Vols Basketball: Donnie Tyndall’s First Month On the Job
The late signing period for NCAA basketball recruits came and went on May 21st, and the Tennessee Vols roster is more or less finally set for the 2014-15 season. The past month has seen the addition of 8 new players by Tyndall and his staff, but it also saw an unprecedented amount of attrition as well with all four of former head coach Cuonzo Martin’s recruits leaving and another two scholarship players jumping ship along with them.
Today, May 22nd, 2014, marks one month since Donnie Tyndall took over as Tennessee’s head coach after Cuonzo Martin bolted for California, and what a month it’s been. Let’s take a look back at Tyndall’s first month on the job and review the recruiting overhaul he and his assistants were able to pull off.
The Departures
Following the conclusion of the 2013-14 season after a heartbreaking loss to Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen, three starting seniors were set to depart from Tennessee. Jordan McRae, Jeronne Maymon, and Antonio Barton all were set to graduate and had used up their eligibility at UT (though Barton played only one season as a graduate transfer). Their departures were planned for and known since the beginning of the season.
During the season on April 3rd, Cuonzo Martin announced guard/forward Quinton Chievous would be transferring at the end of the season after he graduated. The seldom-used guard/forward may not have made a huge impact on the stat sheet during the season, but he looked to provide some much-needed depth for the upcoming season.
One big question mark that loomed near the end of the season and beyond was whether or not Jarnell Stokes would remain for his upcoming senior season or depart early for the NBA after a stellar junior year in which he averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. The junior ultimately decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the draft, which meant the Vols would be losing four of their top six contributors from the team.
But the roster attrition had only begun for the Vols.
Head coach Cuonzo Martin announced not long after Stokes declared for the NBA that he would not return as the Vols top man, and had instead agreed to become the head coach at the University of California. The decision took many Vol fans by surprise, and his departure left his four-man recruiting class in limbo. They had committed to Martin and his style, not to the program as a whole, and they sat and waited to see who the university would bring in as his replacement.
Once Donnie Tyndall was hired from Southern Miss, the four recruits, Larry Austin, C.J. Turman, Jordan Cornish, and Philip Cofer, all had a decision to make: Would they stay committed to the program they signed with many months ago and play for a coach they didn’t commit to, or would they leave and pursue a new school?
One-by-one, each of the four recruits requested a release from their signed National Letters of Intent with the University of Tennessee. And to UT’s credit, they granted each player their release and did not fight them on it or force them to remain on the team. The four players who would seek to replace the four outgoing players (at least in terms of roster spots) were now no longer part of the team either, leaving Tyndall and his staff with only 7 current scholarship players on the team.
A mere two weeks after Tyndall took the UT job, he was dealt another blow to the roster. Even after he had secured a couple commitments from other recruits for the upcoming season, two more players announced they no longer wished to play for the Vols. Rising sophomores Darius Thompson and A.J. Davis both requested their release from their scholarships on May 5th, trimming the roster to only 5 returning scholarship players from the previous season.
Donnie Tyndall was barely two weeks into his new job, and he already had lost 6 players that would have made an immediate and significant impact on his first Vols team. The departure of these six players was further magnified by the loss of the three starting seniors and one departing junior who had already left the Vols before Tyndall’s arrival. It was clear Tyndall and his assistant coaches had their work cut out for them, and they had a major clean-up job ahead of them and not even a month in which to do it.
Finding New Faces
With the late signing period date looming in less than four weeks and with no incoming recruits to speak of, Donnie Tyndall was facing a uniquely challenging predicament within his first week on the job as Tennessee’s new head basketball coach.
Before Thompson and Davis announced their intentions to transfer, Tyndall had begun the process of righting the recruiting ship for Tennessee. Tyndall had 6 scholarships he could offer to incoming players after Martin’s recruits were released, and he quickly picked up commitments from forward Jabari McGhee and JUCO guard Kevin Punter, giving him his first two commitments since becoming Tennessee’s head coach.
Once Thompson and Davis were released from their scholarships, the number of available scholarships for next season was back to six, and Tyndall and his staff had less than two and a half weeks to find six more guys to fill the empty roster spots.
Tyndall was able to gain a commitment from 4-star guard Detrick Mostella on May 7th, and even though Mostella had a somewhat checkered past and is currently still waiting for approval from the NCAA clearinghouse, he became the highest signed player from either Tyndall or Martin for the 2014 recruiting class.
Only five days later, the Vols received more good news for their rapidly evolving team. Florida Gulf Coast transfer forward Eric McKnight announced he intended to transfer to Tennessee and use his remaining year of eligibility to play for the Vols. McKnight was part of the high-flying “Dunk City” Gulf Coast team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen as a 15th seed in 2013, and his signing provided even more excitement to the now solid four-man recruiting class Tyndall and his staff had amassed.
With four recruits in the fold, Tyndall was far from done rebuilding the depleted Vols roster, however.
May 13th, a mere day after McKnight announced his decision to transfer to UT, may go down as “Tyndall Tuesday”when it’s all said and done. The Vols received commitments from three players in a single day, securing coveted IUPUI transfer guard Ian Chiles, former Southern Miss signee Willie Carmichael, and JUCO guard and fellow former Southern Miss signee Devon Baulkman. Tyndall’s recruiting class swelled to 7 players, nearly doubling in a single day. Chiles especially was a key signing for the Vols, as they were left without a point guard after Darius Thompson transferred. Chiles is expected to pick up that starting position.
On the last day incoming recruits could sign with collegiate teams, the Vols received their 8th and probable final commitment for their 2014 recruiting class. Three-star forward Tariq Owens, a one-time Ohio signee, chose the Vols over Temple and UT-Martin. He also had offers from teams such as Florida State, Miami, and Seton Hall. At 6-10, Owens is easily the tallest Vol on the roster, and he will bring some much-needed size to Tennessee’s front court.
The Outlook
While the late signing period is over, the Vols’ roster may still not be completely set. There are rumors that Rawane “Pops” Ndiaye may leave the Vols as well, which would trim the roster to 12 scholarship players. While his departure would leave the Vols without any big men in the front court familiar with the Vols, his absence would not be a huge detriment to the team considering his bulky frame is unlikely to fit well in Tyndall’s offensive system.
As the roster stands right now, the Vols will have 5 scholarship players returning from last season’s team (including Ndiaye). Josh Richardson, Armani Moore, Derek Reese, and Robert Hubbs III are all guards, and Pops would be the only front court man to return from the previous season if he sticks with the Vols.
While Chievous, senior D’Montre Edwards, and Ndiaye are all leaving (or expected to leave), their contributions were minimal to this previous season’s team. The six key departures (Stokes, McRae, Maymon, Barton, Thompson, and Davis), however, significantly impacted the Vols. According to stats provided by UT Sports, the Vols are losing 75.5 % of their points, 71.1% of their rebounds, and 79.2% of their assists from the previous season with the departure of these six players. No matter who the Vols bring in, losing over three-fourths of their offensive production is detrimental.
Despite the significant losses, hopes seem to be high on Rocky Top. Tyndall and his staff have hauled in an eight-man signing class that includes four freshman, two JUCO players, and two graduate transfers. Tyndall blended immediate help with long-term additions, building one stellar recruiting class in less than a month. Tyndall lost four recruits and two players already on the roster, but he and his staff were never fazed and signed eight solid players to fill out the depth chart.
Does the team look far more impressive than the one Cuonzo Martin left behind? Well, according to the 247Sports composite rating system, the Vols’ current recruiting class ranks 41st in the country, which was right around where they ranked when Martin had his 4 signees. But the rating system does not officially count McKnight and Chiles as a part of the class, and their worth to the team and experience playing in the NCAA goes far beyond ratings and numbers.
But how will these players perform once on the court? We’ll have to wait and see in November and December once the team finally begins playing meaningful games, but Tyndall now has a roster much more suited to his style of play much sooner than anticipated. All the forwards signed are leaner, more athletic big men, and the guards on the team look to be more slashers and drivers than spot-up jump shooters and three-point specialists. Even the returning players from last season’s team seem to be good fits for Tyndall’s style.
While the jury is out on this signing class and will remain so for several months, do not let that belittle the impressive rebuilding effort Tyndall and his staff just completed. They took a depleted roster and signing class and not only found new bodies to replace the old, but they injected excitement into a basketball program that has been begging for more enthusiasm from its coach and the play on the court.
One thing about the upcoming season is certain: The 2014-15 Vols will most certainly look nothing like the Vols of the previous three seasons. And I, for one, believe that is a good thing.