Tennessee Basketball: Backcourt could be one of the best in the country

Tennessee basketball’s backcourt could be one of the best in the country, and that’s proved by getting two All-SEC selections.

The SEC released its preseason All-SEC first and second teams, and Tennessee was represented twice on the All-SEC second team.

Both Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden made the preseason All-SEC second team, and that’s no surprise to me. Turner and Bowden are two players I have high expectations for, and it seems as if the SEC does too.

Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, and Kentucky were all represented multiple times. The Tennessee backcourt is already one of the best backcourts in the SEC, and they have the potential to be one of the best in the country.

Bowden and Turner aren’t the only two guards that have pretty high expectations for the Tennessee Volunteers. Freshman Josiah-Jordan James is coming into the Tennessee basketball program fresh and ready to go.

I think James could turn into one of the best players on Tennessee’s roster by the end of the season, and if that turns out to be true, then Tennessee could not only have one of the best backcourts in the SEC but one of the best teams.

Davonte Gaines could be another player coming off of the bench for the Vols that could elevate the Vols’ backcourt and their bench.

A lot of the national media has already written the Vols off as a decent SEC team but nothing special. This preseason list is just the beginning of proving everyone wrong.

What has the team’s slogan been for the past couple of years? Don’t pick us. I won’t be surprised at all if Rick Barnes instills that same mindset into this year’s team.

The Vols’ season officially starts Tuesday night against UNC-Asheville, and that’s when we will get to see the fireworks happen for the first time of many this season.