Team News (current roster)

[Lefteye]

Seems like a personal spat. Arguing the details of a scrimmage against Davidson seems completely unimportant or am I missing something?

Nope. Sounds like Tom should take his beef to TBs source, but since that’s not likely TB is the target for spilling the beans about player info. And I’m not a TB fan, but just seems like TS is butt hurt actual info got leaked. Jmo

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Hate to hear that. He is my friend.

Sorry to hear that for you.

 

[cncchris33]

Nope. Sounds like Tom should take his beef to TBs source, but since that’s not likely TB is the target for spilling the beans about player info. And I’m not a TB fan, but just seems like TS is butt hurt actual info got leaked. Jmo

Exactly. The beef shouldn't be with TB. It should be with whoever is leaking info. Tony is just doing his job.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

With no Fulk or probably Aidoo tomorrow gonna be very interested to see how ON & BHH, also curious on who the first guys/last guys are off the bench…

My guess on starters:
Chandler
Vescovi
James
BHH
ON

Off then bench:
Bailey, Powell, Plav, Zeigler, Diboundje, Mashack, Tamba

 

[Volfanatic_20]

Fans will get a chance to see the Vols go through a dress rehearsal of sorts this weekend in an exhibition against Lenoir-Rhyne. Tennessee will be without John Fulkerson who is recovering from a broken thumb but reports are that Fulkerson will be ready to go for the opener against UT Martin on Nov. 9.

Among the current players Santiago Vescovi continues to draw high praise from the coaching staff. Barnes said on Wednesday that Vescovi made the biggest offseason strides of any player on the team.

In talking to people around the program some feel that the most important player on the roster heading into the season is Olivier Nkamhoua. That’s because they feel like they know what they’re going to get from the veteran core of Fulkerson, Josiah-Jordan James and Vescovi. There’s a great deal of confidence that Kennedy Chandler will be as good as advertised and Nkamhoua is an X-factor. He’s been good in the preseason but he has to prove that he can be consistent when the games start to count.

-VQ

 

[Dallasbowlin]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

 

[vols 30]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

Triple double or GTFO

 

[cncchris33]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

I want to see him gobble up rebounds like his life depended on it. Any scoring he provides is an added bonus.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

He may not get the minutes for that, not sure…essentially just want to see him look smooth, not thinking about his moves…when he posts up and gets the ball scoring pretty much at will against that level of competition, definitely want to see some good rebounding numbers from him.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

Rebound and limit his fouls and turnovers. Not blow easy opportunities at the rim. Create opportunities to get to the FT line and hit 75% of those. Against future weak competition, knocking down a few 3s if left unguarded on the perimeter will be a promising piece of the mix.

 

[LeannaVol]

With no Fulk or probably Aidoo tomorrow gonna be very interested to see how ON & BHH, also curious on who the first guys/last guys are off the bench…

My guess on starters:
Chandler
Vescovi
James
BHH
ON

Off then bench:
Bailey, Powell, Plav, Zeigler, Diboundje, Mashack, Tamba

Maybe starters-
Chandler
Vescovi
Powell
JJJ
ON

With Fulky and Aidoo out I wonder if we see JJJ at the 4 some. That would open up a spot for Powell to get on the floor more and that may be our most talented lineup.

 

[golfballs]

Maybe starters-
Chandler
Vescovi
Powell
JJJ
ON

With Fulky and Aidoo out I wonder if we see JJJ at the 4 some. That would open up a spot for Powell to get on the floor more and that may be our most talented lineup.

I would definitely expect that

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Maybe starters-
Chandler
Vescovi
Powell
JJJ
ON

With Fulky and Aidoo out I wonder if we see JJJ at the 4 some. That would open up a spot for Powell to get on the floor more and that may be our most talented lineup.

I think we will see JJJ at the 4, but not starting out…Bailey was ahead of Powell during the scrimmage also supposedly.

 

[walkenvol]

Maybe starters-
Chandler
Vescovi
Powell
JJJ
ON

With Fulky and Aidoo out I wonder if we see JJJ at the 4 some. That would open up a spot for Powell to get on the floor more and that may be our most talented lineup.

Based on the recent CRB interview, I’d expect Bailey on the floor before Powell

 

[TheMookieMonster]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

Seeing as Barnes once referred to his potential as being a better version of Grant Williams, I fully expect to see Grant Williams on that court!

 

[i2amavol]

What do we need to see from Nkamhoua tomorrow to feel good? I understand the competition is weak, but is a double double the expectation? If not what is?

I want to see him have a well-rounded game. I am most concerned with his one-on-one defense in the paint. I am least concerned with his scoring ability. I think he has the potential to be a scoring machine.

 

[The Dog]

Olivier player prop lines for tomorrow, imo: Points 9.5, Rebounds 5.5, Assist 1.5, Steals 0.5, Blocks 1.5, 3's Made 0.5

 

[InVOLuntary]

Is the game on TV or being streamed anywhere?

Never mind, saw it in the game thread.

 

[golfballs]

Is the game on TV or being streamed anywhere?

SEC Network+

 

[Volprofch05]

The 25 most intriguing men's college basketball players for 2021-22

18. Justin Powell, Tennessee

Oh, sample-size application. How we’ve missed you and all the riotous hope you inspire. The raw line from Powell (11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game to go with 44.2 percent 3-point shooting) during his freshman year at Auburn looks like it makes him an ideal immediate fit in the Volunteers’ camp. That freshman year, of course, lasted 10 games before a concussion ended it. We’ll assume the best and leave the vagaries of head-injury recovery out of the calculation for now. Tennessee lost its one deadeye perimeter threat, so Powell would be a like-for-like replacement in that sense. His .159 Win Shares per 40 minutes would’ve ranked fourth on the Volunteers a season ago. He would’ve led Tennessee with a 19.7 percent defensive rebounding rate and a 32.6 percent assist rate. But say it with us: Ten games! That’s not a lot of games! No one can know how sustainable those numbers are over a full season, nor how the responsibilities Rick Barnes lays out will affect them. (Like it’s a virtual guarantee the 6-6 Powell will not be a lead ball-handler or distributor, given the roster setup.) If Powell comes back full-bore and can produce even at a reasonably similar clip for 30-plus games, the sophomore becomes a potential linchpin for another year or two after. We just can’t know with a guy who hasn’t played past Jan. 2 in a season yet.

 

[Vol49er]

The 25 most intriguing men's college basketball players for 2021-22

18. Justin Powell, Tennessee

Oh, sample-size application. How we’ve missed you and all the riotous hope you inspire. The raw line from Powell (11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game to go with 44.2 percent 3-point shooting) during his freshman year at Auburn looks like it makes him an ideal immediate fit in the Volunteers’ camp. That freshman year, of course, lasted 10 games before a concussion ended it. We’ll assume the best and leave the vagaries of head-injury recovery out of the calculation for now. Tennessee lost its one deadeye perimeter threat, so Powell would be a like-for-like replacement in that sense. His .159 Win Shares per 40 minutes would’ve ranked fourth on the Volunteers a season ago. He would’ve led Tennessee with a 19.7 percent defensive rebounding rate and a 32.6 percent assist rate. But say it with us: Ten games! That’s not a lot of games! No one can know how sustainable those numbers are over a full season, nor how the responsibilities Rick Barnes lays out will affect them. (Like it’s a virtual guarantee the 6-6 Powell will not be a lead ball-handler or distributor, given the roster setup.) If Powell comes back full-bore and can produce even at a reasonably similar clip for 30-plus games, the sophomore becomes a potential linchpin for another year or two after. We just can’t know with a guy who hasn’t played past Jan. 2 in a season yet.

We had a deadeye perimeter threat last year? I think it’s referring to Springer cause of the high percentage but that’s a stretch given he took less than 2 threes per game

 

[Volprofch05]

We had a deadeye perimeter threat last year? I think it’s referring to Springer cause of the high percentage but that’s a stretch given he took less than 2 threes per game

Yep, no idea who they could be referring to

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Yep, no idea who they could be referring to

Obviously Pember.

 

[Volfanatic_20]

Things are heating up with the current team as the Vols will open play this coming Tuesday against UT-Martin.

The biggest takeaway from last week’s exhibition with Lenoir-Rhyne is that this team is going to look a lot different on offense. The Vols aren’t going to jack 46 threes every time out as they did last Saturday but the long ball is clearly going to be a bigger part of the plan than it has been in the past.

Tennessee never took more than 28 threes in a game last year. Watching this team practice and listening to the head coach talk they may shoot that many every time out this year.

Freshman Jonas Aidoo returned to practice this week and on Thursday he looked like he was a full participant. He’s way behind after missing several weeks of work this preseason but if he can get up to speed, especially from a conditioning standpoint, he can help this team, especially as a rim protector.

One interesting thing, with Aidoo back, that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before here, is that when the Vols go five-on-five the starters get a chance to work against an all-freshman opposing team of Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Aidoo, Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Quintin Diboundje.

As you’d expect, the vets have gotten the better of that match-up for the most part when I’ve seen them but the youngsters hold their own and its a great chance for the future core of the team to build some chemistry.

Some guys that really stood out this week in a couple of chances to see practice were Kennedy Chandler, Josiah James, Olivier Nkamhoua and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.

Nkamhoua spends the majority of the time running with the starters, but for the first time while we’ve been in the gym for practice we saw Huntley-Hatfield swap spots with Nkamhoua and get some run with the starters.

-VQ

 

[cncchris33]

-VQ

That last paragraph makes my heart happy.