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I'm too lazy to write paragraphs today, so no ten thoughts, so I just gathered some notes/stats/short thoughts about the season so far with Memphis coming up.
1. Nothing about Tennessee's defensive profile really sticks out other than top 20 in defensive rating, but two things caught my eye. Tennessee is 39th in block percentage nationally and 33rd nationally in opponent two-point percentage. I think this speaks to Barnes' gameplan to shut down the inside of the arc and Kyle Alexander's impact.
2. Barnes is having Jordan Bone in more pick and roll situations, but Bone has an annoying habit where he gets the ball screen and his first dribble is back instead of forward. It lets the opposing big man hedge and recover. It's not an attacking move.
3. I watched the 2007 Gonzaga/Tennessee game Sunday morning and saw JaJuan Smith hit some corner 3's and I kept thinking how perfect that would be for Jordan Bowden and a great model for his game. He hit a huge corner 3 against Gonzaga and I think that spot could be beneficial for Bowden.
4. Every year Barnes is adding something different to the offense This year it is the addition of the high post offense this year. Williams is kicking ass in that spot and it creates so many mismatches. And Grant is becoming a great passer.
5. One reason why Derrick Walker isn't playing more is too many negative plays. In 46 minutes he has 4 fouls and 4 turnovers and a couple defensive breakdowns. He looks in great shape but has taken a weird step back this year. Don't give up on him. Kyle Alexander did the same thing and he's one of the better centers in the South.
6. Speaking of Alexander, he has a 70.7% true shooting percentage (same as last year). And he gets plays called for him. Really impressive.
7. Tennessee is fourth in the country with a 69.4% (nice) assist percentage, 2nd in the country with 21.1 assists per game, and 5th in assist/turnover ratio.
8. Currently watching Heat/Lakers on NBA TV and Candace Parker is a really good analyst. I enjoy listening to her talk about basketball.
9. As Sunday showed Admiral Schofield is the best NBA prospect on the team and his shooting is why. He's an elite outside shooter and with his size/strength he is gonna have a shot to be a rotation player. I also liked his defense on Hachimura late and that is what scouts saw on Sunday.
10. Next step in Tennessee's offensive profile is improving the free throw rate. With how much they attack the basket and with Schofield/Williams, they should be higher than 169th in the country.
11. An underrated part of John Fulkerson's game: He is the best offensive rebounder on the team at 13.5%. The most important thing in basketball is getting and maintaining possessions and with Tennessee not forcing a lot of turnovers Fulky's offensive rebounding is important.
12. Defensively, very little complaints but I think Tennessee still scrambles too much on drives to the hoop. They shut down the paint but at times they scramble with good ball movement and get lost, leading to open three point attempts. Gonzaga had some good looks on Sunday and Kansas did too earlier in the year.
13. I praised him earlier, but do have a criticism on Bowden, especially since he is the backup PG right now. An 11% turnover percentage with a 13.4% usage rate can't happen. That has to improve, especially for a junior.
14. My life philosophy of zone is for cowards is silly (I hate zone, I get why teams play it) but one thing Tennessee has to work on is the defensive rotation to rebounding in the zone. I wanna say Gonzaga got four offensive rebounds when Tennessee went to the zone. Everyone has to rebound.
15. This is gonna sound crazy, but Tennessee's next ranked opponent (as it currently stands) is when they go to Kentucky on February 16th. Tennessee should be favored in their next 16 games. It's not likely, but not impossible to think this team could be 23-1 going into Rupp Arena.
16. Last time Tennessee was ranked this high? March 2nd, 2008 when Tennessee was the #1 ranked team in the country. Last time Rick Barnes was ranked this high was February 20th, 2011 when Texas was #3 in the country.
1. Nothing about Tennessee's defensive profile really sticks out other than top 20 in defensive rating, but two things caught my eye. Tennessee is 39th in block percentage nationally and 33rd nationally in opponent two-point percentage. I think this speaks to Barnes' gameplan to shut down the inside of the arc and Kyle Alexander's impact.
2. Barnes is having Jordan Bone in more pick and roll situations, but Bone has an annoying habit where he gets the ball screen and his first dribble is back instead of forward. It lets the opposing big man hedge and recover. It's not an attacking move.
3. I watched the 2007 Gonzaga/Tennessee game Sunday morning and saw JaJuan Smith hit some corner 3's and I kept thinking how perfect that would be for Jordan Bowden and a great model for his game. He hit a huge corner 3 against Gonzaga and I think that spot could be beneficial for Bowden.
4. Every year Barnes is adding something different to the offense This year it is the addition of the high post offense this year. Williams is kicking ass in that spot and it creates so many mismatches. And Grant is becoming a great passer.
5. One reason why Derrick Walker isn't playing more is too many negative plays. In 46 minutes he has 4 fouls and 4 turnovers and a couple defensive breakdowns. He looks in great shape but has taken a weird step back this year. Don't give up on him. Kyle Alexander did the same thing and he's one of the better centers in the South.
6. Speaking of Alexander, he has a 70.7% true shooting percentage (same as last year). And he gets plays called for him. Really impressive.
7. Tennessee is fourth in the country with a 69.4% (nice) assist percentage, 2nd in the country with 21.1 assists per game, and 5th in assist/turnover ratio.
8. Currently watching Heat/Lakers on NBA TV and Candace Parker is a really good analyst. I enjoy listening to her talk about basketball.
9. As Sunday showed Admiral Schofield is the best NBA prospect on the team and his shooting is why. He's an elite outside shooter and with his size/strength he is gonna have a shot to be a rotation player. I also liked his defense on Hachimura late and that is what scouts saw on Sunday.
10. Next step in Tennessee's offensive profile is improving the free throw rate. With how much they attack the basket and with Schofield/Williams, they should be higher than 169th in the country.
11. An underrated part of John Fulkerson's game: He is the best offensive rebounder on the team at 13.5%. The most important thing in basketball is getting and maintaining possessions and with Tennessee not forcing a lot of turnovers Fulky's offensive rebounding is important.
12. Defensively, very little complaints but I think Tennessee still scrambles too much on drives to the hoop. They shut down the paint but at times they scramble with good ball movement and get lost, leading to open three point attempts. Gonzaga had some good looks on Sunday and Kansas did too earlier in the year.
13. I praised him earlier, but do have a criticism on Bowden, especially since he is the backup PG right now. An 11% turnover percentage with a 13.4% usage rate can't happen. That has to improve, especially for a junior.
14. My life philosophy of zone is for cowards is silly (I hate zone, I get why teams play it) but one thing Tennessee has to work on is the defensive rotation to rebounding in the zone. I wanna say Gonzaga got four offensive rebounds when Tennessee went to the zone. Everyone has to rebound.
15. This is gonna sound crazy, but Tennessee's next ranked opponent (as it currently stands) is when they go to Kentucky on February 16th. Tennessee should be favored in their next 16 games. It's not likely, but not impossible to think this team could be 23-1 going into Rupp Arena.
16. Last time Tennessee was ranked this high? March 2nd, 2008 when Tennessee was the #1 ranked team in the country. Last time Rick Barnes was ranked this high was February 20th, 2011 when Texas was #3 in the country.
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