University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Hoops By The Numbers: Three Things to Watch
October 28, 2022 | Men's Basketball
By Winston Roberts, UTsports.com
The changing of the leaves, a dip in temperature, and the proliferation of Halloween decor can only mean one thing—college basketball is nearly upon us. The Tennessee Volunteers checked in at No. 11 in the preseason AP Poll, fresh off a season that delivered an SEC Tournament title, a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 5 finish in the year-end rankings.
A new team loaded with experience and full of young promise, here are three things to look for as the Vols open exhibition play Friday night in Frisco, Texas, in the Legends of Basketball Classic against No. 2 Gonzaga. Fans can stream the game live online at PPV.COM.
Getting the Ball Rolling
Rick Barnes is a proven winner, ranking sixth among active Division I coaches in career wins. Barnes-led teams know how to win all kinds of games in all kinds of ways, especially early in the season when teams are still figuring out their style of play and best lineups. In pre-conference play under Barnes, the Vols are 57-19—and UT is 43-9 since the 2017-18 SEC championship season, a staggering .843 winning percentage spanning the last five years. While teams often go through early growing pains, the crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena is perpetually in mid-season form. The Vols have won 42 of their last 46 home games leading up to conference play (.913), and 17 consecutive home games overall dating to 2021.
Playing in the SEC means a brutal run of games each winter. But Tennessee does not shy away from early non-conference challenges either, recording wins last season over No. 18 (and eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up) North Carolina and No. 6 Arizona as the Vols went 9-2 leading into league play. This season's non-conference schedule is highlighted by a neutral-site exhibition against preseason No. 2 Gonzaga on Oct. 28 and clashes away from home with Maryland and preseason No. 17 Arizona in December. By the time SEC play tips off on Dec. 28, Tennessee will already be battle tested.
Replacing Kennedy
The only downside of recruiting so many McDonald's All-Americans—freshman forward Julian Phillips is the program's fourth in four years—is having to replace those who leave for the NBA. While NBA rookie guard Kennedy Chandler lives out his pro basketball dream across the state with the Memphis Grizzlies, Tennessee looks to replace its primary ball handler and one of the best perimeter defenders in last year's draft.
Luckily for the Big Orange, Zakai Zeigler is still around. Like Chandler, what Zeigler lacks in size, he makes up for with tenacious in-your-face defense. As a true freshman last season, Zeigler garnered SEC All-Defensive Team honors while showcasing a fearless determination to get to the rim regardless of who was closing in on him—or how tall those defenders were.
As much as Tennessee will miss Chandler on both ends, it is hard to overstate how special Zeigler's freshman season was defensively. His 4.5 percent steal rate was the 16th-highest ever recorded among high-major players who played at least half of their team's minutes, per barttorvik.com. Having a disruptor at the point-of-attack who can blow up screens, obstruct passing lanes and force turnovers like Zeigler is an invaluable asset to this Tennessee defense.
Another potent backcourt player for the Vols is Indiana State transfer Tyreke Key. After shoulder surgery sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021-22 season at ISU, Key joins the Volunteers for his final season of eligibility. He shot 72.1 percent at the rim in 2020-21, and is a career 38 percent shooter from 3-point range, with more than 85 percent of those attempts being catch-and-shoot, per barttorvik.com. A versatile and experienced veteran who may log minutes at the point guard spot for this year's Tennessee team, Key's assist rate jumped from 10.5 percent as a junior to 14.7 percent as a senior.
Freshmen B.J. Edwards and D.J. Jefferson round out the guard additions for this year's Volunteers. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5, respectively, both have the size and raw athleticism to contribute right away.
"Small Ball" vs. "Tall Ball"
Basketball is often a game of match-ups – while size has historically served as an effective trump card, many teams now are sacrificing height in exchange for speed and floor spacing. It's an engrossing game of give-and-take, and this year's Tennessee roster once again appears to have a lot of flexibility when it comes to deploying personnel.
Zeigler, Chandler, and All-SEC guard Santiago Vescovi frequently shared the court last season, a three-guard lineup that resulted in plenty of 3-pointers, and to good effect—no team in the SEC shot the long ball better than the Volunteers. They shot a league-best 35.9 percent from deep last season, anchored by Vescovi's limitless range. The Uruguayan connected on 40.3 percent of his 253 attempts, including 44.5 percent during conference play.
Olivier Nkamhoua saw a healthy share of minutes last year at both center and forward before his season was cut short due to injury in February. Playing him at center could bring an interesting wrinkle to this offense. He shot 44.8 percent from 3-point range on 2.2 attempts per 36 minutes a year ago. While the sample size was small, it was clearly something he worked on after not attempting any 3-pointers during the 2020-21 season. Even if Nkamhoua is not looked upon to provide a consistent 3-point threat, being able to hit a 17-foot jumper and drag defenses away from the rim can be of great benefit to savvy scorers like Zeigler and Key.
Senior Josiah-Jordan James took on a larger offensive role last season, nearly doubling his 3-point attempt output (from 91 as a sophomore to 172 as a junior). Overcoming an early-season slump, he shot 43.8 percent on 5.3 attempts per game in the last nine contests a season ago. His red-hot shooting in the SEC Tournament was a pivotal cog in the Vols' championship run. This year's addition of five-star freshman Julian Phillips could lead to James logging increased minutes at the power forward spot. If he and Nkamhoua can stretch the frontcourt for Vescovi, Zeigler and Phillips, that lineup would be remarkably challenging to defend. Also notable is the fact that Nkamhoua and James were the team's best per-game rebounders last season.
Another intriguing lineup that brings more size involves 7-footer Uros Plavsic (or 6-foot-11 Jonas Aidoo) next to 6-foot-9 Nkamhoua, 6-foot-8 Phillips and 6-foot-6 James. The latter three all have the lateral quickness to defend smaller players. A larger lineup like this would have similarities to the Chandler-Vescovi-James-Nkamhoua-John Fulkerson lineup that started frequently last year before Nkamhoua's injury.
