Barnes says he is really happy with his point guards.

[Doctrippin]

What kind of gambling sites

Fan Duel is one of them. Opens Nov 1 in TN

 

[Namorto1]

That's not the news, I know all of you saw that. But as hard as he is on his PG's for him to say that should give everyone a good feeling. It may be the only time this season he says it, ha but I thought it was note-worthy. If the PG's are playing to Barnes level that would go a long way to making this team a really good one.

Barnes isn’t one to overhype anything so this is a good sign perhaps. We have 120 total minutes per game to split among both guards and one wing position. James, Johnson, Springer, Bailey, and Vescovi may all average at least 20 minutes and up to 26 minutes per game and if we go small ball and let JJJ play some 4 at times (given he is decent on the glass) Gaines May pick up extra minutes too. Given the depth I don’t see why anyone would need to be anywhere close to 30 minutes per game.

 

[Namorto1]

Anosike is not going to play much over Fulkerson and Pons and I doubt many reserve players have ever led their team in rebounding. He's a good rebounder but I doubt he's on the floor with the game on the line late in the 2nd half when we will need key rebounds. Pons was not a very good rebounder last season thus my reasoning that he and Fulkerson must improve in that department.

Anosike will spot both Fulkerson and Pons and I expect the rotation may be limited to these three most of the time In the frontcourt. I wouldn’t be surprised if Anosike gets at least 20 minutes per game. In brief clips, Anosike seems to be a strong and willing passer in the post as well which will serve our athletic cutters and finishers at the rim. I know everyone is thrilled about the young talent we have in the backcourt, but I hope we continue to be an inside out team offensively when in half court sets. Fulkerson is ridiculously efficient and still needs to be primary option in the half court, Pons hopefully has learned how to put the ball on the floor more and use his athleticism as a mismatch, and Anosike simply looks like a classic old school college banger. My bet is Nkamhoua is the first one off the bench after these three. Plavsic has a ton to prove both defensively and with his rebounding to earn minutes.

 

[VOLED]

Anosike will spot both Fulkerson and Pons and I expect the rotation may be limited to these three most of the time In the frontcourt. I wouldn’t be surprised if Anosike gets at least 20 minutes per game. In brief clips, Anosike seems to be a strong and willing passer in the post as well which will serve our athletic cutters and finishers at the rim. I know everyone is thrilled about the young talent we have in the backcourt, but I hope we continue to be an inside out team offensively when in half court sets. Fulkerson is ridiculously efficient and still needs to be primary option in the half court, Pons hopefully has learned how to put the ball on the floor more and use his athleticism as a mismatch, and Anosike simply looks like a classic old school college banger. My bet is Nkamhoua is the first one off the bench after these three. Plavsic has a ton to prove both defensively and with his rebounding to earn minutes.

Good post. I hope Barnes lets more people get minutes this year. The wear factor seems to take its toll on the players and I still believe this was a factor in us not playing well at the end of the year 3 years ago. I thought Fulky was starting to wear down last year, also.

 

[FTCvol]

How about turnovers, where did SV rate there?

Your initial post was critical of his defense, which statistically it seems he wouldn't be in danger of losing minutes because of his play on that end of the floor. Unless, of course, Springer and/or Johnson come straight in as lock-down defenders.

I'll link you to the piece I wrote on SB Nation's Rocky Top Talk. Read it if you want -- it might give you a better idea of where I'm coming from.

Now, you want to switch gears to turnovers, I'm not sure why because that has nothing to do with the original topic, but I do understand as it is an area he needs to address this season, so we'll check those numbers out, too.

He finished second in total turnovers to JJJ, though JJJ had just one more TO the Vescovi -- 68 to 67 -- but JJJ played the first half of the season whereas Vescovi did not, a 200-plus minutes difference.

Grey-scovi averaged 7.0 TOs per 100 possessions, the highest figure on the team by quite a stretch and finished first (or worst, maybe?) in TOs per 40 mins with 4.7, a full TO higher than the next qualifying player, Olivier Nkamhoua.

But I think the turnovers were a symptom of a serious learning curve as well as a "take the good with the bad," sort of approach to what he's capable of offensively.

An excerpt from those words on RTT:

In that first game against LSU, Santi went 6-9 from deep scoring 18 points and added six rebounds, four assists and a steal. That’s the good manifestation of basketball’s chaos: an unknown player raining down hell-fire from 25 feet away at a 67 percent clip.

But chaos is wild, unpredictable and uncontrollable. Vescovi turned the ball over not four, five or six times — numbers that would, typically, constitute a poor performance — he turned it over nine times. That’s more turnovers than your local bakery sells in a whole day.

The bedlam continued early in his tenure — counting the LSU game, he managed 30 turnover in just his first six games. But, he also averaged more than 24 minutes, hit two-plus 3s and added four rebound and three assists while handling the majority of the point guard duties.

The rest of the season was more trampoline-like ups and downs. He scored double figures in eight of the last 13 games but shot just 32 percent from behind the arc. His minutes increased as the coaches saw the value in his volatility — like his game against Arkansas when I watched him, in person, on my birthday, take a flamethrower to the Hogs with three 3-point daggers, 20 total points and eight assists. You could smell the roasted pig from Gay Street. I find most pork disgusting, so even just watching him decimate a team with a pig mascot made me oh-so-happy. Plus — what a freaking birthday present, right?

He averaged five TO's in his first five games, but that number dropped to 2.8 in the next 13 contests. I think as he got more comfortable, we saw closer to the potentially dynamic player he is.

Vescovi has ELITE vison and I think another posted noted a lot of those TOs came from him leaving his feet without exactly knowing what he was going to do. But if you reign in that "leap without looking," mentality too much, you riso losing the eye-opening plays he makes offensively.

[VIDEO=] [/VIDEO]

[VIDEO=] [/VIDEO]

Bowden not taking the leap we expected and Lamonte's injury put the coaches in a tough spot regarding the lead guard spot. Vescovi came seemingly from nowhere and offered an imperfect solution that I think, overall, worked out well enough. So, yes, his turnovers are an issue, but they improved through the duration of the season, and some of the best plays of the seasons wouldn;'t have happened without Vescovi's somewhat risky approach to playmaking.

 

[cardvolfan]

Good post. I hope Barnes lets more people get minutes this year. The wear factor seems to take its toll on the players and I still believe this was a factor in us not playing well at the end of the year 3 years ago. I thought Fulky was starting to wear down last year, also.

I think that game Fulky had against Kentucky late probably dispels that a bit. I do think in his case, playing so many minutes last year allowed him to finally get his rhythm, which allowed his talent to finally come into play.

 

[cardvolfan]

Your initial post was critical of his defense, which statistically it seems he wouldn't be in danger of losing minutes because of his play on that end of the floor. Unless, of course, Springer and/or Johnson come straight in as lock-down defenders.

I'll link you to the piece I wrote on SB Nation's Rocky Top Talk. Read it if you want -- it might give you a better idea of where I'm coming from.

Now, you want to switch gears to turnovers, I'm not sure why because that has nothing to do with the original topic, but I do understand as it is an area he needs to address this season, so we'll check those numbers out, too.

He finished second in total turnovers to JJJ, though JJJ had just one more TO the Vescovi -- 68 to 67 -- but JJJ played the first half of the season whereas Vescovi did not, a 200-plus minutes difference.

Grey-scovi averaged 7.0 TOs per 100 possessions, the highest figure on the team by quite a stretch and finished first (or worst, maybe?) in TOs per 40 mins with 4.7, a full TO higher than the next qualifying player, Olivier Nkamhoua.

But I think the turnovers were a symptom of a serious learning curve as well as a "take the good with the bad," sort of approach to what he's capable of offensively.

An excerpt from those words on RTT:

He averaged five TO's in his first five games, but that number dropped to 2.8 in the next 13 contests. I think as he got more comfortable, we saw closer to the potentially dynamic player he is.

Vescovi has ELITE vison and I think another posted noted a lot of those TOs came from him leaving his feet without exactly knowing what he was going to do. But if you reign in that "leap without looking," mentality too much, you riso losing the eye-opening plays he makes offensively.

[VIDEO=] [/VIDEO]

[VIDEO=] [/VIDEO]

Bowden not taking the leap we expected and Lamonte's injury put the coaches in a tough spot regarding the lead guard spot. Vescovi came seemingly from nowhere and offered an imperfect solution that I think, overall, worked out well enough. So, yes, his turnovers are an issue, but they improved through the duration of the season, and some of the best plays of the seasons wouldn;'t have happened without Vescovi's somewhat risky approach to playmaking.

I think Vescovi has a gift vision-wise that most guards don't have. It was clear his ability in that area was exceptional, even though his lack of experience on this level was limited.

Speaking about Vescovi's defensive abilities again, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with the numbers you have, as I normally agree numbers tell a story. However, to me at least, it was clear that Vescovi initially was subpar against good competition. I'm pretty certain Barnes alluded to this several times. As time wore on he improved and got better, but I never got the feeling he was anywhere near what you show his numbers to be. A point of emphasis for Vescovi while away per Barnes was improving lateral quickness and his defense, so the numbers confuse me a bit. I would have assumed he was decent defensively at best. What in the numbers say differently? Just wondering because I really don't understand.

 

[VOLED]

I think that game Fulky had against Kentucky late probably dispels that a bit. I do think in his case, playing so many minutes last year allowed him to finally get his rhythm, which allowed his talent to finally come into play.

Good point. I still like the idea of giving more players playing time, but Barnes doesn't really seem to like that and it is hard to argue with his success.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Fan Duel is one of them. Opens Nov 1 in TN

Use code talksports for..... oops, sorry it’s just engraved in my brain

 

[INDEFENSE]

If I remember correctly(as I get older this comes into play more) alot of his early turnovers were due to players not being ready for the pass. Seems to me alot of guys were suprised the pass came to them and that caused the turnover. With a season under his belt and this offseason to get the new guys used to his passes I think the turnover numbers will be way lower. Could be wishful thinking but I believe he is one of the better passers I've seen on Tennessee in a while.

 

[cardvolfan]

Good point. I still like the idea of giving more players playing time, but Barnes doesn't really seem to like that and it is hard to argue with his success.

Oh, I like having depth and playing depth to your advantage. What I don't like is constant shuffling where a starter, etc is in 3 minutes, back out for 3-4 minutes, then back in for 4-5 minutes. I just think that hurts continuity.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Your initial post was critical of his defense, which statistically it seems he wouldn't be in danger of losing minutes because of his play on that end of the floor. Unless, of course, Springer and/or Johnson come straight in as lock-down defenders.

I'll link you to the piece I wrote on SB Nation's Rocky Top Talk. Read it if you want -- it might give you a better idea of where I'm coming from.

Now, you want to switch gears to turnovers, I'm not sure why because that has nothing to do with the original topic, but I do understand as it is an area he needs to address this season, so we'll check those numbers out, too.

He finished second in total turnovers to JJJ, though JJJ had just one more TO the Vescovi -- 68 to 67 -- but JJJ played the first half of the season whereas Vescovi did not, a 200-plus minutes difference.

Grey-scovi averaged 7.0 TOs per 100 possessions, the highest figure on the team by quite a stretch and finished first (or worst, maybe?) in TOs per 40 mins with 4.7, a full TO higher than the next qualifying player, Olivier Nkamhoua.

But I think the turnovers were a symptom of a serious learning curve as well as a "take the good with the bad," sort of approach to what he's capable of offensively.

An excerpt from those words on RTT:

He averaged five TO's in his first five games, but that number dropped to 2.8 in the next 13 contests. I think as he got more comfortable, we saw closer to the potentially dynamic player he is.

Vescovi has ELITE vison and I think another posted noted a lot of those TOs came from him leaving his feet without exactly knowing what he was going to do. But if you reign in that "leap without looking," mentality too much, you riso losing the eye-opening plays he makes offensively.

[VIDEO=] [/VIDEO]

[VIDEO=] [/VIDEO]

Bowden not taking the leap we expected and Lamonte's injury put the coaches in a tough spot regarding the lead guard spot. Vescovi came seemingly from nowhere and offered an imperfect solution that I think, overall, worked out well enough. So, yes, his turnovers are an issue, but they improved through the duration of the season, and some of the best plays of the seasons wouldn;'t have happened without Vescovi's somewhat risky approach to playmaking.

My point was really a whole different direction. You obviously believe Vescovi is a difference maker and sounded like you feel he will log the most minutes at point. If JJJ is better defensively, better at rebounding, better in turnover margin and equal in assist it's my belief that the offense is much more likely to go through James' hands than it will SVs. SV will be a weapon off the bench, JJJ not so much and the combo of three interchangeable guards in JJJ/Springer/Keon who as a group will be one of the best defensive backcourts in the country will be the direction Barnes goes most often I feel.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Anosike will spot both Fulkerson and Pons and I expect the rotation may be limited to these three most of the time In the frontcourt. I wouldn’t be surprised if Anosike gets at least 20 minutes per game. In brief clips, Anosike seems to be a strong and willing passer in the post as well which will serve our athletic cutters and finishers at the rim. I know everyone is thrilled about the young talent we have in the backcourt, but I hope we continue to be an inside out team offensively when in half court sets. Fulkerson is ridiculously efficient and still needs to be primary option in the half court, Pons hopefully has learned how to put the ball on the floor more and use his athleticism as a mismatch, and Anosike simply looks like a classic old school college banger. My bet is Nkamhoua is the first one off the bench after these three. Plavsic has a ton to prove both defensively and with his rebounding to earn minutes.

The combo of our offensive and defensive efficiency is what will make this team elite I feel and like you say Fulkerson plays a big role in that on both ends.
I think we'll run through Fulky a bunch in close games and critical moments as well as anytime he's a clear mismatch, I just think that we are going to press and run every chance we get in between Fulky possessions.

 

[Roustabout]

If I remember correctly(as I get older this comes into play more) alot of his early turnovers were due to players not being ready for the pass. Seems to me alot of guys were suprised the pass came to them and that caused the turnover. With a season under his belt and this offseason to get the new guys used to his passes I think the turnover numbers will be way lower. Could be wishful thinking but I believe he is one of the better passers I've seen on Tennessee in a while.

Who?

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

My point was really a whole different direction. You obviously believe Vescovi is a difference maker and sounded like you feel he will log the most minutes at point. If JJJ is better defensively, better at rebounding, better in turnover margin and equal in assist it's my belief that the offense is much more likely to go through James' hands than it will SVs. SV will be a weapon off the bench, JJJ not so much and the combo of three interchangeable guards in JJJ/Springer/Keon who as a group will be one of the best defensive backcourts in the country will be the direction Barnes goes most often I feel.

I am on team JJJ.

I think the Starters ultimately are JJJ, Bailey, Keon, Pons, Fulky

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

Minutes when we are playing tough competition:
Fulkerson: 30
Pons 30
Keon 25
Bailey 25
JJJ 25
Vescovi 20
Springer 20
Anosike 20
Others 5

 

[Vol49er]

Minutes when we are playing tough competition:
Fulkerson: 30
Pons 30
Keon 25
Bailey 25
JJJ 25
Vescovi 20
Springer 20
Anosike 20
Others 5

I agree on JJJ being a starter but I don’t think Bailey will be getting 25 minutes, and I think his minutes will decrease over the course of the season

 

[FTCvol]

I think Vescovi has a gift vision-wise that most guards don't have. It was clear his ability in that area was exceptional, even though his lack of experience on this level was limited.

Speaking about Vescovi's defensive abilities again, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with the numbers you have, as I normally agree numbers tell a story. However, to me at least, it was clear that Vescovi initially was subpar against good competition. I'm pretty certain Barnes alluded to this several times. As time wore on he improved and got better, but I never got the feeling he was anywhere near what you show his numbers to be. A point of emphasis for Vescovi while away per Barnes was improving lateral quickness and his defense, so the numbers confuse me a bit. I would have assumed he was decent defensively at best. What in the numbers say differently? Just wondering because I really don't understand.

The numbers don’t necessarily say anything different than him being more than a reasonably decent defender, honestly. Better performances against lesser opponents and worse performances against better teams could cause the numbers to not necessarily lie, but skew the truth a bit.

I just think the boost he provides offensively is enough to mitigate some deficiencies on defense.

But we all know If you don’t play Defense for Barnes, you just don’t play at all.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

I agree on JJJ being a starter but I don’t think Bailey will be getting 25 minutes, and I think his minutes will decrease over the course of the season

I agree, I don't see Bailey getting anywhere near the minutes folks on here are predicting. He's more likely going to be battling Gaines for any minutes they can get. 15 minutes a game at most as I just don't see him on the floor much more than 5-8 minutes a half.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

I am on team JJJ.

I think the Starters ultimately are JJJ, Bailey, Keon, Pons, Fulky

I'm not nearly that high on Bailey and just see him getting 5-7 minutes per half at most.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I'm not nearly that high on Bailey and just see him getting 5-7 minutes per half at most.

Heck, what’d he do in between posts to lose 2mpg???

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Heck, what’d he do in between posts to lose 2mpg???

Lol, I'm old is my answer to that!! Someone is going to have to sit the bench and I just don't see ANY of the 5* guards sitting much. If Vescovi gets 10 minutes of time from basically JJJ/Keon/Springer each that gives us 4 guards who avg around 30 per game. Fulky and Pons get 30 per game giving Anosike 20 per. Obviously game situations will often dictate these numbers to not be exact but I believe that come tournament time and vs top teams this is going to be our main rotation. Early in the season is when guys like Bailey, O, Gaines and Uros will get most of their minutes. I can see Bailey, Big O, Gaines, Pember and Uros having to earn every minute they get this year.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Lol, I'm old is my answer to that!! Someone is going to have to sit the bench and I just don't see ANY of the 5* guards sitting much. If Vescovi gets 10 minutes of time from basically JJJ/Keon/Springer each that gives us 4 guards who avg around 30 per game. Fulky and Pons get 30 per game giving Anosike 20 per. Obviously game situations will often dictate these numbers to not be exact but I believe that come tournament time and vs top teams this is going to be our main rotation. Early in the season is when guys like Bailey, O, Gaines and Uros will get most of their minutes. I can see Bailey, Big O, Gaines, Pember and Uros having to earn every minute they get this year.

I know you’re high on JJJ, but don’t you find it worth mentioning that whileJJJ: came to Knoxville in the spring before his freshman season, worked out during summer with coaches and teammates, practiced with teammates, had individual workouts with teammates, film study with coaches and on his own, UT’s strength and nutrition staff to work with, scrimmages and exhibition etc. That he was actually beaten out for minutes played in conference play by a guy who: English wasn’t his first language, arrived to Knoxville half way through the year, had 1 practice before being thrown out there as the starting PG, hadn’t played with his teammates at all, had no time to work with coaches etc.?

My point being, you are very quick to anoint JJJ as this teams guy, yet he wasn’t last year given a much better chance to be than this year.

Barnes is huge on conditioning and hates when guys get “tired” and it effects their fundamentals and especially defense, he has said time and time again he wanted Fulky to play less minutes. Here’s more of what I see...

Pons 30
Fulk 30
JJJ 25
Vescovi 26
Johnson 25
Springer 24
Bailey 20
Anosike 20

Others will play but I think those numbers will be close to the averages at seasons end.

 

[Vol49er]

I know you’re high on JJJ, but don’t you find it worth mentioning that whileJJJ: came to Knoxville in the spring before his freshman season, worked out during summer with coaches and teammates, practiced with teammates, had individual workouts with teammates, film study with coaches and on his own, UT’s strength and nutrition staff to work with, scrimmages and exhibition etc. That he was actually beaten out for minutes played in conference play by a guy who: English wasn’t his first language, arrived to Knoxville half way through the year, had 1 practice before being thrown out there as the starting PG, hadn’t played with his teammates at all, had no time to work with coaches etc.?

My point being, you are very quick to anoint JJJ as this teams guy, yet he wasn’t last year given a much better chance to be than this year.

Barnes is huge on conditioning and hates when guys get “tired” and it effects their fundamentals and especially defense, he has said time and time again he wanted Fulky to play less minutes. Here’s more of what I see...

Pons 30
Fulk 30
JJJ 25
Vescovi 26
Johnson 25
Springer 24
Bailey 20
Anosike 20

Others will play but I think those numbers will be close to the averages at seasons end.

I would generally agree to those numbers but I would chop off eight minutes from Bailey and distribute that to the other guards and I think OK gets some minutes down low to get Fulk and Pons some more rest
So something like

Pons 27
Fulk 28
JJJ 27
Vescovi 27
Johnson 27
Springer 27
Bailey 12
Anosike 20
Oliver 5

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I would generally agree to those numbers but I would chop off eight minutes from Bailey and distribute that to the other guards and I think OK gets some minutes down low to get Fulk and Pons some more rest
So something like

Pons 27
Fulk 28
JJJ 27
Vescovi 27
Johnson 27
Springer 27
Bailey 12
Anosike 20
Oliver 5

I have no doubt others will get minutes from game to game, just at seasons end I think numbers will be close to what I said. Anosike may play 25 one night but 15 another, ORN may play 10 minutes one night and then 10 minutes combined the next 3 games.