Harris, Golden, Mcrae, and Maymon...

[Incipient]

i think you might want to check out the number of returning starters, guys coming back from season-ending injuries and the incoming recruiting class. the way i recall it the Vols needed a pretty spectacular Scottie Hopson turnaround, fadeaway jumper with 17 second left in Knoxville to avoid being swept by the Gators last season.

i get the Kentucky respect but they are going from a situation where they oversigned to be able to kick the riff raff to the curb to now still looking for more guys who've never played a minute of collegiate basketball just to have enough to field a team. the only point guard on their even younger squad is Brandon Knight, a volume shooter with underdeveloped distribution skills, and the only big on their roster aside from freshman Enes Kanter is a former JUCO player who in his second year with the team wouldn't even be allow to play unless they were up 30 points with 3 minutes left in the game. Kentucky's going to add some guys but with that being the state of their roster it's hard to understand you thinking they'll be a big threat while a team like Florida who returns all 5 starters plus a pretty good recruiting class themselves is not going to be "too much of a threat."

Didn't Tyus go pro?

 

[johnnybravo]

I can't see KY being a leader in the east. They are doing the same thing they did last year, but losing Senior leadership on the bench and PP. Miller and Liggins as the remaining leadership...please. Miller, Liggins, Knight, Kanter, and whatever Freshmen they bring in is not going to win the east this year. What they did this past year was their best case senerio with all the pieces falling into place perfectly. Winning some very close non conference games to some bad teams to build momentum throughout the year. All the chips will not fall perfectly this year.

 

[OrangeSuspenders]

I can't see KY being a leader in the east. They are doing the same thing they did last year, but losing Senior leadership on the bench and PP. Miller and Liggins as the remaining leadership...please. Miller, Liggins, Knight, Kanter, and whatever Freshmen they bring in is not going to win the east this year. What they did this past year was their best case senerio with all the pieces falling into place perfectly. Winning some very close non conference games to some bad teams to build momentum throughout the year. All the chips will not fall perfectly this year.

Not saying you are wrong, but it would certainly help the Vols causes if UK swings and misses on Jones and Leslie.

 

[TOP]

We have a great class but Florida brings back so much and Kentucky reloading so Id say we gonna be in a war for 2nd place in the east with those guys. Sely would have been enough to win the east but now we are gonna be another 5-9 seed.

What? I've thought prior to the run in to the Elite 8 that next years team would be better than this years team... still feel that way now.

Senior point guard and center. Lots of talent in the middle and more depth than ever before.

Jmo.

 

[utman47]

What? I've thought prior to the run in to the Elite 8 that next years team would be better than this years team... still feel that way now.

Senior point guard and center. Lots of talent in the middle and more depth than ever before.

Jmo.

They key is Goins. If he plays consistently, we will win the East.

 

[swampy]

Didn't Tyus go pro?

he's just getting feedback from NBA evaluators on what he needs to do make himself draftable come 2011. he's a decent college starter whose development was stunted a bit by not being able to play the same position in consecutive years but he's not NBA material right now. they just aren't clamoring for undersized forwards, especially ones who are light in the pants. the only way he doesn't return is by some miraculous event he gets first round grade in this big-heavy draft. since a significantly more prolific and physically-ready Udonis Haslem went undrafted as of right now I don't think Alex Tyus has a prayer.

he'll be back and should perform noticeably better because of Kadji and Allen's injuries he had to play over 30 minutes per game and still log backup minutes at center where he is woefully undersized. Tyus started extending his range out to the perimeter as the Gators were losing games because of streaky-to-awful three point shooting and in limited attempts he was surprisingly successful. Donovan will have him work on that before his senior season to help us win games and allow us to play a jumbo lineup for the first time since the 04s were playing in Gainesville. also incoming McDonald's All-American Patric Young and Kenny Kadji returning from a season-ending injury ought to ensure he'll never have to play more than 25 minutes per game and never at center unless Donovan thinks he can create an advantage playing a small but offensively potent lineup.

it's going to be a lot of fun going from a squad struggling to have enough bigs to struggling to have enough minutes for them.

 

[swampy]

Not saying you are wrong, but it would certainly help the Vols causes if UK swings and misses on Jones and Leslie.

very doubtful they miss out on both as there's just too much playing time available right now with their only serviceable big being Kanter.

still we're talking about them going from three serviceable, physically mature bigs in Patterson, Cousins and Orton to just one in Kanter hoping that Jones and/or Leslie, who'd be better served playing SF this year, sign on plus whatever other unknown they can dredge up to fill out their roster. Kanter looks great but he can't fill all of the shoes of Patterson, Cousins and Orton.

 

[zjcvols]

They key is Goins. If he plays consistently, we will win the East.

I think is offensive game is pretty decent in terms of scoring. He has a good mid-range game (and I hope he uses that more). Decent getting to the rim. Two things I worry about with him:

1) Ability to handle ball pressure
2) Create for others

Both Goins and Golden are scoring PG's. We don't have a distributor. Bobby didn't rack up a lot of assists, but he got everyone involved. I'm a little worried by that.

 

[zjcvols]

very doubtful they miss out on both as there's just too much playing time available right now with their only serviceable big being Kanter.

still we're talking about them going from three serviceable, physically mature bigs in Patterson, Cousins and Orton to just one in Kanter hoping that Jones and/or Leslie, who'd be better served playing SF this year, sign on plus whatever other unknown they can dredge up to fill out their roster. Kanter looks great but he can't fill all of the shoes of Patterson, Cousins and Orton.

Excellent point about UK. They have no size. I think Stevenson is a junior so that will help, but Leslie is more of a 3, and Jones is also.

 

[TOP]

They key is Goins. If he plays consistently, we will win the East.

Definitely. Golden being able to run the point as a back up will also be key.

I really liked what I saw out of Goins in the second half of the season and I am hoping every single player takes the next step and contributes more to next years team.

 

[swampy]

Excellent point about UK. They have no size. I think Stevenson is a junior so that will help, but Leslie is more of a 3, and Jones is also.

Stevenson was a senior last year so he's gone. You might have read about him being a key returner from ESPN but they were mistaken.

Literally the only big they have returning is Josh Harrellson. He played one year of JUCO ball and came in before Gillespie's final season. He was literally the last man off a very deep bench this past season. I'm not exaggerating when I say in his junior season that they only put him in games when they were up 30 points with 3 minutes left.

 

[mmmjtx]

Are all of these players officially signed to Tennessee now?