Will Barnes Surprise Us?

#1

LivinginthePast

Robert Neyland Won more Nattys than rewarded. Why?
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#1
Reading some preseason magazines and they don’t have us ranked. And we lost all of our guys to the nba that were amazing. BUT he surprised us before with good player development. I trust he will get us competitive still. Someone will show out.
 
#3
#3
Reading some preseason magazines and they don’t have us ranked. And we lost all of our guys to the nba that were amazing. BUT he surprised us before with good player development. I trust he will get us competitive still. Someone will show out.
Tough, tough, tough schedule. I think the conference will be tougher overall as well.
 
#10
#10
Obviously hoping for better, but I'm thinking 18-20 wins, on the bubble, maybe top 60. I don't know if those numbers add up, but that's the vibe I'm feeling right now. Obviously Barnes has the ability to overachieve, so one can make a good argument for a more optimistic prediction, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect to be in the preseason top 25 (though I think Blue Ribbon ranked us 23) or a spot in the dance.

We shall see. One thing is for sure, and that's the fact that we will see players emerge this year. Definitely consider this a breakout party from an individual player's perspective. The players we've seen on the pine in the past will be logging big minutes.

I'm really hoping Bowden and Fulk lead the charge in having breakout seasons. I love both of them, but I don't trust either of them. All Bowden needs is consistency, and Fulk needs to sharpen up and have at least a respectable post game. I could see him being one of our best defenders with a little more discipline.

GBO!! It's October. So close to BASKETBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!
 
#11
#11
Anything LESS than a NCAAT appearance will be a failure, IMO. We EASILY have enough talent to make 8-10 seed.
 
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#13
#13
Reading some preseason magazines and they don’t have us ranked. And we lost all of our guys to the nba that were amazing. BUT he surprised us before with good player development. I trust he will get us competitive still. Someone will show out.
More than Pruitt did I can assure you that.
 
#14
#14
Hard to replace those 4 but Barnes has been competitive from the time he arrived. He has a system that can be adapted to his skilled players and he knows how to use it. The 5 star freshman looks like a linebacker and they seem confident the 7 footer will be cleared. Looks good to me!
 
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#15
#15
Obviously hoping for better, but I'm thinking 18-20 wins, on the bubble, maybe top 60. I don't know if those numbers add up, but that's the vibe I'm feeling right now. Obviously Barnes has the ability to overachieve, so one can make a good argument for a more optimistic prediction, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect to be in the preseason top 25 (though I think Blue Ribbon ranked us 23) or a spot in the dance.

We shall see. One thing is for sure, and that's the fact that we will see players emerge this year. Definitely consider this a breakout party from an individual player's perspective. The players we've seen on the pine in the past will be logging big minutes.

I'm really hoping Bowden and Fulk lead the charge in having breakout seasons. I love both of them, but I don't trust either of them. All Bowden needs is consistency, and Fulk needs to sharpen up and have at least a respectable post game. I could see him being one of our best defenders with a little more discipline.

GBO!! It's October. So close to BASKETBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!
It's like you've been reading my diary. This is exactly how I feel, too. I generally have lower expectations and hope for overachievement, so my expectations are probably a little guarded. I have waited until Plav's decision on his eligibility to make a solid prediction because I think he is that much of a key factor. If he is eligible, I could swing myself up to the 20-22 win category.
 
#16
#16
He’ll definitely get the chance to show what he can do. He should be prepared to take a punch to the gut if he fails to field a competitive team considering his top 5 pay.
 
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#18
#18
wow, the sunshine pumping is starting big time in this thread. I too am 'hoping' for a good season, but it seems like several of you guys are expecting a top 25 year. I trust Barnes enough to do what he can with the hand he is dealt, and chalk this up to a rebuilding year after a historic season. in any case, the basketball season will be worlds better than the football season.
 
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#19
#19
wow, the sunshine pumping is starting big time in this thread. I too am 'hoping' for a good season, but it seems like several of you guys are expecting a top 25 year. I trust Barnes enough to do what he can with the hand he is dealt, and chalk this up to a rebuilding year after a historic season. in any case, the basketball season will be worlds better than the football season.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a Top 25 team (Note: Top-25 at some point. Not from the start). I've predicted 22 wins from the start and I'm sticking to my guns. Contrary to popular belief, this team is not void of talent. There is just a lot of unknown entities which has people nervous. If we win 18 I'm not going to lose my mind with sadness, it's a transition year. But I'm feeling pretty good about this roster and this coaching staff being able to avoid a massive drop-off. I don't think we're 10-wins worse than last season.
 
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#20
#20
I am thinking a decent amount of losses but we still make tourney because of strength of schedule.
 
#21
#21
He’ll definitely get the chance to show what he can do. He should be prepared to take a punch to the gut if he fails to field a competitive team considering his top 5 pay.

I am already cringing at the potential of a LOUD portion of our fan base if early on we are not as cohesive as Iwe need to be to pick up where we left off...

It has been my opinion that we utilized our speed well by initiating transition with great outlet passes off the defensive boards up the wings or with our point guards really pushing the ball up the middle and then executing the offense if that was cut off by overplay by the defense due to the numbers.... We still have some guys that can out sprint their defenders at most positions, or Fulky as a 4 or 5 and the new posts SEEM to be athletic for their size. I just do not have a clue about our guard play.

On the other side of the ball I don't know if the guys in the lower box can hold position against other bigs. Even when our shorter guys in the post had to defend, they forced shots over their position. As 100 or so others have pointed out we really need Plavsic to get eligible and ORN to be a fast learner and Fulky getting back to where he appeared to be heading after the first few games of his career... Pons has the potential to take Admirals place as the high energy guy creating lanes on the break and being a hard matchup at the 3.

I once again have no clue if the cohesiveness at the 1 and 2 will be there in transition or in half court sets... Bowden and Turner offer skill and variety at the 2, and the new 5 star and Turner when at the 1 offer some interesting possibilities.

It is just logical that incorporating new guys and expanded roles for some returners that cohesiveness could take a while to get there... if it does not over time then more losses are pretty predictable. And that is before you try to factor in how to utilize our skinny post guys Pember and Kent with their varied skill sets or Johnson on the wing. I am hoping as a Bearden alum that Pember's unusual development and skill set can create real issues for our opponents on the offensive end and don't know how he plays out on the other end.

I woud be thrilled if we hit our stride as a team early, but would also be shocked. The level of early moaning only aggravates the situation for an aging fan like myself....

I have confidence that Barnes and staff will get a high level of play out of this squad, just don't what the new guys maximum level individually and within the team concepts will produce until game time tells us. Some of our fans are much more predictable as their level of tolerance for players is far less than it is for their own analytical and prognosticative (sp) skill sets. Skills that they love to apply to the coaches early and often.... Lots of NEW moving parts to sync up...
 
#23
#23
Well what you have is James production and efficiency vs Bone and since James is a freshmen you can't expect as much as you would from a junior player that he is replacing. If however he plays to that level no loss there so remains to be seen.
Alexander vs Plavsic shouldn't lose anything here should actually be the same or hopefully a slight gain best case a huge gain in production with the same defensive ability.
Schofield vs Johnson or Pons or both or whomever we decide to play inside out looks like were lagging here offensively but if either of those players surprise we'll be fine. If they don't lose a lot here.
Williams vs Fulkerson or Nkamjoua is definitely our most challenging replacement. Of the guys we have to replace Williams is by far the toughest challenge.

We were 30 and 6 last season maybe a five game drop to 25 and 11 SEC 15 and 3 maybe goes to 12 and 6 or 11 and 7. Still looks like a really good team but certainly not the elite team of last season.
 
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#24
#24
Plavsic is certainly the most important factor. His defense alone could contribute to a couple wins. It's just about being eligible.

I expect a faster paced team with more spacing, and probably more 3s. Obviously losing admiral and grant means a lot less post touches. ORN is the only one on the team that seems like he has a developed post game unless Fulky or Kent have developed one. Kent and Pember also have plenty of range which is a good thing.

I expect the three headed monster on Turner, Bowden, and James to lead the way on scoring. I think Jalen Johnson is the most likely have a breakout year. I also expect ORN and Pember to get a lot of playing time as the season progresses. They're both very talented and versatile. Gaines might redshirt this year, but I won't be surprised if he can give us something at least.

Barnes's teams are always well coached, I don't expect any different this year. There's certainly talent, but largely unproven outside of a couple guys. A really tough schedule, but if we hit 20 wins, that makes us a lock for the tournament.
 
#25
#25
Defense.

Think about defense and you'll dial down your expectations.

Our defense is complex and dependent on each man on the court knowing his assignments and anticipating without hesitation. That level of team defense doesn't happen overnight.

We have a lot of offensive power on the roster, but remember... if players can't execute on defense, how is Barnes supposed to play them? That will take time, and it just depends on how soon how many players become reliable on D.

I wouldn't be surprised if we have to qualify for the NCAA by our SEC Tournament performance. But I do think by then we will have become a good team.
 
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