derrick walker

[RockyTop140]

Is anyone else as impressed with him as I am? As a true freshmen already a major presence in the paint offensively and defensively... I think if he learns to score he will be a star

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I'm pretty sure he's added quite a bit of weight since the RTL in late June. Don't know if that's by design or if he just battles the pounds. He was kind of fluffy in high school IIRC. Maybe it's his Bernard King haircut. He had a semi-Mohawk at the RTL.

 

[LibertyVol]

Is anyone else as impressed with him as I am? As a true freshmen already a major presence in the paint offensively and defensively... I think if he learns to score he will be a star

He was a great pickup.

I am beginning to become impressed with Mr. Barnes's judgement of talent.

If you look at some of the other guys that were not heavily recruited and how they are playing you have to give Barnes credit.

Tennessee has a good team. They also seem to like playing for him as well.

 

[VEKZY]

recruiting rankings are heavily based on offers, so players that are recruited by high ranked schools get higher rankings. the system works for the most part, but players can easily slip through the cracks

 

[LibertyVol]

recruiting rankings are heavily based on offers, so players that are recruited by high ranked schools get higher rankings. the system works for the most part, but players can easily slip through the cracks

Mr. Barnes is obviously not using the ratings to recruit. I am beginning to believe he is a good coach. I was wrong about him.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I think it's a tremendous advantage to have a head coach that's been around for a couple of decades and is well respected by his peers. Barnes is likely talking to the Coach Ks, the Roy Williams's, the Mark Fews, the biggest names in the game. When they don't have room in their classes and know of some hidden gems they are likely giving Barnes a call to let him know about them. I doubt that Bruce, Donnie, and maybe even Cuonzo are given any favors by the big dogs. They don't compete directly with CRB most of the time (so far) and don't mind helping out a good guy. They probably wouldn't piss on Donnie or Bruce if they were on fire.

 

[RockyTop22]

Mr. Barnes is obviously not using the ratings to recruit. I am beginning to believe he is a good coach. I was wrong about him.

Lol like the other ~20 years of coaching didn’t show anything

 

[Vol Kilmer]

Walker is def a player. Not as good as Grant, but there are few who've ever played here as good as Grant, imo.

Regardless, Barnes knows talent for sure. Don't get Durant w/o knowing who can play/not play.

Love this team.

 

[RollerVol]

very raw, but like what I see so far...he'll battle...gotta like that...he'll probably get better as the season goes along...we're gonna need his minutes...:yes:

GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cncchris33]

Walker is def a player. Not as good as Grant, but there are few who've ever played here as good as Grant, imo.

Regardless, Barnes knows talent for sure. Don't get Durant w/o knowing who can play/not play.

Love this team.

Agree that Barnes knows talent, but you and I could tell Durant could play. He was the #2 player in the country coming out of high school. That didn't take a great deal of scouting effort on Barnes's part.

 

[UT's#1Fan]

Should have been benched for rest of game after bonehead foul to end the 1st half. Gave GT a lot of mo heading into the second half and they fed off that. Otherwise, decent player with great upside.

 

[Chris4Vols22]

Should have been benched for rest of game after bonehead foul to end the 1st half. Gave GT a lot of mo heading into the second half and they fed off that. Otherwise, decent player with great upside.

That was a bad a foul, but GT didn't do **** with it. They could have made a 4 point play plus another 3 before the half and we still would have won. Fulk was more of a liability last night, and Walker assumed his role nicely. If that one foul is the worst he's gonna do as a freshman, I'll take it

 

[IndianapolisVol]

Love having this kid on the team. Not too many freshman with that frame. He's gonna be Robert Tractor Trailer by the time he's done here.

 

[cncchris33]

Should have been benched for rest of game after bonehead foul to end the 1st half. Gave GT a lot of mo heading into the second half and they fed off that. Otherwise, decent player with great upside.

That's a pretty gross overreaction. He's a freshman, and it was an aggressive play. You don't punish aggressiveness by a young player. You teach them. If that were a junior or senior doing that, I'd agree with a punishment, though not as severe as you're suggesting. That was a teaching moment for a young kid, not a time for banishment.

 

[Lefteye]

very raw, but like what I see so far...he'll battle...gotta like that...he'll probably get better as the season goes along...we're gonna need his minutes...:yes:

GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I like the most. I would bet his presence in practice has also contributed at least some, to Alexander's more consistent effort and production in games this year.

 

[IndianapolisVol]

That's a pretty gross overreaction. He's a freshman, and it was an aggressive play. You don't punish aggressiveness by a young player. You teach them. If that were a junior or senior doing that, I'd agree with a punishment, though not as severe as you're suggesting. That was a teaching moment for a young kid, not a time for banishment.

I agree with this take 100%.

Barnes HAS shown players tough love in the past for dumb mistakes (see Jabari McGhee) but this isn't enough of a reoccurring problem with Derrick to warrant any significant punishment.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Should have been benched for rest of game after bonehead foul to end the 1st half. Gave GT a lot of mo heading into the second half and they fed off that. Otherwise, decent player with great upside.

Barnes has had a short memory. Players almost always get benched after bad plays, but he understands that they make mistakes. I'm sure that Barnes moved on after a good butt chewing was directed at Walker. He's far too good to punish for an entire half because he did what freshmen do.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

We didn’t see Pons/Kent/Johnson...I really am surprised Kent burnt that RS early on, barring injury it’s very hard to see him getting meaningful minutes.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

We didn’t see Pons/Kent/Johnson...I really am surprised Kent burnt that RS early on, barring injury it’s very hard to see him getting meaningful minutes.

I think if Fulkerson was up to speed then Kent might not have played yet. He could still contribute since the season has 3 and a half months to run.

Pons isn't at all surprising to me. He came in not even fluent in English.

Johnson really surprises me. Maybe his injury has really set him back and slowed him down. He's really explosive like Pons and he's really not showed shown it in his limited minutes. But he's not playing with the best. When he's on the floor he's playing with the 3rd team and walk-ons.

 

[The Dog]

This is what I like the most. I would bet his presence in practice has also contributed at least some, to Alexander's more consistent effort and production in games this year.

Great point, Lefteye. Alexander finally has a true physical big man to bang around with in practice.

 

[Lefteye]

Great point, Lefteye. Alexander finally has a true physical big man to bang around with in practice.

That jumper is gonna keep getting sweeter too. He’s just gotta slow the game down on the offensive side.

 

[IndianapolisVol]

That jumper is gonna keep getting sweeter too. He’s just gotta slow the game down on the offensive side.

I agree. Now that he got this first double-double against Purdue I wouldn't be surprised to see him get 2-3 more before the season is done.

Right now he's our leading rebounder and averages 5.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg in 20.6 mpg.

He'd average more ppg if he wasn't our 4th or 5th option on offense during the majority of his time on the floor.

That said, he's been the definition of efficient and made the most of his opportunities on offense by shooting .607 from the floor. Aside from Lucas Campbell's 1.000 FG% on 1 of 1 from the floor that leads the team.

None of us predicted Kyle would be playing 20 minutes per game and leading the team in both FG% and Rebounding through the first 7 games. He's been our most improved player year-over-year in several seasons now.

 

[Lefteye]

I agree. Now that he got this first double-double against Purdue I wouldn't be surprised to see him get 2-3 more before the season is done.

Right now he's our leading rebounder and averages 5.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg in 20.6 mpg.

He'd average more ppg if he wasn't our 4th or 5th option on offense during the majority of his time on the floor.

That said, he's been the definition of efficient and made the most of his opportunities on offense by shooting .607 from the floor. Aside from Lucas Campbell's 1.000 FG% on 1 of 1 from the floor that leads the team.

None of us predicted Kyle would be playing 20 minutes per game and leading the team in both FG% and Rebounding through the first 7 games. He's been our most improved player year-over-year in several seasons now.

Yep, neck and neck with GW and Turner for mvp so far.

 

[Ace]

Walker will be a warrior next year. Will be big help this year, but give Barnes and S&C another year and he will be a monster. Barnes and staff doing the work

 

[TnScooby]

He was a great pickup.

I am beginning to become impressed with Mr. Barnes's judgement of talent.

If you look at some of the other guys that were not heavily recruited and how they are playing you have to give Barnes credit.

Tennessee has a good team. They also seem to like playing for him as well.

Really?? Beginning to become impressed?? :blink:

Wow..Just......Wow..