2026 Vols Transfer Portal Thread

#6,727
#6,727
Chattahooligan said:
Agree, need some depth at ball handling, nobody outside of Kobi looked like they were comfortable dribbling the ball.
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If we can get Hill and Harris, ball handling won’t be an issue. Those guys, Ames, and Haralson give you four guys that are better on the dribble than anyone outside of JG last year.

None of them are primarily creators, but I think at least Hill and Haralson can do that well with coaching.

At any rate, you’ve got 4 players there that can take the ball on the perimeter and make something happen. We haven’t had that in a long time.
 
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#6,728
#6,728
What is the likelihood that Hill announces today? I know he is here for multiple days. I am just enjoying pretending to work and BOOMING too much!
 
#6,729
#6,729
cncchris33 said:
That's funny because I told myself the very same thing when I watched his highlights. Then I was like, no way do I want to say that and then have to defend it against the people who will equate that to me saying this kid is the next Iverson. Im just not that dedicated to the opinion.

But I do understand what you saw and my mind told me the same thing. The ball-handling, the crossover, the ability to get to the basket and score, the fadeaway. The skill-sets are similar. The talent is obviously different, the athleticism is different, and the defense isn't the same. But you catch glimpses.
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Reminds me of Gainey
 
#6,730
#6,730
bleedingTNorange said:
Yea, it’s been an A+ so far by all involved…I’m a little uneasy because there’s quite the list of big name schools that at some point are going to get desperate and start throwing around crazy money, I would like to see us get as many past the finish line before then as possible.


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Jeff needs to update his list. UCONN and UK both got commitments yesterday.
 
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#6,737
#6,737
Heupel's Offseason Beard said:
Buddy do yourself a favor and watch his highlights. He plays like a street baller from 2002. Starting off with this cross over
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He has moves, for sure. That quick spin move to the left is devastating.

If I’m being hyper-critical, a lot of those clips were against mid-majors. Not all of them, but I do wonder how his turnover numbers stack up against the more elite teams. Often times, players with moves like he has can sometimes try to force things, which can cost them against better competition.

I’m not saying it’s a concern… I have no idea, as I don’t have time to sift through all of his individual game stats. I’m just musing aloud.
 
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#6,740
#6,740
Garren04 said:
If you can somehow manage to get both Hill and Ames to come off the bench then you’ve won the offseason
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Serious question... why would you want a guard that can play 1-3 who has 96 games and 76 starts under his belt playing 26+ per game for all of them with the production and % of Ames coming off the bench? He's also got an extremely low turnover rate.

Hill I get...59 games and only 2 starts and this past season was his first seeing 20+ minutes.

Based on conference/competition they've faced...I'd say Ames & Haralson starting seem the most likely of the portal additions (so far).

Now obviously if you land Juke AND Tanner...that changes the starting lineup big time, but just looking at who we have and who returns.

1/2 - Dai Dai / Hill
3 - Lundblade or Haralson
4 - Haralson or Rubin/Brown
5 - Rubin/Brown

That will give you 3 ball handlers with 3 shooters. I think if Juke's here it's likely he's the starting 3 spot like Nate.

I see Lundblade as your 6th man...the Gainey role, plays starter minutes but is coming in at the 2/3 spot as needed to run off screens and catch & shoot if he's got the motor of Santi and puts in the same level or work rebounding he could potentially start though.
 
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#6,741
#6,741
MoCo_Vol said:
Serious question... why would you want a guard that can play 1-3 who has 96 games and 76 starts under his belt playing 26+ per game for all of them with the production and % of Ames coming off the bench? He's also got an extremely low turnover rate.

Hill I get...59 games and only 2 starts and this past season was his first seeing 20+ minutes.

Based on conference/competition they've faced...I'd say Ames & Haralson starting seem the most likely of the portal additions (so far).

Now obviously if you land Juke AND Tanner...that changes the starting lineup big time, but just looking at who we have and who returns.

1/2 - Dai Dai / Hill
3 - Lundblade or Haralson
4 - Haralson or Rubin/Brown
5 - Rubin/Brown

That will give you 3 ball hanlders with 3 shooters. I think if Juke's here it's likely he's the starting 3 spot like Nate.

I see Lundblade as your 6th man...the Gainey role, plays starter minutes but is coming in at the 2/3 spot as needed to run off screens and catch & shoot if he's got the motor of Santi and puts in the same level or work rebounding he could potentially start though.
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I’m going off the impression that they land Juke and a true PG I guess. I think if you get Juke then Ames almost becomes redundant in the starting lineup with the limited playmaking. A guy that solely plays the 1 unlocks Juke even to a greater level but JMO.
 
#6,742
#6,742
To further put in context Barnes's foundational shift...

The trio of Lundblade/Ames/Hill combined to make 252 3s on 651 attempts for 38.7%

Tennessee's entire team made 243 of 727 for 33.4%.

That doesn't account for a potential add of Juke Harris, who hit 87 3s at a 33.2% clip, himself, nor a potential addition of a true PG.
 
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#6,743
#6,743
TrapVol said:
He has moves, for sure. That quick spin move to the left is devastating.

If I’m being hyper-critical, a lot of those clips were against mid-majors. Not all of them, but I do wonder how his turnover numbers stack up against the more elite teams. Often times, players with moves like he has can sometimes try to force things, which can cost them against better competition.

I’m not saying it’s a concern… I have no idea, as I don’t have time to sift through all of his individual game stats. I’m just musing aloud.
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33mpg against Duke, 2 turnovers (8points)
33mpg against Louisville, 1 turnover (11points)
32mpg against Virginia, 1 turnover (18points)
32mpg against UNC, 1 turnover (19points)


Had 3 games where he had more than 3 turnovers on the season

vs Georgia Tech, 31mpg, 5 turnovers, 29 points
at Syracuse (2 OT), 45mpg, 5 turnovers, 23 points
vs Pittsburgh, 29 mpg, 5 turnovers, 11 points

A bigger concern might be his lack of distribution...just 2 games with more than 4 assists this past year. Seems Pippen ran the point more than Dai Dai
 
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#6,746
#6,746
Garren04 said:
I’m going off the impression that they land Juke and a true PG I guess. I think if you get Juke then Ames almost becomes redundant in the starting lineup with the limited playmaking. A guy that solely plays the 1 unlocks Juke even to a greater level but JMO.
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Yeah... Juke AND a true PG might shuffle things around...but even then to me the most likely SG is still Dai Dai

Hill = less experience, weaker conference, less starts
Lundblade = weaker conference, more one dimensional offense

I think Dai Dai having all his experience in the Big 12 & ACC is extremely valuable and being overlooked a bit.

Juke I hope is playing the 3 spot with 2 good ball handling guards at the 1/2
 
#6,747
#6,747
Stoerner Fumbles said:
As I said then, Dai Dai and Dowd were ours if we wanted them. At the time, not signing Dowd was considered a failure by many. As you noted, it was smart chess. We kept several negotiations live while we closed on the bigger fish. We moved Hill and Harris down the road much further than our competitors understood, and got to a place where it was almost impossible for them to recover ground. I have to give enormous credit to the collective and their counsel. They were on top of things and closed terms on the spot when needed. We did a lot of this by skipping participation by our AD. While some big programs with political issues have internally debated “who is worth the spend?”, our coaches and donors went straight to drone warfare. Certain blue-tinted programs are still trying to move their battleships.
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I’m pretty impressed by how well thought out this plan was! Executed to perfection it seems. I’m intrigued by your comment about “skipping participation by our AD.” Honestly, an effective AD who has the right coach should exile himself or herself from the process.
 
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