Tennessee Basketball: Five Things to Watch for in the Vols in Exhibition Opener vs. Alabama Huntsville Chargers

Jan 13, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers cheerleaders during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee basketball tips off with an exhibition against the Alabama Huntsville Chargers. Here are five things to watch for in the Volunteers opener.

The Rick Barnes era is set to begin in Knoxville with an exhibition game at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville Friday night.

After the tumultuous 2014-2015 season under Donnie Tyndall, which was completely overshadowed by the NCAA investigation, which also followed the Cuonzo Martin-Bruce Pearl drama the previous year, it is nice to finally have some stability back with the program.

Tennessee starts this exhibition with almost everybody back from last year except, unfortunately, their best player, Josh Richardson.

Richardson is off to bigger and better things in the NBA as one of the greatest development stories in Tennessee basketball history.

But with the return of guys like Kevin Punter and Robert Hubbs III along with Armani Moore and Derek Reese in the post, and the addition of four newcomers, Barnes’s team actually looks like it could improve over last year.

As a coach who builds around his personnel, the key returners hint that Barnes will run more of a guard-oriented offense this year, which is perfectly fine for fans who remember the Bruce Pearl era.

With a new coach, new uniforms, and new players on the court this time around once again for the Vols, there is a lot to be excited about.

This is always a fun time of the year for Vols fans as they can get excited about basketball season and usually enter a football stretch in November of winnable games.

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Since this is the first year football has a chance for a strong finish with those games, the start of basketball season brings a sense of nostalgia to Knoxville.

Let’s start by taking a look at this exhibition game.

With the Vols taking the court for the first time this season and the first time under Barnes, here are five things to watch for.

Next: #5: Robert Hubbs's Leaderhip