Dilione to the portal

[LAVol1]

just wasn’t the right fit for him here, we’ll see how good he is in the next two years. hell we’ll prolly see next year

Probably like Huntley-Hatfield. Highly regarded recruit but wasn't missed after he transferred. Respectable stats at Louisville, but not a big star and his impact did not keep Loserville from ending up a distant last in the ACC (3-17). (I do believe Barnes could have given him a shot at the NBA).

 

[BisonVol]

He looked nervous and scared to make a mistake, like most players who play for Rick Barnes. He will pull you for your first error unless you’re a starting guy - and even then (@Jonas Aidoo).

yes, the guy who has coaches two SEC POY’s, two SEC regular season championships and is coming fresh off an E8 has his guys nervous and scared. It borders on pathetic how hard you guys try to push false narratives about the best coach in this program’s history.

 

[Delmar]

yes, the guy who has coaches two SEC POY’s, two SEC regular season championships and is coming fresh off an E8 has his guys nervous and scared. It borders on pathetic how hard you guys try to push false narratives about the best coach in this program’s history.

It doesn’t just border on pathetic. It is pathetic. I believe 800 wins tell everybody all they need to know about his system.

 

[VOLtaism]

I guess he knows the score better than anyone else. I thought he was exactly what we needed, a 2 guard who could drive and finish at the rim to compliment ZZ. I saw flashes of that during the non-conference schedule. Its going to be a free for all in the portal anyway, plenty of good players on the market. Let the bidding begin.

 

[Delmar]

I guess he knows the score better than anyone else. I thought he was exactly what we needed, a 2 guard who could drive and finish at the rim to compliment ZZ. I saw flashes of that during the non-conference schedule. Its going to be a free for all in the portal anyway, plenty of good players on the market. Let the bidding begin.

The new world of college sports.

 

[OrangeInKy]

Are you serious? What coach have you been watching the last several years? He’s notoriously hard on his players, especially if you make a mistake defensively. Name a young player he hasn’t done this to. Even his veterans will get pulled if they aren’t pulling their weight or making mistakes defensively. Name a player he HASNT pulled at some time for making a mistake on the court.

Of course, offensively he seems to be ok with just chucking the ball all over the court.

You mean the hard coaching that made Grant and Admiral NBA players? The hard coaching that made Zeigler all SEC? (Barnes was patient with him and then took him out of starting lineup briefly last year after Colorado, and ZZ responded well ) The hard coaching that Knecht came here for and that made him SEC player of year, All American and future top 15 draft pick?

The poster earlier said he “yanks them after their first error”. That’s false. You’re talking about something different, which is pulling a player of he’s a liability, which is about being fair to the team and trying to win. Players get pulled at times, then they get back on. It happens with all coaches.

Knecht had his moments of not pulling his weight on defense. In fact, weren’t the Barnes bashers blaming Barnes for that and saying he pushed Knecht too hard and wore him down? Barnes wasn’t yanking him, even when he wasn’t shooting his best, he wasn’t yanking him for being a defensive liability earlier in the season.

During Barnes’ time here he has had a record of having guys here for years and developing them, which means he plays them through their errors. Which is weird, since another poster claims “he yanks then after their first error”.

You can’t name “ a lot of examples” of that being his M.O. because there aren’t a lot of them . You all would be bashing him if he played Dillione (BJ Edwards was who people said this about last year) a ton of minutes while he couldn’t defend and it cost the team wins, an SEC title, or Elite 8. He’s supposed to let his team suffer to Dillione can learn out there, instead of playing the guys that are ready?

 

[vegasvolfan]

Being reported by VQ.

Not surprising.

 

[spyfish007]

So I always thought that FD had an awkward movement about the court. Whether on offense or defense, his movement did not seem natural. I thought he would stay with all the minutes becoming available. I do wonder what was discussed with CRB.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

There were dozens, if not a hundred or more, posts being critical of the staff for not giving Dilione more minutes during the season to ‘develop’ him. Perhaps a veteran coach knew exactly how it was going to play out and only gave Dilione a handful of minutes to possibly help out in certain situations. But iirc in a lot of those brief appearances FD took a quick, poor shot, had an immediate turnover, or made a defensive mistake. I also think that FD’s foot issue factored into how it all played out.

Too bad it didn’t work out, but the pool of NIL money isn’t unlimited. Freddie will probably benefit from a different situation going forward.

 

[tennrich1]

I must say….lots of us are way out of our lane this morning. So I guess I’ll swerve a little too. JMO… but FD never seemed to anticipate, react, or look like he belonged on the floor to me. If we SHOULD know anything about Rick, everything he does (and clearly he knows what he’s doing and operates at a HOF level) is to make the individual AND the team develop at a championship level. Just listen to his players and coaches. One thing that never can be disputed is a personal testimony. The players love him because they know Rick is doing what’s best. And when we make “low hanging fruit” statements about players and coaches with definitive demeanor and dogmatism they generally make us appear aloof and disconnected to the “INAM” established culture. I think we ALL overthink sports too often. I know I’m guilty!

 

[gainesvol82]

Doesn't surprise me. I think Dilione will kill it it at a smaller school but his lack of athleticism and physicality jumped off the screen. He also made a lot of mistakes and played very timid.

Only way he would have been worth staying is if he was a killer from outside but I never saw him hit a jump shot....then again, I also never really saw him take any.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

With TN at an elite level, unless FD was willing to take a huge pay cut, it might just be a difficult ‘business’ decision that needed to be made.

JJJ also struggled with injuries. So did Lamonte. Reality is that it’s a tremendous physical strain to compete at this level. It’s no longer an era where athletes that didn’t grow up as UT fans are going to stick it out and invest several years for the possibility of being a key player a year or more out.

Plantar fasciitis - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Here’s Basilio’s blog today on Dilione:

Flameout is a pretty strong term here but Freddie Dilione just didn't have the game to play long term at Tennessee. This year it was a messy combination of injuries, academic stuff and lack of defensive acuity that kept him off the floor. I'm being told that Tennessee isn't running anybody off this roster per se but that doesn't mean there won't be portal exits. Dilione has already entered but would be welcomed back if he chose that route. If I'm an oddsmaker I'd install the portal #'s at 1.5 transfers from this roster. It would be a major upset if this roster comes back intact. It won't. Freddie D is going to make a really nice college basketball player. It won't be here. I'd watch Wake Forest, NC State and Virginia among others.

 

[CAVPUT]

He looked nervous and scared to make a mistake, like most players who play for Rick Barnes. He will pull you for your first error unless you’re a starting guy - and even then (@Jonas Aidoo).

In the past, that was a criticism I had with Barnes, too, but he wasn't that way this year. Now if a kid just wallows defensively for several minute, Barnes will stop the bleeding, but he didn't demand "perfection" on defense. Likely due to the deficiencies that Knecht had and you can't have 2 sets of rules....well...in basketball anyway. Dillione looks lost sometimes because he is. We've had some defenders in football over the years who never could grasp what the coaches wanted them to do so they never made it here. In basketball, it's even more important that everyone does their job and knows what everyone else is doing and where they'll be. Dillione will flourish somewhere that doesn't have such an emphasis on defense or has really simple schemes. Offensively, we'll look at him in a couple of years like we now do with Burns and wish he'd stayed. UT and Dillione was just a bad fit. No way to have known that he just wouldn't adapt given the amount of time he was here. Wish him well.

 

[CAVPUT]

With TN at an elite level, unless FD was willing to take a huge pay cut, it might just be a difficult ‘business’ decision that needed to be made.

JJJ also struggled with injuries. So did Lamonte. Reality is that it’s a tremendous physical strain to compete at this level. It’s no longer an era where athletes that didn’t grow up as UT fans are going to stick it out and invest several years for the possibility of being a key player a year or more out.

Plantar fasciitis - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Dillione was being paid? Incredible.

 

[gainesvol82]

Me too. I think he could have provided a missing element in offense, but the defense was a problem.

He is not nearly athletic enough to play his offensive game in the SEC. Strength is driving but smaller, can't jump and not very fast.

 

[cardvolfan]

rick honestly never let him play free, if he made one mistake he was getting pulled.

Come on, man. Rick saw him plenty. If you’re a difference maker, you will play. If not, you won’t. It was all Barnes’ fault.

 

[cncchris33]

He is not nearly athletic enough to play his offensive game in the SEC. Strength is driving but smaller, can't jump and not very fast.

I'm with you on speed/foot quickness, but I can't say he's smaller, though not sure what you're comparing him to to say that. He's 6-5 playing either guard position. And his jumping ability shouldn't really be questioned after the block he made late in the season when he went way up to wide a basket away.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Getting to the basket seemed to be his one discernable skill in the limited time he did get. 10-16 shooting from 2, and most of thise were drives to the rim.

I also don't think you'll see him landing at a mid-major. I think he'll find a home at an ACC school closer to home. Wake Forest, NC St., Clemson, Virginia Tech...someone like that.

Very high probability it’s Wake.

 

[Panthro]

I had such high hopes for him this season. So many people talked him up over the summer. I've got a buddy that helped coach the team for SAQ, and he was raving about Freddie before the season.

 

[CAVPUT]

Probably like Huntley-Hatfield. Highly regarded recruit but wasn't missed after he transferred. Respectable stats at Louisville, but not a big star and his impact did not keep Loserville from ending up a distant last in the ACC (3-17). (I do believe Barnes could have given him a shot at the NBA).

If he'd have stuck it out and worked and took the coaching, the dude would have been a much, much better player. Don't know the kid, but he struck me as the kind that felt entitled and considered himself the next Durant. College was an 'inconvenience' and he should have been in the NBA and starting out of HS.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

If he'd have stuck it out and worked and took the coaching, the dude would have been a much, much better player. Don't know the kid, but he struck me as the kind that felt entitled and considered himself the next Durant. College was an 'inconvenience' and he should have been in the NBA and starting out of HS.

What did he do it say to make you speculate such an opinion

 

[CAVPUT]

What did he do it say to make you speculate such an opinion

Just "struck me" that way. Plus there were some posts here and on other boards that pointed to his work ethic and the influence of those around him who had opinions on how he was to be used.

 

[OrangeInKy]

Come on, man. Rick saw him plenty. If you’re a difference maker, you will play. If not, you won’t. It was all Barnes’ fault.

Remember last year when these people were saying the same about BJ Edwards not getting minutes?

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Santi coming back and playing awful really hurt his development. Would have liked for Rick to be forced to play him so hopefully he could learn and develop throughout the year. Frustrating to see all these 4 or 5 stars come in and not even get an opportunity to fail in games, but I get it.

Fulky, Lamonte, Kennedy, Jaden, Keon, and Phillips all say "hi"