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Tennessee basketball preview by position: Front court outlook

By Billy Williford

KNOXVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 21: Grant Williams #2 and Derrick Walker #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers react after a three-point basket against the Florida Gators in the second half of a game at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 62-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 21: Grant Williams #2 and Derrick Walker #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers react after a three-point basket against the Florida Gators in the second half of a game at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 62-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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ST LOUIS, MO – MARCH 10: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers shoots the ball against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018, in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Biggest questions

Can Grant Williams repeat as SEC POY?

We hit on this a bit with our player preview, but I think he can, I just don’t think he will. It doesn’t happen often and the last time a player went back-to-back winning the award was Corliss Williamson from Arkansas in 1993-94 and 1994-95. The last Tennessee player to go back-to-back? Dale Ellis in 1981-82 and 1982-83.

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NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 5 teams for 4-star PG Jeremiah Johnson
NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 5 teams for 4-star PG Jeremiah Johnson /

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    • Can Admiral Schofield play well enough to get drafted?

    Yes. Yes. And, yes. I think Admiral is an outstanding basketball player and he continues to get better. He has NBA level talent and the fact that he is good defensively only helps his case. Can he continue to improve his three-shot enough for a team to take a chance on him in the second-round? We’ll see.

    Can Alexander lead the SEC in blocks?

    This would be huge if he could. Talk about a team that coaches would hate to play. Last season Alexander ranked 7th in the SEC with 55 total blocks.

    I would like to say yes he can lead the SEC in blocks. The problem is the Vols are so good defensively that a lot of teams settle for outside jumpers. However, I see him being at least in the top five.

    What will D.J. Burns give the Vols?

    One of the negatives about Burns at the moment is he isn’t in college basketball shape. I’m not knocking the kid. Most freshmen aren’t. There is a bit of a learning curve.

    Once he translates to the speed of the game, I don’t think it would be unreasonable for Burns to contribute around 15 minutes per game.

    Can Pons live up to the hype?

    Pons is a sneaky bet to be drafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. My bet is he won’t. However, his athleticism is something special, and NBA teams will take notice.

    Pons scored 0.7 points per game last season. I think he at least makes his way up to around five points per games.

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