The Official #18 Tennessee vs. UT Martin Game Thread, 7:00 PM ET, SEC Network

[Freak]

 

[TheBigOne10]

I hooe he improves but I'm not impressed with Young. We'll see how much he improves.

He’s pretty terrible. Shouldn’t be hard to improve.

 

[turdherder11]

Thank you freak. You're awesome!

 

[hUTch2002]

I gotta do some research...who are the top teams along with us... Arky, Auburn, LSU, UK?

And Bama.

 

[VegasBaby!]

Having spent 2 years at Martin before transferring to Knoxville in time for the Ernie and Bernie show, I was happy to see UTM come out and compete in the first half before fading to their rightful place in the 2nd.

 

[Kas232323]

He sucks.

Shut up

 

[fifties fan]

And Bama.

Athlon has SEC- KY, AR, TN, AL, AU FWIW

 

[i2amavol]

I agree but he won't be riding the bench like Plav.

Every year some come out with these bold predictions about Vescovi and Bailey, and every year they are wrong. It's probably the same ones that claim ORN is ready to breakout.

I wasn't overly impressed with ORN tonight, but when I looked at the box score: 14 Rebounds, and decent stats otherwise. He must have had a pretty good game. That and his 11 points would be a double-double.

 

[The Dog]

BHH is the best player on the floor, imo, needs more minutes

Let me clarify, BHH was the best big man on the floor, like someone else said, Chandler was the best player. Powell may be the best pure shooter, UT has had, since, dare I say it, yes, Chris Lofton. Just got home, will give some more opinions, tomorrow. But, I enjoyed myself and this team, very much, tonight. It's only going to get better

 

[sechamp2012]

When did this rule change occur?

I think I’m wrong I was thinking of the medical redshirt which is 30% of games.

 

[87&91ALUM]

Enjoyed the game. Good opener. Rick Barnes gets dogged for anything that goes wrong. I want to thank him and the staff for putting this team together and making good decisions regarding playing time, positions, and motivating the players. We are fortunate to have Rick and his staff. Competing with the elites in the NCAA is not easy. GBO! VFL!

 

[ColinS]

I wasn't overly impressed with ORN tonight, but when I looked at the box score: 14 Rebounds, and decent stats otherwise. He must have had a pretty good game. That and his 11 points would be a double-double.

He didn't look the part of an SEC post playing against a low major in the first half although he compiled a few stats. He came out charged and impacted the game in the second half though.

 

[BreatheUT]

I wasn't overly impressed with ORN tonight, but when I looked at the box score: 14 Rebounds, and decent stats otherwise. He must have had a pretty good game. That and his 11 points would be a double-double.

ORN had a good 2nd half. It's something to build on.

Plasvic was so ineffective he didn't even get to play in the 2nd half. He turned into a tall cheerleader like he wants the staff to know he's good for something. I keep waiting for the lights to come on. He'll never be quick twitch but he struggles with role and awareness.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I was very down on ORN, and quite harsh to be frank, after the first half. He did show some life in the 2nd half though, as other have pointed out. I just think BHH has better upside and should be starting.

Now....Uros. Sadly, I love him as a teammate, but the guy is slow and plays small. He is a terrible rebounder for someone his size. He is a liability on defense. And, he is way too slow for this fast paced offense Barnes is trying to run. Barnes is going to have to pare down the rotation here soon. Can't play 11 people. Hopefully his minutes are the ones to go first. He needs to be near zero, and only in the game in blowouts.

 

[cardvolfan]

I was very down on ORN, and quite harsh to be frank, after the first half. He did show some life in the 2nd half though, as other have pointed out. I just think BHH has better upside and should be starting.

Now....Uros. Sadly, I love him as a teammate, but the guy is slow and plays small. He is a terrible rebounder for someone his size. He is a liability on defense. And, he is way too slow for this fast paced offense Barnes is trying to run. Barnes is going to have to pare down the rotation here soon. Can't play 11 people. Hopefully his minutes are the ones to go first. He needs to be near zero, and only in the game in blowouts.

I think it has become pretty obvious that UP probably isn’t going to see the court too often this year. He’s had his chances, and except in a few obvious situations, he will remain as UT’s tallest cheerleader ever.

ON has the body to play high-level, but not the will and the motor to match. There were too many times last night when he could have/should have made some plays, but didn’t give it his all.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Wouldn’t be surprised if they found a way to redshirt at least one of mashack/ZZZ

I would be surprised if ZZZ does not play all year in order to get him real game experience to prepare him for taking over next year when KC is off to the NBA. I don't count on too many 5 year guys anymore. Practice only when passing up his senior year in HS might not get him adjusted to the the caliber of athlete he will have to deal with when he is a primary point guard option. Bet he learned a little last night and that was not SEC caliber competition. Mashack has to fight through Powell, Bailey and Santi at the 2 so I don't know what coach will do.

 

[johnfnkelly]

At this point I don't expect ORN to be anything but a hustle guy that might be able to hit some open 3's. He's not just a very fluid ball player. Good strong athlete, just awkward with the ball. Reminds me of Kyle.

Fortunately with BHH and Fulky we don't really need him to be a scorer.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

I was very down on ORN, and quite harsh to be frank, after the first half. He did show some life in the 2nd half though, as other have pointed out. I just think BHH has better upside and should be starting.

Now....Uros. Sadly, I love him as a teammate, but the guy is slow and plays small. He is a terrible rebounder for someone his size. He is a liability on defense. And, he is way too slow for this fast paced offense Barnes is trying to run. Barnes is going to have to pare down the rotation here soon. Can't play 11 people. Hopefully his minutes are the ones to go first. He needs to be near zero, and only in the game in blowouts.

Agree. He seems like a great teammate but he's seriously one of the least skilled 7 footers I've ever seen. I cringe when he brings the ball down to where it renders his height useless; and his height is his only advanatage.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

I still don't understand how you can be 7' tall and be able to move like Plav and not be any good. Just dunk the ball like Shaq did or something. He is wasting a multi-million $ NBA opportunity career, even if he is just a backup.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Final thoughts.

Chandler is elite, period. He could score 30 a night or toss 10 assist, he knows that he needs to learn how to defend and he came to UT so Barnes can elevate him in that area. Assuming he stays healthy all year by the time he leaves UT he'll be a lottery pick.

Powell is far better than I expected him to be he's a bigger/more athletic version of Santi really like his game.

Santi will feast in a system where he can focus more on catch & shoot on the offensive side.

JJJ & ORN both are key contributors I don't think either is going to ever really be a featured scorer but if each can average 8+ PPG and contribute everywhere else (like they did last night) then they'll get minutes. Despite an off night from 3 James had 5 rebounds, 5 steals, & 4 blocks. He's quickly turning into a defensive specialist like Pons was. ORN had a double double and lead the team in rebounds, he keeps that up I don't expect he loses a ton of minutes when Fulky returns.

Uros is just a big body, he's going to probably be a 10-12 minute a night guy at best and if you're lucky he'll grab a few rebounds and make a few shots.

BHH is that dude, I expect we'll see him and Fulky at the 4/5 a lot once everyone is healthy. ORN being the first big off the bench.

This team has a great shot to win the SEC and make a March run, but to do that we'll need to get some quality production in limited action from Bailey, Zeigker & Mashack. Not sure if Aidoo will be in the lineup or not once he's healthy, they may be interested in letting him RS with Tamba and having that depth for next season once Fulky is gone.


So my projected starting 5 if everyone's healthy when things kinda shake out

4/5 - BHH
4/5 - Fulky
3 - James/Powell
2 - Santi/Powell
1 - Chandler

(think Powell could end up starting, but no clue where just yet)

First off bench: ORN, Bailey, Powell (if he doesn't start)

 

[Sea Ray]

I think I've lost confidence in ratings for recruits. How in the world can both Chandler and JJJ be 5* guys coming out of high school? What I saw from Chandler last night and what I saw from JJJ 2 yrs ago...there's no comparison

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I think I've lost confidence in ratings for recruits. How in the world can both Chandler and JJJ be 5* guys coming out of high school? What I saw from Chandler last night and what I saw from JJJ 2 yrs ago...there's no comparison

It’s been discussed before but there’s a huge difference between a Top 10 guy and a Top 25 guy typically…with that said JJJ was still probably a bit overrated. He was a tough gauge because his HS didn’t play great competition and his AAU wasn’t part of a big circuit either so they also didn’t play against the best competition, so the chances to see him against top guys on a regular basis just wasn’t there.

 

[therickbol]

KC/Powell/JJJ/ORN/Fulky is going to be a nasty starting lineup. Vescovi, BHH, and ZZ coming off the bench.

Going to be another fun year!

Almost zero chance that Vescovi is NOT a starter.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Almost zero chance that Vescovi is NOT a starter.

Yeah tend to agree. I feel like the 3 main starters that don't leave the lineup unless injured are Chandler, Vescovi, & Fulky the other 2 spots could be switched up depending on matchups.

 

[jmva1]

I think I've lost confidence in ratings for recruits. How in the world can both Chandler and JJJ be 5* guys coming out of high school? What I saw from Chandler last night and what I saw from JJJ 2 yrs ago...there's no comparison

Think a good part of it has to do with the class JJJ was with wasn’t particularly talented or deep, and recruiting services are gonna have 25-30 five stars regardless. Chandler’s class seems to be far more talented.

What surprises me the most was how JJJ was a five star and his AAU and HS teammate Aaron Nesmith, clearly the superior player, was ranked in the 60s