I don’t know if I ever remember talking so much about Tennessee basketball in the month of April. It’s amazing to me, it really is.
Bruce Pearl mentioned today that, as soon as she has a free moment, he is going to get Pat Summitt to speak to his team about working hard this summer. Summit claimed that the Lady Vols National Championship was won in the offseason. Tennessee is beginning their offseason and Bruce is always looking for an angle to motivate his team.
Pearl was also asked to comment on Prince, Chism, and Crews.
J.P. Prince – Pearl was unsure about the decision to take him as a mid-termer but based on what he’s seen, he believes he made the right decision. He is longer, bouncier, tougher, and has a higher basketball IQ than he thought but needs to shoot better. He has put on some weight and strength already since he arrived on campus.
Wayne Chism – He could be an all-american some day. Pearl was not surprised by anything he saw from Chism this past year. He believes Wayne has a beautiful basketball body and his ability to move his feet and defend, for a guy his size, is what makes him special.
Duke Crews – Duke needs to be a Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman type player on this team. He needs to be the highest energy most physical player in the country. To accomplish that, he’s got to be in the best basketball condition of anyone in the country. Crews will never have the size of some of the big guys in this league but he can make up for it. Along with conditioning, he needs to work on his skill package – shooting, passing, and ball handling.
– In case you missed the Vols in the pre-season basketball polls, the Vols are ranked #6 by CBS, #9 by SI, #10 by ESPN and #12 by FOX.
– One of the nation’s top junior college forwards, Rodney Alexander, is set to visit Knoxville on April 13th. He is listed at 6-7, 225 and has already visited Butler, Saint Louis, Illinois and Indiana. Alexander is the only visit that Tennessee has scheduled at this point.
– Good trivia question on Sports Talk this week: Which three former Vols have had the longest NBA career? (insert Jeopardy theme music here) Give up? Dale Ellis (16), Bernard King (15) and Allan Houston (10).