Tennessee Transfer Portal Targets

#1,451
#1,451
Weezer said:
Other than Perry, why aren't we pursuing any of the bigger names out there? Is it an NIL thing? Are they just not interested in Tennessee? I'm trying to understand why we don't seem to go after some of the bigger talents. I'm not saying Knecht and Ledlum are bad, or that they would be bad additions, it just seems there are better out there. So why wouldn't we pursue them? And I guess I just believe we should be able to do better than Glover and Grill.
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No sure who specifically you’re referring to, but I’ll just speak in general…as discussed here multiple times this staff/Barnes are very thorough about who they bring in. With HS recruiting you get to know a kid, his family, coaches, teachers etc for years most of the time and have a great feel for them, with portal recruiting things move so quickly it’s hard to get that in depth. When a player transfers from a school first question is usually why, if there were problems at the school we likely aren’t pursuing, then you’ve got character questions and you start reaching out to people around him or those that have had dealings with him etc, so on and so forth down the list. Reality is MOST of the time when a kid transfers, especially a HM kid, it’s because 1. They just aren’t very good 2. There are some issues going on….so immediately we shrink our pool of potential targets. Look at who our transfers out have been…BHH issues and hasn’t been good at Louisville, Gaines & Pember not good enough for this level, Burns had issues, Walker had issues etc etc. it’s not like we’ve lost the Santi’s or Ziegler’s, or Grants or Bowdens etc.

I get as fans that we want to sit back and say “Well On3 still has 15 of the Top 20 guys available” or whatever is may be, but in reality that’s not how this works. I get that may not jive with what fans want, but that’s how it will be with this program as long as Barnes is here. I’ve mentioned the staff has casted a wider net this time and they have, but it still ends up with a pretty small actual list as they work their way through the vetting process.
 
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#1,454
#1,454
bleedingTNorange said:
No sure who specifically you’re referring to, but I’ll just speak in general…as discussed here multiple times this staff/Barnes are very thorough about who they bring in. With HS recruiting you get to know a kid, his family, coaches, teachers etc for years most of the time and have a great feel for them, with portal recruiting things move so quickly it’s hard to get that in depth. When a player transfers from a school first question is usually why, if there were problems at the school we likely aren’t pursuing, then you’ve got character questions and you start reaching out to people around him or those that have had dealings with him etc, so on and so forth down the list. Reality is MOST of the time when a kid transfers, especially a HM kid, it’s because 1. They just aren’t very good 2. There are some issues going on….so immediately we shrink our pool of potential targets. Look at who our transfers out have been…BHH issues and hasn’t been good at Louisville, Gaines & Pember not good enough for this level, Burns had issues, Walker had issues etc etc. it’s not like we’ve lost the Santi’s or Ziegler’s, or Grants or Bowdens etc.

I get as fans that we want to sit back and say “Well On3 still has 15 of the Top 20 guys available” or whatever is may be, but in reality that’s not how this works. I get that may not jive with what fans want, but that’s how it will be with this program as long as Barnes is here. I’ve mentioned the staff has casted a wider net this time and they have, but it still ends up with a pretty small actual list as they work their way through the vetting process.
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We're all going to have opinions, and I'm not really into arguing whose is right and whose is wrong. At least not in this forum. I respect your opinion and what you're saying, I just feel like, with some on the list, not all, that we're aiming lower than we should. And if those are the names we end up with, I'll be disappointed. Not that my disappointment would mean anything. I just don't want to continue our "meh" streak with the portal.
 
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#1,455
#1,455
Weezer said:
We're all going to have opinions, and I'm not really into arguing whose is right and whose is wrong. At least not in this forum. I respect your opinion and what you're saying, I just feel like, with some on the list, not all, that we're aiming lower than we should. And if those are the names we end up with, I'll be disappointed. Not that my disappointment would mean anything. I just don't want to continue our "meh" streak with the portal.
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Ques Glover ranks ahead of Primo Spears, Jalen Benjamin, Jace Carter, Chance McMilian, Tramon Mark, Sahvir Wheeler, Brandon Murray etc etc on Barttorviks analytic transfer projections. Who knows how those rankings turn out but there’s reason to think that he could at least be solid.
 
#1,458
#1,458
Dallasbowlin said:
Everyone just needs to take a breath, and trust the hall of fame coach. And y’all thought I was dramatic when I first joined this site. 😅
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I mean, I think people need to chill, but I also can’t necessarily blame them. It’s the uncertainty that causes anxiety. Most teams have seen at least one domino fall, but TN is still waiting to hear on Santi, JJJ, and Phillips decisions and we don’t have a clear picture on any of our portal targets. Again, I think people should relax but I can understand the concern just because uncertainty is always a bit rough.
 
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#1,459
#1,459
Dougie_D said:
I think Knecht can create mismatches more and his length is better w/ defense, blocks, rebounding. I'm imagining him with better players around him and it makes my mouth water.
Ledlum will shoot more 3s but has hard time driving in the lane.
Here's two full games with Knecht vs Houston (Knecht scores the first 6pts) and Ledlum vs Kansas.

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Thanks for the clips. Just watched the entire Kansas/Harvard game. Harvard was scrappy and was in the game until the final 2 minutes. Impression of Ledlum, he can definitely create offense. Had 17 pts but had a couple buckets erased at the rim including a dunk. Would be ideal in pick and roll. Likes to drive from either top of key or wing and can handle the ball. Real nice crossover and can go either direction. Kansas pushed him to perimeter and he would need to improve 3 pt % but his shot looks fine. Willing passer when driving or when doubled but got into trouble a handful of times and had too many turnovers. When he did get the ball on block he knew how to use his body well. At his best when driving and pulling up for midrange. I would envision him as an undersized stretch 4 on our team.

Barnes would help him where he needs it. Defensively he was not very good. Really struggled guarding on perimeter. His close outs were slow and lacked some awareness on defensive end. Not quick but expect the superior strength and conditioning he would get at UT would improve that. Isn’t an out of area rebounder but would replace what Nkamhoua gave us.

I liked him though. Solid college player. Was always asking for the ball, made good cuts to basket, his hands were good, and his shot selection was fine. In fact Harvard got into trouble when other guys on his team took bad shots or forced it too much. He could average double figures in the SEC and would give us a player who could put it on the floor. If he improves his perimeter shot, even better. Barnes has a history of helping guys improve defense and perimeter shot. Ledlum would benefit coming to UT.
 
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#1,461
#1,461
TheMookieMonster said:
I mean, I think people need to chill, but I also can’t necessarily blame them. It’s the uncertainty that causes anxiety. Most teams have seen at least one domino fall, but TN is still waiting to hear on Santi, JJJ, and Phillips decisions and we don’t have a clear picture on any of our portal targets. Again, I think people should relax but I can understand the concern just because uncertainty is always a bit rough.
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Concern, yes. I’m concerned. But the sky is falling stuff is where I just shake my head. We’ve seen enough from Barnes and Co. That I trust it’ll work out just fine.
 
#1,462
#1,462
SGMVols said:
This is not Congress, they can’t give out any more money than what they have. The average payout from Spyre to a UT athlete is $30,000 a year. We aren’t going to be cutting million dollar checks to basketball players.
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I only made minimum wage when I had a job and I could easily live on $30,000 a year.
 
#1,463
#1,463
Namorto1 said:
Barnes‘ rep is defense but can coach good offense. The 2019 squad has one of the top 10 most efficient offensive ratings in the last 5 years. It was a well built team with experience. The last 2 years were actually more productive than the two previous because we had better PGs. But inconsistent perimeter shooting, inconsistent post offense and lack of dribble penetration (except Chandler) has been obvious over the last 4 years. Injuries haven’t helped but I don’t think that has been primary issue.

In my opinion he just needs to recruit differently (including athletes who have the mindset to be courageous on the offensive end and don’t shy away from taking a big shot). Too many of our squad this year would pucker up when it mattered offensively. I knew someone who was an assistant coach at major Division 1 level years ago and remember asking him a question. Would you rather recruit a guy who could score or defend? He told me he would rather recruit a scorer and teach him how to defend. Often young players don’t play hard on defensive end and rarely are taught how to defend well in high school. You can encourage effort when competition for playing time at collegiate level is high. More difficult to teach someone how to score IMO.

I like the 2023 class on paper (consider Dilione part of that group). Time will tell. 3 of the 4 seem to come with offensive skills and Phillips is just a hard working BF athlete who probably will become a fan favorite.
2022 class will depend on if Phillips returns and his development. It had 0 shooters. Our best player out of the class may very well be Awaka.
2021 class got 1/2 of them right. A little known short 3 star PG is going to contribute more to the program than all of them.
2020 class had 2 one year rentals (Springer/Johnson) and that’s it. Had some highlights but didn’t help the program IMO.
2019 class was decent but had limits. Who would have expected a little known 3 star from Uruguay would be our most impactful recruit from that class?
Both 2017 and 2018 classes were disasters.
2016 class was a program changer with four 3 stars who elevated UT along with a few guys from previous 2015 class (Scofield, Alexander and Turner). We could have used a guy like Turner for this years team. He was a solid college combo guard who was pretty clutch and always was aggressive when it mattered. He was willing to take big shots and hit crucial FTs.
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Getting a bucket maker or two and teaching them how to defend is the Steve Forbes recruiting mind set at Wake Forest.
 
#1,468
#1,468
bleedingTNorange said:
No sure who specifically you’re referring to, but I’ll just speak in general…as discussed here multiple times this staff/Barnes are very thorough about who they bring in. With HS recruiting you get to know a kid, his family, coaches, teachers etc for years most of the time and have a great feel for them, with portal recruiting things move so quickly it’s hard to get that in depth. When a player transfers from a school first question is usually why, if there were problems at the school we likely aren’t pursuing, then you’ve got character questions and you start reaching out to people around him or those that have had dealings with him etc, so on and so forth down the list. Reality is MOST of the time when a kid transfers, especially a HM kid, it’s because 1. They just aren’t very good 2. There are some issues going on….so immediately we shrink our pool of potential targets. Look at who our transfers out have been…BHH issues and hasn’t been good at Louisville, Gaines & Pember not good enough for this level, Burns had issues, Walker had issues etc etc. it’s not like we’ve lost the Santi’s or Ziegler’s, or Grants or Bowdens etc.

I get as fans that we want to sit back and say “Well On3 still has 15 of the Top 20 guys available” or whatever is may be, but in reality that’s not how this works. I get that may not jive with what fans want, but that’s how it will be with this program as long as Barnes is here. I’ve mentioned the staff has casted a wider net this time and they have, but it still ends up with a pretty small actual list as they work their way through the vetting process.
Click to expand...
I agree. I think the perfect answer Barnes is looking for is :
"I did everything I did for my last team/coaches but I still feel like I need more improvement to get to the NBA. I'm looking for a team and coaches that will help me on that journey. Knecht, Perry, Ledlum seems to fit this.
 
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