Tennessee Transfer Portal Targets

#2,002
#2,002
cncchris33 said:
If our offense is simply to pass the ball around the perimeter until we attempt a deep shot with under 7 on the shot clock like it was for the majority of this season, especially when ZZ got hurt, then I agree. Mashack isn't a PG at this level though, not in a traditional sense. We can squeeze his square peg in a round hole like we did this year, but it isn't ideal, both for him and the team. This team and this offense runs much better when we have at least one guard who can handle the ball extremely well and get to the paint and finish (Jordan Bone, Jaden Springer, Kennedy Chandler). Mashack made strides there, last year, but he stuck out because he was the only one willing to even attempt it. Dilione could be that guy, but I'll have to see it to believe it with any of the others. I don't share the optimism on Edwards as a traditional PG in the SEC.
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I mean let's be fair... what about Tylor Perry makes us think he can either? I mean Conference USA is a step up from the Big Sky or Atlantic Sun but they still only put one team into the NCAA Tournament and only had 4 of their 11 teams win at least 20 games this season.

North Texas had one of the worst offenses in the entire country despite winning 31 games, but they also had a pretty weak SOS.

I think Perry would help us, not saying he wouldn't...but I'm also not so delusional that I just assume a transfer from a lower level is going to step in and be a force in the SEC next season either.
 
#2,005
#2,005
MoCo_Vol said:
I feel like because we run motion and the PG really isn't guaranteed to have the ball for the majority of the possession AND we rarely run set plays it's maybe less of a concern? I love Perry on paper, but a guy with 1 year left that spent 2 seasons at the JuCo level throwing out big NIL numbers just to visit would be a red flag to me as well.

At this point I'm fine with adding scorers like Knecht, Gainey, Ledlum and letting the young guard talent have the opportunity to develop. If any 1 of them can figure out how to be a PG then we could be in for a very fun season with so much depth & talent.

Mashack ran the point a lot in HS too, but with KC & ZZ both here his first two seasons he just never was asked to do it until the end of this past season. So I think he could surprise people. I'm also optimistic that BJ Edwards could be developed to be a good PG here.
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This is what I'm thinking as well. We don't usually run an offense that will keep the ball in the hands of a primary point guard for a long time, and really the biggest need we have from the position is protecting us from getting exploited by the press and defending opposing point guards. As much as people complain about us not breaking down FAU in the Sweet Sixteen game, if we hit our outside shots Véscovi and the other perimeter players get to break down single coverage from the outside and open things up for the bigs (aside from Plavsic, who had single coverage most of the night and took advantage of it). It wouldn't surprise me if shooting is the bigger need from the staff's point of view.
 
#2,007
#2,007
bleedingTNorange said:
There are other portal PG’s, they didn’t pursue, there’s a reason for that.

He’s bringing in 2 highly regarded transfers for a visit, and continues to land Top 10 recruiting classes, not sure how we can claim the system is going to pass him by.
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Part one: There could be any number of reasons for that, and I think the idea that Barnes is completely satisfied with our PG position is way down the list.
•NIL demands
•The player isn't any good
•The player isn't interested in Tennessee and our offense
•The player doesn't like Barnes's emphasis on defense
•The player isn't committed to being a good defensive player
All those are possibilities as to why we didn't pursue another PG.

Part two: The system is changing drastically. Bringing in top-10 freshman classes is only part of it, now. Heck, you almost don't even need to really stress about recruiting high school players when you can poach portal players and pay them to come play, and you generally know what kind of player you're getting, as well, so there is a little bit less risk. I don't like it, personally, but it is what it is. And maybe constructing rosters from the portal is ultimately just another way to skin a cat. You can still build primarily through recruiting freshmen, but you have to continue recruiting them all through their career, too. And we are paying those kids through NIL, too, so I just don't see much of a difference. I'm not demanding change. I just don't understand the stubbornness of resisting it when you've shown a willingness to pay freshmen (Phillips) and current players (Santi, ZZ, JJJ, Aidoo, etc.). How is making similar promises to incoming transfers any different?
 
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#2,010
#2,010
We talk about needing a PG the last little bit of the season, maybe all the way back to the beginning of the season, and now we’re talking ourselves into being fine with hopefully a ready to go ZZ and Dilione.
 
#2,011
#2,011
TrippieRedd said:
We talk about needing a PG the last little bit of the season, maybe all the way back to the beginning of the season, and now we’re talking ourselves into being fine with hopefully a ready to go ZZ and Dilione.
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Ummm. We talked about needing a PG from the portal from the moment KC left. It's been longer than the season.
 
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#2,012
#2,012
VolOnthePlains said:
We also have better teams than Arkansas every year. There are different ways to build rosters.
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I guess it depends on how you define success in college basketball, but that's an interesting take given Arkansas has gone E8, E8, S16 (75--30) over the past 3 seasons and we've gone R1, R2, S16 (70-28).
 
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#2,013
#2,013
TrippieRedd said:
We talk about needing a PG the last little bit of the season, maybe all the way back to the beginning of the season, and now we’re talking ourselves into being fine with hopefully a ready to go ZZ and Dilione.
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Watched Dillione in person. Dude was impressive then. Can’t imagine how much progress he has made since January
 
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#2,014
#2,014
MoCo_Vol said:
I think Perry would help us, not saying he wouldn't...but I'm also not so delusional that I just assume a transfer from a lower level is going to step in and be a force in the SEC next season either.
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There's your answer.

Everyone thinks he would help us. He's the most ready-made available option out there that can help us address our biggest question mark going into next season. There is a reason Tennessee and dozens of other high majors pursued him. There are no guarantees, but there are calculated risks, and on paper, he computes more than any other available option.
 
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#2,015
#2,015
D3Athlete said:
Y’all losing your minds on the Perry thing for no reason.
Santi and Phillips returns. Add ledlum or Knecht with Gainey. Projected 1 in torvik
Only sanit returns and add all 3 of those. Still projected number 1in torvik.
The sky is not falling
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Honestly, I've resigned myself to the probability that it's going to be Gainey and one of the 2... Ledlum or Knecht... to replace Phillips. We'll do PG by committee until ZZ can return and gets up to whatever speed he's capable of next year. Might as well accept that the portal just isn't something Barnes can be expected to embrace and/or excel in. Maybe it's him or maybe kids who are in the portal aren't jumping at the chance to sign on and play for a hard edged coach who'd going to demand such an effort on the defensive side. Either way, Gainey is low hanging fruit and does a valued assistant a solid. As for Ledlum and Knecht, I won't be shocked if we strike out on both and JJJ is encouraged to return if Phillips does, indeed, leave. Just the way it is. Bright side is that we'll hopefully be forced to use the younger guys more this year unlike what we did with Edwards. It is what it is.
 
#2,016
#2,016
MoCo_Vol said:
I mean let's be fair... what about Tylor Perry makes us think he can either? I mean Conference USA is a step up from the Big Sky or Atlantic Sun but they still only put one team into the NCAA Tournament and only had 4 of their 11 teams win at least 20 games this season.

North Texas had one of the worst offenses in the entire country despite winning 31 games, but they also had a pretty weak SOS.

I think Perry would help us, not saying he wouldn't...but I'm also not so delusional that I just assume a transfer from a lower level is going to step in and be a force in the SEC next season either.
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He’s also a 5’11” guard who averaged 2.1apg to 1.7topg, not a good ratio…he’s more of an off ball scoring guard who is small and quick enough to play point but he’s not a facilitator by any stretch.
 
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#2,019
#2,019
Are there any other good PGs left in the portal? Not that we'll pursue them, but damn, I still feel we need one.

And please, no one say Glover.
 
#2,020
#2,020
bleedingTNorange said:
Or again, they have really liked what they’ve seen from Dilione and feel he’s capable. Idk how rehab/recovery on ACL works (thankfully) but he’s a month removed from surgery, maybe they are able to already get a decent idea as to where he’s at in his rehab and project a timeframe.
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I'm hoping you're right about Dilione. It would be terrific if he's able to be a 6'5" facilitator/scorer, but just like ZZ, anything can happen. There has to be someone else on a regular basis to keep the minutes reasonable. Barnes can't give Dilione the same load he gave ZZ. With no real option behind him, it's too risky IMO. Yeah, Mashack and Edwards, but at what level and for how long? As for making a prediction on ZZ a month post op...nope. Way too early. They'll bring him along slowly in rehab. He won't be anywhere close to stressing the knee for a while yet and the first stresses will be straight line not cutting. ZZ isn't a construction worker. He's a high level athlete. They'll be very careful with him.
 
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#2,024
#2,024
cncchris33 said:
There's your answer.

Everyone thinks he would help us. He's the most ready-made available option out there that can help us address our biggest question mark going into next season. There is a reason Tennessee and dozens of other high majors pursued him. There are no guarantees, but there are calculated risks, and on paper, he computes more than any other available option.
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I can say the same thing about Gainey, Knecht, & Ledlum...

Can say the same thing about BJ Edwards, Freddie, Carr, Mashack, Phillips, Santi...etc.

Hell Elijah Hawkins is still available in the portal as well at PG, I don't think Perry is the only option. But I think the staff isn't rushing to land someone. Only 18% of the players in the portal right now are committed to new schools, and there are new players going in daily still.
 
#2,025
#2,025
MoCo_Vol said:
I can say the same thing about Gainey, Knecht, & Ledlum...

Can say the same thing about BJ Edwards, Freddie, Carr, Mashack, Phillips, Santi...etc.

Hell Elijah Hawkins is still available in the portal as well at PG, I don't think Perry is the only option. But I think the staff isn't rushing to land someone. Only 18% of the players in the portal right now are committed to new schools, and there are new players going in daily still.
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I don't think he's the only option, either. But to this point, outside of Cobe Williams who went elsewhere, he's the only option to show interest that we have reciprocated interest in.

There are plenty of options. There is just a lot of things that need to fall into place with them.

And if we could logically say the same thing, with confidence, about any of the guards you mentioned, then we wouldn't have pursued Perry or Williams. We've actively pursued a PG, which tells me the staff isn't suddenly perfectly fine with what we have, but they may be OK enough with them to not just take any warm body (Ques Glover for example).
 
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