Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Tennessee's men's basketball team cooling off after hot start

There is a lot to like about the Tennessee men's basketball team this season. The team is coached by Bruce Pearl, who is easily one of the most dynamic coaches in the game today. The team is stocked with talent. The athleticism of the team is the greatest I've seen in my lifetime, which should translate to on-court success.

However, much of the talent is young and untested. Four freshmen are contributing significant minutes, plus the point guard position is being manned by a junior college transfer. Bobby Maze is the point guard, and I love what I've seen out of him so far. He handles the ball well against pressure and has a knack for distributing the ball to the right people.

The four freshmen are led by blue-chip signee Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville, Ky. He has a sweet jump shot that brings rain, and he is an effective scorer off the dribble as well. Mix in the contributions of fellow freshmen Emmanuel Negedu, Cameron Tatum, and Renaldo Woolridge, and it looks like the Vols will have a deep bench this year.

Of course, the team begins and ends with junior Tyler Smith. Against North Carolina-Asheville, he recorded the first triple-double in school history. He is a clear frontrunner for SEC player of the year and is the glue of the team. J.P. Prince is also another significant contributor, and he must get healthy if this team is to reach its potential.

As might be expected with so much new talent, the team is experiencing growing pains. The Volunteers opened with five straight wins, including an impressive victory over Georgetown. Since then, there have been ups and downs. The Vols have lost two of their last four. One was a single-digit loss to Gonzaga in which the talented and experienced Bulldogs simply were one step ahead of Tennessee all game long. The loss to Temple was more troubling because the Owls jumped on Tennessee early and won by 16.

To Tennessee's credit, it is playing a tough non-conference schedule to get the team ready for SEC competition. The non-conference features two dandies in early January: a trip to Kansas to play the Jayhawks and a rematch with Gonzaga in Knoxville. The Vols also host Memphis in Knoxville in late January.

This has the chance to be an exciting season as the Vols try to win back-to-back SEC championships. I'm looking forward to it.

1 comment:

Chris Martin said...

Anybody who watched Tennessee squeak out a two-point win against Belmont today saw the team's growing pains up close.

First things first: Belmont is an excellent team that played very well. Their zone defense baffled the Vols for a lot of the game. At times in the first half, Tennessee's offense reminded me of the Robot-ball of the Don DeVoe era.

Also, for 30 minutes, Tennessee simply did not play good defense. Mix in the team's lousy free throw shooting down the stretch, and we were fortunate to escape with a win.

Still, 8-2 is 8-2.