#9 in preseason AP poll

#51
#51
VolGee4 said:
That’s not how that works. What did other teams do? We upgraded.

If only last year’s result was relevant to this year.
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Every fan base thinks their team upgraded. Did they? On paper it looks that way but we have seen these mid-major types flop before. I want to see it on the court against real competition before I make any declarations.
 
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#52
#52
ColinS said:
Every fan base thinks their team upgraded. Did they? On paper it looks that way but we have seen these mid-major types flop before. I want to see it on the court against real competition before I make any declarations.
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Freddie Dilione was not a mid major player. Tobe Awaka has one more year of experience.

But to just rely on what we did last year for this year’s pre-season ranking is laziness.
 
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#54
#54
VolGee4 said:
Freddie Dilione was not a mid major player. Tobe Awaka has one more year of experience.

But to just rely on what we did last year for this year’s pre-season ranking is laziness.
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These people that vote on these polls probably do about 3 minutes of research per team if even that. I think 9 is fair. It's a several spots higher than we finished last year.
 
#55
#55
You can't just factor in what we did. Which would appear to be added more talent/potential production than we lost off a sweet 16 team. You also have to factor in what happened with every other team in the country.

Our biggest deficiency last season was PG depth and lack of shot makers. We are better or at least more experienced in both of those departments now. ZZ should be back. Freddie has a year of practice at the PG position and is a high level talent. Mashack got to run point in live game situations.
 
#56
#56
ColinS said:
Every fan base thinks their team upgraded. Did they? On paper it looks that way but we have seen these mid-major types flop before. I want to see it on the court against real competition before I make any declarations.
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And, that is exactly what I am saying. It all looks good on paper but the game is normally played on hardwood. I really like the posts.
about how you can't look at last year as an indicator of how this year will go......Uhhh, that's all you have to go on no matter what your predictions are.

The Vols should improve as the year goes on and hopefully, will not peak until March. There are some pieces in place to make a Final Four run but all has to come together and HS stars, mid major transfers, and rising Sophs all have to prove it on the floor........There is still a lot to prove.
 
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#57
#57
ColinS said:
These people that vote on these polls probably do about 3 minutes of research per team if even that. I think 9 is fair. It's a several spots higher than we finished last year.
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I never said 9 was unfair. The discussion started when a poster said we were top 15 last year and 15-20 was about right to start this year based on that.
 
#58
#58
Backwards K said:
And, that is exactly what I am saying. It all looks good on paper but the game is normally played on hardwood. I really like the posts.
about how you can't look at last year as an indicator of how this year will go......Uhhh, that's all you have to go on no matter what your predictions are.

The Vols should improve as the year goes on and hopefully, will not peak until March. There are some pieces in place to make a Final Four run but all has to come together and HS stars, mid major transfers, and rising Sophs all have to prove it on the floor........There is still a lot to prove.
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Like Kansas losing their top two scorers and being ranked #1?

Your analysis was just off.
 
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#59
#59
VolGee4 said:
I never said 9 was unfair. The discussion started when a poster said we were top 15 last year and 15-20 was about right to start this year based on that.
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Ok, honestly 15ish might be a little high but I could see it. My original point is everybody thinks they upgraded their roster with these 15 point a game mid major players. Some of these pan out and some of these end up looking like church league players. We have had a couple lately that could ware it out in a Central Babtist uniform but weren't SEC calibur players.
 
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#60
#60
VolGee4 said:
Like Kansas losing their top two scorers and being ranked #1?

Your analysis was just off.
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I hope you are right and I also hope you are not one of the enlightened who always overrrank UT teams in preseason and then want to fire the coach when the team doesn't meet your expectations.
 
#63
#63
Backwards K said:
Too many questions to be ranked that high at this point.
--Who is gonna be able to score in the paint?
--Who can beat their man off the dribble and finish at the rim?
--Who is gonna defend quick guards?
--Who will be the consistent 3 pt shooter to take some pressure off Vescovi?

Should be a good team but I don't see how they can be ranked that high at this point.
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So.. Still think we're ranked to high? 😂😂 I questioned why are we ranked that low 🤷‍♂️
 
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#64
#64
Backwards K said:
Too many questions to be ranked that high at this point.
--Who is gonna be able to score in the paint?
--Who can beat their man off the dribble and finish at the rim?
--Who is gonna defend quick guards?
--Who will be the consistent 3 pt shooter to take some pressure off Vescovi?

Should be a good team but I don't see how they can be ranked that high at this point.
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Committee effort
Knecht
Zakai/Gainey/Shack
Knecht again
 
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#71
#71
The Vols should be the best team in the country for the first two months of the season. We have so much returning experience in our starting 5 that I doubt any other team has ever matched it (5th and 6th year returning starters). However, I expect other teams to catch up in February and March. I hope the Vols can make the final four for the first time this season. Anything lower than the elite 8 will be a disappointment.
 
#72
#72
adam.vol said:
The Vols should be the best team in the country for the first two months of the season. We have so much returning experience in our starting 5 that I doubt any other team has ever matched it (5th and 6th year returning starters). However, I expect other teams to catch up in February and March. I hope the Vols can make the final four for the first time this season. Anything lower than the elite 8 will be a disappointment.
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Win the SEC. I will worry about the one and done crap shoot when it's time.
 
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#73
#73
Don't shoot the messenger, but we were tied for most votes (4 out of 12) for team in the preseason top 10 that will disappoint the most. We're probably an easy target for that though. Hopefully, we'll prove them wrong!

theathletic.com

College basketball predictions: Which preseason Top 10 team will fall on hard times?

Not all teams that start out highly ranked end that way. Which team will disappoint relative to expectations this season?
theathletic.com theathletic.com

C4E9797A-8419-408A-A63B-504AA1B5B540.jpeg

Tennessee​

So, I get why AP voters slotted Tennessee ninth in this year’s preseason poll: excellent coach in Rick Barnes; experienced returners like Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James; a pair of intriguing transfers, especially Northern Colorado import Dalton Knecht; and — perhaps most importantly — the looming return, at some point, of guard Zakai Zeigler, one of college basketball’s best defenders last season before his torn ACL.

Those are all, objectively, good things. And as we saw this weekend, in UT’s one-point exhibition win over Michigan State, the ceiling here looks *best Larry David impression* pretty, pretty good. (That the Volunteers were so potent offensively sans Vescovi and Zeigler earned a raised brow from yours truly.) But — of course there was a “but” coming — even as someone who witnessed Tennessee’s most recent win, a (literal) slugfest against Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, I have some questions about the Volunteers’ ability to consistently hit the peak they did Sunday. In rapid-fire fashion:

When does Zeigler return, and can he recapture his old form?

Can Vescovi be the best player on a championship team?

Who does this team go to when it needs a late basket?

(The answer to that last question, after Sunday’s showing, might very well be Knecht or fellow newcomer Jordan Gainey.)
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In that aforementioned Duke win, the Vols’ two most important players were Uros Plavsic — the 7-foot-1 tone-setting big man — and Olivier Nkamhoua, who erupted for a season-high-tying 27 points. Guess who’s no longer on Tennessee’s roster? Ding ding ding. (Nkamhoua transferred to Michigan, while Plavsic is now playing overseas.)

Zeigler has proven he can be one of the best guards in the game … when healthy. An important, and entirely indeterminable, caveat. Vescovi is a savvy vet and a solid shooter, but as a team’s top — and arguably only — proven high-major perimeter scorer? Thus far in his career, that’s been a somewhat outsized role for him. And lastly, as good a coach as Barnes is, he’s only had one top-30 offense in his eight seasons in Knoxville, per KenPom; last year’s group was No. 64 … before losing three of its top six scorers.

Yes, there’s plenty of talent here … but the same number of unknowns — and that’s too much uncertainty for me to love the preseason SEC favorites.
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#74
#74
It’s just easy for journalists to pick on Tennessee at this point and make themselves sound smart. Whatever. Doesn’t really matter.

I will say that 2nd blurb is hilarious though. Acting like us losing Uros and ORN our “two most important players” in the Duke win is going to impact our offense negatively is just funny.
 
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#75
#75
TheMookieMonster said:
It’s just easy for journalists to pick on Tennessee at this point and make themselves sound smart. Whatever. Doesn’t really matter.

I will say that 2nd blurb is hilarious though. Acting like us losing Uros and ORN our “two most important players” in the Duke win is going to impact our offense negatively is just funny.
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The guy who wrote that whole thing is a Duke beat writer, so I can understand why that particular game would be magnified in his mind
 
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