Tennessee Basketball: Despite No NCAA Tournament, Vols Have Bright Future

By Caleb Calhoun | Mar 13, 2017

Mar 1, 2017; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes (middle) looks on during a time out during the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU Tigers defeat the Tennessee Volunteers 92-82. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

Tennessee basketball did not make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, but the Volunteers have a bright future under Rick Barnes.

With a 16-16 finish on the season, Tennessee basketball is not going anywhere. The Vols had an epic collapse down the stretch that began at the start of February.

And they went from being a Top 40 team in the RPI firmly in the NCAA Tournament to barely a Top 100 team.

Given where they were, it is understandably frustrating for Vol Nation. What’s even more frustrating for them is that if they had just held onto big leads against the Georgia Bulldogs and Mississippi State Bulldogs in the regular season, not fallen flat against the awful LSU Tigers, and got just one SEC Tournament win, they’d easily be in the NCAA Tournament.

But amidst all of this frustration, the only tragedy from this season is the way Robert Hubbs III ended his career in Knoxville. He fought his guts out through a series of unfortunate injuries, and you hate to see a guy like him not get a chance at the Big Dance.

Everything else points to excitement in Knoxville.

More from Vols Basketball

Remember, speaking of Hubbs, the Vols were a Top 40 team when he was fully healthy. They didn’t start to suffer until his injury began to take a larger toll on him down the stretch.

The rest of the team slowly learned to live without him. And with all of them coming back next year, all they have to do is find another win.

Barnes did exactly that in recruiting. He nailed four-star french wing player Yves Pons. Pons isn’t as athletic as Hubbs, but he still has amazing length, and he can stretch the floor better with his outside shot.

So Pons should be able to come in and immediately pick up where Hubbs left off. Playing fully healthy, he should actually be an upgrade over what Hubbs was during his final month due to injury.

With all the other guys having more experience, expect to see the Tennessee basketball team you saw in January all year next year.

Part of that is because of the inside game. Grant Williams slowly developed into a superstar, and his future only looks brighter. He and Kyle Alexander have really developed a rapport, and a full offseason of working together should only help that.

Add in Admiral Schofield, the return of John Fulkerson, and the additions of Derrick Walker and Zach Kent in recruiting, and Barnes has the inside game set for the Vols. The loss of Lew Evans doesn’t even matter.

At the guard spot, Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden can both run the point, so Barnes is deep there. Then there’s the combo guards.

Shembari Phillips and Lamonte Turner have the talent, but they need to get more consistent in fitting in with the offense.

A full offseason working with the team should help that.

Considering this was one of the youngest teams in the SEC and it was an injury to its best player away from making the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee basketball fans have a lot to be excited about for the future.

The only question should be if Pons can adequately replace Hubbs. And even if he doesn’t, this team should still be significantly better simply due to experience.

Home/Vols Basketball