Breaking: Pons returning to Tennessee

#78
#78
cncchris33 said:
To your point, I think he has the mindset of a PG and the skill set of a SG. He can play both, but I wonder where he is best-suited. We haven’t seen him play much SG, but I think it’d be an added bonus to have another ball-handler with a good shot on one of the wings. Someone who can get to the paint and distribute without that being their primary responsibility and having to facilitate the offense.
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That's a fair assessment. It also helps to have a secondary PnR ball handler. That is something a lot of NBA/pro teams have been featuring in their offensive sets for swing/counters on ball rotations.
 
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#80
#80
VolforFootball said:
I feel like there is a lot of over-confidence in here regarding next year's team. We definitely have talent and depth, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
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While I'm normally as optimistic as anyone, unfortunately, I tend to agree - while there is a ton of exciting potential and depth and I do believe the team will be very good - at this moment, this team doesn't deserve the hype it's getting right now, which is seems to be similar to the 2018-2019 team. In reality, we went 17-14 and .500 in conference last year and lost our co-leading scorer, we definitely added some nice pieces and development for some players has been very encouraging, but it's not like we were an SEC championship team returning the SEC player of the year, 6th man of the year and our top 6 players from that team like we were in 2018-2019.

If we play a full season, I'm thinking something like 24-8/23-9 type season, which would be a great season and put us in a great spot to make a run in the tournament, but I don't know if I'm buying this best team ever talk. The potential and depth is there for a fun season, so we'll see.
 
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#81
#81
Sea Ray said:
Let's just hope there is a "this year".
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Basketball can begin in January so I believe we will get a season. Of course getting the Vaccine ready by then sure will help and also Hurd immunity will help as well slow down virus. We will see. Philippians 4:6-7
 
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#82
#82
TheMookieMonster said:
This is indeed the deepest a UT basketball team has ever been. Will it be the best? Who knows. The 2018 team was pretty stout, but that was mainly because we had an incredible Top 6. After that we had little depth. This year we'll have more than 6 reliable players. The key is how do they all mesh together and which newcomers pick up Barnes' philosophy the quickest.

It's going to be weird seeing so many key players from last year's team take a backseat, but right now if I had to take a guess on the starting 5 it would be:

-Victor Bailey (PG)
-Josiah Jordan James (SG)
-Keon Johnson (SG)
-John Fulkerson (PF)
-Yves Pons (PF)

Weird to think we'll have guys like Springer, Vescovi, Anosike, and Walker Jr. coming off the bench. So. Much. Talent.
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If Springer isn’t starting or getting more minutes over Victor Bailey something went terribly wrong
 
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#83
#83
This has the chance to be the best defensive team in school history. Right now my minutes break down for big games.

Vescovi 25/Springer 15
Springer 15/Johnson 15/Bailey 10
James 25/Pons 10/Johnson 5
Pons 20/Anosike 10/Walker 10
Fulkerson 30/Anosike 10

Pember redshirts. Walker and ORN battle for minutes at the 4. Plavsic is emergency big man for foul trouble
 
#84
#84
zjcvols said:
This has the chance to be the best defensive team in school history. Right now my minutes break down for big games.

Vescovi 25/Springer 15
Springer 15/Johnson 15/Bailey 10
James 25/Pons 10/Johnson 5
Pons 20/Anosike 10/Walker 10
Fulkerson 30/Anosike 10

Pember redshirts. Walker and ORN battle for minutes at the 4. Plavsic is emergency big man for foul trouble
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It's gonna be an awesome Sweet 16 run!
 
#85
#85
zjcvols said:
If Springer isn’t starting or getting more minutes over Victor Bailey something went terribly wrong
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Goodness gracious.

What was the 5 year average for players in that ranking, something like 20mpg right?

So if redshirt junior Victor Bailey, who has had a full year with Barnes and staff to learn the system and what is expected over Springer who already got a late jump because COVID, gets 25mpg and Springer 22mpg then something went terribly wrong?

Maybe Bailey just happens to be pretty good?
 
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#87
#87
zjcvols said:
This has the chance to be the best defensive team in school history. Right now my minutes break down for big games.

Vescovi 25/Springer 15
Springer 15/Johnson 15/Bailey 10
James 25/Pons 10/Johnson 5
Pons 20/Anosike 10/Walker 10
Fulkerson 30/Anosike 10

Pember redshirts. Walker and ORN battle for minutes at the 4. Plavsic is emergency big man for foul trouble
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Game 1 is Wisconsin, should get the answer right away.
 
#88
#88
bleedingTNorange said:
Goodness gracious.

What was the 5 year average for players in that ranking, something like 20mpg right?

So if redshirt junior Victor Bailey, who has had a full year with Barnes and staff to learn the system and what is expected over Springer who already got a late jump because COVID, gets 25mpg and Springer 22mpg then something went terribly wrong?

Maybe Bailey just happens to be pretty good?
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yes. Bailey is a solid off ball role player. He should get minutes. I could see him even taking some of Vescovi’s minutes or Johnson’s. Maybe play 15-20 mpg. Springer is a consensus top 15/NBA first round talent and supposed to be special with the ball in his hands. If Bailey is the starter over Springer, then yes something went wrong. Like Springer either got hurt or Springer isn’t as good as advertised.
 
#89
#89
zjcvols said:
If Springer isn’t starting or getting more minutes over Victor Bailey something went terribly wrong
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I disagree completely. Victor Bailey is a former Top 100 player himself and will now have had two full off seasons and a complete regular season on the bench to absorb and prepare to run Barnes’ offense.

It’s not a slight on Springer, a true freshmen, to say that he might not start. His talent is undeniable but there is no guarantee he is going to immediately come in and blow everyone away. When is the last time we’ve had a 5-star be elite on Day 1?

Bailey is really good. There is no shame in him getting the starting job over Springer considering how much time Bailey has been part of this team.
 
#90
#90
TheMookieMonster said:
I disagree completely. Victor Bailey is a former Top 100 player himself and will now have had two full off seasons and a complete regular season on the bench to absorb and prepare to run Barnes’ offense.

It’s not a slight on Springer, a true freshmen, to say that he might not start. His talent is undeniable but there is no guarantee he is going to immediately come in and blow everyone away. When is the last time we’ve had a 5-star be elite on Day 1?

Bailey is really good. There is no shame in him getting the starting job over Springer considering how much time Bailey has been part of this team.
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Bailey is a nice role player that can shoot and play defense. His upside is limited. Springer is supposed to be special. He’s a one and done type player and his rankings suggest that. If he’s not getting the big minutes over Bailey and Bailey is averaging more minutes per game, then Springer isn’t as good as thought and that lowers the ceiling of this team.
 
#91
#91
zjcvols said:
yes. Bailey is a solid off ball role player. He should get minutes. I could see him even taking some of Vescovi’s minutes or Johnson’s. Maybe play 15-20 mpg. Springer is a consensus top 15/NBA first round talent and supposed to be special with the ball in his hands. If Bailey is the starter over Springer, then yes something went wrong. Like Springer either got hurt or Springer isn’t as good as advertised.
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Or Bailey proved to be the better/more ready PG, and Springer showed he could excel off the ball as well.
 
#92
#92
zjcvols said:
Bailey is a nice role player that can shoot and play defense. His upside is limited. Springer is supposed to be special. He’s a one and done type player and his rankings suggest that. If he’s not getting the big minutes over Bailey and Bailey is averaging more minutes per game, then Springer isn’t as good as thought and that lowers the ceiling of this team.
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This has been proven incorrect. Not sure why our fan base ignores the facts and expects more from players than multiple years of statistics say they should.
 
#93
#93
zjcvols said:
Bailey is a nice role player that can shoot and play defense. His upside is limited. Springer is supposed to be special. He’s a one and done type player and his rankings suggest that. If he’s not getting the big minutes over Bailey and Bailey is averaging more minutes per game, then Springer isn’t as good as thought and that lowers the ceiling of this team.
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This is simply not true. I suggest you stop looking at NBA Mock Drafts as your basis for potential or you’re going to be severely disappointed.

Talent develops at different rates. Hell, Springer isn’t even getting a normal off-season because of COVID-19. This will undoubtedly affect his growth early on, how could it not?

This time last year there were mock drafts that had Josiah going in the Top 20-25 of the first round. As it turns out, it took him longer to adjust to the college game and at the end of the season we started to see flashes of what he can become.

Don’t put unfair expectations on Springer or discount Bailey because some journo said Springer should be a Top-15 pick. They’re all just guessing like the rest of us.
 
#94
#94
bleedingTNorange said:
Or Bailey proved to be the better/more ready PG, and Springer showed he could excel off the ball as well.
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And if Bailey/Springer start, that would be fine. But that wasn’t I originally posted. It’s talking about Bailey getting more minutes that Springer, which would be bad.
 
#95
#95
zjcvols said:
And if Bailey/Springer start, that would be fine. But that wasn’t I originally posted. It’s talking about Bailey getting more minutes that Springer, which would be bad.
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Again, circumstances matter. Bailey getting more minutes does not automatically mean it’s bad for us.
 
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#96
#96
TheMookieMonster said:
This is simply not true. I suggest you stop looking at NBA Mock Drafts as your basis for potential or you’re going to be severely disappointed.

Talent develops at different rates. Hell, Springer isn’t even getting a normal off-season because of COVID-19. This will undoubtedly affect his growth early on, how could it not?

This time last year there were mock drafts that had Josiah going in the Top 20-25 of the first round. As it turns out, it took him longer to adjust to the college game and at the end of the season we started to see flashes of what he can become.

Don’t put unfair expectations on Springer or discount Bailey because some journo said Springer should be a Top-15 pick. They’re all just guessing like the rest of us.
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Then what should I base it on? Multiple talent evaluators more qualified than you or me and who get paid peg Springer as a first round NBA talent as soon as 2021. So I’m confused, when can I start talking about his potential? Why is it unfair for me to think a top 15 player in the country come in and get starters minutes? Sounds just like with JJJ where we are going to make constant excuses to make up for the fact he just didn’t have a good year and was disappointing. And Springer hasn’t even played yet.

If Springer can’t beat out Victor Bailey for minutes, even with COVID-19 restrictions, then that’s not a good sign.
 
#97
#97
zjcvols said:
Then what should I base it on? Multiple talent evaluators more qualified than you or me and who get paid peg Springer as a first round NBA talent as soon as 2021. So I’m confused, when can I start talking about his potential? Why is it unfair for me to think a top 15 player in the country come in and get starters minutes? Sounds just like with JJJ where we are going to make constant excuses to make up for the fact he just didn’t have a good year and was disappointing. And Springer hasn’t even played yet.

If Springer can’t beat out Victor Bailey for minutes, even with COVID-19 restrictions, then that’s not a good sign.
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It’s just ridiculous, in my opinion, to hold Springer to some arbitrary standard that the only way he is good is it he gets more minutes than a guy that has been on the team for more than a year. Bailey isn’t some average Joe either. The dude is a Top 100 player in his class. The gap between #15 and #100 isn’t that substantial, especially when you have a two years of college experience on the true freshmen.

And yeah, personally, I do think you should stop looking at mock drafts as a basis for judging talent. I’m not saying you should listen to BTO or me or anyone on this forum, but those super early predictions are usually so wrong it’s hilarious.
 
#98
#98
TheMookieMonster said:
It’s just ridiculous, in my opinion, to hold Springer to some arbitrary standard that the only way he is good is it he gets more minutes than a guy that has been on the team for more than a year. Bailey isn’t some average Joe either. The dude is a Top 100 player in his class. The gap between #15 and #100 isn’t that substantial, especially when you have a two years of college experience on the true freshmen.

And yeah, personally, I do think you should stop looking at mock drafts as a basis for judging talent. I’m not saying you should listen to BTO or me or anyone on this forum, but those super early predictions are usually so wrong it’s hilarious.
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Bailey is a solid role player. He can shoot. He’s a good defender. He’s not a PG. Hes an offball guard that can defend PG’s. Have you seen Springer’s highlights? He one the best athletes at the guard position we’ve ever had. Assuming he doesn’t get injured or COVID or something like that, then there is no way in hell a guy like Bailey should be taking Springer’s spot or PT.

Now maybe Bailey is that good and Bailey and Springer start together and Bailey plays 29 mpg and Springer plays 27 mpg. That’s fine. I’m talking Springer specifically backing up Bailey. If that happens, then something went wrong.
 
#99
#99
zjcvols said:
If Springer isn’t starting or getting more minutes over Victor Bailey something went terribly wrong
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Or did something go terrifically well for Bailey in terms of his development with this staff? Bailey isn't bereft of talent in his own right, and will have an additional offseason and a redshirt season's worth of experience in the system that Springer doesn't. I think we all know that Springer is talented. Bailey is more of a mystery because we haven't seen him play in 2 years but he was always a good shooter and it will be interesting to see what kinds of improvement he's made as a PG under Barnes and staff's direction. If he's getting more minutes than Springer, I think there is just as good a chance, if not a better chance, that it speaks to his improvement and development as a player than it does negatively about Springer's ability.

One thing that seems universally apparent is that Bailey is the wildcard in the whole lineup guessing game. Opinions on him are quite polarizing. Most people either believe he starts and dominates PG minutes, or he is 3rd string at one or both guard positions. I think it is likely somewhere in the middle.
 
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#100
#100
zjcvols said:
Bailey is a solid role player. He can shoot. He’s a good defender. He’s not a PG. Hes an offball guard that can defend PG’s. Have you seen Springer’s highlights? He one the best athletes at the guard position we’ve ever had. Assuming he doesn’t get injured or COVID or something like that, then there is no way in hell a guy like Bailey should be taking Springer’s spot or PT.

Now maybe Bailey is that good and Bailey and Springer start together and Bailey plays 29 mpg and Springer plays 27 mpg. That’s fine. I’m talking Springer specifically backing up Bailey. If that happens, then something went wrong.
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You seem to be ignoring NCAA playing experience and its significance.

Additionally, if our history with 5-stars is any barometer, the inherent flaw in your logic is even further illustrated.
 
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