The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

[Buddy’s Bandit]

Again, those closed door ones often aren’t played like a real game, it would be more comparable to when NFL does preseason camp and they go to another teams site for a week and do some situation stuff and 11-11 prior to playing the actual preseason game that’s televised, that week of scrimmage work isn’t televised anywhere. Our scrimmage that is going to be “like a game” against Duke is going to be televised.

Kind of like spring football “games”.

 

[Brendo]

Felix extending his range this year

 

[VolsNetClippers2025]

Nothing too exciting, but confirmation of 10-11 scrimmage observations. We rotated lots of sets. Played two abbreviated halves. JG dominated, as others noted, but part of that was him playing in most of the lineups, and their defense not being too intense in that setting. He drove well and shot well. We looked pretty loose with assignments on defense, but rebounded extremely well on defensive end. Ament and Estrella were limited in minutes but both played well. Ament is a little behind the curve on defense, but has added muscle and weight, and wasn’t afraid to mix it up. His length and lift mean he’s a shooting mismatch on just about anyone. Lots of chemistry coming out of JG and the bigs passing well. Estrella really sees the court and kicks out and feeds others a lot. Wing play remains out of sync with both Burg and Amari playing catch up at both ends. Coaches are protective of JP still, but all think he won’t be limited in season at all. Echoing my sentiments from last year’s preseason, Estrella can be a great addition. He has the finesse and passing game we’ve been missing from our 4/5. He has a rare skill set with his abilities at both ends. Gillespie is ALL SEC caliber, and a real catalyst. The Walter Clayton analogy is apt and interestingly we look a lot like that team top to bottom. Not many teams will be able to handle twelve rounds with our bigs. We are going to really wear teams down underneath. One big negative that lingers from past years, we did not handle quick perimeter passing and defending the three on the wings. There were several runs of outside shooting that we didn’t get to in time. Overall it sounded like an early scrimmage should with mistakes and promise.

Any more word on Amari and Burg - how far behind do they look/how confident is the staff in them? CRB keeps praising them, especially Burg, in his press conferences so am optimistic but wondering because they really do feel like the final piece in the puzzle.

 

[cardvolfan]

Kind of interesting how much Duke clothing I’ve already seen this week in Knoxville. Lots of Duke basketball fans.

 

[csheaton]

I was worried about our ability to defend the three this year, so not happy to hear the news on that. That’s where we’ll miss Mashack the most, but hopefully guys like Amari Evans or Boswell can step up and help us some with perimeter defense

 

[omghulkhands]

Basketball being back is very comforting

 

[berryvol]

Just dropped:

 

[TheMookieMonster]

We’re reaching new levels of stupidity and ridiculousness in college basketball. G-Leagues players can now come to college?? Come on. What’s next? Letting Anthony Davis come back for his last 3 years of eligibility?

 

[Volprofch05]

We’re reaching new levels of stupidity and ridiculousness in college basketball. G-Leagues players can now come to college?? Come on. What’s next? Letting Anthony Davis come back for his last 3 years of eligibility?

In case you're interested, here's a summary of why this is now allowed

 

[Chaz-Vol]

We’re reaching new levels of stupidity and ridiculousness in college basketball. G-Leagues players can now come to college?? Come on. What’s next? Letting Anthony Davis come back for his last 3 years of eligibility?

I guess playing devils advocate, what's the difference of Ethan Burg playing professionally in Israel for years and being 23 year old sophomore? They probably should have some age limits and stuff but somewhat the same thing with these international guys playing professionally and then jumping into college.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I guess playing devils advocate, what's the difference of Ethan Burg playing professionally in Israel for years and being 23 year old sophomore? They probably should have some age limits and stuff but somewhat the same thing with these international guys playing professionally and then jumping into college.

It’s a fair point, and probably why this is being allowed to happen. My preference would likely be to just not allow any of it, but since the genie is out of the bottle I guess this will just be the new norm. I suspect this is the first, but not the last high school player to test the G-League waters and then go to college if it doesn’t work out for him.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I have never needed basketball more than I do now.

 

[knoxvol52]

Vitello’s contract is a three-year deal that will pay him $3.5MM per season, according to John Shea of The San Francisco Standard. The pact also includes a vesting option for a fourth year.

 

[Volprofch05]

I have never needed basketball more than I do now.

Seems to be good timing then?

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Seems to be good timing then?

Indeed. Going to enjoy my time with Rick while I can. Once he’s gone, the last vestiges of the golden era of Tennessee sports will be gone with him. I will cherish every game this year and try not to get upset with the mistakes.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Indeed. Going to enjoy my time with Rick while I can. Once he’s gone, the last vestiges of the golden era of Tennessee sports will be gone with him. I will cherish every game this year and try not to get upset with the mistakes.

Bookmarked

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Bookmarked

Fair. But I mean it. I’m done. Not worth emotionally investing once Rick is gone.

 

[RyanWalkerPGH]

@bleedingTNorange do you have any insight on the relationship between DW & Barnes? Just curious on that dynamic.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

@bleedingTNorange do you have any insight on the relationship between DW & Barnes? Just curious on that dynamic.

I think it’s a good one, not suggesting they’re best friends, but I think they have great respect for one another and enjoy working for/with each other.

 

[VolGee4]

I think it’s a good one, not suggesting they’re best friends, but I think they have great respect for one another and enjoy working for/with each other.

Barnes is brutally honest about everything. He’s praised DW publicly more than once.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Fair. But I mean it. I’m done. Not worth emotionally investing once Rick is gone.

I’d wait and see who they get next when he does decide to hang em up. You never know. Barnes is going to leave the program in an enviable state and DW might hit a home run.

 

[Stoked]

@bleedingTNorange do you have any insight on the relationship between DW & Barnes? Just curious on that dynamic.

Way better than with Fulmer, who almost cost us losing Barnes.

 

[CornbreadVol]

What’s up boys. In a few days we will get to witness this national championship roster take the floor. My bold prediction for the season is that Ament and Gillespie will combine to average 37.6 ppg, bookmark it.

 

[Chaz-Vol]

I have never needed basketball more than I do now.

Ricky from Hickory is the only stability in our Vols fandom right now. His teams reliably play hard, have elite defense, and may have a stinker offensive performance from time to time.

 

[Mullins2010]