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Tennessee basketball: Five preseason storylines for 2019-2020 Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 24: Lamonte Turner #1 and Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers react after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 83-77 in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 24: Lamonte Turner #1 and Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers react after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 83-77 in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

With their first practice on Tuesday, men’s Tennessee basketball preseason has begun. Here are five questions for the Volunteers this year.

Just in time for fans to quit on Tennessee football as they head into their bye week with a 1-3 start, Tennessee basketball shows that it’s on the horizon to bring good news to Rocky Top. And this news is much-needed.

The men’s program took the court Tuesday for their first practice, and Rick Barnes addressed the media ahead of time, proving that the preseason was underway. It could not be a more welcome report for the Vols.

Fresh off a Sweet Sixteen finish and their second season in school history with 30-plus wins and a No. 1 ranking, Tennessee basketball begins this preseason with a brand new look. And nobody knows what to expect.

Losing four of five starters, including their leading scorer in Grant Williams, their point guard in Jordan Bone, their leader overall and most versatile player in Admiral Schofield and their one proven inside scrapper in Kyle Alexander leaves the Vols with many concerns to begin the year. Having two more players transfer this offseason also creates an issue.

But they have four new recruits, including a five-star, and a transfer they expect to be able to play. All of this makes for an intriguing new-look program that Barnes is set to lead heading into this season, and it creates numerous questions.

With their first scheduled game, an exhibition, set for Oct. 30 and their season-opener set for Nov. 5, UT has time to get things right. But the Vols need to get to work to find out what type of team they’ll be after what they had last year.

Excitement is riding high on Rocky Top with this program as morale remains at an all-time low in the other sport. But how can this sport maintain the excitement? What do they need to address right now? Find out here with our five major preseason storylines for Tennessee basketball heading into 2019-2020.

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