An Enigma Wrapped In A Riddle

[cncchris33]

This is the kind of cope I’m holding onto right now. With the lineup and rotations continuing to be undefined and tinkered with, there is good reason to believe this team has a lot of untapped potential left.

The flip side of this is Vitello also uncharacteristically tinkered with his lineup in conference play all of last season and it never really resulted in anything. We just didn’t have the right pieces and it resulted in an earlier than anticipated post-season exit. Hopefully that’s not the case here.

I will say that if the Evans revelation is real and sustainable, then I have some hope. He attacks the basket, plays great defense, and doesn't play scared. The tough thing is that he and Ament really play the same position. If both are in the game, one is playing out of position because they will likely be paired with Gillespie and then two of our post players, meaning one of them has to essentially play SG.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

You do know that Barnes has a lifetime contract at UT--one year is automatically added at the end of each season---try to keep up

You do know that Barnes can decide to retire, which is obviously what was being implied.

 

[FeelVol]

Things are never as good or as bad as they seem at any given point. Arkansas was playing as good or better than anyone in the SEC heading into conference play. It was likely we were going to lose this road game. I think we go off the rails a bit, and this doesn’t include everyone in here, when we lose a game. Very bipolar crowd that is either high or low, except for the usuals who are negative in wins or losses.

Things need to be addressed, but we just don’t know what could happen these next 2 months. The sky didn’t fall last night and it certainly was not a bad loss to a bad team. Lots of positives about this team, and Barnes will do his best to figure it out.

I so agree with your post.Winning on the road in the SEC is never easy especially at Bud Walton arena and given the careless turnovers and poor FT shooting that deepens the hole we have to climb out of.One obvious thing I gleaned from this loss is that we have a hell of a player in AmarI Evans.That dude just makes winning plays as he gains more and more confidence and experience.

 

[zjcvols]

People pointing out the FT, sure if we hit FT’s it’s a different story. But we’ve also been extremely lucky in 3P% allowed. Teams have shot 28.4% against us. As we saw yesterday, that’s going to change.

The decision not to get a stretch 4 continues to baffle me

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Yes...nothing concerning or particularly troubling with losing to Arkansas in Bud Walton. My concern is that the biggest issues aren't really fixable halfway thru the season.

Bad FT shooting teams are just going to be bad FT shooting teams 14 games into the season. I don't see that making some miraculous turnaround, though it may regress toward the norm as many of these guys are shooting much lower from the line than last year.

Our lack of depth (and arguably offensive talent outside of Gillespie) at guard isn't getting fixed, either, unfortunately.

We are in sort of uncharted territory for a Barnes-coached Tennessee teams where there doesn't seem to be much roster clarity going into conference play. Lineups are still being tinkered with, playing time is still in flux. We have 11 players averaging over 10 mpg and only 4 averaging over 20 mpg.

I guess the hope is that the team is continually improving and will continue to do so, and that is tough for fans to adjust to in contrast with former teams who seemed more rigid and defined at this point.

As noted during the 3-game losing streak...our hand is forced and we have to play more 3 guard lineups and cut Ament's minutes then hope that coaching the guards to be more aggressive works. We have a lot of dudes who can shoot the 3 and space the floor for our bigs so we can play inside out or take advantage of interior passing and certain match ups (but that largely requires JP to play 25+ minutes). Evans has impressed enough to this point to warrant major minutes so he can further develop...he can/will be a legit 3-level threat while affecting the game on defense with his strength & athleticism. Boswell needs to cut down on his t/o's at this stage of his career but has shown he can shoot 3's and finish strongly at the rim & obviously brings the heat on D. So, play JG/Evans/BB together a lot with relief from Abrams based on the play of those 1st three.

Ament has obviously disappointed although I'm not as down on him as most posters are as of today. You can see the coaches have changed their approach from hero ball to "play within yourself and let the game come to you" and Nate's play of late shows he is listening. He shot 50% on 2 pt attempts vs. Arky while getting to the line a lot which is what you want...if he shoots his normal FT %'age he would have had 16 pts along with 3 assists, 2 stls and only 1 t/o. He also had a decent games against both UL and Kansas so, I at least am seeing some improvement against quality competition although he is still inconsistent (e.g., IL and Cuse). And more off-ball action to get him the ball in the low & high post is still needed BUT he can't continue to get the same amount of minutes.

Carey has the staff in a quandary but it's not a surprise and you have to play him more than 16 min imo - you knew coming in he would struggle against length in the SEC (and because those dudes are also physical) and you knew he can't hit FT's.

Lastly, you have to make the same tradeoff as the last 2 seasons...better all-around offense (scoring and assisted-scores) and rebounding for the occasional defensive lapse so you can play JP 25+ minutes. JP has a bit of an edge which I think can be brought out more and I also believe his D will get better...many seem to forget he is still playing his way back to form after a very long hiatus. GBO!

Edit: At this point, I wouldn't mind seeing us go more small ball with Okpara or JP depending on matc-up and game situational need then JG/BB/AA and Evans who seems even stronger and more physical than BB imo.

 

[Skooter]

People pointing out the FT, sure if we hit FT’s it’s a different story. But we’ve also been extremely lucky in 3P% allowed. Teams have shot 28.4% against us. As we saw yesterday, that’s going to change.

The decision not to get a stretch 4 continues to baffle me

They tried Ament at the 4 last night. Ideally, we could do this so he doesn’t get matched up trying to guard but we can’t really because he will get abused in the post. 3 rebounds in 32 minutes means he’s doing a lot of ball watching and getting shoved around. He should be up in the air and snagging rebounds above the rim

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I will say that if the Evans revelation is real and sustainable, then I have some hope. He attacks the basket, plays great defense, and doesn't play scared. The tough thing is that he and Ament really play the same position. If both are in the game, one is playing out of position because they will likely be paired with Gillespie and then two of our post players, meaning one of them has to essentially play SG.

Ament played quite a bit at the 4 last night when Evans was in there, first we’ve seen that

 

[bleedingTNorange]

People pointing out the FT, sure if we hit FT’s it’s a different story. But we’ve also been extremely lucky in 3P% allowed. Teams have shot 28.4% against us. As we saw yesterday, that’s going to change.

The decision not to get a stretch 4 continues to baffle me

Last year we gave up 28.7% from 3 on the year, were we lucky for 40 games or is it possible that’s the defense we play?

 

[zjcvols]

Last year we gave up 28.7% from 3 on the year, were we lucky for 40 games or is it possible that’s the defense we play?

We play fantastic defense. We also did allow 30% in conference play which is still fantastic last year. However, 3P% can be a huge variance. And we played a pretty weak OOC. And I don’t quite believe we are as good defensively last year. Illinois and Kansas shot well against us. But we will see. The bigger issue is we don’t shoot many 3’s and rely heavily on OReb. That creates bad disparity.

 

[cardvolfan]

I so agree with your post.Winning on the road in the SEC is never easy especially at Bud Walton arena and given the careless turnovers and poor FT shooting that deepens the hole we have to climb out of.One obvious thing I gleaned from this loss is that we have a hell of a player in AmarI Evans.That dude just makes winning plays as he gains more and more confidence and experience.

And 12-13 from the field the last 2 games. 3-4 from three. Handful of steals.

 

[joshwa]

From what I've watched, ZZ is sorely missed. Our point guard can score at will but doesn't have the heart, vision, or determination that Zieglar had. We're missing our floor general. But I've only seen a couple games this year.

 

[Sudden Impact]

The biggest adjustment needed is CRB's. I have faith he will figure it out. Problem is when.

 

[tennesseeduke]

It's hard to figure where to start describing this Tennessee basketball team. The best metaphor I can come up with to describe this bunch is like starting a 1000-piece puzzle that you're excited to assemble only to find out that the pieces in the box are from three different puzzles and they don't all fit together. Some of the pieces do and areas of the puzzle look really good together, but nothing ever all comes together to form a finished product.

In hindsight, this is maybe the worst constructed roster in Barnes's Tennessee tenure considering the era and available resources.

I think as the season goes along they will improve immensely!

 

[walkenvol]

People pointing out the FT, sure if we hit FT’s it’s a different story. But we’ve also been extremely lucky in 3P% allowed. Teams have shot 28.4% against us. As we saw yesterday, that’s going to change.

The decision not to get a stretch 4 continues to baffle me

In reality Ament is a stretch 4

 

[VOLINVONORE]

It's hard to figure where to start describing this Tennessee basketball team. The best metaphor I can come up with to describe this bunch is like starting a 1000-piece puzzle that you're excited to assemble only to find out that the pieces in the box are from three different puzzles and they don't all fit together. Some of the pieces do and areas of the puzzle look really good together, but nothing ever all comes together to form a finished product.

In hindsight, this is maybe the worst constructed roster in Barnes's Tennessee tenure considering the era and available resources.

I don't think it is that complicated. When every player does his job, things move along very well. When 1 or 2 don't carry their load, it puts more pressure on those who are doing their job. A little bench time can do wonders.

 

[The Tall Gguy]

Is Bruce Pearl taking over when Barnes retires?

 

[berryvol]

Things are never as good or as bad as they seem at any given point. Arkansas was playing as good or better than anyone in the SEC heading into conference play. It was likely we were going to lose this road game. I think we go off the rails a bit, and this doesn’t include everyone in here, when we lose a game. Very bipolar crowd that is either high or low, except for the usuals who are negative in wins or losses.

Things need to be addressed, but we just don’t know what could happen these next 2 months. The sky didn’t fall last night and it certainly was not a bad loss to a bad team. Lots of positives about this team, and Barnes will do his best to figure it out.

I remember the post-UK freak outs last season. I remember the post-USCjr and Miss State freak outs in 2024. I remember early and late conference freak outs in 2023. I remember people ready to fire Barnes over the Texas tech game in 2022.

Three of those seasons we made the second weekend of the tourney and the other we won the SECT. The Sky frequently falls on this board and maybe the most, at least over unwarranted things, in this forum.

 

[RockyTop140]

Having 1 PG (who is your best shooter no less) and then no SGs who can consistently shoot the ball isn't a great recipe, so I'll stand by the roster construction opinion. But I agree on the mentally weak comment, as well.

The pieces just don't fit. Lack of guard play means we have to play through the post so much. Your post players are typically your worst FT shooters, statistically. That is who is shooting our FTs. Gillespie has the 2nd most attempts, but the #1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 guys in FT attempts are post players including Ament. We miss a lot of FTs, no doubt, but we don't have a lot of guards shooting them, either, because we don't have guards shooting the ball. Additionally, we aren't really built to come back from a deficit because we cannot generate the extra points behind the arc. In this era of basketball, you have to have shooters and we don't have them.

There was so much more I could say in my original post, but I wanted to keep it short.

It feels like we’ve always had an issue with having only 1 guy who can dribble well enough to head up the offense. I’m not saying you need 2 true stud point guards… but you need a guy who can dribble well enough to get to the rim and create some opportunities on offense. When Gillespie is out it’s ugly. Similar to when Ziegler would be out.

 

[cncchris33]

It feels like we’ve always had an issue with having only 1 guy who can dribble well enough to head up the offense. I’m not saying you need 2 true stud point guards… but you need a guy who can dribble well enough to get to the rim and create some opportunities on offense. When Gillespie is out it’s ugly. Similar to when Ziegler would be out.

The best group I can remember was Chandler, Ziegler, and Vescovi. Three guys who could make an honest living as a PG, but two who could definitely play off the ball, as well. Plenty of ball-handling, passing, shooting. Throw in JJJ and Victor Bailey and you had a nice quintet of guys you felt comfortable with the ball in their hands. That 21-22 team was really good and will ultimately be remembered for wetting the bed against Michigan for an early exit. But that group was super solid.

 

[RockyTop140]

The best group I can remember was Chandler, Ziegler, and Vescovi. Three guys who could make an honest living as a PG, but two who could definitely play off the ball, as well. Plenty of ball-handling, passing, shooting. Throw in JJJ and Victor Bailey and you had a nice quintet of guys you felt comfortable with the ball in their hands. That 21-22 team was really good and will ultimately be remembered for wetting the bed against Michigan for an early exit. But that group was super solid.

Yep. That team and the 18-19 group I thought we had the best chance to win a championship. The losses to Michigan and Loyola Chicago still piss me off

 

[VolsSportsFan]

The best group I can remember was Chandler, Ziegler, and Vescovi. Three guys who could make an honest living as a PG, but two who could definitely play off the ball, as well. Plenty of ball-handling, passing, shooting. Throw in JJJ and Victor Bailey and you had a nice quintet of guys you felt comfortable with the ball in their hands. That 21-22 team was really good and will ultimately be remembered for wetting the bed against Michigan for an early exit. But that group was super solid.

I commented not long after the Michigan loss but there was a moment in the game where we were up 7 with the ball and Chandler brought the ball up and had a pretty bad turnover where he either just lost it or had it easily taken from him; and at that moment I thought "Oh man that feels bigger than it should" and while I'm not blaming that play specifically, the momentum definitely changed after that.