Vols land Drew Pember

#101
#101
Catbone said:
Not super impressed BUT Barnes knows how to find diamonds in the rough and is great at coaching them up
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He appears to be pretty athletic and can shoot from outside as well as take the ball to the hole. I think it is a really good get. I wonder what his shooting stats are.
 
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#102
#102
Rob Lewis on Zach Kent when asked about if Pember has an effect on Kent’s status..

Kent is just a redshirt freshman with four years left so I wouldn't even start to write him off.

Now, with that said, I don't know what he will turn into. Maybe nothing, maybe something.

What I do know for sure is that he's pushing 6'11" and can legit stroke it from deep.

As you say, his challenge is going to be guarding other big guys, or an opposing versatile four if it came to that. By the same token, someone on the other team is going to have to come out from the paint and guard him on the other end.

I am not pretending to know what Zach will turn into, but I personally am not remotely shutting the door on him becoming a contributor, not with what I've seen this staff do in terms of player development.

He needs to get a lot stronger IMO, which most anyone can see, but he has some toughness from what I've seen of him in practice. He's scrappy.

Short answer, yes, his best skill right now is his ability to shoot it at his height, but you can't coach the kind of length he has, he is not soft, and if he keeps working at it he could turn himself into something. IMO, we'll see.
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#103
#103
VOLINVONORE said:
He appears to be pretty athletic and can shoot from outside as well as take the ball to the hole. I think it is a really good get. I wonder what his shooting stats are.
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According to Prepcircuit.com, he shot 44.8% overall during the EYBL and was 34.9% from three while averaging 25.4 minutes per game. Not bad considering he was going up against a lot of four and five stars. Averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. Also 2.2 blocks per game.
BMaze Elite (@bmazeelite1) - UAA 2018 - Roster - # - Drew Pember -
 
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#108
#108
BigZiti09 said:
To me this kid is a guy you take and hope he pans out the way you are optimistic that he can. If not then at worst you’re getting a good local kid who will likely bust his tail and be a great practice player and team member for 4 years.

If he pans out then you’ve got a stretch 4 who can really shoot.
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Spot on analysis
 
#109
#109
AngryButchJones said:
According to Prepcircuit.com, he shot 44.8% overall during the EYBL and was 34.9% from three while averaging 25.4 minutes per game. Not bad considering he was going up against a lot of four and five stars. Averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. Also 2.2 blocks per game.
BMaze Elite (@bmazeelite1) - UAA 2018 - Roster - # - Drew Pember -
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Like that 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Interesting that of his 58 FG attempts, 43 were 3-point shots...he was 11 of 15 on 2-pointers.
 
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#111
#111
kamoshika said:
Like that 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Interesting that of his 58 FG attempts, 43 were 3-point shots...he was 11 of 15 on 2-pointers.
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He handles the ball quite a bit for his AAU team, he’s not a post player at all like people are assuming. He’s a guy that really will probably primarily play the 3.
 
#114
#114
BigZiti09 said:
Idk about that.

No need to try to make this into something it’s not. This is a project. It’s ok to have guys like that.
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That’s my opinion, you can disagree if you want.

He’s ranked #179 currently, and the biggest knock is he needs to get stronger. If you change that perception from needing to get stronger in college to needing to get stronger over the next year of AAU ball it changes his ranking imo. You’re likely to find examples of kids that are 6’8”-6’9” and needing to get stronger but are ranked in 2020 than you will 2019, because most assume they will get stronger in the next 12 months.
 
#115
#115
BigZiti09 said:
Idk about that.

No need to try to make this into something it’s not. This is a project. It’s ok to have guys like that.
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Agree. Project is the right word in this case. As long as he is the only one, I can handle it.

Only concern is that we should be past the point of taking projects. The other Project(Fulk) hasn't worked out up to this point.
 
#116
#116
vols 30 said:
Agree. Project is the right word in this case. As long as he is the only one, I can handle it.

Only concern is that we should be past the point of taking projects. The other Project(Fulk) hasn't worked out up to this point.
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In 2017 Duke took #398 ranked Jordan Goldwater, in 2016 Duke took #226 Jack White, in 2015 they took #203 ranked Antonio Vrankovic and #375 Justin Robinson.

So I’m not sure I agree we should be “past the point” of taking projects, especially if we are hoping for consistent player retention.
 
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#117
#117
vols 30 said:
Agree. Project is the right word in this case. As long as he is the only one, I can handle it.

Only concern is that we should be past the point of taking projects. The other Project(Fulk) hasn't worked out up to this point.
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Fulk was not a project. He started, and produced in big games, almost immediately.

I also see Gaines as a project due to his weight.

Having said that, I have no reason to not trust this staff to mold them into good players.
 
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#119
#119
vols 30 said:
Agree. Project is the right word in this case. As long as he is the only one, I can handle it.

Only concern is that we should be past the point of taking projects. The other Project(Fulk) hasn't worked out up to this point.
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What if we took unranked Grant Williams or unranked Admiral Schofield as the only project? I'd like to think we shouldn't be past the point of finding those kinds of talents.

I wouldn't be concerned about this staff's ability to evaluate talent. Some will pan out and some won't. As long as they work hard, I won't be concerned with the staff's ability to find talent.
 
#120
#120
How much of a project is he? What was his role (as a sophomore) on probably the best Bearden team in history?

Edit: I guess he was a junior. Senior in 2018-19. Prep school in 2019-20. RS in 2020-21. First season playing at TN in 2021-22.
 
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#121
#121
Thunder Good-Oil said:
How much of a project is he? What was his role (as a sophomore) on probably the best Bearden team in history?

Edit: I guess he was a junior. Senior in 2018-19. Prep school in 2019-20. RS in 2020-21. First season playing at TN in 2021-22.
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I think when most of us are saying he's a "project," we're mostly meaning he needs to gain a decent amount of weight and work on his toughness. I don't think anyone thinks he's extremely raw and only gets by on athleticism (kinda like Yves Pons right now or like Kyle Alexander was since he had only played two years of basketball before coming in as a freshman). He's not as big of a project as Alexander was, but he needs time to develop. To me, he's a project because he shouldn't come in and play significant minutes in his first two years at UT. Doesn't mean that by the time he's a RS sophomore he won't be able to contribute. Just that he still needs time.
 
#122
#122
AngryButchJones said:
I think when most of us are saying he's a "project," we're mostly meaning he needs to gain a decent amount of weight and work on his toughness. I don't think anyone thinks he's extremely raw and only gets by on athleticism (kinda like Yves Pons right now or like Kyle Alexander was since he had only played two years of basketball before coming in as a freshman). He's not as big of a project as Alexander was, but he needs time to develop. To me, he's a project because he shouldn't come in and play significant minutes in his first two years at UT. Doesn't mean that by the time he's a RS sophomore he won't be able to contribute. Just that he still needs time.
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Interesting comparison to Pons. Skills versus athleticism. How well Pons steps up this year could parallel how much success TN has this coming year. Even more the following year with Schofield having left. Wings should be strong for a few years with Pons, Johnson, Bowden, Turner, and Gaines all with 2+ years remaining.
 
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#124
#124
therickbol said:
Other than both being tall white local kids, they play completely different.
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Eh, other than Pember seeming to be a little more perimeter oriented, their high school games are fairly similar. Both were tall and athletic, plus-defenders and rim protectors, needing to add strength and weight and refine/develop their post moves.
 
#125
#125
cncchris33 said:
Eh, other than Pember seeming to be a little more perimeter oriented, their high school games are fairly similar. Both were tall and athletic, plus-defenders and rim protectors, needing to add strength and weight and refine/develop their post moves.
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Pember handles the ball much more than Fulky. He is a much better shooter. Fulky is a much better defender. And much more of an effort and energy guy. Granted most of my Fulky assessment is from his college game. I didn't see much of his hs film. Not saying either one is better than the other. I just think they play very different styles and being different things to the table.
 
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