Posted by Tom Wilson | Posted in Preseason | Posted on 30-10-2009
I don’t know about you, but I must admit I was quite surprised to hear that the Vols were ranked 10th and 11th in college basketball’s preseason polls.
After all, the Vols went unranked for most of last season, and by all accounts have not added any significant signees that would warrant such a position. I find it hard to believe that juco signee Melvin Goins or incoming freshman Kenny Hall would be enough to elevate Tennessee into the Top 10.
Remember, basically the same group of guys last year lost 13 games and earned no better than a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament.
But the rankings are what they are, and the Vols are poised to move even higher in the polls in the preconference season, given their schedule.
In fact, it’s quite possible that Tennessee could find itself in the top five in the polls leading up to its game against USC in Los Angeles on Dec. 19th. The Vols don’t play a true road game until then and only venture away from Thompson-Boling Arena to play against a less-than-stellar field at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands prior to USC.
And it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that the Vols could be 13-0 when they host preseason No. 1 Kansas in Knoxville on Jan. 10. Tennessee currently does not play a ranked team before then.
If you have tickets to that Kansas/UT game, you might want to hold onto them.
Posted by Tom Wilson | Posted in Preseason | Posted on 27-10-2009
Experience doesn’t always ensure success for any sports teams, but Tennessee has had enough in four years under head coach Bruce Pearl to make you think the 09-10 version of Vol hoops have some promise.
All five starters return from last year’s SEC East championship team as well as seven scholarship upperclassmen.
Pearl has promised that he will return to his pressing full-court basketball roots this season, and that’s a good thing. The Vols have never been a good half-court defensive team under Pearl. They’ve always been better at forcing turnovers and quick shots.
Personnel wise, if the Vols are to make another Sweet 16 push in March, they will have to do it on the coattails of sophomore wing Scotty Hopson. Hopson got off to a horrific start to begin last season, but finished the season finally showing Vol fans what all the recruiting fuss was about. Hopson finished last season averaging 9.2 ppg, and was pretty darn good in SEC play. He will need to double his scoring output on a consistent basis this season for the Vols to make a serious run.
The other key personnel situation to watch is the play of juco signee Melvin Goins at the point. I was critical of the decision to sign Goins last April, but in hindsight this addition may turn out to be the most important. A potential first-team All-SEC point guard Goins is not, but his addition will allow Pearl to keep a point guard on the floor for the entire 40 minutes this season. Last year, if you recall, when Bobby Maze went out of the game, Josh Tabb played the point, and the offense was often out of sync.
The schedule is also more favorable this season. The Vols should go undefeated (9-0) at least until Dec. 19 when they travel to Los Angeles to play Kevin O’Neill’s USC Trojans.
