Tennessee Vols morning report: Basketball milestones, additions, injuries
More news surrounding the men’s Tennessee basketball program in milestones, additions and departures leads our Volunteers updates for Monday, Dec. 23, 2019.
It was a heavy weekend for Tennessee Vols men’s basketball, and we’re not just talking about recapping a game that took place. That game involved a milestone, it was the final outing for one player on the team and it comes ahead of another player joining the team.
Our morning update on Rocky Top involves coverage of all of this. The final outing for one player is the most devastating news, as it was a sad way for a player to end his career on Rocky Top. Its sadness outweighed the news of the other two stories, but at least the other two were indeed good stories.
In addition to all of that, we have the postgame from the actual game UT played on Saturday, and we also have the postgame from a women’s basketball win. A football story regarding the Gator Bowl is also going to get a mention. But let’s start with all the major basketball news.
Lamonte Turner discusses ending UT career – Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel
Following Saturday’s win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, Tennessee Vols men’s basketball guard Lamonte Turner announced he would have season-ending shoulder-surgery. Turner has been bothered by that shoulder all year, and it has really knocked off his shot early on. Here’s a bit of what he said on the topic.
"“I cried when I came back in the locker room just knowing that was my last time stepping out there. I have cried plenty of times thinking about it and I have cried plenty of times through this injury.”"
Athletes, politicians congratulate Rick Barnes for 700th win – WBIR
After scoring his 700th win on Saturday, Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes received praise from lots of different people. That included athletic director Phillip Fulmer, NBA star Kevin Durant, who played for Barnes with the Texas Longhorns back in 2006-2007, and former U.S. President George W. Bush.
"Rick Barnes became the 22nd Division I men’s college basketball coach to pick up career win No. 700 on Saturday against Jacksonville State. When you’ve coached that long and taken part in that many games, you make a few friends along the way."
Vol basketball adds Santiago Vescovi – APNews.com
Point guard Santiago Vescovi is expected to be added to Tennessee basketball’s roster on Saturday, Dec. 28. He will be eligible to play immediately, but Rick Barnes said he’s still not likely to see action this season.
"Vescovi is from Uruguay but was playing for the NBA Global Academy in Australia. He was rated as the No. 29 point guard and No. 183 prospect in the 2020 class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports. Recruiting sites have listed Vescovi as 6-foot-2."
Rick Barnes recaps win over Jacksonville State – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
Amidst all the major men’s basketball news over the weekend, it was almost forgettable that the Vols did actually beat a team on Saturday to end their two-game losing streak and improve to 8-3 while JSU fell to 8-4. Here’s a bit of what Rick Barnes said about the game.
"“We want to continue to set the bar high and see where we can get. If you really stop and reflect on it, I’ve had so many great assistants. I’ve always tried to pride myself in what I’ve always felt would have the best coaching staff in the country.”"
Kellie Harper recaps Portland State win – UTSports
Coming off a blowout loss to the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal, the Tennessee Lady Vols rebounded in the second game of their two-game West Coast road trip Saturday night, beating the Portland State Vikings in Oregon 88-61 to improve to 9-2 on the year while PSU fell to 6-4. Here is a bit of what Kellie Harper said about the Vikings in the postgame.
"“I think they have, obviously, some really skilled players. You could see they could shoot the basketball. We knew that going in."
Jersey color revealed for Gator Bowl – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com
The Tennessee Vols football team will face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Gator Bowl in less than two weeks. Over the weekend, more information about the game came to light.
"Ahead of the game, the University of Tennessee’s football Twitter account displayed a photo of a jersey that the Vols will be wearing against the Hoosiers. Tennessee will be wearing orange jerseys with a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl patch above a NIKE logo on each players’ left chest."