Tennessee Basketball: Five Things the Vols Need to Address this Offseason

5. Find an Inside Game

This was a huge issue for the Vols all year. Not to disrespect Armani Moore, who played his heart out, but the Vols simply were not good enough to make up for the lack of size underneath the basket throughout the year. That cannot be a problem going forward if Tennessee is going to succeed under Rick Barnes.

Now with Moore gone, Barnes has more work to do. Admiral Schofield is nice, but other guys need to step up with Moore and Derek Reese both gone. The best bet for Tennessee is Kyle Alexander, a 6’9″ 215-pound forward who saw a good bit of action as a freshman this year. If he can improve in the offseason, he will fill that void very nicely because he is athletic enough to run in Barnes’s up-tempo offense.

Sophomore Ray Kasongo is another great option with more power at 6’8 “245 pounds. Barnes also recruited 6’7” power forward John Fulkerson, who should be good enough to be an exact replacement for Moore once he develops.

But it’s going to take all three guys developing for Barnes to have the inside game he wants because he has to replace his two best inside players from last year and get astronomically better at the same time. Speaking of replacements, that brings us to our next issue Barnes and Tennessee have to address.

Next: #4: Punter, Moore Replacements