Overachieving Tennessee Vols Basketball Is A Surprise So Far
The Tennessee Vols Basketball team is a complete surprise so far this season. The Vols are actually in second place in the SEC with an 11-5 overall record and 3-1 in SEC play. Tennessee has wins on the road against Mississippi State and Missouri to go along with a home court win over Arkansas to start the first part of the SEC schedule. The only loss came to a very talented Alabama team.
Tennessee takes on South Carolina tomorrow night at 8:00 Central in Columbia, South Carolina. This will be a great test to see where this Volunteer team actually stands.
Many say ‘not so fast’ on thinking this team is actually as solid as the early record indicates. Mississippi State and Missouri arguably just may be the worst two teams in the conference. However, the Bulldogs did beat a talented Vanderbilt team at home this past weekend, so the Vols win there can not be discounted. Missouri shot the ball well and led late in the game Saturday, but the Vols overcame that lead to win. Josh Richardson did not score in double figures for the first time in league play, so the Tiger win is special for that reason. I did not think Tennessee would ever win a game without Richardson scoring in double figures.
How are the Vols doing this? When Cuonzo left the few recruits that he had on the hook decided to look elsewhere. The Vols also lost most of the returning players as well. Tyndall had a grand total of 5 scholarship players return. Only one, Richardson, was a starter. The others were Derek Reese, Robert Hubbs III, and Armani Moore. New Head Coach Donnie Tyndall has the Vols believing in him, the system, and themselves as well. This team plays hard, and they play together as a team.
Make no mistake that this is a “team”. These guys play extremely unselfish, and it seems that a different combination of Vols step up each and every game. Notice I say combination. Josh Richardson is the only star on this team. Richardson can do it all. He is playing out of position at the point, but is getting better each and every game. He leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game. He is averaging 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.
Live Feed
FanSided
Richardson gets his teammates involved early and often. That is the thing that impresses me the most on Richardson. Although he is spectacular with the ball in his hands, elevates like no one else I have seen on his jump shots, and is incredibly good on the defensive side, it is his unselfishness to get the ball in the hands of his teammates that makes him the leader of this team.
Richardson has a bevy of shooters around him. At least one of these guys is on most given nights. Those shooters are Devon Baulkman (5.1 ppg), Kevin Punter (10.3 ppg), Robert Hubbs III (5.6 ppg), and Detrick Mostella (4.9 ppg). One of these guys provides one or more huge three point shots every game that are difference makers in the final score. I can not remember a Tennessee team that was more unpredictable in the “who is going to score tonight” category. That is “unpredictable” in a good way by the way. If one is off, one of these other guys picks up the slack.
The heavy lifting inside is done by current SEC Player of the Week Armani Moore. Moore is the player that every coach wishes he or she had. He is athletic and as hard of working player as there is in the SEC. Derek Reese and Willie Carmichael have been pleasant surprises as well. Reese is a rebounding machine and Carmichael adds a little size inside.
Tyndall’s match up zone is causing problems for each and every team they play. It is so different from every other zone that is played that the opposition does not know where to attack it. The Tennessee players are so fast and athletic that the zone is that much more effective. They create turnovers. Tennessee also creates turnovers in the full court on an aggressive trapping defense as well. It is the defense first and foremost that gets this team going.
If there was a coach of the year award right now, Donnie Tyndall would be named hands down. This team does not have the size to match up in the SEC with most teams, but it hasn’t mattered. It won’t matter. This team is good.
I feel the ceiling for this team is 18 wins. If they could get to 18 I would say this is the best coaching job I have seen since early Bruce Pearl. The Vols sit at 11 wins now. They have 14 SEC games left. They would have to go 7-7 in order to get to 18. I am beginning to believe. Honestly they probably do not care about what I think, or whatever those that chose them to finish 13th in the conference think. They believe in themselves, and that is all that matters.