The Official Halfcourt Trap UT Preview: The Players.

#1
hatvol96

hatvol96

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#1
Tyler Smith. The most versatile player in the conference. Look for him to spend more time on the perimeter as Bruce Pearl exploits his ballhandling skills in an attempt to minimize his point guard woes.
Bobby Maze. Welcome to Knoxville, prepare to be the most scrutinized player in the SEC. If Maze is a hit, UT probably wins the SEC. If he's still the player he was at OU, the Vols will be in danger of finishing 4th in the East.
Wayne Chism. The player with the most to gain from a big season. Continued progress will set Chism up to get a nice check at some point.
Cam Tatum. A wildcard. Appears to have the ability to be a prolific scorer. His inability to stay healthy is troubling. The Vols desperately need his outside shooting.
Josh Tabb. From afterthought to essential part. Tabb has to make the transition to point guard for this team to have any chance of reaching its immense potential.
J.P Prince. Prince is long, versatile, and attacks the basket. He is not a point guard. If he plays meaningful minutes there, UT is in serious trouble.
Scotty Hopson. The prize of UT's recruiting class, Hopson carries immense expectations. Will he be very good? Yes. Will he be good enough to warrant all the "one and done" talk has swirled around him? No.
Brian Williams. Another variable. Williams' continued development would give Tennessee the option of putting a true "big" lineup on the floor for the first time in Pearl's tenure.
Ryan Childress. Next.
Renaldo Woolridge. A preseason revelation. Looks far more ready to contribute than I had expected.
Phillip Jurick. Red. Shirt.
Emmanuel Negedu. A world class athlete. Has shown a better shot than advertised in the exhibition games. My guess is that his lack of polish will be exploited by better opponents.
 
#2
#2
Is there anyway you could see this team making a final four run, assuming they are playing good at the right time of the year?
 
#3
#3
hatvol96 said:
J.P Prince. Prince is long, versatile, and attacks the basket. He is not a point guard. If he plays meaningful minutes there, UT is in serious trouble.
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Amen, brother. You've heard me defend Prince before, but him playing the point is laughable.

Thanks for the evaluations.
 
#4
#4
tvolsfan said:
Is there anyway you could see this team making a final four run, assuming they are playing good at the right time of the year?
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I would be utterly shocked to see this group make a run to Detroit. Thrilled beyond words, but utterly shocked.
 
#5
#5
Nice sum up.. pretty accurate.. although i still dont believe our team will be that horrible if JP plays a few minutes at point.. if he plays more than 7 minutes ok but not if he plays 4-7
 
#6
#6
hatvol96 said:
I would be utterly shocked to see this group make a run to Detroit. Thrilled beyond words, but utterly shocked.
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It will be much easier to evaluate these guys and set expectations by the end of December.
 
#7
#7
ukvols said:
It will be much easier to evaluate these guys and set expectations by the end of December.
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I'm perfectly confident saying right now that anyone expecting this team to be playing in Detroit is going to be horribly disappointed.
 
#8
#8
I'm not expecting that either, but we'll have a much better idea of how good we can be after Maze competes against quality competition. I'm also eager for the early returns of the Josh Tabb experiment at PG.
 
#9
#9
Thanks, Hat. I'm just glad there is a buzz (small b) around K-ville and in cyberland in time for the Vols hoops season.
 
#13
#13
Trust me, Maze is a complete 180 from where he was at Oklahoma. I'd be shocked if he doesn't make some SEC Postseason teams.
 
#14
#14
emainvol said:
Nope, he's definitely a swingman.
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i also anticipate a lot of "bringing the ball up court by committee," meaning Tyler and/or one other guy stays back to help Tabb, Maze, JP, whomever.

and that will give us a lot less clock to work with once (if) we get it past the midcourt stripe.

our defense is going to have to improve dramatically to compensate for our lack of PG play.
 
#17
#17
I see a team that can peak at the right time and make a run... maybe a sec tourney title this year... Never know with our style of play though. I love it, but teams that wanna play slow half court ball can be tough to beat
 
#21
#21
Last year Hat said that if Hopson came to UT and Tyler stayed that we'd be in the Final 4. Granted, that was before Ramar and Duke were kicked off, but still....I don't think we can say no way no how. Are the odds good? No. Do we have a long way to go? Sure, but I think this will be a team that gets better as the year goes. I agree with the post that we can judge much better around December.
 
#22
#22
jfrancis04 said:
Last year Hat said that if Hopson came to UT and Tyler stayed that we'd be in the Final 4. Granted, that was before Ramar and Duke were kicked off, but still....I don't think we can say no way no how. Are the odds good? No. Do we have a long way to go? Sure, but I think this will be a team that gets better as the year goes. I agree with the post that we can judge much better around December.
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I'm pretty sure I've never guaranteed a Final Four trip for anyone.
 
#23
#23
jfrancis04 said:
Last year Hat said that if Hopson came to UT and Tyler stayed that we'd be in the Final 4. Granted, that was before Ramar and Duke were kicked off, but still....I don't think we can say no way no how. Are the odds good? No. Do we have a long way to go? Sure, but I think this will be a team that gets better as the year goes. I agree with the post that we can judge much better around December.
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I remember seeing this too. As you can tell I don't post much but I read a lot on here everyday and take Hat's basketball stuff to the bank.

I don't believe I could dig up the post, but I definitely do remember seeing this.
 
#25
#25
mkil5 said:
I remember seeing this too. As you can tell I don't post much but I read a lot on here everyday and take Hat's basketball stuff to the bank.

I don't believe I could dig up the post, but I definitely do remember seeing this.
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I remember it too, but it wasn't a guarantee. It was a sign of potential for this team, I believe.

But I also recall that was before Ramar left. PG has become a much, much bigger challenge since that post.
 
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