Tennessee basketball 2019-2020 preview: Vols backcourt

Rick Barnes has lots of back court talent for Tennessee basketball this year. Here is the 2019-2020 preview for Volunteers guards and wing players.

For all the talent Tennessee basketball lost in the frontcourt, things are a bit easier in the backcourt this year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still brutal. The Vols lost their best guard, point guard Jordan Bone, and their wing player, Admiral Schofield, both of whom were taken in this past summer’s NBA Draft.

But Schofield spent more time as a forward, and while the Vols lost three players who averaged double-figures last year, the two they return with such averages are both guards. Add in a five-star recruit, and Rick Barnes has a backcourt to work with.

Still, there are many questions for Tennessee basketball’s backcourt heading into the year. Their rotation, while somewhat predictable, is up for debate. And we don’t know which players will matter the most.

As we get set to preview the guard play for the Vols this year, we’ll do exactly what we did with the frontcourt by analyzing the returning talent on one page, the newcomers on another page, the biggest questions next and a final take to close things out. There are lots of interesting things to cover with this team, as the guards will be part of them establishing a new identity.

We will also include potential wing players on this list, and that means that a bit of versatility is required. Players who were mentioned as potential frontcourt guys will also be mentioned as potential backcourt guys, as where they play depends on the system Barnes decides to run.

A discussion about what that will look like will take place in our final take. But before we get to that, we need to look at the talent UT is dealing with this year. So let’s begin our Tennessee basketball backcourt preview for 2019-2020, starting with the returning talent for the Vols.