The Official Tennessee vs. Eastern New Mexico Preseason Game Thread, 7:00 PM ET, SEC Network+

#277
#277
Tonight went about as I expected. Sloppy play early but seemed to settle some in the second half. I’m very concerned about the post. We need Plavsic to get eligible badly. Kent doesn’t look athletic enough to defend in the paint and ORN is still probably a year away from being able to help inside consistently. I like ORN’s game overall and think he will be a very good player for us as the game starts to slow down for him though. Walker and Burns not working out has really put us in a bind down low. Thankfully it’s just the first game and a lot that can still improve as the year goes on but we have our work cut out for us to be a tournament team in my opinion.
 
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#279
#279
walkenvol said:
Turner and James are a great PG combo. Turner and Bowden are elite shooters, it’s a work in progress with the rest. James is currently the 3rd best player on the team. Pember and ORN will likely be in the rotation. Gaines has talent but badly needs quality weight.
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Thanks
 
#280
#280
TheMookieMonster said:
Point-Guards: Easily our strongest position. It seems like Josiah and Turner will alternate turns at the point. Turner is the clear leader in regards to who will be there the most as he is our most experienced ball handler, but overall this will be a strength of the team as we all predicted.

Shooting: Scored 107 points, but that number is deceiving considering the overall lack of talent on ENMU's roster. We missed a lot of really easy shots. Jalen Johnson still has a long way to go to prove he can be a consistent threat. Josiah's long-range jumper was off. Pons shot a few threes that were on line but rimmed out. Overall, this will be something that needs to be worked on. Consistency.

Post Play: Kent plays hard but will be bullied by SEC Bigs. If Uros doesn't get cleared, the game plan against TN will be quite simple--pound it down low. Fulkerson is clearly the best at that position, but he still doesn't have the physicality of Grant or Kyle.

Freshmen: Lot's of raw talent. The talent is there, much like it was for Grant and Admiral, but it's raw and it's going to take all season before you see the type of play Rick probably expects from his players. ORN has a ton of potential, but he needs to adjust to the college game. Josiah is clearly a stud, but he struggled in the first half as well. It's going to take a few games for him before we get what we all hope for out of his play. Pember was a really pleasant surprise. If his injury isn't serious, he might not be redshirted after all. Seems like as a Freshmen he is already a more refined version of Fulkerson at that point in Fulky's career.
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Good summation- thanks
 
#281
#281
Catbone said:
Just off of way too early observations I think we are very much a middling SEC team
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Based on seeing Florida, Kentucky, and a couple others play their Exhibition game......I’d say Tennessee is near the top......but it’s just an exhibition game.

Tennessee needs much more of a post presence. If they can find that they will be pretty good (not like last year, but good none the less).
 
#283
#283
JoAllan said:
Based on seeing Florida, Kentucky, and a couple others play their Exhibition game......I’d say Tennessee is near the top......but it’s just an exhibition game.

Tennessee needs much more of a post presence. If they can find that they will be pretty good (not like last year, but good none the less).
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I agree - don’t see anybody being appreciably if any better on the perimeter than UT. It all hinges on the post. UP’s status is HUGE
 
#284
#284
Turner looks like he greatly improved his dribble in the off-season. He could be quicker now and then deciding what to do after catching the ball. He stood around a little bit when the other 4 had the ball quickly moving from player to player. I guess that's better than turning it over if nothing's available... but he did have 5 TOs.

They did kind of put up a lot of points in un flashy bursts. We had about 16 points and seems like it nonchalantly got into the 30s. Same deal in the second half. Got a little boring and all of a sudden we're in the 80s and nearly doubled up on ENMU.

Playing without making many mistakes is going to be critical this year since we're going to be at a disadvantage in the post versus most opponents. Better not lose to anybody we're supposed to beat and will need to steal a few as underdogs. We can't afford for Bowden, Turner, and James to have bad outings.

Pretty good ball movement by every player. They can make the NCAAT, but Deacon B is going to have to have them all coached up real quick.

Turner found Bowden cutting to the basket for easy scores mores times than I ever remember in any game. But most likely because Bone was usually on the floor with the ball in his hands.

I'd give B&T an A minus just because it's hard to tell versus a lower level opponent. James was solid... not flashy.
 
#285
#285
JoAllan said:
Based on seeing Florida, Kentucky, and a couple others play their Exhibition game......I’d say Tennessee is near the top......but it’s just an exhibition game.

Tennessee needs much more of a post presence. If they can find that they will be pretty good (not like last year, but good none the less).
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I 100% agree. Florida scrapped by beating Lynn....LYNN, 89-71. I mean we didn't play great but it's a huge stretch to take a 50 point win and say that Tennessee looks like a middling SEC team.
 
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#287
#287
TheMookieMonster said:
I 100% agree. Florida scrapped by beating Lynn....LYNN, 89-71. I mean we didn't play great but it's a huge stretch to take a 50 point win and say that Tennessee looks like a middling SEC team.
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Totally agree.

I saw a lot that Tennessee needs to work on. However apples to apples game to game (I know all teams are different)......Tennessee simply looked better in their exhibition than most of the top programs looked.
 
#288
#288
Young players seem to get out of control more often.....Tennessee needs to work on that.

Tennessee needs to work on the D switch. It didn’t look smooth at all.

Tennessee needs much more help in the post. They need eligibility or the freshman has to get better quick. I could be way off, but I don’t think Tennessee will have consistent success with just Fulky and Pons.

The younger players Gaines ect. Have to improve defensively.

Tennessee has players who can score
Tennessee has a ton of “athletes”
Tennessee should improve week on week (because of all the younger players)
The usuals looked fine. Fulky looked good.

Tennessee should be pretty good this year. Certainly down from last, but probably better than we thought once we knew who all was gone (from last year).
 
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#289
#289
Officiating will be a big factor. We will play best in finesse games rather than physical games. If refs allow a lot of pushing then we'll struggle. But if it plays out like last year, everything is a foul in the first half and there needs to be blood flowing to get whistles in the second half.
 
#291
#291
On a couple side notes:

Pember has to be another 7 footer for Tennessee.....with that hair.

What was up with Eastern’s shorts? It looked like all those guys had their shorts jacked up like old man pants.
 
#292
#292
Was at the game, overall effort was good, hustle on defense, little sloppy on offense with 18 TO's. Frontline is taller, but not as physical, backcourt can be special.

Generally:
Turner is our best player
Fulk is better, little more physical
Bowden still disappears sometimes
Kent has a good old-school baseline TA jumper
JJ passes well and has a 5* body, but is not like a polished UK 5* like Herro or PJW, iow he won't be in the NBA next year.
Pons, unfortunately, looked the same as last year, doesn't get into the flow on offense.

Overall, a bubble team, tops 9-7 SEC, will be fun to watch, with a lot of ups and downs.

The new 3pt line is going to change some coaching strategies, it's too far for an average shooter, saw a bunch of air balls from both teams, reallyhave to square up.

.
.
 
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#295
#295
Anxious to see if they're as effective in rebounding against the next two opponents who have a few guys in the 6-8 to 6-10 height range. Was a good sign (19 OR) but playing against 6-7 guys. BLKs were by committee
 
#296
#296
sportsnut624 said:
Tonight went about as I expected. Sloppy play early but seemed to settle some in the second half. I’m very concerned about the post. We need Plavsic to get eligible badly. Kent doesn’t look athletic enough to defend in the paint and ORN is still probably a year away from being able to help inside consistently. I like ORN’s game overall and think he will be a very good player for us as the game starts to slow down for him though. Walker and Burns not working out has really put us in a bind down low. Thankfully it’s just the first game and a lot that can still improve as the year goes on but we have our work cut out for us to be a tournament team in my opinion.
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My thoughts exactly. Fulk looks to be the only inside scoring and that’s concerning. I love the kid, but there is no force down low. They also look like they need another pure ball handler.

Lent will have to guard the post, no way around it.
Clearly, Bowden and Turner are the top two scorers and look like they are in a different league. You can see the talent in James, but he didn’t look good last night. Shot was flat and didn’t look to score.
 
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#297
#297
Roustabout said:
My thoughts exactly. Fulk looks to be the only inside scoring and that’s concerning. I love the kid, but there is no force down low. They also look like they need another pure ball handler.

Lent will have to guard the post, no way around it.
Clearly, Bowden and Turner are the top two scorers and look like they are in a different league. You can see the talent in James, but he didn’t look good last night. Shot was flat and didn’t look to score.
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That’s the book on James, he doesn’t really look to score, that’s who he is. However If we are sitting back saying 10pts 7ast 5rbds 2stl didn’t look good, then maybe expectations are a bit too high. I think that’s about what he’s going to give you, he’s very good defensively and will be a stat sheet stuffer, but I don’t expect to see him scoring a bunch.
 
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#298
#298
I think this team will be fun to watch, but they will be up and down. I can definitely see a lot of young talent which makes me excited for the future, especially with next years group. I'm just going to enjoy watching them play and take the good with the bad. Hopefully by mid season the team will look like a bunch of veterans.
 
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#300
#300
Idk why people are down on James, for his first college game (even against D2 competition), he looked very solid and some of his passes displayed very good court vision and anticipation. I noticed a few times players weren’t ready for his passes, but I didn’t really think it was his fault.
 
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