Tennessee basketball: John Fulkerson early injury a blessing in disguise

A constant criticism of Rick Barnes in recent years has been the fact that Tennessee basketball won’t change with the times. Barnes still is in love with the midrange, wants to go inside-out too much and doesn’t rely on the three-point line enough.

Of those, going inside-out is fine, but the other two factors are issues. However, without sixth-year senior John Fulkerson, his best offensive post player, he’s been forced to switch up his strategy. Through one exhibition and the opener, it’s worked to perfection.

In their 103-62 exhibition win over the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears and their 90-62 season-opening win over the UT Martin Skyhawks, Tennessee basketball hit 17 three-pointers both times. The program record was 16, so the Vols are on a tear, and doing it twice shows it isn’t a fluke.

What’s happening is clear. Barnes is letting Santiago Vescovi, Justin Powell and Kennedy Chandler air it out from downtown because he has no choice. Yves Pons is gone, Fulkerson is out, elite newcomer Jonas Aidoo is banged up and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is more of a stretch four has some developing to do. That leaves Olivier Nkamhoua, another stretch four, and Uros Plavsic.

Simply put, only Fulkerson can be a true post player who’s the anchor of an inside-out attack. He’s healing from a broken thumb and soon be back soon, but his absence has forced Barnes and the Vols to change up their offense.

Well, this is exactly what they needed. Don’t get it twisted. The Vols need Fulkerson. He’ll be extremely valuable when he returns. However, when he does, they will have developed a level of consistency shooting the ball from the outside, and they’ll have a familiar feel for it.

Will the three-point shots go down? Probably. Fulkerson will truly turn the game into an inside-out game again, which is what Barnes wants, but that’s fine. Shooting from the outside will now mean shooting from three and not relying on the midrange.

Taking that into account, this team will be elite in every way offensively. Perimeter defense is still strong as well with Josiah-Jordan James and the ability of Nkamhoua and Huntley-Hatfield to go out there too. Interior defense will be the main weakness without Pons.

Still, the main story is what Tennessee basketball’s offense could become. Fulkerson getting healthy will be a huge boost for this team, but the ways the guards will have developed without him is a big deal. We could also note that Nkamhoua and Huntley-Hatfield will develop more as well with larger roles in the post while Fulkerson recovers.