Tennessee basketball: 5 bold predictions for Vols 2019-2020 season

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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Lamonte Turner #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives to the basket during the first half against the Colgate Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

3. Lamonte Turner will shoot over 40 percent from three

It was a rollercoaster type of year for junior guard Lamonte Turner. Now to be fair, he was fighting a shoulder injury the entire season. The Tennessee basketball Twitter account announced that Turner underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left shoulder today to address lingering issues.

Clearly having nagging shoulder issues hurt his play on the court, or at least some would think so. I’m not buying it. First off it was his non-shooting shoulder, and secondly, it was never about him missing shots, it was the horrible shot selection.

In each of the six losses last season, Turner took at least six three-point attempts. Turner went 11-for-43, just 25.5 percent from the three-point line. I never once thought he was a horrible player because of the lousy percentage; to me, it was always about his shot selection.

Moving forward to our third bold prediction for the 2019-20 season, we believe Turner will average over 40 percent from deep for the entire season. Another reason why I don’t believe the shoulder should be viewed as a huge deal was because Turner shot 40 percent in tournament play to end the season.

The season 2017-18, Turner shot 42,5 percent from the three-point line in SEC play alone. He can do it, and we think he will next season.

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