, etc? Not enough quality role players?
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Young team, one person will not be the difference. CRB's demands team play, hate saying this, but we all knew this year would be a challenge.
 
#41
#41
Jimmy Football said:
Wasn’t Stokes a 5-star? I’d say he did alright for us.

I also think at least one service had Duke Crews as a 5-star.

I would guess our boom/bust rate on 5-stars is probably around the average; we just haven’t had that many.
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To be fair Stokes finished year 1 with
9.6 PPG
7.4 RPG
0.7 APG
0.9 SPG

He also played on a team with Trae Golden, Jeronne Maymon, Jordan McRae, Cameron Tatum, Kenny Hall, & Josh Richardson some of the best players of that era.
 
#42
#42
I love my Vols, and I love this team. But where they are right now in experience & talent isn't great.

It's a season of growing pains. I know from where James started to where he is now he's made huge strides in his shooting (especially from 3) and hasn't even finished a full season. I think he'll be very good next year and even better his junior season, if we're lucky he'll be here his senior year too.

I've seen tons of growth from Santiago too, which is even more impressive than what James has managed with him getting here so late and being dropped into action in the meat of the SEC schedule. The things he's doing against the tougher teams on our schedule are pretty amazing next season he's going to shine with more offensive talent around him.

I love that Pons & Fulkerson have shown they can contribute on a more consistent basis both are extremely valuable to the team for next season.

Despite Bowden's struggles shooting the deep ball he's managed to score in double digits in nearly every game this season, he stepped up his defensive game another level too. Arguably our best defender, especially on the perimeter. He's had a good career here and I appreciate all he's given to Tennessee.
 
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#44
#44
VolsSportsFan said:
it is on Barnes that we don't have anyone on the team right now that doesn't lose their s*** under pressure. Turner was that guy.
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NO, it's not on Barnes. We lost our entire starting 5 from last year. Our starting point guard has been in the program for about 8 weeks. Inexperience is the issue, and I can't see what Barnes could have done about that. I think everyone thought Turner and Bowden would be All-SEC performers. In essence, we lost our top 2 offensive players off this year's team. Had they performed near expectations, we'd be a top 20 team, maybe top 15. I like what I'm seeing in terms of development and potential. This year is disappointing, but we'll be in the top tier of the SEC next year and probably be there for a while.
 
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#45
#45
MoCo_Vol said:
I love my Vols, and I love this team. But where they are right now in experience & talent isn't great.

It's a season of growing pains. I know from where James started to where he is now he's made huge strides in his shooting (especially from 3) and hasn't even finished a full season. I think he'll be very good next year and even better his junior season, if we're lucky he'll be here his senior year too.

I've seen tons of growth from Santiago too, which is even more impressive than what James has managed with him getting here so late and being dropped into action in the meat of the SEC schedule. The things he's doing against the tougher teams on our schedule are pretty amazing next season he's going to shine with more offensive talent around him.

I love that Pons & Fulkerson have shown they can contribute on a more consistent basis both are extremely valuable to the team for next season.

Despite Bowden's struggles shooting the deep ball he's managed to score in double digits in nearly every game this season, he stepped up his defensive game another level too. Arguably our best defender, especially on the perimeter. He's had a good career here and I appreciate all he's given to Tennessee.
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I think we are fine on talent given what we have coming in its experience where we lack the most. Outside of Plasvic, everyone on the team has shown consistent growth this season and for the older guys in their time here. I have no idea what Plasvics issue is if he was a true freshman just coming to America I'd get it a bit more but he's been in the states for a few years now and is a redshirt freshman. it feels like he should be able to contribute more than 9 mins/game and 39FG% I mean seriously a 7 footer shooting under 40% is crazy and 2 rebounds per game at even 9 mins is disturbingly low. Hopefully, the light comes on in the offseason. I noticed that both Vescovi himself and some UT coaches mentioned how getting some S&C loving in the offseason was gonna be a big boon for him. Maybe the same will be true for Plasvic and to a lesser extent JJJ. Now that they have experienced the grind where they lack will be more obvious.
 
#46
#46
LAVol1 said:
NO, it's not on Barnes. We lost our entire starting 5 from last year. Our starting point guard has been in the program for about 8 weeks. Inexperience is the issue, and I can't see what Barnes could have done about that. I think everyone thought Turner and Bowden would be All-SEC performers. In essence, we lost our top 2 offensive players off this year's team. Had they performed near expectations, we'd be a top 20 team, maybe top 15. I like what I'm seeing in terms of development and potential. This year is disappointing, but we'll be in the top tier of the SEC next year and probably be there for a while.
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Agreed our struggles this year were mostly bad luck and the fact we likely end the season over 500 (with 1 more win) is amazing in and of itself. That I think is a reflection of Barnes the fact that this team will likely end up with 15-16 wins instead of like 10. These kids got worn out down the stretch. Bowden had a regrettable season trying to be the man and losing Turner (and Bone leaving early) was the death knell on this season. If we had Bone or turner the pressure on Bowden lessens a lot and he likely contributes more. I guess I should stop obsessing over Bone leaving early. He made a financial choice and wasn't in it for school so gotta let that fly. he did what was right for him and his family and hopefully, it works out for his career. turner being lost however was just bad luck and set this team back more than I think anyone is aware of. It makes what Vescovi has been able to contribute even more impressive.
 
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