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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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DALLAS, TX – MARCH 15: Yves Pons #35 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives to the basket in the first half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018, in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

No.4 – Yves Pons, Sophomore

Appeared in 24 games, 0.7 ppg

I suspect a huge jump from Pons this year, no pun intended. Pons didn’t start to receive consistent action until the game at South Carolina. And, consistent is a stretch to describe his playing time. The South Carolina game was the start of Pons getting at least a few minutes in every game.

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The most minutes Pons saw last season was 12 against South Carolina in Columbia. He finished that game with two points and two rebounds.

All summer long we’ve been teased with videos from Tennessee on Pons ability to dunk. There is no doubt the young sophomore can sky, but the question is when is he going to throw down on someone? The answer most certainly is this year.

I believe Pons makes huge leaps this season and like Walker, Pons should play around 10-12 minutes per game. He is a freak athlete and if his defense improves he might get even more playing time.

I also think Pons becomes more of a threat on offense. He only took three shots from behind the arc and surprising made two of them. However, he needs to at least attempt one a game to keep to the defender honest so he can drive to the rack.

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