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I think we can all agree that despite the lack of tournament success, the program’s last two years have been good and that Barnes has done a great job. Winning 57 games in two years is great for the program.
However, I think there could be some murky waters the next two years with the news of Bone’s departure and (IMO) Grant expected to announce his decision to leave soon. Tennessee is losing four of their top six players...and UT played a 7 man rotation, so not great.
I thought a Bone/Turner/Bowden backcourt with the addition of James would be enough to grab a 7-8-9-10 seed range for next year. With Bone gone, I don’t think we currently have a tournament team.
Now two scholarships will open up. And that means maybe we get a freshman ready to play or a grad transfer. There are options.
But we are going to have to see how well Barnes and staff can develop players. We are going to need Burns, Fulkerson, Pons, and Johnson to get better. Other than Fulky, none of the other 3 have shown they can play steady minutes. And even then Fulky is a 10-15 minute guy at most right now.
The next two years are important. We are going to take a step back. I think missing the tourney in 2020 isn’t a killer but what happens if we miss the tourney and James is one and done? It’s possible. If Tennessee misses the tourney two years in a row? You ruin all the good the previous two years did.
Barnes can develop guys. We can see that. But he’s really going to have to go even further for the next two years. I’m concerned that we may have missed on some of these guys. It’s going to be really interesting to see what Barnes does and if Tennessee can maintain its tournament status.
However, I think there could be some murky waters the next two years with the news of Bone’s departure and (IMO) Grant expected to announce his decision to leave soon. Tennessee is losing four of their top six players...and UT played a 7 man rotation, so not great.
I thought a Bone/Turner/Bowden backcourt with the addition of James would be enough to grab a 7-8-9-10 seed range for next year. With Bone gone, I don’t think we currently have a tournament team.
Now two scholarships will open up. And that means maybe we get a freshman ready to play or a grad transfer. There are options.
But we are going to have to see how well Barnes and staff can develop players. We are going to need Burns, Fulkerson, Pons, and Johnson to get better. Other than Fulky, none of the other 3 have shown they can play steady minutes. And even then Fulky is a 10-15 minute guy at most right now.
The next two years are important. We are going to take a step back. I think missing the tourney in 2020 isn’t a killer but what happens if we miss the tourney and James is one and done? It’s possible. If Tennessee misses the tourney two years in a row? You ruin all the good the previous two years did.
Barnes can develop guys. We can see that. But he’s really going to have to go even further for the next two years. I’m concerned that we may have missed on some of these guys. It’s going to be really interesting to see what Barnes does and if Tennessee can maintain its tournament status.