The Section 103 Postgame Report.

1. VOLume is an interesting vocal group. Each time they do the Anthem, it's a different interpretation.
2. Tennessee's help side defense is abysmal. If you tell the perimeter guys to force drivers baseline, you might want to impress on your post players the importance of knowing where the ball is on the floor.
3. Josh Richardson came out in attack mode, then disappeared for a long stretch. This team needs him looking to score all the time.
4. You can't go wrong with frisbee chasing dogs. That's high quality entertainment.
5. Jarnell Stokes didn't have a good night on the stat sheet. The encouraging thing is that he didn't allow that to affect his effort.
6. Antonio Barton looked scared senseless at the line late. You need better from a senior.
7. Jordan McRae looked like a great player in the second half. UT needs that for forty minutes.
8. Jeronne Maymon is rounding back into form. He kept several rebounds alive on the offensive end tonight.
9. Bobby Portis is an NBA player in the making. He just needs some help on the perimeter.
10. That's the kind of game Tennessee has lost in January during Cuonzo Martin's first two seasons. I hope gutting that one out will get this team going in the right direction.

 

Abysmal may be a compliment on #2.

I checked a few draft projections and was surprised that McRae wasn't on any of them, even the ones that extended all the way through the 2nd round.

 

His ballhandling and lack of physical strength are serious detriments to his NBA prospects.

 

Obvious flaws aside, you and I both know there are plenty of guys in the NBA right now that aren't as good as he is and certainly not as good as he could be with adequate coaching.

 

Not really. He has no speciality skill. Guys can make it in the NBA if they do one thing exceptionally. McRae doesn't have such a proficiency.

 

McRae isn't big enough to be a 3 in the NBA and he doesn't handle the ball well enough to be a 2. Plus he doesn't have enough consistency to stick. Hell, even if you're an NBA-level mediocre player who can contribute something, your ass better do it every night or you'll wind up in Grand Rapids or Istanbul.

Help-side defense is something 7th graders can figure out. Why Tennessee can't is beyond me.

We have a whole team of half-game All-Stars. This team would be hell on wheels if it could bring it for 40 minutes, every game.

I can't help but notice this year's most common theme after almost every damn win is "maybe this one will get them going in the right direction." That doesn't bode well, does it?

 

What does Robert Sacre do exceptionally well?

 

He's 7 feet tall. He grew exceptionally well.

 

Grand Rapids is a good place to live.

 

What does Tobias do exceptionally well? Undersized PF, not quick enough for the 3.. Not an amazing shooter or rebounder or defender. Seems like he's just pretty good at a lot.

 

Exactly.

 

He's better at pretty much every facet of the game than McRae.

 

Well they are different positions but I think McRae is way quicker off the dribble and a better shooter. And McRae can be very good at defense with his length. He's not consistent though.

 

Eh.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here, I think he can play in the NBA, he has the size, length and athletic ability to do it. I know there are a lot of guys who fit that mold as well and also realize that he has some glaring holes in his game but nothing that can't be corrected to the point of at least competent enough to earn a paycheck.

 

Harris is good at a lot of things.

 

McRae is physically weak. He has zero chance of being a capable defender at the NBA level. He's not even a good college defender.

 

Exactly. He's league average or better at his position in several aspects of the game. McRae might be the mean or above in getting off the floor and that's it.

 

There aren't many guys who are lousy ballhandlers, erratic shooters, and physically too weak to guard their position on NBA rosters.

 

I haven't seen Florida play this year, how de we match up with them? Big game for sure.

 

The Ole Miss game is bigger at this point.