Have seen a few of these and thought it would be fun to do with teams I vividly remember seeing play. This was a VERY hard team to make by the way.
The focus of my team is physicality. Much like this current Tennessee team when you can physically dominate a team that can win you a game when you are off. It also plays well in tourney time when your legs are gone from a full season and back to back to back games in SEC tourney as well as 2 in 3 games in NCAA.
Starters:
PG- CJ Watson- easy to forget how good he was. He was much more than just a solid PG who ran the offense. He was a really good scorer who was a knock down 3 point shooter who also was always at the top of the league in assists. Also a very good defender.
SG- Chris Lofton- easy. Best shooter I have ever seen at any level of basketball. Contested shooter and clutch factor, we will never see another like him. Once he added being able to attack of the bounce his JR year he was unguardable. He was still an AA as a SR but had he not gotten cancer he would have averaged well over 20 PPG just as he did as a JR. Remarkable player and leader.
SF- Tyler Smith- this spot was tough. Came down to Josh Richardson and Scotty Hopson. All 3 have different skill sets and all 3 are elite at what they did. But went with Tyler Smith who was a playmaking swiss army knife who was a match up nightmare. Could post up at a high level and score on block, rebound, lead the break, great passer and had enough range to space the court. For me I wanted to physically dominate teams on the glass, in the paint and defensively and that is why he got the nod.
PF- Grant Williams- everyone enjoy what we are watching because it is greatness. He is working his way up into one of the best Vols of all time. His game has taken off. He does almost everything at a high level besides shoot the 3 right now which is improving. Those guys are rare. Continues the theme of physically dominating.
C- Marcus Halsip- elite athlete who can rebound, protect the rim and score. 6'11 and continues theme of physically dominating.
5 reserves:
G- Josh Richardson- His greatness is underapperciated IMO due to 1) a steady development that didn't show itself as elite until the end of his JR year. 2) We got 1 year of him being great and that was his SR year on a really bad team. He is an elite defender, good shooter, playmaker who can play 1-3.
G- Scotty Hopson- Turned into an impossible match up his JR year. He started taking the ball to the rack and wasn't able to be stopped. His 1st step was one of the quickest I have ever seen. He went developed into a 38% 3 point shooter. Got his FT % got up to 74% and with him getting to the line a lot that was a big deal. Was also a solid defender. I feel he left a year early. His game was just beginning to take shape as a big time player. I think he was a 1st round draft pick had he stayed until his SR year because his game was not done growing.
F- Tobias Harris- Shame we only saw him 1 year. As a young freshman he averaged over 15 PPG and 7 RPG. To think of him as a Soph or JR would have been special. Was a playmaker at the F spot who could shoot, attack off perimeter or post up. The offense was able to play through him as a 6'8 225 pound point forward. Special combination.
F/C- Ron Slay- Just an amazing player. Incredibly energy as well. Great scorer and rebounder. 6'8 240 and can continue the theme of physically dominating.
G- Jajuan Smith- BIG TIME defender, incredible hustle and energy, big time shooter with unlimited range. Always an SEC leader in steals. Athleticism and quickness off the charts.
Just missed:
Jarnell Stokes- another guy who is probably underapperciated. Came in as mid year freshman and played really well. Turned into averaging a double double as a JR with over 15 PPG and over 10 RPG. Very rare at the college level. Left a year early. His game had started to expand from just a punisher. He had started to add a face up and mid range game. 1 more year in college to develop that he would have gone from being a really really good player to potentially a 20 PPG guy. Theme of physically dominating an opponent which Jarnell did every single night no matter who he was going against.
Vincent Yarbrough- I admittedly can't remember a ton about his game other than an incredible talent and big time athlete. I just remember hearing so much about "unrealized potential".
Jordan McRae- to this day best scorer I have ever played with. Got buckets in his sleep. Not 1 single hole in his offensive game.
Admiral Schofield- Curious to see how this year ends up for him. Very similar to Richardson's progression except he is currently on great teams. Shooter, incredibly physical, can post up and defend all 5 spots. Very rare and a special player and leader.
Wayne Chism- really really solid consistent player. Had range for a C/PF. Great energy.
Jordan Bone- working his way up. Talent is massive at the PG spot. Elite quickness and explosion. Currently having one of the best seasons at PG spot since Watson. His ceiling is so high and he hasn't reached it yet. Not even close.
The focus of my team is physicality. Much like this current Tennessee team when you can physically dominate a team that can win you a game when you are off. It also plays well in tourney time when your legs are gone from a full season and back to back to back games in SEC tourney as well as 2 in 3 games in NCAA.
Starters:
PG- CJ Watson- easy to forget how good he was. He was much more than just a solid PG who ran the offense. He was a really good scorer who was a knock down 3 point shooter who also was always at the top of the league in assists. Also a very good defender.
SG- Chris Lofton- easy. Best shooter I have ever seen at any level of basketball. Contested shooter and clutch factor, we will never see another like him. Once he added being able to attack of the bounce his JR year he was unguardable. He was still an AA as a SR but had he not gotten cancer he would have averaged well over 20 PPG just as he did as a JR. Remarkable player and leader.
SF- Tyler Smith- this spot was tough. Came down to Josh Richardson and Scotty Hopson. All 3 have different skill sets and all 3 are elite at what they did. But went with Tyler Smith who was a playmaking swiss army knife who was a match up nightmare. Could post up at a high level and score on block, rebound, lead the break, great passer and had enough range to space the court. For me I wanted to physically dominate teams on the glass, in the paint and defensively and that is why he got the nod.
PF- Grant Williams- everyone enjoy what we are watching because it is greatness. He is working his way up into one of the best Vols of all time. His game has taken off. He does almost everything at a high level besides shoot the 3 right now which is improving. Those guys are rare. Continues the theme of physically dominating.
C- Marcus Halsip- elite athlete who can rebound, protect the rim and score. 6'11 and continues theme of physically dominating.
5 reserves:
G- Josh Richardson- His greatness is underapperciated IMO due to 1) a steady development that didn't show itself as elite until the end of his JR year. 2) We got 1 year of him being great and that was his SR year on a really bad team. He is an elite defender, good shooter, playmaker who can play 1-3.
G- Scotty Hopson- Turned into an impossible match up his JR year. He started taking the ball to the rack and wasn't able to be stopped. His 1st step was one of the quickest I have ever seen. He went developed into a 38% 3 point shooter. Got his FT % got up to 74% and with him getting to the line a lot that was a big deal. Was also a solid defender. I feel he left a year early. His game was just beginning to take shape as a big time player. I think he was a 1st round draft pick had he stayed until his SR year because his game was not done growing.
F- Tobias Harris- Shame we only saw him 1 year. As a young freshman he averaged over 15 PPG and 7 RPG. To think of him as a Soph or JR would have been special. Was a playmaker at the F spot who could shoot, attack off perimeter or post up. The offense was able to play through him as a 6'8 225 pound point forward. Special combination.
F/C- Ron Slay- Just an amazing player. Incredibly energy as well. Great scorer and rebounder. 6'8 240 and can continue the theme of physically dominating.
G- Jajuan Smith- BIG TIME defender, incredible hustle and energy, big time shooter with unlimited range. Always an SEC leader in steals. Athleticism and quickness off the charts.
Just missed:
Jarnell Stokes- another guy who is probably underapperciated. Came in as mid year freshman and played really well. Turned into averaging a double double as a JR with over 15 PPG and over 10 RPG. Very rare at the college level. Left a year early. His game had started to expand from just a punisher. He had started to add a face up and mid range game. 1 more year in college to develop that he would have gone from being a really really good player to potentially a 20 PPG guy. Theme of physically dominating an opponent which Jarnell did every single night no matter who he was going against.
Vincent Yarbrough- I admittedly can't remember a ton about his game other than an incredible talent and big time athlete. I just remember hearing so much about "unrealized potential".
Jordan McRae- to this day best scorer I have ever played with. Got buckets in his sleep. Not 1 single hole in his offensive game.
Admiral Schofield- Curious to see how this year ends up for him. Very similar to Richardson's progression except he is currently on great teams. Shooter, incredibly physical, can post up and defend all 5 spots. Very rare and a special player and leader.
Wayne Chism- really really solid consistent player. Had range for a C/PF. Great energy.
Jordan Bone- working his way up. Talent is massive at the PG spot. Elite quickness and explosion. Currently having one of the best seasons at PG spot since Watson. His ceiling is so high and he hasn't reached it yet. Not even close.
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