More Tennessee Vols could be taken in NBA Draft than NFL Draft
The Tennessee Vols may have a rare occurrence in 2019. More Volunteers may be taken in the NBA Draft than in the NFL Draft.
How often do you see this? It’s natural for even basketball programs to have more players taken in the NFL Draft than NBA Draft. After all, the NFL Draft is seven rounds with 32 teams. It’s only two rounds with 30 teams in the NBA. But with the Tennessee Vols, it’s even more rare because they are traditionally a football school.
There was a period of time where nobody from UT was a significant player in the NBA. But that could actually change this year. As the NFL Draft gears up to be held in Tennessee this year, an off-chance exists in which no Tennessee football players are taken.
But two months later, there’s a chance that multiple Tennessee basketball players go in the NBA Draft. Grant Williams and Jordan Bone are both already testing the NBA waters. Admiral Schofield has a chance to go as well.
In football, the Vols will be looking to Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle and Alexis Johnson to keep their draft stock up. But all of those guys could end up being undrafted, and there’s a chance only one of them goes.
How crazy would it be if the Tennessee Vols are better-represented in the NBA Draft than the NFL Draft? Well, funny enough, it’s not the first time even this decade that would happen. In 2015, Josh Richardson was taken in the NBA Draft. Meanwhile, Tennessee did not have anybody taken in the NFL Draft.
That was coming on the heels of the Donnie Tyndall scandal, by the way, and with the basketball program on fire. It still managed to outperform the football program when it came to the draft, and that’s a sign of how much things have changed on Rocky Top over the past nearly 15 years.
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Dating back to Bruce Pearl’s hiring in 2005, Tennessee basketball has been more successful than Tennessee football in every way. The Vols have finished in the top 25 six times in men’s basketball and only four times in football. They have been in the top 10 in four different seasons in men’s basketball and only three in football.
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What about postseason play. Well, Tennessee basketball has made the NCAA Tournament nine times since that hire in 2005. They’ve only made a bowl game seven times. Oh, they’ve only finished with a winning season six times in football and have managed to do so 11 times in men’s basketball.
It’s been clear that the basketball program has had more success than the football program over the past decade and a half. But even then, having more players go in the NBA Draft than the NFL Draft shows just how wide the gap is.
Quite honestly, it’s not even close. Basketball has been significantly better in recent years. This data set is just anther example of that. Now, to be fair, when it comes to overall pro success, football still dominates. Undrafted free agents from UT have been steals for NFL teams this decade, and the production is not even close.
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But the drafts put more stock into college performances. And it’s safe to say Tennessee basketball has performed significantly better than football for some time now. That was the case again this past season, and it may be reflected in the drafts.