University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Hoops' 5 Quick Things: Nov. 9
November 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball
The Tennessee basketball program opens up the 2016-17 season on Friday when in-state foe Chattanooga visits Thompson-Boling Arena. Ahead of the season opener (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network +), here are five things you should know about the Vols' week of preparation:
1 | Youngest Team in 20 Years
With only three upperclassmen on the roster (redshirt senior Lew Evans, senior Robert Hubbs III and junior Detrick Mostella), Tennessee's 2016-17 roster is the youngest in two decades. The last time a Volunteer roster featured so few upperclassmen was in 1996-97 when Kevin O’Neill’s team had only three upperclassmen, just like this current UT squad. "You look at our team, early in the year, we don’t have any experience other than Robert," head coach Rick Barnes explained Wednesday. "Lew’s been around, but he’s new to the system. Detrick. Kyle, Shembari and Admiral played a year ago, but as a group overall this first month of the season is going to be a new experience for all of them. We’re going to learn from it and I fully expect us to be ready to go out and compete every time. I have confidence in this group and we’ll get started on what’s going to be a season where I fully expect us to improve every time we go out."
2 | Youth vs. Experience
Given the Vols' obvious youth, Saturday's in-state battle against Chattanooga features two rosters of distinctly different makeups. While the Vols' roster contains eight newcomers and a single returning starter, Chattanooga returns five starters and seven letterwinners from last year's Southern Conference championship squad. Rick Barnes said Wednesday that UTC's familiarity with one another and with head coach Matt McCall's system makes the Mocs a dangerous team in the early season: "When you talk about a team that won 29 games and won their regular season championship, their (conference tournament) championship and got to the NCAA Tournament and have four or five guys coming back, a team like that you would expect to be in midseason form. They’ve been together, they know already what they’re doing. They’ve won big games and they won on the road at Georgia to start the year last year. I think they’re an experienced group of guys that know how to play. It’s a tough opener."
3 | Defensive Depth Breeds Intensity
One of the big takeaways from Tennessee's exhibition victory over Slippery Rock was the Vols' effort and activity on the defensive end. UT forced 30 turnovers, turning them into 44 points -- more than half its game total of 83. Of those 30 turnovers, 16 went down as steals with eight different Vols contributing to that effort. Tennessee also finished the game with 13 blocks. While the numbers may fluctuate from game to game, fans can expect that level defensive energy to remain consistent throughout the season as UT's deep and athletic personnel can expend more energy and take more chances. "I feel like if you’re not playing defense and we’ve got a lot of guys, we’ve got to sub and figure out who can play defense," said junior guard Detrick Mostella. "When we played Slippery Rock, we took a lot of chances on them—picking up full court and going through some other defensive schemes to help us out. I feel like it played a big role in the game."
4 | Offensive Options
Tennessee's early-season focus remains on exerting maximum effort for spurts of two minutes and thirty seconds. And while the constant personnel rotations that effort requires may pay dividends on the defensive end, some onlookers might wonder how the persistent substitution patterns could have a negative effect on offensive flow. "I wouldn’t say it messes up the offensive rhythm," Vols sophomore Admiral Schofield said. "We have a lot of guys who can do different things from different areas on the floor. So when there’s a certain group in, we can run a certain set or play to exploit different positions on the floor. We have a lot of guys who can score—pretty much everyone can score—from our best player to our walk-ons. We have guys who are pretty talented. The biggest thing for Coach Barnes is getting guys in at the right time and knowing who to put in with what group."
5 | Military Appreciation Night
Friday’s season-opener vs. Chattanooga takes place on Veteran’s Day, and the Volunteers are celebrating Military Appreciation Night at Thompson-Boling Arena. “My dad was in the military for 24 years; he served in the Navy,” Admiral Schofield said. “It gives me a huge appreciation and different perspective.” All military members—active and veterans—will receive free admission for themselves and their immediate family Friday when they present their military ID at the gate. The night will feature numerous military-themed elements. The Vols will be wearing special, patriotic shooting shirts during pregame warmups and on the bench. The National Anthem will be performed by UT alumna Captain Stephanie McKeen, Wing Executive Officer for the 134th Air Refueling Wing at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base. The Knoxville Pipes and Drums will perform at halftime. A card-making station will be set up in the arena concourse for fans to write “Thank you” notes to local veterans. Promotions during timeouts also will incorporate participation by servicemen and women.
