Tennessee basketball: New look Vols are starting to take shape

The new look Tennessee basketball team is starting to take shape. Here is a quick look at just how different they will look.

Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, and Kyle Alexander will not be in a Tennessee basketball uniform next season. All four players started in all 37 games last season and started in most games the 2017-18 season.

Derrick Walker will have more of a red tint to his jersey with his transfer to Nebraska. Simply put, the Vols are going to look much different next season. Will the new look translate to wins? Obviously, that is yet to been seen. However, the season should at least bring unexpected excitement to each game.

Tennessee does return three players that saw starting action in Lamonte Turner (19), Yves Pons (13), and Jordan Bowden (5). Both Turner and Bowden saw significant minutes and played a huge factor in the teams’ success.

Pons played really well in his brief stint in the starting role. No, he wasn’t one of the best five players on the team, but he did bring something to the court no other player could. I still thought the best starting lineup was when Pons started.

Unlike when Turner started, Pons wasn’t going to take shots away from the “Big 3.” Getting those guys going early was important and could have helped Barnes work on the bench depth. Plus, Turner is a volume scorer, and magical when he is taking smart shots. Having him as a scoring threat off the bench with Jordan made too much sense.

Alongside those three, the Vols return a few players such as John Fulkerson, Jalen Johnson, D.J. Burns, and Zach Kent. A lot of unknowns.

Now for all the newcomers. Josiah-Jordan James leads the way as a top-30 prospect from the 2019 recruiting class. Four-star, Olivier Robinson Nkamhoua show signs of a lot of promise with his athletic ability and gets more friendly bounces from the rim than most.

Drew Pember, Uros Plavsic, and Davonte Gaines are also newcomers that fans could see on the court sooner rather than later.

The new look Vols won’t win 31 games next season. Even 25 wins seems like a tough test. But, if Barnes has shown us anything, it’s his squads will play with a lot of heart even though they aren’t the most talented group on the court.