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Tennessee basketball: 5 Vols poised for breakout years in 2018-19

By Billy Williford

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts in the second half against the Loyola Ramblers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts in the second half against the Loyola Ramblers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball
KNOXVILLE, TN – JANUARY 06: Hamidou Diallo #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats rebounds against Grant Williams #2 and Derrick Walker #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers in the first half of a game at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 6, 2018, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

No.5 – Derrick Walker, Sophomore

Appeared in 34 games, 1.9 ppg

The big man showed a lot of promise last season, in a few games. And, there were others where he looked like a freshman. But, that’s what to be expected, right? He was a freshman and not many first-year players that can come in and make an impact right away.

Walker’s best game came against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia where he posted ten points and four rebounds in 25 minutes of action. The ten points came in handy in the 70-63 win.

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Two things stood out about Walker’s play that game, he was 5-of-5 from the field and he played outstanding defense. With the help of Grant Williams and Kyle Alexander, South Carolina’s best player Chris Silva ended the game with six points on 4-of-10 shooting.

The game against the Gamecocks fell in the best three-game span Walker had last season. The other two games were at Missouri and at home against Vanderbilt. In those three games, Walker scored a total of 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and added 11 rebounds.

Moving forward to the season I would imagine that Walker will average somewhere between 10-15 minutes a game depending on the situation. I believe Walker could surprise a lot of people this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

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