Vols need to revamp roster
‘Inside presence,’ deep 3-threat among needs
Tennessee basketball‘s roster changes began one week after the season ended when Davonte Gaines and Drew Pember entered the NCAA transfer portal.
It continued Monday when Jaden Springer declared for the NBA Draft, which likely is not the final departure facing UT.
But the Vols also are searching for additions beyond their incoming freshmen in guards Kennedy Chandler and Jahmai Mashack. Tennessee should be active in the transfer market, which is flooded with options.
Here are three areas Tennessee likely will seek to address during the offseason:
A scoring threat inside
Coach Rick Barnes highlighted his top offseason wish immediately after the Vols lost to Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament.
“We have to have an inside presence,” Barnes said. “We’ve never not had some kind of an inside presence.”
Tennessee lacked a threat in the post due to John Fulkerson’s senior struggles . Yves Pons, at times, scored inside. But the senior forward typically settled for jumpers and didn’t regularly post up.
The backbone of Tennessee’s offense in its best seasons under Barnes was Grant Williams. Finding a talent like the two-time SEC Player of the Year isn’t simple. But Tennessee needs some semblance of reliability in the paint for its offense to move from catastrophe to capable.
“We’ve got to change,” Barnes said. “That’s going forward. We’ve got to get back to having an inside presence the way we play and the way we want to play.”
A reliable 3-point shooter
Tennessee was a solid 3-point shooting team both in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. The Vols shot 38% in its SEC regular-season title season and 36.7% during its best 31-win campaign.
The Vols dipped sharply in the past two seasons. UT shot 31.3% in 2019-20 and 33.1% last season.
UT doesn’t have an elite 3-point shooter like it had with the likes of Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden and Admiral Schofield. Jaden Springer led the Vols in 3-point shooting last season, but took few attempts. Victor Bailey Jr. and Santiago Vescovi were UT’S most willing shooters, but were inconsistent and neither is a top-level shooter.
Tennessee needs to add a willing and consistent 3-point shooter to balance its offense.
A backup point guard
Tennessee had a lot of talented guards this season, but lacked a true point guard. The Vols are adding one in Chandler, a five-star recruit and the nation’s No. 2 point guard prospect.
But it needs another true point guard option. Ideally, Tennessee could add a point guard who shoots well from three to add both a shooter and a backup guard.
Bailey and Vescovi are best playing off the ball and Tennessee’s offense would be better aligned with the duo able to play into their strengths. UT could round out its offense with a backup point guard to supplement Chandler and its off-ball guard options.