Tennessee Basketball: Five Takeaways from Vols First Exhibition Win

Mar 12, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Josh Richardson (1) celebrates with guard Kevin Punter (0) after a basket during the second half of the second round against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Tennessee won 67-61. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

4. Kevin Punter Has Issues at Point Guard

It is a little bit unfair to say this because the senior had 25 points and five assists, but Punter had predictable issues running the point guard position all night.

Punter finished six of 17 shooting from the field, including a dismal one of eight from the three-point line.

Also, in addition to his five assists, he had three turnovers. At the same time, against a team like Alabama-Huntsville, those assist numbers are not too impressive.

Consider that this team is obviously on a much lower level than the Vols, and given Tennessee’s tempo, he should have picked up far more than five assists. Given the fact that he logged 36 minutes in the game and the fact that he was responsible for dictating the offense all night en route to 96 points, five assists alone is not that good.

To be fair, Punter is still having to make the toughest transition in all of basketball, from combo guard to point guard.

Leading the team to 96 points in the midst of that transition is not too bad, and honestly, he could have done way worse than three turnovers.

And he did have a saving grace.

The senior point guard went 12 of 15 from the free throw line, so he was at least able to put his combo guard/wing player skills into action by drawing quite a few fouls, and nailing home his free throws.

And speaking of nailing free throws, that brings us to our next takeaway from Tennessee’s exhibition victory.

Next: #3: The Vols Can Shoot Free Throws