Tennessee basketball: Vols could use VFL Armani Moore to help post play
The Tennessee basketball team is struggling with consistent post play. Former VFL Armani Moore could be the answer if he had eligibility left, one can wish, Right?
Former Tennessee basketball player Armani Moore was in Knoxville Tuesday night to watch the Vols take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. The VFL had a first-hand look at the No. 5 Volunteers as he sat right behind the bench during the 58-46 victory.
The Kennesaw, Georgia native had a solid career for Tennessee. He wasn’t the best scorer on the court. He was never the tallest or the most athletic. But, Moore played with extra heart and outhustled every player he went up against.
He brought the best out of his teammates with his energy and effort. The smart Tennessee basketball fans realize what he did for the program, but many will view him as just another player that had an okay career.
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Moore played at the University of Tennessee from 2012-2016 under three different coaches. However, that didn’t hinder his development as a player. By his senior season, Moore was averaging 12.2 points per game along with 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game.
Undersized at just 6-foot-4, Moore was asked to guard bigger, stronger, and more athletic players and yet he always seemed to hold his own. His junior and seniors seasons he ranked inside the top-25 in conference play with a defensive rebounding percentage of 16.6 and 17.9.
As the television cameras scrolled past him a few times Tuesday night, it made me think, “what a different Moore could make for this year’s team.”
His senior season the Vols went 1-1 against Kentucky who finished the season 23-8 in the regular season and was SEC Tournament Champions. Moore scored a combined 39 points on 9-for-21 from the field with 24 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.
Before you yell, “THE VOLS ARE 24-2,” at me, keep in mind every good team can be great, and every great team can be better.
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Tennessee is having one heck of a season, but anyone can watch the games and know that something is wrong. That something isn’t clicking right at the moment. You can chalk it up to a little slump; teams do have ups and downs throughout the long season.
You can chalk it up to the Vols being a little tired playing three games in six days. But, you can’t take away that they got their butt-whipped on Saturday at Kentucky and didn’t look sharp against Vanderbilt, particularly the post play.
In the past four games, the Vols have received a combined 20 rebounds from their bigs in Kyle Alexander and John Fulkerson. Alexander has averaged three per game the past four games. If Tennessee wants to be an Elite Eight team, they need at least 6-8 boards from Alexander.
Moreover, he’s only had three games this season with double-digit rebounds. Armani Moore had nine games with double-digit boards his senior season with six double-doubles.
I’m not making this an Armani Moore vs. Kyle Alexander post. However, Moore could bring so much to the table to help take some pressure off Grant Williams and Alexander.
Moore would bring an extra gear to this team, not to mention outstanding play that would only help the Vols reach their ultimate goal of a National Championship.
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It’s easy for me to say this because there is no way to find out. However, if Armani Moore was on the 2018-19 Tennessee basketball roster, the Vols would no doubt win a National Championship.