The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball program and Tee Martin recruiting leads our Volunteers news coverage for Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019.
As extreme cold temperatures grip much of the U.S., the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team remains extremely hot and grips most of our news coverage. Such is the case for us today on multiple fronts.
Our morning update on Rocky Top includes four men’s basketball stories, including rankings, conference recognition for an individual, a Monday media session and a game preview. With all the success of the program, it’s hard to ignore right now.
However, we do still have some football news to bring you, including some work Tee Martin’s doing and an invitation Jeremy Pruitt received. But none of that comes close to the big news related to men’s basketball, so we start there.
Grant Williams named SEC Player of the Week – SEC Sports
Tennessee Vols basketball junior forward Grant Williams was named SEC Player of the Week for his efforts in leading his team to two victories over the Vanderbilt Commodores and West Virginia Mountaineers. He averaged 31 points a game last week, but his key game was against Vanderbilt, where he had 43 points and 8 rebounds.
"It was the most points scored in a game by a Vol since Allan Houston in 1990. Williams made program-record 23-of-23 from the free-throw line, breaking the Tennessee records for most free throws in a game and consecutive free throws in a single game. It also marked the most free throws made without a miss by any player in Division I in the last 60 years and ranked second all-time."
Rick Barnes speaks to media – WVLT TV
Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes spoke with media members Monday amidst his team on a 14-game winning streak. He spoke about the week ahead, the rankings, the need to build his depth and the slump some of his players are in.
"“We need (John) Fulkerson and (Derek) Walker to defend and set screens and bring energy off the bench,” Barnes said. “We need them a lot.”He’ll also need Admiral Schofield, who’s been struggling of late.“Admiral works so hard and is at his best when he rebounds the ball,” Barnes said. “He just has to trust himself and play his game and he’ll be fine.”"
Tennessee basketball remains No. 1 – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team remained No. 1 in both polls on Monday. They got 31 of 32 first-place votes in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll with the other vote going to the Duke Blue Devils and 48 of 64 first-place votes in the AP Poll with 12 votes going to Duke and four going to the Virginia Cavaliers.
"Tennessee’s unprecedented basketball season continued Monday with an expected milestone: The Vols are the No. 1 team in the country for a second straight week.Ranked in the top spot only once before in program history, during the 2007-08 season, that stay lasted only one week."
Basketball to visit South Carolina – UTSports
The No. 1 ranked Tennessee basketball team will travel to Columbia to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks Tuesday night. Frank Martin’s team is only 10-9, but they are 5-1 in the SEC, showing themselves to be a different bunch since conference play began.
"The game will tip at 6:30 p.m. ET and and will be televised on SEC Network and can also be viewed online through WatchESPN. Fans can listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.Tennessee (18-1, 6-0 SEC) is currently riding a 14-game win streak, most recently topping West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday in front of a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena."
Tee Martin begins recruiting for Vols – Dan Harralson, Volswire.com
Tennessee football already has Tee Martin out on the recruiting trail. The new Vols assistant coach went to Georgia, where it has been believed he would give the program a huge advantage.
"The former UT national championship quarterback visited Troup County High School in LaGrange, Ga., where Jeremy Pruitt visited on Jan. 17, offering 2020 quarterback and Auburn commit Kobe Hudson and defensive lineman Andy Boykin who decommitted from Auburn last August. Troup County High School head coach Tanner Glisson discussed Martin’s Monday visit with Vols Wire."
Jeremy Pruitt to speak at major conference – nationalconference.usafootball.com
Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt will speak to numerous high school football coaches and administrators across the country at the USA Football 2019 National Conference in Orlando. The event is scheduled to last from Friday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 24 and has over 60 speakers planned.
"The USA Football National Conference is the premier educational and networking event for high school football coaches and administrators. Sessions will feature insight from top coaches, administrators and medical staff members along with discussions about key trends and topics in and around the sport."