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Tennessee basketball: Vols top 10 greatest players in the 2010s decade

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images /

player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Guard. 2015-2019. Lamonte Turner. 7. 534

We go from Jordan Bowden to Lamonte Turner, both of whom have been development stories. It’s said that Turner’s career had to come to an end early, as he played his last game in December of 2019 before shutting down his senior season due to a shoulder injury that has bothered him.

Turner’s development in many ways mirrors Bowden. However, he had an even rockier road. As a three-star member of Rick Barnes’s first class in 2015, he had to take a redshirt due to a season-ending injury. Nobody knew how he would turn out.

He showed promise as a freshman by averaging over eight points a game on 32.8 percent shooting from three. His sophomore year, he was the one who got relegated to the bench as the sixth-man. All he did was finish third on the team in scoring with just under 11 points a game 39.5 percent shooting from three and earn SEC sixth-man of the year.

Then came his junior year, and Turner became responsible for handling more point guard duties in reserve time despite being hurt to start the year. Well, he handled it fine, helping lead Tennessee basketball to a No. 1 ranking while averaging 11 points and just under assists. Like Bowden, Turner crossed the 1,000-point milestone in the first half of this season.

In fact, they did it on the same night. And while he was banged up and struggling with the transition to full-time point guard, he has carved out a legacy as a Vol legend with how he has delivered for UT. Even as he ends his career, his team accomplishments are the same as Bowden’s. And he’s shouldered a bigger load, so he’s higher on the list.

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