Josh Ward made a good point...

#27
#27
I was a basketballer back in the day (70's),a break from the game is sometimes the best thing.I believe he will play his best basketball of his life.Get ready for some fun in big orange country!!!!
 
#28
#28
Certainly this will not hurt, taking away some minutes of players that need less minutes, about 40% of those who are getting minutes are in this position!
 
#29
#29
zjcvols said:
Yeah, Bruce's team were disciplined filled.
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Coach Pearl also let me down on several occasions, especially last season, but Cuonzo doesn't have the off-court distractions that Bruce had to deal with last year. Few, if any, coaches could have been 100% when dealing with that ncaa nonsense 24/7.
 
#30
#30
TMvol10 said:
How do you know this? Lets give this guy a chance. Just because he's '#11' on rivals doesn't really mean anything. If we go ahead and anoint him as the savior of this team and program, there's really no way he can live up to expectations. Its just setting him up for failure. I'm as excited as anyone that we've got him but lets settle down and let the kid just play some ball instead of feeling like he has to save this team. If he averages 9 points and 6 rebounds a game i'd consider that a big success for a kid thats 17, should still be in high school and hasn't played competitive ball since this past summer!
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I agree wholeheartedly with this post. I think Stokes is going to have a positive impact on the team the moment he is able to practice and more so whenever he is able to play in games. He appears to be very talented and plays a position of need. That being said, the transition to the college game from high school is very demanding. We should all remember that Stokes will not have had the benefit of the pre-season practice with the team, which I think is very important, nor of getting to play some of the lower caliber teams on the schedule to adjust to the college game. He is, essentially, going to start practicing in the near future and then get thrust into the meat of the schedule with conference play starting. The adjustment to conference play is difficult on most freshmen, even super talented freshmen whom have gotten to practice in the fall and play some warm-up type games. Stokes is going to have a challenge in overcoming the lack of practice time and game experience. It is my hope that he is going to be able to adjust quickly and I think nine points and six boards a game would be an outstanding performance given the circumstances. I think next year he will be very solid and that year will be a proper measuring stick of his abilities.
 
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#31
#31
Basketball is about the only sport where a 17 year old can come in and have success. I hope he is like Odom, Kobe, Kemp, and many others that were super players at age 17.
 
#33
#33
UTCVol said:
He's relentless in his work ethic but he hasn't played a legit basketball game in a while. He's going to have to adjust.
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Played high level AAU BB all summer long. I watched some AAU 18U championship rounds at Disney once while my son was playing baseball a few years ago and every game looked pretty high level and Legit to me.Looked like ncaa tourney play without the crowds. At least on a greater level than High School b'ball.

We shouldn't expect too much until he gets in and learns the motion offense,but he is as talented or more talented and polished than any player on the roster. Will push others to elevate to stay in the rotation. He has a Tobias like work ethic,which will help his transition. GO VOLS!!
 
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#37
#37
zansdad said:
You lost me at "Josh Ward made a good point."

It's like him and West are having a stupid contest every day while I drive around and work, and they always end up being co-champions. The fact that they routinely let Clay Travis come on their show proves that they really don't get it.:banghead2:
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They make fun of our football and basketball teams and laugh about it on the radio. The KNS must own a large chunk of the Sports Animal. They seem to hire the worst talk show people available.
 
#40
#40
Can the guy play the 3? That is where UT needs the most help. Traditionally you want your three to be a game changer, and scorer. Tatum can get hot and hit threes every once in a while, but he is a mental midget when it comes to attacking the basket. The guy is 6'6" but plays like he is 6' around the basket. Finishers!!!! UT lacks players who finish at the basket.
 
#41
#41
The context was pretty interesting, but Stokes will be an immediate contributor based necessity.
 
#42
#42
Special Ed said:
Coach Pearl also let me down on several occasions, especially last season, but Cuonzo doesn't have the off-court distractions that Bruce had to deal with last year. Few, if any, coaches could have been 100% when dealing with that ncaa nonsense 24/7.
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Nonsense? That was completely brought upon himself. The nonsense was what started it, not how it played out IMO.
 
#43
#43
Roustabout said:
Can the guy play the 3? That is where UT needs the most help. Traditionally you want your three to be a game changer, and scorer. Tatum can get hot and hit threes every once in a while, but he is a mental midget when it comes to attacking the basket. The guy is 6'6" but plays like he is 6' around the basket. Finishers!!!! UT lacks players who finish at the basket.
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Seriously?!? We are lucky Tatum can still play considering all his knee issues while here. He has fought through a ton of adversity and if you haven't noticed, no one is attacking from the wing for us. McRae has the athletic ability but chooses to stay on the perimeter. Tatum at least tries to get in the paint and does so with success more than anyone on our roster.

As far as being the biggest position of need? I strongly disagree. Our inside presence is sporatic at best, and we are having serious issues at the 1 as well. The wing is our strength IMO.
 
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