Is this the most talented Tennessee men’s basketball team ever?

#52
#52
cardvolfan said:
The answer to the bigger post player question could come as early as this Tuesday.
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for sure.. We have 4 scholly players over 6'6 on the team. One of those is Cade Philips. The other 3 all have the size to be good in the post but they are all pretty one-dimensional. Either strictly offensively skilled or defensively. Right now of our top 11 rebounders, 9 are guards. And those 2 posts both average 5 and 7 points a game respectively. Awaka's lack of stats are more about his limited time on the court he only averages 12 mins a game. Aido is the only post player that gets more than 12 mins on the court a game. We have literally no one behind those two except for J.P. Estrella and a walk-on. If those 2 are out we have JJJ and Cade Philipps starting in the post with Estrella backing them up? Small ball can work regular season but its not gonna work in the tourney. I'm trying to think of any team this small winning it all..... Are we even recruiting any high school posts? Because I mean looking at this roster we need to bring in at least 2 next season. and one transfer probably. And we only have 3 scholly spots coming open unless ZZ goes as a junior and or someone transfers which will happen.

I think without a doubt this is the deepest backcourt we have ever had as a team but unless Awaka earns more minutes and J.P. gets on the court I don't see us making it far in the tourney. I think these guys can do it but that's only wishful thinking we are depending on a lot of unproven guys to move forward. Knetch and Gainey are impressive so far but they haven't played big-boy ball yet. So far all the young guys have Phillips, Estrella, and Dillone have struggled to see the court for whatever reason. I hope I am 1000% wrong and Awaka can be the next Admiral or something.
 
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#53
#53
I would have to say Yes. It's the 10-11 deep depth with talent all the way. We've had the depth needed for a FF run the past 2 seasons. But now with Gainey and Knect replacing the 2 who left, we now have 2 offensive minded players who can create a shot on their own, we have the missing piece.
We need to develop our 2 freshmen bigs for the tournament run. If those two can grow into their roles, then watch out! In short, Rick Barnes has built something amazing here.
 
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#54
#54
Thunder Good-Oil said:
The first 6 of Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Mike Jackson, Reggie Johnson, Johnny Darden, and Terry Crosby is probably the most talent. Would have been amazing if Reggie was an upperclassman that year (1976-77).

Also, Ron Widby, Boerwinkle, and Justus.

And Justus, Croft, England, Johnson, and Hann.

And 2005-06 when Lofton and JaJuan were sophomores.

And when Weezy was on the roster.
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Thanks Thunder. Those names bring back some great memories of sitting at the kitchen table with my Dad listening to those guys games on the radio.
 
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#55
#55
cardvolfan said:
The answer to the bigger post player question could come as early as this Tuesday.
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Wisconsin featured two really big players on the floor at the same time ('twin towers' approach), yet we were not overwhelmed by that .... we countered it.
If we draw Purdue, ... Edney will get some points ... but winning teams need more than just one piece on the floor. Only once or twice have I seen a single player beat you and those are guards who shoot the lights out.
Pay attention to how deep Purdue goes in game 1 ... are they able to rest Edney and the other starters?
If they pull us in the 2nd game, pretty sure we are going to want to keep the game at 'exhaust the other team' pace.
We will likely go 10 or 11 deep in the first game ... take a look at the box scores of both teams after day 1 ... this is a 3 day tournament ... you win 3 games in a row by ...1) keeping the minutes on your starters as low as possible is the goal - the number of points you win by is totally irrelevant. 2) win and advance - not is gained by padding the stat sheet. Play as deep as you possibly can. 3) On day 3, rotate players as much as possible - tired legs produce low shooting percentages and that will doom you. 4) Lady luck needs to be camped out on your bench!
 
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#58
#58
livefaith said:
I would have to say Yes. It's the 10-11 deep depth with talent all the way. We've had the depth needed for a FF run the past 2 seasons. But now with Gainey and Knect replacing the 2 who left, we now have 2 offensive minded players who can create a shot on their own, we have the missing piece.
We need to develop our 2 freshmen bigs for the tournament run. If those two can grow into their roles, then watch out! In short, Rick Barnes has built something amazing here.
Click to expand...

I understand that the three ball has taken over the game, and that we have LOTS of guys that can fill it up, SO..... I am not ready to take gameplans and exeution we have seen so far breaking in Special K and the coach's son to develop a ceiling on our post production, expecially offensively. Defensively with the depth on the perimeter and the willingness to keep the defensive pressure extended due to having lots of fresh pieces to throw out there, it has forced our posts to match up further from the basket as bigs have to go out to create passing lanes TO DATE rather than play park and rim protect.

That can and I expect will change going forward Aidoo and Awaka will limit their range unless their guy is a serious deep threat. On top of that I am encouraged by both young posts mobility. They don't look like upper class guys, but they do look like that experience can make them not liabilities as the season progresses. The structure of the schedule these next few games will not advance their education, but they SEEM to be ahead of MY anticipated contribution schedule. The overall athleticism gives me hope that if we can create some playing time they can take advantage of it and be assets before tourney time if foul situations require it.
 
#59
#59
GUNTERSVOL said:
I understand that the three ball has taken over the game, and that we have LOTS of guys that can fill it up, SO..... I am not ready to take gameplans and exeution we have seen so far breaking in Special K and the coach's son to develop a ceiling on our post production, expecially offensively. Defensively with the depth on the perimeter and the willingness to keep the defensive pressure extended due to having lots of fresh pieces to throw out there, it has forced our posts to match up further from the basket as bigs have to go out to create passing lanes TO DATE rather than play park and rim protect.

That can and I expect will change going forward Aidoo and Awaka will limit their range unless their guy is a serious deep threat. On top of that I am encouraged by both young posts mobility. They don't look like upper class guys, but they do look like that experience can make them not liabilities as the season progresses. The structure of the schedule these next few games will not advance their education, but they SEEM to be ahead of MY anticipated contribution schedule. The overall athleticism gives me hope that if we can create some playing time they can take advantage of it and be assets before tourney time if foul situations require it.
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We will need to count on JPE and CP for minutes and depth in a three day tournament. They’ll get minutes.
 
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#60
#60
ColinS said:
The team is very good but it's very early. This kind of talk gets thrown around every year. The Springer/Johnson team is one that comes to mind. Fans were going crazy after we beat up on a couple directional schools. It ended up being a good but not great team. We will know a little more after Hawaii.
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I agree some of this talk is premature...I am excited about the possibilities but I know that scouting reports are out with stronger competition on the horizon so let's see what happens.
 
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#61
#61
berryvol said:
Agreed, especially on Lamonte. He was never going to be the prolific scorer that Knecht can be, but he’s probably the most similar with how he could get to the rim so well (KC was elite at this too). Knecht can just do it from literally anywhere - mid range, back to the basket, etc. He’s definitely the most versatile out of this group.
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Agree Knecht's ability to score at all 3 levels is better than Punter or Lamonte...I was responding based on your comment about perimeter shot making ability which I interpreted to mean 3-pt shooting in the Barnes era.
 
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#62
#62
Sorry but the most talented roster we’ve had in the last 40 years were almost any of the Jerry Green teams. The worst use of talent I’ve ever seen. They COASTED to 20 wins every year. The 99-00 squads especially….
Harris Walker, Marcus Haislip, Tony Harris, YARBROUGH, Grindstaff, Baker, SLAY, Higgins, BLACK, VICTOR, and Hathaway.
Fast, athletic, long, with multiple scorers at all levels. I mean loaded with players….
 
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#65
#65
Capt Whiskey said:
I agree with you on Lofton. I didn’t phrase my question well. What I intended to ask was if Knecht is on the same level shooting the ball as Lofton.
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The competition is collecting video on Knecht. It wouldn’t surprise me to see his efficiency fall off a little moving forward. That should open things up for others on the floor.
 
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#67
#67
chuckiepoo said:
The competition is collecting video on Knecht. It wouldn’t surprise me to see his efficiency fall off a little moving forward. That should open things up for others on the floor.
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I agree but, when it comes to a 5 on 5 game we have players to pick up the load in his absence if they are 1) using their best defensive player against him, 2) Are using a double team to contain him.

We are deep enough and have players that can step up and carry the load.
You know that Barnes has a plan in the event of this happening and we are deep enough to sustain.

Furthermore, depth equals the ability to wear teams down that shows in the 2nd half of play.
We have a lot of ways to win this year that have never available to us in the past.
This is going to be an interesting year to watch this team progress.
 
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#68
#68
BernardKingGOAT said:
That's probably true of those two teams, but make no mistake, Grant's not on the same level with King and Ellis. Especially King
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Grant wasn‘t on the same level, but Grant was one of the most savvy basketball players I’ve ever seen. His awareness and basketball IQ might be the best of any Vol I’ve ever witnessed.
 
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#69
#69
cardvolfan said:
Grant wasn‘t on the same level, but Grant was one of the most savvy basketball players I’ve ever seen. His awareness and basketball IQ might be the best of any Vol I’ve ever witnessed.
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If you watched King, he played with an extremely high IQ. I know a video is floating around of him and other former greats sitting in a forum discussing more of the details and nuances of each of their games. King gave a dissertation on the offensive grid

King wasn't just the greatest scorer of the ball at UT. He was better than anyone at rebounding the ball
 
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#70
#70
BernardKingGOAT said:
If you watched King, he played with an extremely high IQ. I know a video is floating around of him and other former greats sitting in a forum discussing more of the details and nuances of each of their games. King gave a dissertation on the offensive grid
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Overwhelming athleticism was the larger factor, imo.
 
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#72
#72
BernardKingGOAT said:
Yeah, he was a great athlete with a top IQ to boot. Understanding how to get position on taller players is an art. Plus, he had one of the quickest outlets afterwards I've ever seen
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I earlier recommended Hakeem as a study for young post players. Bernard would qualify as a graduate course study… 😉
 
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#74
#74
cncchris33 said:
Lofton. Knecht is the better all-around player, though.
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I want to see the entire season but I could end up agreeing with you. Lofton could straight up shoot the ball. He actually didn't do too bad driving for a layup. I don't remember him having much of a mid range shot just because he was so good behind the arc. He certainly couldn't play with his back to the basket like DK can.
 
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#75
#75
WhenUrVolUrVFL said:
We’ve had a pretty awesome run since Bruce Pearl turned us into a relevant basketball school.

Lots of talent.

But I truly feel this team is the most complete team we’ve had.

The team with:

Grant Williams
Admiral schofield
Kyle Alexander
Jordan Bone

Had a very strong starting 5 and Bowden was a good 6 man.

This team I feel is just better.

Knecht is the guy we’ve been waiting for. This far into the season he has that “I want the ball” go to scorer. Whereas before we wanted JJJ to be the guy, he didn’t have that instinct. He has the ability, and I think having Knecht take that responsibility from JJJ will allow JJJ to actually be the guy to hit a huge shot or two down the stretch.

Once Vescovi learns to play a 2 man game with Knecht, he should feast. You can’t double Vescovi if that leaves Knecht to slash all over you.

Aidoo is a very good big man. With a solid mid range game and the ability to dominate the post and get boards.

Awaka going to develop further into a dominant PF. And we’re going to give teams a strong down low look with Aidoo and Awaka complimenting each other when needed.

Gainey I think is a really nice presence that will offer some interesting looks to hit multiple slashers with swing men. I love the idea of having a set with Vescovi at point, Knecht and Gainey/James at swings, and Aidoo and Awaka banging down low. Or even throw James in for a Awaka to have a mobile offensive set with a solid mid range big man that can dominate the post like Aidoo.

Mashack is the wild card. He’s that guy that has the highest athletic potential of anybody on the team. And he’s worked on his shot. He’s a lock down guard. He’s going to be key.

Not to mention we’ve got Ziegler back who will put some interesting sets available and the ability to control guard play for late tourney runs.

We also have some very talented freshmen.

This is a team built for a run. I think we win it all.

So—is there any Tennessee basketball team that’s been as talented?
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Really would like to play Purdue and/or Kansas just to see how are bigs really are.
 
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