Tennessee basketball 2019-2020 preview: Vols backcourt
Final take
Despite all of the talent they lost from last year, Tennessee basketball has enough returning talent at guard and enough newcomers for Rick Barnes to offset some of it. He will need a new identity for the team, but it will work.
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We know what Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner can do. Meanwhile, Yves Pons has shown that he can start. And Josiah-Jordan James is a 6’6″ five-star combo guard. That means Barnes can play all four of those guys if he wants to go small and then just look for a center. Or he could play those three guys, go big and have one of them come off the bench.
Either way, he clearly has options this year. Add in Jalen Johnson, who has proven a little bit of what he can do, and newcomer Davonte Gaines, and Barnes has six players he can run in the backcourt. Ideally, with two guards and a wing, he would need a bit more, as he can only go two-deep there this year.
But the Vols are thinner than usual anyway. The good news for them is they have some elite skill here, and it’s where Barnes will be able to build the foundation of the team. Sure, it’s a major change from last year, but that’s what college basketball and coaching are all about. You always have to adapt to your personnel.
Next. Five preseason storylines for 2019-2020 Vols. dark
Whether or not Tennessee basketball is successful at doing that will depend on whether or not Turner and Bowden can remain who they are, Pons can take that next step and James is as good as advertised. But what’s clear is that Barnes is going to go much smaller this year and make the guard-play the foundation of his team.