I think I am beginning to understand the mass exodus from Rick Barnes’ previous basketball team. This developing conclusion may hurt some feelings.
The coach wanted better players.
What he had was good enough to get to the Elite Eight in March Madness. When it mattered most, at the doorway to the Final Four, the Vols were smashed and discarded.
Simply said, Tennessee wasn’t anywhere near as good as Michigan. It overachieved to go as far as it went.
We now know the program had enough NIL resources to meet the needs of JP Estrella, Amari Evans, Jaylen Carey, Bishop Boswell and Cade Phillips. The coach probably could have prevented most of the transfers.
The issue of playing time was a different problem. Ethan Burg and Clarence Massamba are examples. Ethan will return to Israeli professional basketball. Clarence will step down in classification or go back to Paris and play for a home team.
All along, Nate Ament was going to the NBA unless his value declined sharply. Alas and alas, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara ran out of eligibility.
It does appear Tennessee has acquired transfer replacements with more scoring potential than those who transferred out – as demonstrated against competition unrelated to the Southeastern Conference.
Wait, wait, you say, rims are the same size at all levels. That is true enough but the athletes and crowds are different. We won’t know for a while if the new gathering is really better than the group that departed.
New point guard Terrence Hill, an athletic 6-3, averaged 15 points per game, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds for Virginia Commonwealth in the Atlantic 10. His overall shooting accuracy was 46.6 percent and a very good 37.0 on three-point attempts.
From the same league the Vols obtained a 6-10 shot-blocker, Miles Rubin, from Loyola of Chicago. He scored 11.3, hit 58.5 percent and gathered 7.1 rebounds. He holds that school record with 237 career blocks.
Guard Dai Dai Ames averaged 16.9 ppg for California. Notre Dame freshman Jalen Haralson, strong 6-7, a go-to-the-goal guy, averaged 16.2 points, 51.5 accuracy (only 20 percent on threes), 4.0 rebounds. Both played in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Top shooter Tyler Lundblade had 15.6 ppg for Belmont as player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference. Of more significance, the 6-5 guard made 219 three-pointers in the past two seasons while shooting a stunning 43.9 percent. This past campaign, he led the nation in free-throw percentage with 93.4.
The Tennessee roster includes returnees DeWayne Brown and Troy Henderson and recent prep stars Ralph Scott, Manny Green, Marquis Clark and Chris Washington. Campbell Duncan and Gavin Paull are practice players.
Barnes is not yet at rest. He is supposedly in pursuit of high-scoring Wake Forest guard-wing Juke Harris (21.4 points per game last season). That chase is complicated by Michigan’s multi-million-dollar interest in Juke and Juke’s interest in the NBA draft process.
Barnes must find another big man – or two.
What follows is what-if. Estrella has flaws but talent. I thought Evans might be a future star. He is fearless. Boswell fought a good fight against top opponents. He couldn’t stop great guards but he certainly tried.
You can bet Phillips, when he gets well, will again be a warrior. Carey is a tough guy minus a shooter’s touch.
Did everybody have to go?
Keep in mind that I did not hear Barnes say anything but I think I know what has been said: Time is running short. He is 71. He could develop other interests. It might be now or never.
It makes sense that big boosters – whoever they are – would agree with that logic. It appears they donated far more than nickels and dimes.
The goal was to get scorers. That doesn’t mean defense no longer matters but some may have been sacrificed. No way was culture forfeited. Barnes wouldn’t tolerate thugs. His foundation is rock solid.
If you believe this next Tennessee team might be Barnes’ best, check your bank balance now. Ticket prices have gone up only four percent but that might not be set in concrete. The thought of mixing winning and money gets Dr. Danny’s undivided attention.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
Continuity is probably my biggest concern with this much roster turnover. Not only players, but Coach Barnes also no longer has his right-hand man beside him on the bench with Coach Gaines leaving. With only a couple of young and relatively inexperienced guys coming back, continuity is all but out the window. If Coach Barnes and company can add another big or two, along with coaching them and all of the other new guys up on his style of defense and rebounding, and get them playing to at least the same level as before, then he may well have done his best job of coaching – ever. He might wind up being extremely happy to get to another EE, but if he does manage to do that, the NC Carrot dangling in front of him and the rest of the team should provide all the motivation they could ever need to Kick Down that Damn Door !!! Regardless, I would have to guess that he is going to have to earn every bit of his salary this coming season. I will be cheering them on all the way and hoping that we’re all pleasantly surprised. Y’all have a great day!
Put me in the “A little concerned about rebounding and defense” category. The Vols have been out-rebounding and defending better than most since Barnes got here. I see three 6’10-11 guys gone and one replacement. Those shooters had better be very accurate, as the Vols won’t be leading the stats in offensive rebounds as they did last year. Good article Mr. West. I can read your columns and not be tempted to click on those over hyped UT Sports blogs. “Massive Breaking News” eh heh.
Is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush? Sometimes. I read here we have several guards but few forwards. Is Rubin going to protect the rim all by his lonesome? Maybe Barnes is going to adopt the Lady Vols approach: race down the court and fire up threes. Win some 101-98. Lose many 101-77. One must admit it might be Barnes’ last rodeo but not his first. Let’s just wait and see.