By Kenneth Cross
Coach Rick Barnes helped to push the Tennessee Volunteers to an SEC regular season championship for its first in nine years in 2018 and last season, Tennessee won its first SEC Tournament since 1979. The Vols have four NCAA Tournament appearances in Barnes’ seven seasons and they have posted an overall record of 150-81.
Tennessee lost leading scorer Kennedy Chandler as the 38th pick in the NBA Draft when he went to the Memphis Grizzlies on the second round. Chandler averaged 13.9 points per game while averaging 30.8 minutes per outing and he lwas second in the SEC with 2.2 steals per game. Chandler was also the catalyst of a defense that only allowed opponents to shoot 40.3 percent (33rd/CBB) from the floor and 62.9 points (25th/CBB) per game.
The Vols will have a solid competition to replace Chandler between sophomore Zakai Ziegler, freshman B.J. Edwards and Indiana State transfer Tyreke Key.
At 5-9, Ziegler played an average of 22 minutes per game and was Tennessee’s fourth leading scorer at 8.8. points and 2.7 assists per night, third on the team last season.
With Ziegler seemingly starting on the point, this should allow Santiago Vescovi to play at two-guard where he led Tennessee in taking 7.2 three-point shots per game. Vescovi is also active and tough off the dribble as he took 29.8 percent of Tennessee’s total free throw count of 848.
Barnes brings on Edwards, a 6-3 scoring guard who can also play on the point. He averaged 20.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.2 steals last season as a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School.
Key can also accrue minutes as he was an all-MVC first teamer for the Sycamores in ’20-21, but sat out last season with season-ending surgery on his right shoulder last November. Key is the sixth leading scorer in Indiana State history with 1,650 points.
The athleticism and ability of Josiah Jordan-James (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) will be a key weapon if he can push his shooting percentage beyond 38.8 percent. He had his best season as a junior last year and he started 30 games in the Vols 27-8 season, which ended in a loss to Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
James and Vescovi decided not to pursue the NBA Draft and both will be back as key contributors to Tennessee’s attack.
Tennessee brings in a five-star wing in Julian Phillips, who was rated as the 13th player in the nation by ESPN and he is the fourth McDonald’s all-American who has signed with the Vols in the last four years. Phillips’ athleticism will solidify his offensive push as he is developing an outside shot to make him more dimensional.
D.J. Jefferson will provide key depth with his potential as a three-guard. Some news entities referred to him as the top high school player in the state of Minnesota where Jefferson was a four-star player and was rated as high as the No. 45 player in the nation.
In the post, Olivier Nikamhoua (8.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Uros Plavsic (4.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg) will switch positions as a four-out, one-in offense will be a solid matchup for the Vols. Jonas Aidoo (2.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and freshman Tobe Awaka will provide depth inside with athleticism and length a key for Aidoo, who will look to average more than 7.8 minutes as he did last season.
Tennessee hosts Colorado on Nov. 13 as their second game of the season. Moving through the pre-SEC campaign, the Vols are in the Bahamas for the Battle4Atlantic as they play Butler in the opener. Win or lose, the Vols will be matched up with BYU or USC in the second round.
Kansas, NC State, Dayton and Wisconsin occupy the opposite side of the Battle4Atlantic bracket.
Tennessee comes back home and faces Maryland before the SEC schedule begins with Ole Miss on New Year’s Eve.