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NCAA Tournament 2021: Five players for Tennessee basketball to watch first weekend

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Ethan Thompson (5) gestures on the court during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Ethan Thompson (5) gestures on the court during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 28, 2021; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Ethan Thompson (5) dribbles the ball in the second half against the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center. USC defeated Oregon State 75-62. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2021; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Ethan Thompson (5) dribbles the ball in the second half against the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center. USC defeated Oregon State 75-62. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Senior; 6’5″ 195 pounds

Although Cade Cunningham is the best player in the opening weekend of the Tennessee Vols’ NCAA Tournament bracket, Ethan Thompson is the player Rick Barnes needs to focus on the most. After all, we know UT will face him.

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Although Jarod Lucas can get red-hot as a three-point shooter while Warith Alatishe is a dominant defender, Ethan Thompson is the Oregon State Beavers’ complete player. Thompson leads the team in scoring at over 15 points a game. His scoring isn’t always efficient, but he can score from anywhere on the court, and that’s crucial.

Even if he is having an off-day offensively, as he did with only seven points in the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game, he does so many other things. In that game, his led the team in both rebounds and assists with six and four respectively. Thompson actually leads the team in assists per game with just under four, so again, he does it all for Oregon State.

Defensively, Thompson also leads the team in steals per game with just under one and a half, so he helps Alatishe make the team an elite perimeter defensive unit while joining Lucas to make for an elite backcourt scoring punch. Lucas and Alatishe complement each other while Thompson is the best of both worlds.

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All three of those guys are more important than the second option on the Liberty Flames or Oklahoma State Cowboys. Wayne Tinkle is in his second NCAA Tournament in seven years on the job thanks to how they play together and that Pac-12 Tournament run, and with Thompson leading the way, they could be dangerous if the shots are falling.

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