Tennessee basketball: Without Lamonte Turner, Vols may need Santiago Vescovi

Without Lamonte Turner, Tennessee basketball is in trouble at point guard. As a result, the Volunteers may need Santiago Vescovi as soon as possible.

You know that feeling of being broke but knowing you have a lot of money that just hasn’t hit your account yet? Tennessee basketball is now in this situation given the players Rick Barnes have on their roster.

The Vols have a top five recruiting class for next year. Transfer guard Victory Bailey Jr. and seven-foot transfer center Uros Plavsic are already on the roster. Now Santiago Vescovi, an NBA Global Academy star from Uruguay, is now officially on the roster after having just enrolled.

However, none of these guys are set to play just yet. The recruits can’t play for obvious reasons. Plavsic and Bailey won’t be eligible until next year. And Rick Barnes has already said he doesn’t plan on playing Vescovi this year, as he need time to learn the system.

However, with Lamonte Turner now electing to have season-ending shoulder surgery, the Vols need immediate help at point guard. As a result, Barnes may end up needing to play Vescovie much earlier than he intended to.

The fact is Josiah-Jordan James is the only other player who can play point guard right now. Sure, he’s a five-star. But as a freshman combo guard, he is still developing when it comes to learning all the ins and outs of playing point guard.

At 6’2″, there is no doubt where Vescovi will play. He is specifically a point guard, and he may be more ready to play the position than James despite not having spent any time working in Tennessee basketball’s system under Barnes yet.

As a result, Barnes may end up making a huge mistake not letting Vescovi play. He may not have to throw him in right away, but Vescovi may need to see some action down the stretch of SEC play. Otherwise, the season could be disastrous.

Rocky Top is already short on talent and depth. They have nobody over 6’9″ who can play, and with Turner gone, they also now have nobody able to be a true point guard on the team. The combination could result in a dramatic drop-off that may result in them not making the NCAA Tournament despite how well Jordan Bowden, Yves Pons and John Fulkerson have been playing.

Simply put, it could end up being a foolish decision not playing Vescovi because he hasn’t picked up the system yet. If he can play point guard, he can play point guard. Rather than waiting on him to pick up the system, Barnes should simplify things for Vescovi so he will be able to make an impact early on.

Cuonzo Martin had no trouble integrating Jarnell Stokes into the system midseason back in 2011-2012. In fact, Stokes took a team with a losing record and turned them into the second place team in the SEC, just missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

If Martin could do it, Barnes could definitely do it. His initial plan made sense before the news about Turner hit. At this point, though, Tennessee basketball will likely desperately need Vescovi, and Barnes could be throwing a lot away by holding off on playing him until he picked up the system. UT can’t afford to wait now if they want to keep their momentum as a program.