Recruiting Forum Football Talk II

[VolGee4]

Can we acknowledge for a moment that we have a new superstar in Memphis named Morant that will be a top 3 NBA player soon. So fun to watch.

I went to the game Tuesday night, and he is unbelievable. Took it to Harden and was even talking trash. We just wanted development this year but are now getting a team that is trying to make the playoffs.

 

[Glitch]

Do you ever get tired of posting that exact sentence all the time.

Live look at @Catbone posting on VN....

 

[butchna]

Live look at @Catbone posting on VN....

Does it “for the lulz.”

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

The language used by Tom Mars was similar to a suit that was filed against a fraternity at the school I went to and it involved some pretty messed up stuff. I hope that's not the case.

was Clay Webb and Powerade involved?

 

[chargervol]

Uhg. Trying to wade thru last night's comments, like trying to walk thru the yard area of a dog kennel.. with clean shoes.

 

[RikidyBones]

was Clay Webb and Powerade involved?

Not that I'm aware.

 

[Ron Swanson]

 

[MoCo_Vol]

The basketball team is bad because they’re young and they lost 4 great college players.

Need any more expert takes just let me know.

5* great college players (don't forget Turner)

I also think losing Lanier has had a negative impact, guy is a great coach. His Georgia State squad is 12-6 right now (2 Ls being at Duke & at Georgetown).


I completely agree up until the '19 class & '20 class, Barnes' recruiting hasn't been stellar. I wasn't a fan of him bringing in Darrington (JuCo guy) in that 2017 class and we didn't even get him for 2 years. Feel like basketball it's far harder to take a chance on JUCO guys that aren't elite prospects. Missing on Burns, Walker, & Kent has also set back the frontcourt a ton. Especially when Burns was the only take in the '18 class...

Not getting Santiago & Plavsic on the court until SEC play is also an issue, and bringing over Bailey knowing he'd be sitting a year was also rough. Ya only got so many scholarships and we unfortunately didn't have great depth going into this season.

15 on Roster right now, 3 of them are walk-ons (Fleschman, Maze, Jancek)

Of our 12 on scholarhship
6 are first year starters (James, Santiago, Olivier, Pember, Gaines, Plavsic)
1 transfer sitting out (Bailey)
1 out for injury (Turner)

That leaves just 4 guys on scholarship who have been here...and Jalen despite being in his 4th season just hasn't ever really been a consistent contributor. Bowden going cold has hurt a lot too.

That absolutely is on Barnes & coaching staff...we weren't built to just "reload" like Kentucky/Duke/UNC types so this season is a ton of growing pains.

 

[Nashvegas31]

5* great college players (don't forget Turner)

I also think losing Lanier has had a negative impact, guy is a great coach. His Georgia State squad is 12-6 right now (2 Ls being at Duke & at Georgetown).


I completely agree up until the '19 class & '20 class, Barnes' recruiting hasn't been stellar. I wasn't a fan of him bringing in Darrington (JuCo guy) in that 2017 class and we didn't even get him for 2 years. Feel like basketball it's far harder to take a chance on JUCO guys that aren't elite prospects. Missing on Burns, Walker, & Kent has also set back the frontcourt a ton. Especially when Burns was the only take in the '18 class...

Not getting Santiago & Plavsic on the court until SEC play is also an issue, and bringing over Bailey knowing he'd be sitting a year was also rough. Ya only got so many scholarships and we unfortunately didn't have great depth going into this season.

15 on Roster right now, 3 of them are walk-ons (Fleschman, Maze, Jancek)

Of our 12 on scholarhship
6 are first year starters (James, Santiago, Olivier, Pember, Gaines, Plavsic)
1 transfer sitting out (Bailey)
1 out for injury (Turner)

That leaves just 4 guys on scholarship who have been here...and Jalen despite being in his 4th season just hasn't ever really been a consistent contributor. Bowden going cold has hurt a lot too.

That absolutely is on Barnes & coaching staff...we weren't built to just "reload" like Kentucky/Duke/UNC types so this season is a ton of growing pains.

I’m torn because burns and walker would have helped this team this year down low but long term that means you give up one or two or our 4 signees (including vescovi in this number). I think the Bailey pickup was Barnes knowing this year would not be the year and that Bailey makes team even deeper next yr while adding college experience and a shooter.

Barnes has had some great hits but also some misses. Walker and Burns aren’t misses in talent department but more so in the not a fit for his coaching style. They have talent and could have developed under Barnes if they were willing to listen like their mentors did. Burns doing well at Winthrop so he probably did learn some thing here. Jalen Johnson and Zach Kent have been total busts. Kent couldn’t stay healthy and Jalen just doesn’t have fire in his belly to use his talent. Hard to judge to much because of what Barnes did with the guys last yr that are now having success at pro level. He had to probably take some guys early stages at TN he probably wouldn’t take now that he has this things built. There’s a clear difference in player he is bringing in with current freshman and next yr compared to first few yrs.

 

[Glitch]

I did it yesterday ya dingus

Well you posted this yesterday.... which used to be today, and I didn't see it until today, which was tomorrow when you posted it and now the yesterday in this post is actually two days ago and....

 

[Glitch]

Nah, I’ll let you do the honors. I really am curious as to what I’ve said on here that appears to be so unpopular.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I’m torn because burns and walker would have helped this team this year down low but long term that means you give up one or two or our 4 signees (including vescovi in this number). I think the Bailey pickup was Barnes knowing this year would not be the year and that Bailey makes team even deeper next yr while adding college experience and a shooter.

Barnes has had some great hits but also some misses. Walker and Burns aren’t misses in talent department but more so in the not a fit for his coaching style. They have talent and could have developed under Barnes if they were willing to listen like their mentors did. Burns doing well at Winthrop so he probably did learn some thing here. Jalen Johnson and Zach Kent have been total busts. Kent couldn’t stay healthy and Jalen just doesn’t have fire in his belly to use his talent. Hard to judge to much because of what Barnes did with the guys last yr that are now having success at pro level. He had to probably take some guys early stages at TN he probably wouldn’t take now that he has this things built. There’s a clear difference in player he is bringing in with current freshman and next yr compared to first few yrs.

I counted a total of 7 misses in Barnes time here.

Misses being classified (by me) as players that
1. weren't here more than 65 games (less than 2 seasons)
2. didn't average 10 mpg

For a developmental, building a foundation type of team that's a lot of misses. Jalen wasn't counted either in that 7 since he's played more than 65 games.

 

[HankHill]

The basketball team is bad because they’re young and they lost 4 great college players.

Need any more expert takes just let me know.

The sec sucks at basketball and as much as we’re paying Ricky, we should still be at worst a bubble team.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

The sec sucks at basketball and as much as we’re paying Ricky, we should still be at worst a bubble team.

Agreed, 20 to 22 average wins a season isn't outrageous at all. In 2018 he was the 13th highest paid coach, now he's firmly in the top 5.

Calipari, Coach K are the only two I can confirm make more than Barnes right now.

 

[chargervol]

And it's like "realism" is supposed to make everyone not notice timing.
Simulation

2 minutes ago Poster X said
Man, with Cade, Trey and Kennedy coming back, this OL is going to be insane.

1 minute ago Poster Y said
And we have possibly the best QB since Peyton coming in!

A moment ago ChiefBear said
Florida and Georgia really do deserve so much more adoration they than get on this TN site.
Just stating facts randomly and for no apparent reason.

 

[SLICKYINC]

 

[RikidyBones]

And it's like "realism" is supposed to make everyone not notice timing.
Simulation

Dude is a bum.

 

[Kingston Vol]

The sec sucks at basketball and as much as we’re paying Ricky, we should still be at worst a bubble team.

Yeah, probably. But this year doesn’t matter and never mattered in all honesty.

Everything is geared up for next year. Then we’ll see.

 

[jakez4ut]

The sec sucks at basketball and as much as we’re paying Ricky, we should still be at worst a bubble team.

may still before it's all over....maybe.

Kingston's not wrong though.

not to go in to excuse mode, but we knew this year would be a transition year after losing 4 guys to the NBA.... i mean....4 NBA players having to be replaced....lol....that's signficant on it's own merit.......for a shool that's not a yearly 1st round draft pick replehishment program....seems we're on the "every othe year" plan at the moment.....

i don't think anyone saw Turner's struggles coming, if anything, i think most, self included thought our guard play would be what would carry us. turner's shoulder, and early exit on his sr. season certainly didn't help that...and no one saw Bowden's offensive woes coming..... and that's forced some responsiblities of a 1 on to folks that maybe just aren't ready? i think JJJ did ok for a freshman thrust in the position, but we saw how it played out. and while i think getting vescovi is ultimately a good thing, he's behind the learning curve and is playing catch up. could Barnes do some things tactically different? sure. i don't know that it changes outcomes drastically though if you can hit lay ups, free throws and are zero threat as a jump shooting team, outside Pons if he gets hot.

then throw in the Uros thing......there was a lot hinging on the outcome of that, and it was a "known" that if he couuldn't play, we had very vew, if any, answers at 5. now he's back, but like vescovi, game chemistry doesn't happen overnight.


anyway.....it was a transition year anyway, and during which, we got several gut punches for the roster. blame rick for that because of recuruiting? if you want to, fine, but turner's injury isn't his fault, and he did go get Uros to address that roster hole....but he can't control the NCAA's processes.

if this team can deveop some chemistry, and any bit of offensive confidence....SOON....then they can still make a push for the post season.

not gonna be easy, in a bit of a hole now, and the meat of the conf schedule still to come.

for me, i didn't think it would be this bad either, but knew it was a possiblity based on a couple of the "ifs" going the other way. and so far, they have.

help is on the way, and i expect next season to look nothing like this one.

 

[HankHill]

Yeah, probably. But this year doesn’t matter and never mattered in all honesty.

Everything is geared up for next year. Then we’ll see.

I don’t see the point in saying this year “doesnt matter”. Especially in basketball Bc teams can drastically change so much year to year.

And honestly if you’re building teams that you need a year or two to get it going, you’re never going to win when it matters. I think rick is a solid coach and an excellent source of stability for our program but when you don’t make it past the sweet 16 with Kevin Durant & DJ Augustine then you have 4 NBA caliber players here for two years and fail to do so again it’s fair to question him.

 

[HankHill]

may still before it's all over....maybe.

Kingston's not wrong though.

not to go in to excuse mode, but we knew this year would be a transition year after losing 4 guys to the NBA.... i mean....4 NBA players having to be replaced....lol....that's signficant on it's own merit.......for a shool that's not a yearly 1st round draft pick replehishment program....seems we're on the "every othe year" plan at the moment.....

i don't think anyone saw Turner's struggles coming, if anything, i think most, self included thought our guard play would be what would carry us. turner's shoulder, and early exit on his sr. season certainly didn't help that...and no one saw Bowden's offensive woes coming..... and that's forced some responsiblities of a 1 on to folks that maybe just aren't ready? i think JJJ did ok for a freshman thrust in the position, but we saw how it played out. and while i think getting vescovi is ultimately a good thing, he's behind the learning curve and is playing catch up. could Barnes do some things tactically different? sure. i don't know that it changes outcomes drastically though if you can hit lay ups, free throws and are zero threat as a jump shooting team, outside Pons if he gets hot.

then throw in the Uros thing......there was a lot hinging on the outcome of that, and it was a "known" that if he couuldn't play, we had very vew, if any, answers at 5. now he's back, but like vescovi, game chemistry doesn't happen overnight.


anyway.....it was a transition year anyway, and during which, we got several gut punches for the roster. blame rick for that because of recuruiting? if you want to, fine, but turner's injury isn't his fault, and he did go get Uros to address that roster hole....but he can't control the NCAA's processes.

if this team can deveop some chemistry, and any bit of offensive confidence....SOON....then they can still make a push for the post season.

not gonna be easy, in a bit of a hole now, and the meat of the conf schedule still to come.

for me, i didn't think it would be this bad either, but knew it was a possiblity based on a couple of the "ifs" going the other way. and so far, they have.

help is on the way, and i expect next season to look nothing like this one.

I could get behind this year being house money if we actually won anything of merit last year or making a deep tourney run.

 

[Jimmy Football]

Yeah, probably. But this year doesn’t matter and never mattered in all honesty.

Everything is geared up for next year. Then we’ll see.

Yeah, this year just seems like the unfortunate consequence of changing the program strategy (developing lower rated prospects vs bringing in 1-and-done types) and having a couple people leave early that you didn’t expect 2 seasons ago.

And sometimes the best laid plans just don’t work out. Just look at North Carolina (and to some extent, Kentucky) this season.

But Hank is right: going forward, missing the tourney should be an anomaly or Rick’s not earning his keep.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I love Rick Barnes. Love the culture, love the type of players he has brought in, and I enjoy the brand of basketball we play when everything is clicking.

Saying all that, he's overpaid. I don't care cause it's not my money, and I'm not saying Fulmer/UT did anything wrong. The timing of the UCLA situation was awful and there's zero doubt in my mind Barnes knew exactly what he was doing. I don't blame him one bit for taking advantage of a great season, big time blue blood trying to poach him, and the university being in a position to not want to hire a new HC. I don't hold anything ill toward Barnes for how he responded to the whole situation, he's a straight shooter and honest guy. Don't ask a question you don't want to hear answered.

How he turns this season around and how next year's team plays will define his career here at UT though.

 

[jakez4ut]

I could get behind this year being house money if we actually won anything of merit last year or making a deep tourney run.

that's just spiteful. lol.

it is what it is. people that were pissed about the UCLA thing are ready to hold him up against a firing squad right now.

but really, it's a one off transition year.

it sucks, i had higher hopes too, but is anyone really doubting what the future looks like for TN baskeball right now?

 

[jakez4ut]

I love Rick Barnes. Love the culture, love the type of players he has brought in, and I enjoy the brand of basketball we play when everything is clicking.

Saying all that, he's overpaid. I don't care cause it's not my money, and I'm not saying Fulmer/UT did anything wrong. The timing of the UCLA situation was awful and there's zero doubt in my mind Barnes knew exactly what he was doing. I don't blame him one bit for taking advantage of a great season, big time blue blood trying to poach him, and the university being in a position to not want to hire a new HC. I don't hold anything ill toward Barnes for how he responded to the whole situation, he's a straight shooter and honest guy. Don't ask a question you don't want to hear answered.

How he turns this season around and how next year's team plays will define his career here at UT though.

that's pretty fair.

i think with who's coming in, and who's coming back....next year should be pretty good. and as usaul, the rest of the sec will get another facelift personnel wise too, so for lack of a better term, the slate almost gets wiped clean as the last parts of this "group" move on.

and i don't think it's unfair to place high expecations on barnes, considering the salary, and talent, he's commanded.

i jsut think this season...it just is what it is.