BigOrangeBasketball.comTennessee Basketball

Renaldo Woolridge

If Tennessee is to successfully defend its 2007-2008 Southeastern Conference Championship, its much-heralded incoming freshmen class will have to make significant contributions to accomplish that goal.

Bruce Pearl recently called last year’s team “the best to ever play at Tennessee,” and he’s already put fans and media on notice that he expects this year’s team to compete for the SEC championship.  “I’m confident this is a basketball team that will have what it takes to defend our championship,” Pearl said recently.

To do that, Pearl will have to rely heavily on four, perhaps five true freshman to defend the SEC title.

Gone is 57% or 47 points per game of scoring offense from last season.  Gone are two All-SEC guards who averaged 30 points and accounted for 37% of the team’s scoring offense between them. And gone is 39% of the team’s rebounding from last season.

It’s highly unlikely that the five top returning players from last year – Wayne Chism, Josh Tabb, J.P. Prince, Brian Williams and Tyler Smith can take up that slack by themselves.  Chism, Prince and Smith were key contributors in both points and rebounds last season, and they will need to, at the very least, defend their production again this season.  And I don’t think that Williams and Tabb can be counted on to offset the major production lost from Lofton and JaJuan Smith from last season.

Tennessee will add a junior college point guard in Bobby Maze, who should help some in scoring, and redshirt freshman Cameron Tatum could help a lot, but his recent injury leaves his status in question.

Which brings us to the five freshmen.  Without a doubt, they are potentially the best class to ever suit up for Tennessee.  At least reputation indicates as much.  If the Vols are to compete for a second-straight SEC championship, these guys will have to produce.  Reputation will have to translate into results.

Here’s a look at the five incoming freshmen and what you can expect from them as the season unfolds…

• G Scotty Hopson – The marquee recruit of this year’s class, Hopson is expected to start at a wing and contribute immediately as a scorer.  He will likely not offset the scoring production of either Lofton or JaJuan Smith from last season, but he will need to be in double-figures most nights.  Pearl thinks he’s ready.  “Offensively, he belongs at this level.  He can play,” Pearl says. 
• G/SF Renaldo Woolridge – Woolridge is to me the most intriguing of the five incoming freshmen.  He comes from great bloodlines, the son of former Notre Dame star and NBA veteran Orlando Woolridge. At 6-8, 208, he is long, strong and extremely athletic, and he’s also an accomplished basketball player. He can shoot from the perimeter, and he has the size and skill to score near the basket as well. Depending on what happens with Cameron Tatum to start the season, I expect Woolridge’s role on this team to grow and grow as the season goes on. If Tatum can’t go early, then more will be expected and needed from Woolridge.  By season’s end, I expect Woolridge to be one of the top five players in minutes played and scoring.  Offensively, he will need to contribute scoring, especially if Tatum remains plagued by injury.
• C Philip Jurick – Listed at 6-10 and 250 pounds, Jurick is an imposing physical specimen.  His defense and rebounding are ahead of his offense.  Don’t expect much offensive production from Jurick this season, but I do think he will provide some valuable minutes with his shot-blocking ability and rebounding.  Jurick will likely backup Chism and Williams at the No. 5 position, and I think you’ll see him in certain situations when Tyler Smith needs a rest and Chism moves to the 4.
• PF Emmanuel Negedu – According to Pearl, Negedu may be the most athletic of the five freshman.  Considering that Woolridge and Hopson are part of this class, that’s saying something.  Of the five freshman, Negedu will likely have the least impact this season since he’ll be backing up SEC preseason player of the year, Tyler Smith.  Pearl has indicated that Negedu is the most raw of the five, but he has great upside for the future.
• PG – Daniel West – The least acclaimed member of this class, West may very well turn out to be the most important. West was expected to backup Maze at point guard, but an eligibility issue leaves his playing status with this team in question.  What’s not in question is how important guard play, and point guard play, in particular, is to Pearl’s system.  In an offensive scheme like Pearl’s, the point guard’s ability to distribute the ball quickly to scorers on the break and to get the team into the half-court flex offense is critical.  Without West, the Vols will have to play the entire season with only one true point guard in Maze, which will leave them vulnerable at this position should Maze go down.  Pearl has said he hopes to get a final answer about West’s eligibility next week. West was the starting point guard for the back-to-back state champions in the highest classification of high school basketball in the state of Michigan.  His court savvy and playmaking ability will be a real asset to this team if he can play.  If he can’t, it could be a real blow.

Ordinarily, I would be concerned about the Vols having to rely heavily on so many true freshmen. But good coaching can overcome inexperience.  They will get that from Pearl.  Let’s hope they deliver.  They will need to.

Tennessee head basketball coach Bruce Pearl proclaimed during his press conference in Knoxville today to preview the upcoming season that “we will compete for the SEC championship. I’m confident this is a basketball team that will have what it takes to defend our championship.”

This, as Pearl also pointed out, despite the fact that he lost five of his top nine players from a year ago, including All-American Chris Lofton and All-SEC guard JuJuan Smith.

Pearl also pointed out during his season-opening press conference that of the 13 players on scholarship this season, seven will be newcomers.

“We’ve accomplished more this fall than any team I’ve coached,” Pearl said, of this year’s squad.  “But we’ve had farther to go than any team I’ve coached.”

Despite fielding the most inexperienced team that he has coached entering his fourth season at Tennessee, Pearl says, at least at this point, that he likes his team.

“I like our depth. I like our athleticism. This team is doing a much better job in the classroom and off the court. This team has trained as hard as any team I’ve had.”  However, Pearl also acknowledged that “this team probably has farther to go than any team I’ve had” with five true freshman, one redshirt freshman and one junior college transfer, comprising this year’s roster.

Pearl had this to say about  the team’s offensive personality at this point…”we’ll be fine playing fast. Can we play half court offensively? I’m not sure because of all the new pieces.”

Pearl also commented about his thoughts on whether this team will press more than last year’s team. “We’re longer, but we’re not quicker.”

And about team defense and defensive rebounding in which the Vols finished in the bottom half of the SEC last season, Pearl said “we’ll be a better half court defensive team and a better rebounding team.”

And Pearl was quick to remind the media about one thing today.

“If there’s one thing you’d say about Tennessee basketball, it’s got a brand, and that brand is that we’re the aggressor,” Pearl said.

If the 2008-09 Tennessee men’s basketball team is to move to the next level this season, it will need to adopt a well-proven philosophy of women’s hoops coach Pat Summitt.

It is often said by Summitt that defense and rebounding win championships, and she’s won eight of ‘em, so she should know.

Last season, Tennesee ranked first in the SEC in scoring offense with an average of 81.8 points per game, but finished seventh in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 70.0 points per game.

As for rebounding, the Vols finished 10th in the SEC in defensive rebounding, and eighth in rebounding margin with a +0.6 advantage over the opposition.

In watching Bruce Pearl’s teams play the past three seasons, I have often wondered if the shortcomings on defense and in rebounding were more a function of less-talented personnel than execution.  But then I come back to Tennessee’s proficiency on offense under Pearl and wonder how the Vols could lead the SEC in scoring offense but finish in the bottom half in defense and rebounding?

So why is this important, you say, when the team goes 31-5 last year, wins the SEC regular season championship, and ranks in the top four in the country for most of the year?

Well, I can cite two specfic instances in the last two seasons where a lack of defense, in particular, cost Tennessee dearly in postseason play.

In last season’s SEC tournament semifinal against Arkansas, Arkansas shot 55.2% for the game, and outrebounded Tennessee, 34-22.  The Vols lost the game, 92-91, as it turned out, and were eliminated from receiving a highly coveted No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Two years ago against Ohio State in the NCAA Sweet 16, the Vols blew a 20-point lead near the end of the first half and went on to lose that game to the Buckeyes as well as a shot at the school’s first-ever Elite 8 appearance in the process.

Pearl recognized his team’s defensive woes following the heartbreaking loss to Ohio State in 2007 and made team defense a priority in preseason practice leading up to last season.  The Vols seemed improved on defense early in the season, but they were not a very good defensive team by season’s end.

This year, Pearl will field his most athletic team since he’s been at Tennessee.  The additions of 6-8 Renaldo Woolridge, 6-6 Scotty Hopson, 6-10 Philip Jurick, 6-7 Emmanuel Negedu and 6-6 Cameron Tatum will give Tennessee size, length and athleticism that Pearl simply did not have in his first three seasons.

Pearl faces other challenges as he enters the 2008-09 season.  He will have the most inexperienced team he’s ever had, and that may well have more to do with the fortunes of this year’s team than any other factor.

But if the program is to continue to advance to higher levels and win additional SEC championships as well as a potential national championship, significant improvements will have to be made on the defensive end and on the boards.