Jalen Johnson logs serious minutes for the Vols, Barnes explains

#1

iKrager

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#1
Really solid read.

Tennessee Vols Basketball: Rick Barnes explains why Jalen Johnson played against Texas A&M

I know TGO has been big on JJ and it’s nice to finally see one of our other recruits reap the fruits of his labor. A really telling quote of what type of ceiling JJ has
"He has amazing talent," Schofield said. "Like, you guys have no clue what Jalen Johnson can do. Once he starts getting in a rhythm and coach starts letting him play, it's going to shock the country. The guy is so athletic. The guy can shoot the ball.

Really excited to see more of him, as our entire team gets better and returns for next year (minus Daniel).
 
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#2
#2
Really crazy to think how good we could be next year, a year more experienced with a possible addition of a stud like Simons.
 
#3
#3
That is an awesome article!

I agree with Schofield. If we can get Johnson going, then, "Once we get Yves (Pons) on board, Derrick Walker on board, we're gonna be balling."
 
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#4
#4
6’7 guard. Everyone wants to talk about which guys have NBA potential. JJ has the ideal size. Hopefully we will get to see what he can do.
 
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#5
#5
JJ is pretty laid back... not exactly a high energy type. He's explosive though when cutting to the basket.
 
#6
#6
Really solid read.

Tennessee Vols Basketball: Rick Barnes explains why Jalen Johnson played against Texas A&M

I know TGO has been big on JJ and it’s nice to finally see one of our other recruits reap the fruits of his labor. A really telling quote of what type of ceiling JJ has

Really excited to see more of him, as our entire team gets better and returns for next year (minus Daniel).

I've been hoping that Johnson lives up to the hype that was coming from the coaches. I also liked how he looked in the RTL. I had some reservations about his perimeter shooting, so it's great to read Schofield's comments about his ability in that area. AS sees JJ more hours every couple of days than I have seen in total.

Johnson does have a first step or two that reminds me of the quickness that Bone has. Johnson might be an excellent complement to Bowden. Bone, (Johnson). Schofield, and Williams. With KA available off of the bench that group has interesting possibilities. Turner and Daniel coming in to give a rest to Bone and 1 other without a significant drop off reflects an excellent roster. Plus Walker, Fulkerson, and potentially Pons being available for situational matchups is awesome. This might be one of my favorite TN rosters that's ever been assembled. If they all keep getting better, healthier, and there is no attrition then March should be very entertaining. Fatigue might be non-existant since there are guys on the bench hungry to win some playing time. Instead of wearing down through the grind these guys could continue to trend up all the way until they're eliminated.

Two or three or four steps forward and then there's bound to be a bad outing or two. I hope that BTO is tracking all of the band wagon leaping.
 
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#7
#7
6’7 guard. Everyone wants to talk about which guys have NBA potential. JJ has the ideal size. Hopefully we will get to see what he can do.

Last season, I could have sworn someone on the coaching staff said that JJ was the best player on the team.

Maybe I dreamed that up, but I somehow vividly remember that being discussed.
 
#8
#8
Last season, I could have sworn someone on the coaching staff said that JJ was the best player on the team.

Maybe I dreamed that up, but I somehow vividly remember that being discussed.

Yup, not sure which staff member it was but definitely recall it as well.
 
#10
#10
99% sure the wording was "most NBA ready."

Same difference perhaps, but the point being, I don't think this is a kid they want to cut bait with. They obviously see the potential, which is why they redshirted him to begin with. It's possible that he is just another Vol practice legend (Paul Bain, if you will), but I'd love to see him find a role if he has the type talent we have heard about.
 
#11
#11
Really solid read.

Tennessee Vols Basketball: Rick Barnes explains why Jalen Johnson played against Texas A&M

I know TGO has been big on JJ and it’s nice to finally see one of our other recruits reap the fruits of his labor. A really telling quote of what type of ceiling JJ has

Really excited to see more of him, as our entire team gets better and returns for next year (minus Daniel).

I recall him awkwardly standing around with very little movement without the ball. Woodson looks more motivated when he's in playing mop up.

In 9 minutes of play he had 1 rebound and 2 assists. No thanks. Play Bowden a few minutes longer. Only had 28 minutes... could have easily played for 32-33 with plenty of blow.

Save the experiments for pre-SEC play, coach.
 
#12
#12
I recall him awkwardly standing around with very little movement without the ball. Woodson looks more motivated when he's in playing mop up.

In 9 minutes of play he had 1 rebound and 2 assists. No thanks. Play Bowden a few minutes longer. Only had 28 minutes... could have easily played for 32-33 with plenty of blow.

Save the experiments for pre-SEC play, coach.
.
 

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#13
#13
I recall him awkwardly standing around with very little movement without the ball. Woodson looks more motivated when he's in playing mop up.

In 9 minutes of play he had 1 rebound and 2 assists. No thanks. Play Bowden a few minutes longer. Only had 28 minutes... could have easily played for 32-33 with plenty of blow.

Save the experiments for pre-SEC play, coach.

Lol. Smh.
 
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#14
#14
I recall him awkwardly standing around with very little movement without the ball. Woodson looks more motivated when he's in playing mop up.

In 9 minutes of play he had 1 rebound and 2 assists. No thanks. Play Bowden a few minutes longer. Only had 28 minutes... could have easily played for 32-33 with plenty of blow.

Save the experiments for pre-SEC play, coach.

He wasn't moving a lot without the ball because the objective wasn't for him to get open and take shots. He had an accessory role. JJ was catching and moving the ball well. When there are 5-10 passes during a possession, there's still only one assist that will be awarded per made basket. Stats don't tell a complete story.

Johnson's not an experiment. Did you read the part about having surgery in July?

BTW, Bowden stands around a lot and he's actually expected to take shots.
 
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#15
#15
I recall him awkwardly standing around with very little movement without the ball. Woodson looks more motivated when he's in playing mop up.

In 9 minutes of play he had 1 rebound and 2 assists. No thanks. Play Bowden a few minutes longer. Only had 28 minutes... could have easily played for 32-33 with plenty of blow.

Save the experiments for pre-SEC play, coach.

Johnson didn’t make any mistakes or try to force anything. Gave starters time to rest. Gained his first meaningful minutes of the year.

Save the posts for the FF. :)
 
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#16
#16
Johnsons performance was solid but shortening the rotation isn't an outlandish suggestion.
 
#17
#17
Johnsons performance was solid but shortening the rotation isn't an outlandish suggestion.

I feel like the rotation is already pretty short (and defined).

Williams
Schofield
Alexander
Bowden
Bone
Daniel
Turner
Fulkerson

That is the bulk of your minutes. Lately, the few minutes left over are spread between Darrington (23 minutes combined in 3 appearances in last 5 games), Walker (16 minutes combined in 5 appearances in last 5 games), and now, maybe Johnson. Rarely do all of those 3 play in the same game either. Usually, it's just one or two of them logging more than a couple minutes. They seem to exist in the case of severe fatigue or foul trouble. That is their current role.
 
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#18
#18
I feel like the rotation is already pretty short (and defined).

Williams
Schofield
Alexander
Bowden
Bone
Daniel
Turner
Fulkerson

That is the bulk of your minutes. Lately, the few minutes left over are spread between Darrington (23 minutes combined in 3 appearances in last 5 games), Walker (16 minutes combined in 5 appearances in last 5 games), and now, maybe Johnson. Rarely do all of those 3 play in the same game either. Usually, it's just one or two of them logging more than a couple minutes. They seem to exist in the case of severe fatigue or foul trouble. That is their current role.

I expect to see Johnson’s minutes ramp up throughout the rest of the season.
 
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#19
#19
I expect to see Johnson’s minutes ramp up throughout the rest of the season.

Maybe so. Too early to really make a bold prediction one way or another, but Saturday seemed like a strange time and place to just be experimenting with him. Not like it was a game we had in the bag, and he played several of those 9 minutes in the 1st half. Hopefully, he's just getting back to full health and being integrated slowly. Would be a nice wildcard to take into February and March. Almost like getting a midyear-eligible player (see Jarnell Stokes or Jeronne Maymon) to come available.
 
#24
#24
Anyone that saw him in the rocky top league knows he is a freakish good athlete

I'm sure he is. We've seen many a freakish athletes before. He may end up with his number retired, but I want to see something during meaningful minutes before I say anything about how he plays. Not counting RTL or practice as an indicator.

I hope he excels here, but I want to see a little more
 
#25
#25
The bench had been shortened to just 6 or 7 with double digit minutes. But a deep rotation needs to be ready because you never know how many players the refs are going to send to the bench on any given night.
 
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