Top 10 Tennessee Vols Basketball Players During the Adidas Era
Dec 31, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey during the game against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 71 to 61. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
It’s unfair, really, because based on accomplishments, Harris is one of the best players ever to come through the program. A star out of Memphis, he immediately turned around the Tennessee basketball program, and had he not gotten injured his senior year, the Vols probably could have had a title-contending team.
Fortunately for Harris, he became much more appreciated in the four years following after the massive failure of Buzz Peterson. And looking back now, he anchored one of the top three periods in Tennessee basketball history, surpassed only by the Bruce Pearl years and the Bernie and Ernie show.
Harris’s career may be marked by what could have been, but what actually happened still stands tall above most periods of Tennessee basketball history. And for that, he belongs on this list.
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7
Tony Harris
Guard, 1997-2001
This is another player who is remembered for being part of under-achieving teams, and it is not fair. Tony Harris played through the four Jerry Green years, and despite the frustration, those are four of the most successful years in school history, including a 26-win season and Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2000.
Harris was the point guard and the leader of a team that went to four straight NCAA Tournaments, won two SEC Eastern Division titles, captured a share of the 2000 regular season SEC title, and remained a staple in the Top 25 for most of that span. Yet, through all of that, he was considered an under-achiever and labelled a “punk” by one sportswriter.
It’s unfair, really, because based on accomplishments, Harris is one of the best players ever to come through the program. A star out of Memphis, he immediately turned around the Tennessee basketball program, and had he not gotten injured his senior year, the Vols probably could have had a title-contending team.
Fortunately for Harris, he became much more appreciated in the four years following after the massive failure of Buzz Peterson. And looking back now, he anchored one of the top three periods in Tennessee basketball history, surpassed only by the Bruce Pearl years and the Bernie and Ernie show.
Harris’s career may be marked by what could have been, but what actually happened still stands tall above most periods of Tennessee basketball history. And for that, he belongs on this list.
Next: #6: Vincent Yarbrough