College Hoops Around The Country [TN opponents, RPI, others]

It takes bigs longer to develop physically. The 4/5 star bigs typically already are. The primary ball handlers need the most work right out of high school.

Vescovi and JJJ didn't get pre-season work.
Ok

So name me the teams in the SEC that return a better team than we do?
 
Ok

So name me the teams in the SEC that return a better team than we do?

I don't think that many of the 7 ahead of us slide a whole lot and several of the 6 behind will be better. Vandy, Bama, and Arkansas should be improving programs. There are excellent coaches all over. I think it will be very balanced and don't expect TN to run away from the pack.
 
@Thunder Good-Oil you will have a very hard time finding a returning team with less missing parts than us.

That’s why this covid deal isn’t really bad for us. Our opponents have more pieces to blend than we do.
 
I don't think that many of the 7 ahead of us slide a whole lot and several of the 6 behind will be better. Vandy, Bama, and Arkansas should be improving programs. There are excellent coaches all over. I think it will be very balanced and don't expect TN to run away from the pack.

That wasn’t my question
I am only comparing returning players.
see my last post
 
That wasn’t my question
I am only comparing returning players.
see my last post

And I haven't been following the rest of the rosters very closely. I know that our two highest rated players only have one senior season of high school basketball between them. Vescovi arrived on campus 6 or 7 months after every other freshman last year. Our teenaged lineup needs practice, not being thrown into the fire from the onset. TN needs to build up momentum throughout the season and carry it into the tournaments. I think that it's a mistake to expect them to be on point without extensive off season development and work together.

Maybe CRB will let them play more zone instead of emphasizing his version of M2M so much this go round. But defense is what Keon does best so Barnes might limit the zone yet again. They only have so many hours available to work when classes begin.
 
I was thinking that Springer was at Webb-Bell Buckle last year, but that was Keon's school. So Springer might be a bit further along since he was at IMG (and Walker at Hargrave) last year. Did Knoxville Catholic play IMG or Webb-BB last year? I'm thinking that it was Springer that played Catholic last fall. And didn't Keon play AAU versus Springer a summer or two ago?
 
I was thinking that Springer was at Webb-Bell Buckle last year, but that was Keon's school. So Springer might be a bit further along since he was at IMG (and Walker at Hargrave) last year. Did Knoxville Catholic play IMG or Webb-BB last year? I'm thinking that it was Springer that played Catholic last fall. And didn't Keon play AAU versus Springer a summer or two ago?
Springer played against Catholic last year
 
That's what I thought. I was thinking that Webb Bell-Buckle was the opponent though rather than IMG. I think that Keon's season might have already ended by the time Springer/IMG played Catholic.
I believe so about Keon. I think Jaden had a sub-par game for him, 13 points, 9 assists, 8 boards, but the crowd gave him much love

Edit: when I say sub-par, I meant scoring and shooting, obviously, almost a triple double is not sub-par
 
I believe so about Keon. I think Jaden had a sub-par game for him, 13 points, 9 assists, 8 boards, but the crowd gave him much love

Edit: when I say sub-par, I meant scoring and shooting, obviously, almost a triple double is not sub-par

Only 8 minute quarters too. Is there a shot clock in high school?
 
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I wouldn't minimize potential negatives in the mental aspect. Bowden, a senior, was in a complete funk last season. Josiah's lack of confidence held him back.

With COVID-19 the off season development could be limited and JJJ may not be able to attend his planned leadership training. IMO, this year with the absence of work so far for the perimeter, I don't think it's a good idea to create too many challenges early on in a long season.

Why do people consider pass-first players or guys that don't jack up every semi-open shot to lack confidence? I never once saw someone lacking confidence. There was a player that was injured and working hard to fulfill the role that Barnes strictly sets for PGs.
 
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Why do people consider pass-first players or guys that don't jack up every semi-open shot to lack confidence? I never once saw someone lacking confidence. There was a player that was injured and working hard to fulfill the role that Barnes strictly sets for PGs.

Because he was constantly passing up wide open looks for himself in 2019-20. Because he's been penciled in to attend a class on leadership in the off-season.
 
Why do people consider pass-first players or guys that don't jack up every semi-open shot to lack confidence? I never once saw someone lacking confidence. There was a player that was injured and working hard to fulfill the role that Barnes strictly sets for PGs.
I think there was a lack of confidence in his ability to get to the rim, at times. Now, that lack of confidence could have been directly linked to the groin injury and him questioning his explosiveness of getting by his guy, or potentially reinjuring it, and NOT necessarily his skill/ability. On the rare occasion he attacked the rim, he was usually successful.
 
Because he was constantly passing up wide open looks for himself in 2019-20. Because he's been penciled in to attend a class on leadership in the off-season.

I viewed this more as it was not part of his role yet. He's not a low-IQ player and if the coaches were telling him to shoot them I think he would've been shooting them. Not sure the attending a class on leadership has anything to do with lacking confidence. You can have self-confident people who are not great leaders or can grow in leadership.

I think there was a lack of confidence in his ability to get to the rim, at times. Now, that lack of confidence could have been directly linked to the groin injury and him questioning his explosiveness of getting by his guy, or potentially reinjuring it, and NOT necessarily his skill/ability. On the rare occasion he attacked the rim, he was usually successful.

I think it was more injury-related than anything. As he was healthier towards the end of the season, he started playing better. Sure, that could be called lack of confidence in his physical ability but that's a vast difference than lack of confidence in skill/overall ability. Trusting your body to be able to perform post-injury is not the same as trusting your skill or an all around general self-doubt. Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with post-injury recovery process (4 ACL/knee surgeries, 1 ankle surgery, 2 shoulder surgeries and tons of other bumps/bruises) at the -very low- college level of athletics. Can't imagine what it's like as a higher-profile athlete who's never really been injured to play injured/less-than-100% at the highest level.
 
I viewed this more as it was not part of his role yet. He's not a low-IQ player and if the coaches were telling him to shoot them I think he would've been shooting them. Not sure the attending a class on leadership has anything to do with lacking confidence. You can have self-confident people who are not great leaders or can grow in leadership.



I think it was more injury-related than anything. As he was healthier towards the end of the season, he started playing better. Sure, that could be called lack of confidence in his physical ability but that's a vast difference than lack of confidence in skill/overall ability. Trusting your body to be able to perform post-injury is not the same as trusting your skill or an all around general self-doubt. Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with post-injury recovery process (4 ACL/knee surgeries, 1 ankle surgery, 2 shoulder surgeries and tons of other bumps/bruises) at the -very low- college level of athletics. Can't imagine what it's like as a higher-profile athlete who's never really been injured to play injured/less-than-100% at the highest level.
Yeah, like I said, it is very possible that it was entirely related to lack of confidence in his body and his regained explosiveness, plus the fear of re-injury.

I also think that people, in general, try and relate the lack of an alpha attitude as lacking confidence when the two are actually separate issues.
 
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Yeah, like I said, it is very possible that it was entirely related to lack of confidence in his body and his regained explosiveness, plus the fear of re-injury.

I also think that people, in general, try and relate the lack of an alpha attitude as lacking confidence when the two are actually separate issues.
I gotta agree with your second statement. I feel like he got a lot of unwarranted flack last season for this reason. I'm also led to believe he was instructed to not shoot on several occasions. Of course no way of knowing that, but just my hunch.
 
Yeah, like I said, it is very possible that it was entirely related to lack of confidence in his body and his regained explosiveness, plus the fear of re-injury.

I also think that people, in general, try and relate the lack of an alpha attitude as lacking confidence when the two are actually separate issues.
Wholeheartedly agree with your 2nd point. Too many people judge a book by it's cover (or * ranking).
 
I gotta agree with your second statement. I feel like he got a lot of unwarranted flack last season for this reason. I'm also led to believe he was instructed to not shoot on several occasions. Of course no way of knowing that, but just my hunch.
I think Barnes actually threatened to bench him if he DIDN'T shoot the ball more when he was open. I seem to remember that being said at some point. He definitely passed up some shots early on that he should have probably taken, particularly immediately after LT was lost for the season.

Coming in, one of the knocks on him was he was likely unselfish to a fault. I think Barnes spent the year trying to coach that out of him and he seemed to do a better job of taking what was given to him and seeking his own shot on the perimeter rather than thinking about where his next pass should go.
 
I think Barnes actually threatened to bench him if he DIDN'T shoot the ball more when he was open. I seem to remember that being said at some point. He definitely passed up some shots early on that he should have probably taken, particularly immediately after LT was lost for the season.

Coming in, one of the knocks on him was he was likely unselfish to a fault. I think Barnes spent the year trying to coach that out of him and he seemed to do a better job of taking what was given to him and seeking his own shot on the perimeter rather than thinking about where his next pass should go.
I believe I recall him making a comment along those lines...
 
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Big time news out of Wichita State.....Gregg Marshall is hot water

Among the allegations Stadium uncovered:
  • Marshall punched Morris in the head during a practice in October of 2015. “I love my teammates, the city and Wichita State,” said Morris, who played at Wichita State from 2014-18. “But if I could go back to that day when he punched me, I would have left.”
  • Marshall choked Lindsted, then a Shockers assistant coach, at a practice during the 2016-17 season, sources said. Lindsted, now an assistant at Minnesota, declined comment.
  • Marshall taunted junior forward Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, who is of Native American descent, “to get back on his horse” and made “Indian howling noises” while in practice during the 2018-19 season.
  • Marshall body-shamed a former player by lifting his shirt up during a practice in the 2015-16 season, grabbing the player’s stomach and then mocking the player’s girth.
Of the 36 players and coaches Stadium interviewed, only Morris and former Wichita State guard Ty Taylor agreed to be identified for this report. The remaining individuals, who corroborated the allegations against Marshall, said they feared retribution and possible community backlash because of Marshall’s support and power in Wichita.
 
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