Lamonte Turner appreciation thread

#26
#26
Chris4Vols22 said:
I can't remember which game it was, but I remember Turner crossing over a defender and sending him to his ass. I don't think I've seen a Vol do that since I've been watching.
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The quickest crossover we ever had was Harris Walker. Buzz Peterson had to kick off with Terrence Woods a prolific 3 point shooter. Both gone before he coached a game iirc. Tony Harris had a quick crossover, actually a quick everything but wasn't intelligent. Harris Walker though had a blazing crossup.
 
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#27
#27
DeepSpringsVol said:
The quickest crossover we ever had was Harris Walker. Buzz Peterson had to kick off with Terrence Woods a prolific 3 point shooter. Both gone before he coached a game iirc. Tony Harris had a quick crossover, actually a quick everything but wasn't intelligent. Harris Walker though had a blazing crossup.
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I don't know if Harris was really lacking intelligence or if it was that he was too emotional and lacked discipline. The most memorable highlight of his career was unfortunately when he came off the bench for a throw down when he was in street clothes and supposedly too injured to play.
 
#28
#28
Was Ron Widby a guard or forward? Heck of an all around athlete. Four sport letterman, AA in both basketball and football.
 
#30
#30
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I don't know if Harris was really lacking intelligence or if it was that he was too emotional and lacked discipline. The most memorable highlight of his career was unfortunately when he came off the bench for a throw down when he was in street clothes and supposedly too injured to play.
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Do you remember Harris Walker though? Dude had Allen Iverson like athleticism.
 
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#31
#31
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Mike Edwards and Tony White were great guards. Fred Jenkins, Rodney Woods, Johnny Darden, Jimmy England, Danny Shultz, and Michael Brooks were all very good. If Bill Justus was considered a guard rather than a forward he was another great one. Bill Hahn and Dickie Johnson were very good too.
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Granted, am sure has to do with when I was in college, but two of my all time fav's are Brooks and Tony White. Brooks had the smoothest stroke ever, and Tony could literally take over a game, no matter how many were guarding him.
 
#32
#32
DeepSpringsVol said:
Do you remember Harris Walker though? Dude had Allen Iverson like athleticism.
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I remember the name only. Seems like he was on a roster with another Harris other than Tony. Not sure though.

Who was the little point guard that had a huge breakout game versus KY about 25 years ago... and then almost immediately was booted off of the team? I can't ever remember his name... might have even been a JUCO or a transfer. He absolutely torched KY's press at the TBA, and then poof... he was gone.
 
#33
#33
njvols said:
Granted, am sure has to do with when I was in college, but two of my all time fav's are Brooks and Tony White. Brooks had the smoothest stroke ever, and Tony could literally take over a game, no matter how many were guarding him.
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Brooks, Houston, and Edwards had the prettiest strokes. Lofton's was effective, but I'd put those three ahead of his and Tony White's as far as textbook shooting form goes. White kind of leaned or jumped toward the basket. Lofton leaned back a little and had a fade away jumper that couldn't be defended. Houston was so silky smooth off of the dribble. Michael Brooks was a deadly spot-up shooter, especially from the top of the key. Too bad Brooks was a few years too early for the 3-point line. Tyrone Beaman was a pretty good PG that I'm pretty sure came in the same class as Brooks. Tony White and Fred Jenkins were too.

Tony White was probably the best ball handler of that group above. Fred Jenkins was the best defender, but the least effective outside shooter. Rodney Woods very well could have been TN's best PG. Harris could have been had he played with more discipline.
 
#37
#37
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Who was the little point guard that had a huge breakout game versus KY about 25 years ago... and then almost immediately was booted off of the team? I can't ever remember his name... might have even been a JUCO or a transfer. He absolutely torched KY's press at the TBA, and then poof... he was gone.
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I think you're talking about Ed Gray. Kevin O'Neil booted him. I think he ended up being a really good player at California I want to say.
 
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#40
#40
The Artful Dodger said:
While, Tennessee is no where near UK or even UF when it comes to producing quality guards, its not like there haven't been any. Watson, Mcrea, and Richardson are all on NBA rosters and two of the three actually get to play. Maze would have been in the NBA if he kept his head on straight. Thompson, who is at Virginia now was a reallly solid point guard. Then you have oldies but goodies like Houston, Tony Harris, Scooter Mcfagdon, and of course we can't forget Jujuan Smith and the great Chris Lofton. I would say that Tennessee has been better at producing guards than big men, at least of the last 25 years.
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Great post. I would add Hopson to that list as well as Ernie Grunfeld. A guy that could have been killer had he kept his nose clean was Ramar Smith.
 
#41
#41
IndianapolisVol said:
Great post. I would add Hopson to that list as well as Ernie Grunfeld. A guy that could have been killer had he kept his nose clean was Ramar Smith.
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Grunfeld was really considered a forward... probably the small forward or "3" in today's terminology. King was the power forward/4, and Doug Ashworth the center/5. Mike Jackson was the shooting guard/2.

It's kind of dated to pigeon hole Ernie Grunfeld though. The offense often started with him. He would have the dribble far from the basket and bang all the way into the paint. But if a defender backed off Ernie would knock down shots from the perimeter.

Hopson might have been a 3 as well... but iirc pretty much hung out on the perimeter most of the time. Certainly didn't bang into defenders like Grunfeld... he played more like a very tall guard.

King had amazing, explosive speed to cut to the basket. And he had a great pull up jumper inside of 15'. Both Grunfeld and King were assets at the free throw line too. 75-80%-ish. Grunfeld was probably slightly more accurate at the FT line. If only TN had a bigger center they could have been unstoppable. Doug Ashworth was Lew Evans. Undersized but would mix it up with the 6'10+ centers in the paint. Reggie Johnson was about 6'9" but young and thin in, I think, one year with K&G. Basically TN was a bunch of small forwards in that era and RJ was a skinny power forward.

I wish there was more video from that time in UTBB history.
 
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#42
#42
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Grunfeld was really considered a forward... probably the small forward or "3" in today's terminology. King was the power forward/4, and Doug Ashworth the center/5. Mike Jackson was the shooting guard/2.

It's kind of dated to pigeon hole Ernie Grunfeld though. The offense often started with him. He would have the dribble far from the basket and bang all the way into the paint. But if a defender backed off Ernie would knock down shots from the perimeter.

Hopson might have been a 3 as well... but iirc pretty much hung out on the perimeter most of the time. Certainly didn't bang into defenders like Grunfeld... he played more like a very tall guard.

King had amazing, explosive speed to cut to the basket. And he had a great pull up jumper inside of 15'. Both Grunfeld and King were assets at the free throw line too. 75-80%-ish. Grunfeld was probably slightly more accurate at the FT line. If only TN had a bigger center they could have been unstoppable. Doug Ashworth was Lew Evans. Undersized but would mix it up with the 6'10+ centers in the paint. Reggie Johnson was about 6'9" but young and thin in, I think, one year with K&G. Basically TN was a bunch of small forwards in that era and RJ was a skinny power forward.

I wish there was more video from that time in UTBB history.
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I agree with pretty much everything you wrote. The biggest difference between a college roster and an NBA roster is the size difference. Being 6'5" or taller will almost always push a player down in the lineup in college, regardless of skill set. Darius Thompson is a good example, as being 6'5" (and adding muscle during his redshirt year) resulted in him being a SG/SF in 2 seasons at UVA.

Great point about Hopson. As you mentioned, he never had the killer instinct of a slashing guard. An aggressive backcourt player will look for an opening in the lane before they settle for a shot. This is why McRae had so many big dunks in traffic that seemed like they came out of nowhere. If Hopson would've played more physical, the way you described Ernie, he would have been a first rounder. Sadly, rail thin peremeter guards are a dime a dozen.

Scotty sat on an island and waited for the ball for 3 seasons and now he plays overseas. Richardson focused on defense to break into a crowded rotation as an underclassmen and later in his career he honed in on his ball handling skills and as a result he's in the league.
 
#48
#48
17 points on 6-12 FG, 4-8 3PT, 5 boards, 2 assists, got the game into OT and kept us in it before the half.
 
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#49
#49
Great contribution from LaMonté yesterday! He kept the Vols alive in the first half for sure. 🍊
 
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