'17 PG Tyreke Key: Missed Opportunity?

#1

Volspeak

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#1
I watched this guy break records at the state tournament. He played for single A Clay County but was at least in the top 2 or 3 guys there. What did the Vols among others not see in the kid? Is Barnes too lazy to thoughly scout his own state? He does something that no guard at Tennessee does, shoot well and get the ball in the basket. It is frustrating to have holes on your team and see a guy like this right in your own state that could be part of the solution get missed. He played on the TN Bobcats AAU team so he could not have been that big of a mystery. Anyone know the deal here?
 
#2
#2
I watched this guy break records at the state tournament. He played for single A Clay County but was at least in the top 2 or 3 guys there. What did the Vols among others not see in the kid? Is Barnes too lazy to thoughly scout his own state? He does something that no guard at Tennessee does, shoot well and get the ball in the basket. It is frustrating to have holes on your team and see a guy like this right in your own state that could be part of the solution get missed. He played on the TN Bobcats AAU team so he could not have been that big of a mystery. Anyone know the deal here?

I'm pretty certain that Barnes and every other coach near Tennessee has taken a look. Is this the guy that is going to go to Indiana State?

Jalen Johnson, Turner, Bowden, and Phillips can play in that spot and the walk-on from Austin can shoot the ball.
 
#3
#3
2* in 1A. Sorry but a fact. His recruitment and scholarship would cause a Nuclear type implosion on this board. Plus, Barnes recruitment persona would supply many with more ammunition to criticize ruthlessly. Who does he eventually beat out? Plus, he would be recruited over in long term.
 
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#4
#4
I'm no scout, but my eyes tell me he could out score our guards there now. He would probably need a redshirt for weight room work. I have watched the state touney for years and I remember seeing Hubbs and thinking, "What's the big deal?". This guy has wow factor. I remember Ky passing on Lofton. I think this is the same situation. What are the flaws in his game? 2 star and low ranked is the only thing I heard people say. Grades? I dunno.

Anyways, I wish him the best at Indiana State. When has a low ranking stopped Barnes before?
 
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#5
#5
I'm no scout, but my eyes tell me he could out score our guards there now. He would probably need a redshirt for weight room work. I have watched the state touney for years and I remember seeing Hubbs and thinking, "What's the big deal?". This guy has wow factor. I remember Ky passing on Lofton. I think this is the same situation. What are the flaws in his game? 2 star and low ranked is the only thing I heard people say. Grades? I dunno.

Anyways, I wish him the best at Indiana State. When has a low ranking stopped Barnes before?

Has Barnes ever given a scholarship to a 2-star from the smallest division?
 
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#6
#6
Has Barnes ever given a scholarship to a 2-star from the smallest division?

Don't know about Barnes, but Armani Moore came from a single A school in Georgia and turned out OK. Like I said, he was outstanding in AAU with the Bobcats also. Look it up. Nobody has told me the deficiencies in his game yet. Maybe noone here knows.
 
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#7
#7
Don't know about Barnes, but Armani Moore came from a single A school in Georgia and turned out OK. Like I said, he was outstanding in AAU with the Bobcats also. Look it up. Nobody has told me the deficiencies in his game yet. Maybe noone here knows.

If he's scoring 50 and is rated a 2-star, he has deficiencies.
 
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#8
#8
I'm no scout, but my eyes tell me he could out score our guards there now. He would probably need a redshirt for weight room work. I have watched the state touney for years and I remember seeing Hubbs and thinking, "What's the big deal?". This guy has wow factor. I remember Ky passing on Lofton. I think this is the same situation. What are the flaws in his game? 2 star and low ranked is the only thing I heard people say. Grades? I dunno.

Anyways, I wish him the best at Indiana State. When has a low ranking stopped Barnes before?

Except Lofton had offers from Cincy and Louisville at one time and was a top-150 player IIRC. The only real correlation is that the home state school didn't strongly recruit him. This kid doesn't even have a 247, Rivals, or Scout profile.

Barnes just can't win with some people. If he takes this Key kid, then he's being lazy and just looking down the road for marginal talent. If he takes someone else, he's being lazy and not recruiting his own state. He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.
 
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#9
#9
I'm no scout, but my eyes tell me he could out score our guards there now. He would probably need a redshirt for weight room work. I have watched the state touney for years and I remember seeing Hubbs and thinking, "What's the big deal?". This guy has wow factor. I remember Ky passing on Lofton. I think this is the same situation. What are the flaws in his game? 2 star and low ranked is the only thing I heard people say. Grades? I dunno.

Anyways, I wish him the best at Indiana State. When has a low ranking stopped Barnes before?

Seems like you have an ax to grind. I'd bet my house if this kid were from any other state, you'd lose your mind over Barnes offering. Your bolded comment above lends some credence to that idea.
 
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#11
#11
Seems like you have an ax to grind. I'd bet my house if this kid were from any other state, you'd lose your mind over Barnes offering. Your bolded comment above lends some credence to that idea.

Barnes has not lit up the recruiting trail since he has been here. Are u saying he has? This kid impressed me.

On this kid, noone has told me a damn thing about him on here besides low ranked 2 star, etc. I was amazed by him during the tourney and want to know what the problem is with him. Any you guys seen him live? (I know that answer.). I want the Vols to make tourneys and we need a shooter, but I am just a fan not a pro scout. He is going to the Mizz Valley so it matters not I guess.
 
#12
#12
How many stars was Skylar McBee?

Is this Indiana State kid any better than the current Tennessee walk-ons?

Which scholarship should Barnes had given to him? The one given to Pons, Walker, or Kent?
 
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#13
#13
Barnes has not lit up the recruiting trail since he has been here. Are u saying he has? This kid impressed me.

On this kid, noone has told me a damn thing about him on here besides low ranked 2 star, etc. I was amazed by him during the tourney and want to know what the problem is with him. Any you guys seen him live? (I know that answer.). I want the Vols to make tourneys and we need a shooter, but I am just a fan not a pro scout. He is going to the Mizz Valley so it matters not I guess.

1. No said Barnes is lighting up the recruiting trail, but solely from a perception standpoint, you're throwing shade at Barnes' recruiting efforts and in the same breath questioning his choice to not recruit a complete unknown whose best offer is apparently Indiana State.

2. Nobody knows anything about this kid. He has no recruiting profile and only you have seen him play apparently. So you can keep repeating yourself and get upset that no one can tell you anything about him, but isn't it worth considering that that fact alone may be an indictment of the kid? This kid may be Russell Westbrook made over, but if he is, then literally no one outside of Clay County, Sycamore, IN, and yourself know it.

3. Admittedly, you aren't a scout, but you are repeatedly questioning hundreds of coaching staffs, Rick Barnes and Co. particularly, who are scouts. Why not just trust that they've done their diligence. Occasionally a kid slips through the cracks. Key may be one. Time will tell, but Barnes cannot afford to take a risk on a 2* kid with few offers playing single A ball in rural Tennessee. The risk is just way too high for a coach trying to rebuild and stabilize a roster/program.
 
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#15
#15
1. No said Barnes is lighting up the recruiting trail, but solely from a perception standpoint, you're throwing shade at Barnes' recruiting efforts and in the same breath questioning his choice to not recruit a complete unknown whose best offer is apparently Indiana State.

2. Nobody knows anything about this kid. He has no recruiting profile and only you have seen him play apparently. So you can keep repeating yourself and get upset that no one can tell you anything about him, but isn't it worth considering that that fact alone may be an indictment of the kid? This kid may be Russell Westbrook made over, but if he is, then literally no one outside of Clay County, Sycamore, IN, and yourself know it.

3. Admittedly, you aren't a scout, but you are repeatedly questioning hundreds of coaching staffs, Rick Barnes and Co. particularly, who are scouts. Why not just trust that they've done their diligence. Occasionally a kid slips through the cracks. Key may be one. Time will tell, but Barnes cannot afford to take a risk on a 2* kid with few offers playing single A ball in rural Tennessee. The risk is just way too high for a coach trying to rebuild and stabilize a roster/program.

As usual, one of the Chris's with the mic drop.
 
#16
#16
I don't get why the OP can't just be happy for the kid without taking shots at TN in the process of bragging on him.

BTW, TN will have capable outside shooters on the roster. Fleschman, Bowden, Johnson.
 
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#17
#17
I've watched Key in the state tourney the last 2 years. He has many great driving moves that work great in 1a and probably 2a in Tennessee but did not show much of an outside shot. He is great team player and passes maybe when he shouldn't. If you are hot and scoring like he was, he should have taken the last shot in the championship game but the ball was passed to someone not of his skill. If Key doesn't make that shot he probably at least gets fouled. But he is an entertaining player. Not for me to say if good or not. First time I saw Penny in state tourney he was horrible.
 
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#19
#19
Who is fleschman?

Jacob Fleschman. 6'1" walk-on shooting guard from Austin, TX that followed Barnes to Knoxville. He was redshirted this past year. I don't know if I've ever seen a walk-on redshirted before. It wouldn't surprise me if he's better than the 2-star that's heading to Indiana State.
 
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#21
#21
If he had been selfish he could have been a lot further up the state scoring list.All the teams in Tennessee missed on this guy.The only players at state who where better were Memphis east players,and if Key had played there he would have been 3 or 4 star
 
#22
#22
If he had been selfish he could have been a lot further up the state scoring list.All the teams in Tennessee missed on this guy.The only players at state who where better were Memphis east players,and if Key had played there he would have been 3 or 4 star

I have watched this kid light it up for the last two years at the state tournament but he is not an SEC level athlete. He does not have much of a game outside about 10 feet and is not very athletic. If he had to go against the quick kids in the higher classifications he would not dominate. The kid at Maplewood that is going to ETSU is a much better college prospect.
 
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#23
#23
Being a lifelong resident of Clay county, I will try to give a little insight on Tyreke Key. First, his character, you will not find a better young man. He is humble and goes out of his way to spend & give time to the many youngsters that want to be around him. He never seems to be in a bad mood. On his ball playing, he does not take over as much as he needs to at times. he wants to include his team mates, he is a very unselfish player. He is a hard worker, he is coachable & always working to improve. From what I know about the situation I do not think it would have mattered who recruited him. Larry Byrd is his favorite player. He wants to go to Indiana State and try to follow in his place & meet or beat his accomplishments there. Tyreke is a hard working young man with a tremendous head on his shoulders for his age. I am not saying he will be Larry Byrd but it will not surprise me to see this young man playing in the NBA at some point in the future. I am no scout either but I am quite sure that if you ask the majority of people that attended this year's state tournament that Tyreke Key was one of the top players to be on the floor over the 3 days of the tournament.
 
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#24
#24
Being a lifelong resident of Clay county, I will try to give a little insight on Tyreke Key. First, his character, you will not find a better young man. He is humble and goes out of his way to spend & give time to the many youngsters that want to be around him. He never seems to be in a bad mood. On his ball playing, he does not take over as much as he needs to at times. he wants to include his team mates, he is a very unselfish player. He is a hard worker, he is coachable & always working to improve. From what I know about the situation I do not think it would have mattered who recruited him. Larry Byrd is his favorite player. He wants to go to Indiana State and try to follow in his place & meet or beat his accomplishments there. Tyreke is a hard working young man with a tremendous head on his shoulders for his age. I am not saying he will be Larry Byrd but it will not surprise me to see this young man playing in the NBA at some point in the future. I am no scout either but I am quite sure that if you ask the majority of people that attended this year's state tournament that Tyreke Key was one of the top players to be on the floor over the 3 days of the tournament.

Is Larry Byrd that white boy that went head to head with Ervine Johnston in the 80's?
 
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#25
#25
I watched this guy break records at the state tournament. He played for single A Clay County but was at least in the top 2 or 3 guys there. What did the Vols among others not see in the kid? Is Barnes too lazy to thoughly scout his own state? He does something that no guard at Tennessee does, shoot well and get the ball in the basket. It is frustrating to have holes on your team and see a guy like this right in your own state that could be part of the solution get missed. He played on the TN Bobcats AAU team so he could not have been that big of a mystery. Anyone know the deal here?
You recruit kids off the AAU circuit these days. Coaches play at least two day a week with travel and practice so they do not get to get out and see to much high school basketball during the season. He plays in single A which isn't that great if competition in the state overall. Not to mention plenty of kids can score, hell I averaged about 20-23 points a game my junior and senior year and went the naia route. I'm guessing they have probably saw him in the AAU circuit and didn't think he was good enough for a spot here. Indiana st is still d1 and he is a good ball player but not at this level. He will do fine where he is at.
 

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