Tennessee basketball: Having true point guards could make all the difference

Not since Jordan Bone has Tennessee basketball had somebody on its roster whose sole job is to run the point. There’s a reason that the Vols haven’t reached the heights they reached in 2018-2019, even with a loaded recruiting class last year.

Over the past couple of years, Rick Barnes has had to rely on combo guards to run the show. For the past season and a half, Santiago Vescovi has been the main point guard. Before that, he relied on Lamonte Turner. Both are more scorers, although Turner was becoming a true point guard his last year with UT before he had to shut down the season early due to a shoulder injury.

This year, though, Tennessee basketball’s recruiting efforts may have finally secured it a true point guard. In fact, the Vols may have two, which they haven’t ever enjoyed since Barnes has been on Rocky Top. Even if they’re both freshmen, this is a welcome addition.

Kennedy Chandler is the star of the 2021 class. The 6’0″ 171-pound product of Memphis put his elite athleticism on display in the Vols’ exhibition win over Lenoir-Rhyne. He came away with six assists, two steals and just one turnover.

True, it was an exhibition, but that’s exactly what he needed to to. Now, his 21 points, while impressive, is not what Vol fans expect him to do this year. However, he got those points through two transition buckets and hitting four of five attempts from three.

A point guard is supposed to be able to score in transition and shoot from the outside, so that’s fine. When you combine that with what Chandler did in terms of actually distributing the ball, he proved himself very well.

Behind Chandler, 5’9″ 167-pound freshman Zakai Zeigler already seems like a clutch late addition to the class. Zeigler did only have one assist to two turnovers, so he could move the ball better, but he also had two steals. He had seven points but shot one-of-five from three.

Taking that into account, Zeigler is a slasher who doesn’t seem to have refined his game yet, but hey, you can afford that in a backup point guard. What’s important is that the Vols finally have a true point guard who can start.

If Zeigler doesn’t develop quickly enough, Tennessee basketball can always turn to Vescovi or Victor Bailey Jr. as the second option at the position. Auburn Tigers transfer Justin Powell could even provide help there. Barnes has options.

What’s important, though, is that he doesn’t have to rely on any of them to truly run the point anymore. Vescovi is a shooter, and Bailey is a scorer. Powell should be another wing player alongside Josiah-Jordan James.

The key guy in all of this is Kennedy Chandler. Tennessee basketball finally has a true point guard, and that could make all the difference between this year and last year. None of the players who left, Yves Pons, Jaden Springer or Keon Johnson, ever ran the position.