It’s obviously not been the start to the season that anyone associated with or rooting for Tennessee basketball had hoped for. The preseason favorites to win the SEC, due to Covid-19 concerns the Vols have been forced to cancel their first four games. That means no date against No. 1 Gonzaga in Indianapolis and no road trip to Notre Dame.
Rick Barnes tested positive on Monday and has been isolating at his home ever since. As of Thursday afternoon the head coach was reporting only very mild symptoms. In addition to Barnes at least three other people around the program have recently tested positive though no players that we are aware of.
However, the head coach has obviously been around his players and in close proximity to some that have not yet been infected, so those individuals are caught up in contact tracing.
It is our understanding that Tennessee is certainly trying to add some more non-conference games to make up for the cancellations, however considering how difficult it was to cobble together the current non-conference schedule that is certainly no guarantee. If teams continue to have cancellations at the rate we’ve seen this week it’s certainly possible that the Vols could pick up someone looking for a game.
The main reason everything about this week has been so disappointing for fans is because of the obvious potential of this team. We don’t have anything new to report that we haven’t already mentioned as far as how guys are looking, but there’s a lot of excitement from the coaching staff regarding what this team could be capable of.
With two more weeks before the season begins there will still be time for guys to make some moves up or down in the rotation. Based on what we’re hearing right now it sounds like John Fulkerson and Yves Pons are obviously locked in as starters along with Keon Johnson and Santiago Vescovi. The fifth spot seems a little bit up for grabs between Jaden Springer, Josiah James and Victor Bailey who continues to make serious noise with his outside shooting.
We hope everyone has a great weekend and stay well !