1. This team was better BEFORE the freshmen moved into the starting lineup. The team ran through Fulky, Yves, and JJJ. At around the time the freshmen entered the starting line-up, the offense started bogging down and we played roughly .500 ball.
Theory:
Starting the freshmen botched the on-floor chemistry. I think everyone on the roster are great kids and outstanding teammates. However, the older guys donât seem to be âalphaâ personalities. As the freshmen were pushed forward, those veterans shrank back. Keon seems like an âalphaâ, and I think guys like Fulky/Yves/JJJ slipped into more comfortable secondary roles and as a result regressed. It felt like Fulky reverted to Grant/Admiral years Fulky. I really believe much of Fulkyâs regression came as a result of the two freshmen being pushed forward.
2. Itâs tough to keep future lottery picks on the bench. I donât necessarily fault Barnes, because they are better players. But I think the timeline would reveal that change altered the trajectory of the season for the worse.
3. I think Barnes skipped a step. Itâs fun seeing the spotlight that came to our program when we signed Keon / Springer. I enjoyed cheering for them and Iâm glad they came, BUT, I think college programs are better served trying to sign guys ranked between 25-75. Now we have gaping holes on the roster, and lower ranked guys on the roster have lacked the minutes necesssry to actually develop.
4. Everyone has said it, but Iâll confer...Barnes has to recruit / sign some pure shooters. We have a bunch of legit athletes, who are not natural shooters and are trying to develop a shot. Gotta sign a couple of guys who came out of the womb bombing 3âs. Bowden, and Vescovi to a lesser degree, are the only two pure shooters I can recall on our roster in the Barnes years.
5. All that said, this was my least favorite of Barnes 6 teams in Knoxville. They were painfully frustrating to watch. I love the individual parts, but the sum of those parts was not a fun team to follow.