They scored 90+ on us this year and almost beat us. I just think they are going to be a problem, until they get caught cheating. Then again cheating doesnt matter to the ncaa in most circumstances.
I also think Memphis could start holding their own with us in the near future. We are their Kentucky Game.
They were never close to winning that game. If Penny does actually have success, I assume he'll parlay it into a bigger job.
Grant Williams says he will make his decision about staying in the draft or returning to school on Saturday, 5/18. Sounds like we won’t have to wait long to know if we will suck or be decent next year.
Also, I wonder how the drop in rating for Josiah James might affect Jordan Bone’s decision to return next year. Originally I saw him getting less minutes this year with a 5* talent demanding time, and other players stepping up. Now I’m not so sure.
Not just the drop itself, but the various things that have been said about him being "overrated" and not as good as projected from the start. I saw a couple articles talking about how he never should have been rated as highly as they had him. I don't know man, basketball is a sport of small teams and limited playing time. If I'm a starting PG who just had a "break out" season, and I know my team is bringing in a highly touted PG for next season (who is rated much higher than I was out of HS), that's definitely something that crosses my mind. I always felt Bone's decision to come out (and stay out, from what it looks like) was odd and didn't make a lot of sense, until I looked at it through the lens of his playing time next year. Maybe he felt the kid was good enough to demand significant minutes from the time he steps on campus, and if his primary position is PG, it's easy to see how Bone may anticipate a drop in his minutes for next season. It's hard to reproduce or improve on your solid performance in 2019 if your minutes drop in 2020. But if you find out that kid isn't as good as advertised and may not demand those minutes? That changes the situation. Or maybe he isn't thinking about that at all. If I'm making that big of a decision for my life, I know I consider as many different details and outcomes as possible.
I'm about as sure as i can be that Bone didnt take into consideration losing minutes to a true freshman as part of his decision making process to go compete for PT in the nba.
New cbs mock draft projects him as a lottery pick - to Miami at 13. At this point, I see no reason for him to return to UT.
They also have Admiral at 27. While losing Grant will suck for next year, in the long run I think it’ll be great for UT and Barnes in recruiting to have two first round picks in this draft.
turning two pudgy 3*s into nba draft picks is something he should be able to sell. Has UT ever had 2 players drafted?
To my knowledge, the only time UT has ever had two players picked in the first round of the same draft was Ernie and Bernie.
I think Bone is leaving, no matter what, and I don’t think it has anything to do with James. I think he wants to get paid, first and foremost, and that he’ll never have a better chance than right now. I also believe that some piece of him grew tired of Barnes’ so tightly holding the reigns on the offense / specifically him, and he doesn’t want or need another season of that.
I’ve yet to see Tennessee parlay it’s recent on-court success to the recruiting trail, and in similar fashion. I attribute much of this to Barnes’ just not being interested or willing to be as active in recruiting as he once was, and probably needs to be.