Could Tennessee be back to '07-'08 form?
Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 7:35 PM
Filed Under:
SEC
Kentucky isn’t the only uber-athletic SEC team this season. Tennessee showed as much Tuesday.
The Vols’ 124-49 win against UNC Asheville was them at their best: pressing defense, balanced scoring and hitting from beyond the arc. Kinda like Bruce Pearl’s team played in 2007-08.
Wade Payne/AP |
J.P. Prince goes up for a dunk.
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Can’t say it’s a huge surprise, though. Tennessee was capable of doing this last season.
Hey, sometimes you have to give these kids a chance to grow, right?
Every player’s back from last season’s 21-13 squad that features a bevy of long-armed, fleet swingmen like Tyler Smith, J.R. Prince and Scotty Hopson, an ever-improving point guard in Bobby Maze and underrated center Wayne Chism.
And with guys like Cameron Tatum (6-6), Renaldo Woolridge (6-8) and Brian Williams (6-10) coming off the bench, there’s plenty of depth.
Then again, depth doesn’t matter if those subs can’t play defense. That was the biggest difference between 2007-08 and last season. They could always score. But they played slower and it hurt them. Kenpom.com has the details.
'07-08 (D-I rank) '08-09 (rank)
Adj. tempo 68.7 (76) 72.5 (18)
Adj. off eff 117.1 (19) 115.0 (21)
Adj. def eff 89.9 (22) 96.0 (73)
Turnover % 24.5 (21) 20.7 (145)
Steal % 12.6 (24) 9.2 (215)
UNC Asheville isn’t the ideal indicator for how the Vols will perform this season, but it’s a good place to start. If the athletic ability finally results in forcing more turnovers, this won't be the last blowout we see.
Perhaps more importantly, if guys like Maze and Hopson (neither of whom were efficient scorers or excelled on defense last season) provide support to Smith and Prince and play like the hype that followed them to Knoxville, Tennessee could be a Top 10 mainstay.
I know. Big if.
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