Tennessee Vols Basketball Recruiting

[walkenvol]

No, but I do feel like the general consensus is he’s following Schwartz to ECU.

Well he knows BHH is gone and he’s not committed elsewhere. You asked if he would have left if he had known BHH was leaving?

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Two things…

1- That’s with Nkahmoua injured, what does he put up in the game if Nkahmoua is healthy?

2- I’m fairly confident we can find someone on the roster or in the portal that can give 8 & 4-6

BHH was a young freshman. His potential to contribute significantly more is hard to refute. The flashes he showed late in the season indicated a significant upside. I’m optimistic about our core team if JJJ and Santi stay. I’m also optimistic about Barnes’ creative problem-solving in recruiting. That said, the post portal world is an arms race, and we better get in it. I’m as concerned about recent assistant turnover as I am about player losses. Barnes has also been great about finding great assistants. Markets don’t like uncertainty. Neither do fans. There’s a lot of uncertainty. Like you, I still count on Barnes to solve it. I’ll be surprised if some amazing European player doesn’t hop off a plane at Tyson soon. All that said, it’s reasonable to be nervous right now with all the shifting sand.

 

[VolOnthePlains]

This is also just the reality of modern college athletics. Every major basketball program had a few guys declare for the draft and a few guys enter the portal. It’s just the second phase of roster building for next year.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Did Michigan and Ohio State have 3 freshmen portal out or did they know these spots would need to be filled months ago? Would make a huge difference in having someone lined up don’t you think?

It doesn’t matter. If you can recruit better players, you make it work. Let’s say we were filled up, Howard takes the Lakers job. Jett decommits, would you turn him down? Of course not. It’s not fair, but it’s how it is.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Well he knows BHH is gone and he’s not committed elsewhere. You asked if he would have left if he had known BHH was leaving?

Yes. He (Tamba) left before BHH had announced he was leaving.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Also, look at us having civil discussions. I’m proud of us

 

[walkenvol]

It doesn’t matter. If you can recruit better players, you make it work. Let’s say we were filled up, Howard takes the Lakers job. Jett decommits, would you turn him down? Of course not. It’s not fair, but it’s how it is.

I’d say that’s a policy not every coach would follow. Some folks are huge on commitment. If they make a commitment to a player to sign with them and the player does the things asked of him then the coach sticks with the player. I perceive CRB being that type of coach.

 

[walkenvol]

Yes. He (Tamba) left before BHH had announced he was leaving.

Guess you view “entering the portal” as “left”? I thought it allowed other coaches to talk with you but you could still remain at your current school?

 

[LeannaVol]

I think the roster will be fine when everything shakes out. I also think the significant turnover in our assistant coaches is something it is fair to be concerned over. Not saying other programs don’t also have turnover but some of our guys seem unproven at the moment in terms of recruiting

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I didn’t have any information. Just looked at the roster and saw that Tamba most likely didn’t have a good road to playing time. I wonder if he would’ve transferred had he known BHH wasn’t coming back?

I think we had the space to take Tamba AND Aidoo, but I think both were being developed to play the same role. It appears Aidoo is the better option to do it and unless he was transferring I don't think Tamba would have a road to PT with him here.

BHH I feel was a different role/player than those two and likely his departure doesn't increase Tamba's opportunity to play.

Basically Uros/Aidoo and Tamba were 5s and would play mostly as true centers. BHH, ON, Fulky are more 4 types.

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

I guess no matter what our first 7 players are pretty solid IMO. PG: Ziegler SG: Vescovi SF: JJJ PF: ON C: Adioo(IMO he will beat out Plavsic) then coming off the bench we will have Plavsic, Powell, Mashack, Edwards, and then whoever else decides to join the ranks. Granted somebody like Phillips, Reneau, or Collins will probably start, but you see what I’m getting at. That starting 5 is pretty good. Ziegler gives you 9pts and 4assists Pg then that’s pretty good. Vescovi and James both are capable of averaging 15ppg along with assists and rebounds and other things they do very well. Olivier is capable of giving you at the very least 12pts and 8rbpg next season, and I think Aidoo will probably develop enough to give you at least 7pts and 5rbs. That gives you 58ppg. You gotta think that Plavsic can at least give you what he gave you last season which is about 5ppg and 5rpg that gets us to 63. I think Powell will come into his own this season as the 6th man and average about 8pts and that gets us to 71. Then you have the unknowns of Mashack, Edwards, and the other guys we end up getting. I think the production will be there barring any unforeseen injuries. I know I’m probably being a bit optimistic, but I think these Pg averages aren’t out of the realm of possibility.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

I’d say that’s a policy not every coach would follow. Some folks are huge on commitment. If they make a commitment to a player to sign with them and the player does the things asked of him then the coach sticks with the player. I perceive CRB being that type of coach.

Me too. I believe commitment is very important. Honestly, I would probably do the exact same thing as a coach. But as a fan, I can see it’s hurting our team.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Guess you view “entering the portal” as “left”? I thought it allowed other coaches to talk with you but you could still remain at your current school?

I would like to know how many guys who enter the portal, actually wind up staying. I would venture not many IMO.

 

[TennesseeBasketballGuru]

Don't know why your confident Aidoo will beat out Uros.. He completely shut down Oscar against Kentucky and continued to get limited minutes. Don't think he even played against Michigan where his presence would have been huge against Dickinson.

 

[johnfnkelly]

Basilio's blog this morning (take that as you will) didn't really paint that picture. Said things have gone radio silent with Phillips and seems like a highest bidder deal. Also said that the expectation is that Reneau ends up at Miami but the staff will try to get him to visit.

The kid literally signed with LSU.. why would Barnes think this time around would be any different? Just a waste of time and resources.

 

[johnfnkelly]

Again, at this time last year we were looking at losing Walker, Gaines, Pember, Anosike, Johnson & Springer…people were saying the exact same things, that we were gonna struggle, have a drop off, maybe miss the tourney etc etc. Barnes and staff then proceeded to land Jonas Aidoo, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Justin Powell & Zakai Zeigler and quickly change the outlook for that team.

Just maybe some of you guys take a step back from the ledge and see how this roster is filled out?

We had the #1 PG in the country coming in.. a bit different

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

Don't know why your confident Aidoo will beat out Uros.. He completely shut down Oscar against Kentucky and continued to get limited minutes. Don't think he even played against Michigan where his presence would have been huge against Dickinson.

I personally think his health and stamina was still an issue. He fouled a lot at times and you can probably attribute that to footwork that has to get better, and the fact that he wasn’t the best version of himself. Those early season injuries he had definitely played a huge factor on his playing time, and on how he didn’t play as well at times.

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

I personally think his health and stamina was still an issue. He fouled a lot at times and you can probably attribute that to footwork that has to get better, and the fact that he wasn’t the best version of himself. Those early season injuries he had definitely played a huge factor on his playing time, and on how he didn’t play as well at times.

I also like the fact that he’s great from the free throw line for a big man, and he has a good jump shot. Plavsic is just a hook shot guy, and most the time he can’t score with his off hand on the hook shot.

 

[orangemadam]

The current roster can take us as far as last season's team did. As long as Barnes is here, we will always make NCAAT and not advance far.

The only difference I see is we may not win SECT and our record will not be as gawdy. We have a solid core of 7 or 8.

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

The current roster can take us as far as last season's team did. As long as Barnes is here, we will always make NCAAT and not advance far.

The only difference I see is we may not win SECT and our record will not be as gawdy. We have a solid core of 7 or 8.

Agreed. I feel good about the first 7-8 guys.

 

[Voltime123]

The current roster can take us as far as last season's team did. As long as Barnes is here, we will always make NCAAT and not advance far.

The only difference I see is we may not win SECT and our record will not be as gawdy. We have a solid core of 7 or 8.

I can’t wait for you guys to eat your words on Barnes teams in the ncaa tournament…a 8 seed made it to the title game that we beat easily during the year, sometimes teams get hot at the right time and others have an easier bracket to navigate through so it’s not always about the coach. The ncaa tournament is a crapshoot the key is just making it there every year which Barnes has done most every year.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Santi, JJJ, ZZ are 3 of our top 4 MPG guys and at this point all expected to return.

ON can hopefully get back to near 100% before the season starts and we see his production and minutes near what they were before getting injured. We also can expect to see Uros continue to get minutes and play.

That's your solid 5. Aidoo, Powell, Mashack all return and hopefully contribute more as well and then we have BJE coming in, unsure what type of player he is at this point but the hope is he can contribute this season.

I'd say we probably feel good about 6 of our guys on roster based on what they contributed last year and where we see them improving this year. (the 6th for me is Aidoo, unlike Powell he wasn't healthy in camp or to start the season so he was behind the 8-ball all year because of that both in conditioning/endurance as well as experience).

I think adding Yuri Collins you get a 7th core guy, Key I'm not sure about...wait and see will be my approach with him. He did have a major injury and he also hasn't played in over a year.

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

View attachment 447426

Santi, JJJ, ZZ are 3 of our top 4 MPG guys and at this point all expected to return.

ON can hopefully get back to near 100% before the season starts and we see his production and minutes near what they were before getting injured. We also can expect to see Uros continue to get minutes and play.

That's your solid 5. Aidoo, Powell, Mashack all return and hopefully contribute more as well and then we have BJE coming in, unsure what type of player he is at this point but the hope is he can contribute this season.

I'd say we probably feel good about 6 of our guys on roster based on what they contributed last year and where we see them improving this year. (the 6th for me is Aidoo, unlike Powell he wasn't healthy in camp or to start the season so he was behind the 8-ball all year because of that both in conditioning/endurance as well as experience).

I think adding Yuri Collins you get a 7th core guy, Key I'm not sure about...wait and see will be my approach with him. He did have a major injury and he also hasn't played in over a year.

Yeah adding those 2 guys gets us to 11 scholarship players. If we end up with 12 I’m happy, but we need to have quality depth. Like we saw last year when ON went down with his injury.

 

[johnfnkelly]

View attachment 447426

Santi, JJJ, ZZ are 3 of our top 4 MPG guys and at this point all expected to return.

ON can hopefully get back to near 100% before the season starts and we see his production and minutes near what they were before getting injured. We also can expect to see Uros continue to get minutes and play.

That's your solid 5. Aidoo, Powell, Mashack all return and hopefully contribute more as well and then we have BJE coming in, unsure what type of player he is at this point but the hope is he can contribute this season.

I'd say we probably feel good about 6 of our guys on roster based on what they contributed last year and where we see them improving this year. (the 6th for me is Aidoo, unlike Powell he wasn't healthy in camp or to start the season so he was behind the 8-ball all year because of that both in conditioning/endurance as well as experience).

I think adding Yuri Collins you get a 7th core guy, Key I'm not sure about...wait and see will be my approach with him. He did have a major injury and he also hasn't played in over a year.

I just don't see ZZ, SV and JJJ being as effective with KC being gone. We'll see if a guy like Collins can also relieve some pressure but there's no guarantee

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I just don't see ZZ, SV and JJJ being as effective with KC being gone. We'll see if a guy like Collins can also relieve some pressure but there's no guarantee

They may not be. At least another quality PG could help some with growing pains. I think ZZ will develop and get better, ya hope to see more steps from Santi and JJJ as well. Feel like if JJJ flips the switch like JRich did his senior year then he can be a stud and first option scorer for us.

We basically need the JJJ we got post Texas game.

31.7mpg, 13.9ppg, 6.5rpg, 2.2apg, 1.5spg, 1.1bpg and he shot 44.1% FG, 50% 3PT, and 73% FT