Posts Tagged ‘Chris Lofton’

I normally don’t post about individual commitments or recruiting updates in general, but I think this is fairly important. Tennessee got another defensive lineman – tackle, specifically – to join the group for 2010 in the form of John Brown.

This is important for two reasons. First, Brown is transferring from the University of Florida to Northeast Mississippi Junior College in the fall to likely an early enrollee at Tennessee in December or January (he says he will sign with the Vols as soon as he can).

Secondly, Brown was a pretty highly-touted recruit coming of Lakeland High School in Florida in 2007. Yet, for lack of a better term, was a bust in Gainesville, barely seeing the field in two seasons due to injury, academic and motivation issues (or so I’ve read).

So are Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin taking a slight risk with this offer and pickup? To an extent, yes. But you have to think Brown has some level of potential left after being a 4-star (5-star on Scout) guy out of high school. Obviously his time at Florida was unremarkable, but hopefully a change in scenery may give him the kick in the pants he might need to put it all together on the field.

And hey, considering the well-documented issues Tennessee will have along the offensive and defensive lines following this season, you probably should just take what you can get and be happy.

On another quick note, as most of you know Tennessee is conducting football and basketball camps this week here in Knoxville. I have yet to see any of it except for the local news coverage on TV and the internet, but by all accounts it seems to have gone very well on the football front. As for basketball, I think it’s pretty cool Chris Lofton is back in town. I have an incredible amount of respect for #5 (that jersey is on the wall of my room) and he’s going to be an all-time favorite. He also has a tryout with the Memphis Grizzlies later next week, so hopefully he makes the most of that opportunity, because he deserves a shot to make the NBA. And of course what better team than my hometown Grizz? I have no idea what his chances are of sticking around with the team for the summer, but I wish him luck.

In other basketball Tyler Smith news, despite Tyler’s discussion of playing in Europe, I don’t see that happening given him having his son Amare. And Losers With Socks says he’s coming back, and they have been correctly ahead of everybody else on a couple of these type things, so take that for what it’s worth.

That’s it for now, hopefully some concrete QB recruiting news will come out soon – we’re all waiting for it.

– … to me.

To many of you and to many Vols fans, Saturday afternoon is just another basketball game. Sure it’s a big one: national TV, against a cross-state rival who’s reloading after nearly winning a national title last season with a coach who’s easy to dislike. But for me, it’s different. It’s the Memphis game. Probably the single game I want to win this season.

So why is Saturday afternoon not just another Tennessee basketball game, you ask? What is the big deal with Memphis? Well for one, as you may know I’m from the great city of Memphis. I grew up in the Memphis/Shelby County area and have been around that university and athletic program and their fans my entire life. That’s the easy answer.

But it’s more than that. Sure, I could now go into my reasons for really really not liking the Tigers (and almost did), but they don’t get a post like Alabama did. You see, Memphis (the university) and I have a history. We go way back. To 1996…

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a little something I found while trolling sports forums…

As you may know, former Vol Basketballer Chris Lofton is currently playing in the Turkish Basketball League for Mersin BSB.  Anyway, from the looks of his stats, he’s doing pretty well.

You can check out his stats on his bio page: Chris Lofton – Turkish Basketball League Player

Image Courtesy of:  TBLstat.net

…About the BasketVols‘ Struggles

First off, this is my first post of 2009, so I would like to wish everyone a very late Happy New Year. Secondly, I will take just a little time to explain the three reasons for my slacking in terms of posting…

Reason #1: School began Wednesday. That is pretty self-explanatory. I’ll just leave stop now because none of you actually care, and if you do, click my fresh, new logo on the right of your screen and shoot me some mail (thanks to lawvol for making that happen).

Reason #2: I have been mentally and psychologically recovering from witnessing Tennessee lose a home basketball game for the first time ever. Never before have I had to walk through the parking lot wondering what went/is going wrong with the team. So if Tennessee builds up another long home streak – say, never losing again til I graduate – I will forever hate Gonzaga. And I mean hate as in the same breath as C****** W******, Jabar Gaffney/that ref, Matt Mauck, and Steven Hill.

Not that I didn’t already hate the Bulldogs anyways. After the first meeting between them and the Vols, I dubbed them the “gayest team in America” label that Butler so gracefully championed since the Preseason NIT win they had over Tennessee two years ago, ending when the Vols avenged that in the Tournament last year. You may be asking why this is…

No way he is good at basketball...

You look at Gonzaga’s team, and you think there is absolutely no way in hell they are any good. Josh Heytvelt is a ’shroom-smoking, low-class punk (those of you in attendance know why) who has no business making anything from the outside. Austin Daye is skinnier than the biggest pansie in the sports world (that’s Pau Gasol of the Lakers/Grizzlies) and looks goofy in his oversized t-shirt. Matt Bouldin’s pretty boy hair annoys me, and he will NEVER score 26 points against a good team again this year (for the record, 26 is his career high, which he’s done a grand total of once). Micah Downs, a former McDonald’s All-American, does get a pass for transferring from Kansas after just a semester to be closer to home. Jeremy Pargo is the only legit player on that team and will make it in the NBA.

So while their band of goofballs (sans Pargo) are a solid team, their streakiness is the kicker. For example, they start off shooting poorly in the first half. At 45-33, I thought Tennessee would run away with it. That is, until Gonzaga’s garbage kicked into high gear and they couldn’t miss. Yes, Tennessee’s defense was awful (more on that later). But they hadn’t shot that well earlier in the game. There was also a short stretch late in the second half where they couldn’t hit anything. And of course, they made every shot in the OT. And I’m not even going to start on the incompetency of their conference’s officials…

Reason #3: I was physically sick yesterday from vomiting all Thursday night/Friday morning from Florida’s winning another national title. Which brings me to another mini-rant (please bear with me)…

How any true Vol fan could have wanted Florida to win a national championship is beyond me. They are Tennessee’s biggest divisional rival. How does their winning a second title in three years benefit Tennessee in any way at all? Please explain this to me, I’m willing to listen.

The SEC power argument doesn’t make a difference. In today’s football world a one-loss SEC champion will get a shot to play for a national title. Florida’s two titles and LSU’s last year will have no bearing on whether or not Tennessee gets left out of a potential title game in the (hopefully very near) future. Let me say it this way: if Tennessee takes care of their business of winning the SEC – which is the #1 primary above-all goal EVERY YEAR – the rest will resolve itself. And if it doesn’t and we were to hypothetically get “Auburned,” Florida winning national titles wouldn’t make a lick of difference.

We all enjoyed watching Utah smack Bammer around didn’t we? Why would watching OU do that to Florida be any less enjoyable? Hence why I wanted Utah to win and OU to win Thursday night by 1,000. I thought both Alabama and Florida would win, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

Bruce is more frustrated than any of us

OK, now to the main topic of this post, today’s little trip to Athens to open up the defense of last year’s SEC hoops title. I’m still not in full panic mode yet, because I had justified losing at Temple and Kansas as the whole young team/hostile environment deal and the first Gonzaga loss as to them being hot. That said, I expected Tennessee to win Wednesday night.

The biggest reason to worry right now is Tyler Smith’s health. Smith is doubtful to play today due to the knee injury he suffered in the OT Wednesday night. The hush that fell on TBA during those moments was similar to the one that fell when Chris Lofton sprained his ankle his junior season. The general thought of course was “Oh no, there goes the season.” However, when Tyler popped up and walked off, and eventually reentered the game, relief ran rampant (there’s some alliteration for ya!).

The second biggest issue is team defense. The lack of defensive communication on ball screens is absolutely some of the worst I have ever seen from a college team. I see better team communication in intramural games and pickup games in TRECS, and I’m not even kidding. I really don’t even know if it’s individual players struggling, but the team as a whole has been horrific and frustrating. You obviously can’t win if you let the other team score every trip down the floor.

Now I’m not as worried as most about Tennessee offensively. Yes, the shot selection is bad, but hasn’t it always under Bruce? That said, Tennessee missed so many makable shots in the lane Wednesday night I lost count. Admittedly the Vols struggle with hitting a big shot in a crucial time (other than Tyler of course) and consistently making an open three-pointer.

Fortunately, the SEC just isn’t very good. Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas and LSU are all teams that can make the Tournament, but I still think Tennessee’s the team to beat, at least from a talent standpoint. Only Arkansas has near the quality wins (Oklahoma and Texas) as does Tennessee (Georgetown, Marquette). The rest of the league hasn’t played – and more importantly beaten – anybody.

Georgia hoops in a nutshell...

That said, a loss today to the worst team in the league would really start the meltdown/frantic/panicking/worrying. Georgia’s losses this year: Loyola of Chicago, Western Kentucky, Illinois (by 34 points), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Missouri, and Georgia Tech. Throw in an OT win over Wofford on a prayer three-pointer at the buzzer and you come to realize: this is a bad team we’re playing today. Georgia hasn’t beaten Tennessee in four years, so even Buzz beat Georgia.

Hopefully the Vols can get this win to start the SEC season off on the right foot before the evil blue team from up north comes visiting Tuesday night…GO VOLS!

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: Gonzaga Official Site • Amy Smotherman-Burgess / Knoxville News-Sentinel • John Curry / AP (Daylife)

A List of Reminiscing…

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of 2008. Yes, I know, I’m asking “Already?!?” just you like may be doing. It seems like last month I was standing in Times Square in NYC for nine hours (without any food, drinks, or bathroom breaks) with five of my friends ringing in 2008. But here it is, the start of another year is less than 24 hours away.

My new logo

Now hopefully you have yet to bail on me because of that terribly mushy opening, and if you have I thank you. I’ll get to my little list of what I’ll most remember from the past year in sports in a minute, but first I need to say that I began this whole blogging thing back in June, when the looming monster of summer school was at my doorstep. When I started, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I wasn’t sure how long I’d be blogging or any of that. I really enjoyed it at first, mostly the posts following the NBA Finals games and my amateur, yet rather extensive, coverage of the Rocky Top Summer League (yes, I skipped studying for tests and doing schoolwork to do those). However, at first I underestimated how much work blogging actually can be.

So when lawvol approached me (figuratively) about joining forces with him, it was a no-brainer. I have enjoyed writing here at the Gate and I just want to give some props to lawvol for having me on here and for helping me when I bug him about the simplest of issues. And of course thank you to yourselves, the readers (if you’re still actually reading this). Who knows if my blogging will actually help the journalism career I’m hoping for/working towards/trying to gain experience for, but I’ve certainly enjoyed it and I’m glad I decided to begin with it.

OK, enough of those little bits of business, now onto this little list. This will be a little different than the other two I’ve done, as in I’m writing this, I’m not limiting myself to what pops into my mind when I think back of the past year in sports. I was able to narrow my hatred for Alabama down to five and the hope of the Vols’ hoops season to 10, but this is a whole year we’re talking here. I’ll try to keep it as short as I can. Anyways, here goes…

Thanks Coach

1) Good-bye and thank you Coach Fulmer: Well duh. The only Tennessee football coach I’ve pretty much ever known fell victim to a failed replacement of David Cutcliffe and the second losing season in the last four years. It’s been the toughest year as a Tennessee fan I have been a part of by far, but it ended very sweet with the home win over Kentucky.

CLK

2) Hello, Lane Kiffin: Fulmer’s replacement has me excited, and I know I ain’t the only one. Some are skeptical, but the Blackjack General (kudos, lawvol) has the fire that I think this program needs. He and his staff have plenty of work to do to return to the level of competing with Florida and the growing empire in Tuscaloosa, but so far, so good…

Champs

3) Being #1 for less than two days is still better than never being #1…: This goes way back to February, and the 66-62 #2-over-#1 win by Tennessee at Memphis. I had to cover/get audio for this game for the radio station sports show I was involved in last spring, and it was just fun to watch and see in person. That, and being in the middle of the aftermath right outside the locker room and on the FedEx Forum floor trying to be “professional” is undoubtedly a highlight of this past year.

4) 2008 SEC basketball champs: Need anything else be said? And to do it in Gainesville after getting blitzed in the first half was icing. I also covered that last home game against Carolina, so watching the whole net-cutting and t-shirt deal was a highlight.

5) Fan apathy: Honestly, this was probably the biggest factor to Fulmer’s firing. I have made my thoughts on the student attendance and the whole paying for tickets well known through this site (try this). This video (I wouldn’t dare actually post it) was the lowest point for me as a Tennessee fan in my life. I must admit, I left well before it, but I didn’t want to be a apart of that. I commend you if you did…

Thanks Chris and JaJuan

6) Chris Lofton: Seeing this guy get to play in person for two years was a treat. Talk about a role model, he had cancer, didn’t tell anyone for completely unselfish purposes, and still had a pretty good season and was an integral part of the SEC Title run for the Vols. I have his #5 jersey on my wall of my room in my apartment, and it will be hanging in TBA’s rafters soon enough.

7) JaJuan Smith, too: Walk-on to nearly making the Mavericks. The best part of watching Juanny the past two years of college was that he made it look so fun. From his rainbow threes to pestering defense and occasionaly bonehead turnover, I’ll never forget this guy and what he was to the Tennessee program.

Championship #8: I have to give Pat Summit and the Lady Vols some love. I never go to any of their games, but I do know they exist. That senior class dominated and Candace Parker, well, she’s just awesome.

9) Eric Berry: The dude is just a BAMF. My four years of college may be four of the worst in Tennessee history, but at least I got to see this guy play. Seriously, he was reason enough to watch as the awful 2008 season went down the toilet. His pick-six against Mississippi State might have been the craziest moment of the student section this past year (yeah, indicating how bad the season truly was…). List of guys he almost killed in 2008: Tyler Donovan, Taylor Embree, Knowshon Moreno, Marquis Maze, and that’s off the top of my head. If a team had 22 Eric Berrys, they would never lose. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll like playing in Monte Kiffin’s defense enough to stay for his senior year…

Monte!

10) Monte Kiffin: Sweet! Most respected defensive coordinator in the NFL? Yes please.

11) The Streak: Tennessee has now won 37 straight home games in Thompson-Boling Arena. A couple of teams nearly broke it (Ole Miss, Kentucky, Belmont), but it’s still going strong. I still have never left that arena having seen Tennessee lose. It was empty four years ago, now this streak. Could Gonzaga end it a week from tonight?

12) Construction: If you visited Knoxville this past year, you know what I mean. The stadium. Glocker. The Baker Center. Neyland. The TBA facelift. Lindsay Nelson. Heck, even I-40 has been closed since May…

13) Losses I witnessed in person: Louisville (Sweet 16 game in Charlotte), Florida, Auburn (nearly fell asleep in the third quarter), Alabama, Wyoming…

14) My love for the NBA: It gets a bad rap for the most part, but you can’t tell me you’re a true fan of the game of basketball and not like the NBA. Before this past season, I never really followed it other than the playoffs and the handful of Grizzlies games I saw in my high school days. Now, I just plain love it. These guys are ridiculous. I could watch LeBron James play every night. The Lakers-Celtics finals capped off an amazing playoffs and it’s shaking up to be a great season this year too.

15) Wyoming: I saw them beat Tennessee 13-7 in Knoxville. They were 1-7 in the Mountain West and fired their coach. Ouch…

16) UCLA: Kevin Craft is worse than me for Heisman! really wasn’t as good as we made him look. The beginning of the end…

17) This play:

18) These dunks:

19) Redeem Team Wins Gold: The highlight of the Beijing Olympics for me. Yes, I watched every minute of every one of their games. They were not going to be denied and watching these guys play together and with a serious sense of urgency was well worth it. Thank you, LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe, CP3, Bosh, Howard, Boozer, D-Will, Melo, Redd, Tayshaun, Coach K and staff.

Monte!

20) The tornado that almost killed me: I’m getting lazy, so just click here. If you’re too lazy to do that, you’re worse than me I was in the Georgia Dome for the SEC Tournament when that tornado owned downtown Atlanta.

21) Michael Phelps: Second best part of the Olympics. The relay the U.S. stole from the trash-talking French and the race he won from nowhere had me up and yelling at the TV.

22) Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Emmanuel Negedu, Renaldo Woolridge: They’re only going to get better…

23) This NFL season: I don’t get too pumped about pro football other than for fantasy purposes, but this was a fun season to watch. It came down to the end and I can honestly justify about six teams going all the way. Miami went from 1-15 to the playoffs and nobody’s laughing at the Falcons now. And those drama queens in Dallas are watching it all…

24) Jerod Mayo: Any time a Vol gets drafted in the Top 10…and then dominates as a rookie, I’m pumped…

25) Shaun Ellis: This was just plain funny…

26) Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince: Two transfers are huge parts of Tennessee hoops in 2008 and going forward. Thanks to Tyler for his clutch makes against Ole Miss and Memphis State. This year’s team is his team, and it took Prince hurting himself to make us see how important he is to this team.

27) The Olympics: Yeah, they were about all I watched for that two week stretch this summer.

28) VolQuest/Rivals: I can’t lie, I have spent countless hours procrastinating and wasting time on the message boards. If you have done it too, you know their addictive powers…

29) Jonathan Crompton: Well, there’s not much to say, but most of the Tennessee fanbase thinks he’s the worst QB to ever wear orange. Hell, he couldn’t even hand the ball off against Florida and Auburn. The Auburn game might have been the worst game ever played by a QB – my goodness was it ugly. When he entered the South Carolina after Nick Stephens threw an awful pick-six, ESPN showed his stats for the year – he had thrown for 666 yards. Yikes. Yet, that pass to Denarius Moore against Kentucky…reason for hope? I mean, he’s got an equal chance of starting next year as the other QBs Tennessee has. I’m just saying…

30) And finally, Mario Chalmers: Tiger High/John Calipari = EPIC FAIL…

HAPPY 2009 TO YOU FROM US HERE AT GATE 21!!!

Images Courtesy of: Michael Patrick / KNS • Michael Patrick / KNS • volnation.com • coachsoffice.com • interbasket.net

Thank goodness for Bruce Almighty!

Yeah, yeah, I know—it was just Chattanooga.  Still the 14th ranked BasketVols 114-75 victory against the Mocs finally gave everyone in Big Orange Country a reason to smile.  This is especially true for me since I have despised Chattanooga (second only to Florida in terms of being my most hated team) since I was a child for reasons which are as irrelevant to this post as they are irrational…

…but I digress.

Sure, the Mocs were a directional opponent who wasn’t supposed to really have a chance (in exactly the same way the Wyoming Cowboys weren’t supposed to … ahem … cough ).  Sure, Bruce and the Barbarians are just starting to work out all of the kinks from the off-season.  Sure UT-Chattanooga once had a coach who looked like a slimy used-car salesman, had a player who once slugged a female cheerleader for ETSU in the face after losing to the Bucs (Benny Green at the 1989 Southern Conference Tournament—I was standing about 30 feet away), and have a mascot which is about as silly as they come (I told you I don’t like UTC).

All of these things are true.  Still, for the first time in a long while, a Tennessee Volunteers team went out, faced an opponent, and actually performed the way they were supposed to.  In fact, they probably exceeded expectations (at least based upon how it sounded on the Vol Network broadcast).

In their first real game without Chris Lofton, the Vols showed they can still get it done.  Led by Tyler Smith, the BasketVols poured on the offensive intensity with purpose and focus, and never let up.

[HT to Hooper at Rocky Top Talk]

Nice…

Second, this year’s squad made it clear that they have the ability to run Bruce Pearl’s no-holds-barred “Orange Nightmare” defense.  More importantly, however, they were able to press and attack with control and finesse—making the transition game even more effective.

Prince takes it to the House!

Very nice…

Third, they did all of this with more rhythm, togetherness, and form than you would expect from a team who lost three key seniors from last year.  They played together, played as a team, played smart, and played at the level of which they are capable (i.e. didn’t play down to their opponent).  As Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp made clear, the Vols and their fans were having fun—there’s something we haven’t seen in Knoxville this Fall.

“Money!” (Thank you Bert Bertelkamp)

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Oh, I know, the competition will get tougher, the half-court game needs to solidify, the 3-point percentage will not always be so dependable, and so on.  Still, as the stat sheet makes clear, for now, all is well in the Volunteer City—Tennessee Basketball has returned.  This team looks like it will truly be a treat to watch, and that’s something to smile about.

How refreshing.

It has been a rough few months for Tennessee fans.  It is so nice to finally have a little good news, to hear the Tommy Bowl rocking, and to hear Vol fans cheering.  I’ve missed that lately.

Oh, and it’s also nice to see UTC lose by 39 (Sorry…).

– Go Figure …

Images Courtesy of:  ESPN.com • Go Vols Xtra / Amy Smotherman-Burgess

Audio Clips Courtesy of: The University of Tennessee / the Vol Network / IMG

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Finally!

Well, for some it’s been basketball season since about mid-September. But after a busy last spring – Ramar Smith/Duke Crews, the Hopson commitment and the Maze coup – and preseason – taking Negedu off Arizona’s hands, D-West’s unfortunate issues, and bum shoulders and bum academics – your defending SEC champs open up the 2008-08 season in the beautiful Thompson-Boling Arena tonight – an off football Saturday (thankfully) at that – against Chattanooga.

Because my creativity is pretty limited and honestly I’m still not fully into basketball mode, I’m going to take a shortcut with my hoops preview – a list. But unlike this list, it’s going to be a nice one, and twice as long. Yes, that’s 10 things and players I’m looking forward to/expecting from the always entertaining bunch of Bruce Pearl…

1. Back-to-back?

This Tyler's team

Flashback to March 5th of last year. The Vols, trailing early to red-hot Florida in Gainesville while Mississippi State leads Vandy in Nashville, look poised to go from #1 in the country to a tie for the SEC title in just a week. Now I don’t know about anybody else, but I don’t like to share. Sharing – and tying for that matter – is stupid. I wanted the SEC all to Tennessee. I wanted a t-shirt (and a 1-seed). Who cares if the SEC was “down”? An SEC title is an SEC title.

Well then this and this happened. Tennessee got that title, its first in 41 years. Now, heading into this season, the Vols on paper are the favorites to repeat. Florida will likely provide the biggest challenge, but the Gates are young inside. Kentucky lost to VMI – yes, VMI – last night, and have to deal without Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley. They do Patrick Patterson, but it didn’t help last night…

Vanderbilt lost their team Shan Foster, but Aussie-softee A.J. Ogilvy is back. South Carolina has a new coach (Darrin Horn) and Devan Downey, but that’s a big turnaround. Georgia is not good at basketball (SEC Tournament = fluke). Even Buzz owned UGA. The West? I have no clue, so don’t ask.

So while going back-to-back isn’t gonna be easy, it could/should very well happen.

2. Being Sweet is nice and all, but Elite is, well, it’s better…

In Bruce Pearl’s first year, it was any sign of not being mediocre. In his second year, it was advancing past the second round (yes, I include Mike Conley and Greg Oden in the same light as Matt Mauck and Steven Hill). Last year, it was winning the SEC. Going along the natural progression, shouldn’t this be the hump-overcoming year to the Elite Eight?

The common thought is that this year’s group should be the opposite of last year’s team that faded at the end. This year’s team may struggle at first with the many new parts, but come tournament time, they could be real good. Now obviously there’s a whole season and who knows what the matchups will be (hopefully nicer than last year), but this is the next step for the Tennessee program: going further in March, when it really counts.

3. Tyler Smith

It’s going to be a ton of fun watching this guy play basketball this year. He is a special player, and with all due respect to the rest of this group, this team is Tyler’s team. The offense is going to center around him, and when it comes down to it, he’s going to be the go-to guy. He showed he’s capable of coming through in the clutch (Ole Miss and Memphis, anyone?).

SEC Player of the Year? Likely. NBA Lottery Pick next June? If he gets an outside shot, without a doubt yes. To me he’s next in line in establishing the Tennessee program as nationally relevant. The one we’ll remember 20 years from now in the same line as C.J. Watson (who deserves WAY more appreciation than he gets), Dane Bradshaw, Chris Lofton (who’s by himself), and JaJuan Smith.

4. Scotty, Cam, Woolridge, and Negedu…

Oh, the new guys. Talk about length. Talk about athleticism. A 6-6 or 6-8 guy at the two? Having seen Hopson play in the summer league, he just makes it look so easy. Yes, sometimes it looks as if he doesn’t care. I’m not worried about him not turning it up when has to. Tatum may be the team’s best three–point shooter (more on that later). Woolridge could start tomorrow night and has had quite the buzz around himself since summer. What will Negedu – who to me is essentially replacing Duke Crews – bring to the table?

B-Maze might be the newcomer that determines the fate for Tennessee

How are all these new pieces going to mesh? Will the chemistry seen from the last two years still be here this year? It may take some time, but if it does, the talent is scary good. Obviously youth and inexperience gets brought up as well. To that I say these names: Carmelo Anthony. Derrick Rose. Kevin Love. Conley. Oden. This ain’t football, people. You can win with freshman in hoops. It may get bumpy at first, but if the struggles are there by conference play, only then would I start worrying.

5. Big Money Maze

Now I think Bruce Pearl is an excellent coach. However, yes Rick Pitino did pretty much own him last March in Charlotte. Yes tinkering with Ramar Smith and the PG position for the NCAA Tournament probably wasn’t his best moment, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Bruce even told you that himself.

But I think Maze may be the missing link. The guy was the most impressive Vol in the summer league, with his ability to do many things at the offensive end and his overall intensity. Obviously with the horribly (and questionably) timed Daniel West eligibility issues, more of a burden falls on Maze’s (and J.P. Prince’s…and Josh Tabb’s) shoulders. Can he handle it? Time will tell, but like with the rest of the new guys, Maze seems talented enough to make it happen.

I mean, he’s like a clone of Allen Iverson – corn rows, headband, height – and he puts on for Tennessee…how bad can he be??

6. Big Wayne

Wayne...you gotta love him...

I love watching Tyler Smith play. I’m probably gonna love some of the new guys’ games too. But my favorite current Vol has to be Wayne Chism. For a couple reasons, First, he wears his headband differently from every other player, so he’s easily spotted. Second, he and his three-point shots are adventurous. You always are thinking, “Oh s***, not Wayne!”…and he banks it in. Who doesn’t love centers who can bomb? And finally, the dude’s always smiling. Always. You gotta love him…

7. Who’s Bert gonna yell “Money!” for now??

I have three major questions for this team. First, and this was a late-developing concern, is the point guard situation. Maze now has a bigger burden on his shoulders, and behind him it’s either J.P. Prince, who most fans are probably very skeptical of after last year’s debacle, or Josh Tabb. From seeing Daniel West in the summer league, I thought he was going to be a very solid backup. Prince says he’s ready, not only healthy, but ready to play point guard. The Pistons are using Tayshaun as a point forward, so maybe J.P. can get some tips. I’m not saying he’s not capable, I’ll just believe it when I see it.

Secondly, losing Lofton and JaJuan means you lose almost all of the outside game. Who’s gonna hit those dagger threes this year? Who will come up with the key outside shot in a key moment? Will the new three-point line have any effect on Bruce Pearl’s three-happy offense? If Tennessee can’t hit threes, team are undoubtedly going to pack it in and clog up the lane for Tyler and Chism. Thirdly, how will this team come together? Can the chemistry from the past seasons carry over with all these new faces? The talent’s certainly there…

8. Now that’s a schedule…

Bruce Pearl loves schedules like this. In addition to the SEC, everyone of course knows about the trip to Kansas, the visits from Memphis State and Gonzaga, and the game in Nashville with Big East foe Marquette.

How about we take a little deeper look? There’s the Old Spice Classic in Orlando Thanksgiving weekend. The Vols’ opening opponent, the Siena Saints, hammered the crap out of Vandy in the NCAA Tournament last year. Also there: Wichita State (revenge?), Georgetown, Michigan State (who’s a top 10 team?), Oklahoma State, and Gonzaga (again possibly).

Even the “cupcake” teams aren’t walkovers. Chattanooga hung with Tennessee last year. UT-Martin has Lester Hudson, who nearly went in the NBA Draft last year. MTSU is picked near the top of the Sun Belt (they lost in the conference tourney title game last March). There’s a tricky little trip to Temple, an NCAA Tournament team from last year. Finally, there’s Belmont. Ask Dook about the Bruins.

9. “The Streak”

Fact: in my two years of college, I have never had to leave TBA with the sick feeling of losing. Yes, I’m undefeated at home over two years. Tennessee’s home winning streak is up to 32 games now, and I think it would be cool to keep that going.

Just four years ago, TBA was just a big, empty arena. Now, it’s one of the best arenas in college basketball, and one of the toughest places to play in the SEC and the nation. Thank you, Bruce.

10. January 24, 2009

Look, most Tennessee fans don’t really care about little ol’ Memphis State down in the southwest corner of the state. It’s a little different for those of us who either live there and grew up there. Seeing Tennessee win the last two games against Tiger High in person were two of the funnest times of my college life. Watching them choke away a national title was pretty good too…

WWWHHHHHHAAAAHHHHHH

The Vols go for three-in-a-row January 24 in Knoxville. Honestly, this is the game I probably want to win the most this year. I could go into my reasons my hating the Tigers basketball program, but I’ll save that til this game in January. I’m not one of guaranteeing things, but it’s probably going to better than my Alabama hate post from a few weeks ago.

Oh I can’t wait to make John Calipari cry his way back home…yet again.

GO VOLS BASKETBALL!!

Images Courtesy of: Mark Humphrey / AP (Daylife) • Saul Young / GVX • Joe Murphy / Getty Images (Daylife) • Alan Spearman / AP (Daylife)