Tennessee basketball’s collection of wings vastly underrated by outlet
Usually, being ranked in the top 10 of something is a sign of lots of respect. However, when it comes to a collection of wings, Tennessee basketball should be much higher than that given who they have returning and who they brought in this past offseason.
Isaac Trotter of 247Sports ranked the Vols’ wings as a unit No. 6 in the nation. Players who can play the two or the three on Rocky Top fit the mold, but using that standard, the team should have actually been in the top three.
Ahead of Tennessee basketball were the Kansas Jayhawks, Illinois Fighting Illini, Florida State Seminoles, Arkansas Razorbacks and Creighton Bluejays. Here’s a bit of what was written about the Vols’ collection of wings.
"Santiago Vescovi is a veteran wing who just does not make many mistakes on either end.…Tennessee also has another key veteran in Josiah-Jordan James who has been through the wars and can guard multiple positions. Five-star freshman Julian Phillips is the ultimate X-factor for this group."
The biggest reason Trotter is underrating this collection is his criteria of what makes a wing. If Santiago Vescovi is on there along with Justin Phillips and Josiah-Jordan James, then you have to include Indiana State Sycamores transfer Tyreke Key in there.
Sure, Key could play point guard, but Vescovi also played point guard before this past year. In terms of production, before getting hurt, Key was almost as efficient of a scorer as Vescovi, and they are the same height.
When you factor that in, the Vols should shoot up the list. However, let’s just stick with the players named first. James was once a five-star recruit and is now a senior. How often do you have a senior who was a five-star and developed for four years in Rick Barnes’ system?
That alone should put James in position to be the best wing in the nation this year. Beyond James, though, Vescovi was Tennessee basketball’s most efficient all-around player last year, and as a dead-eye shooter, he can run the offense from the two or the three.
However, Phillips is another five-star joining James and Vescovi. Of the three, he’s likely the best scorer, and he brings Kevin Durant level hype. It’s the perfect collection of an elite shooters a defensive specialist and a scorer, and both the shooter and defensive specialist can pass.
Putting all of them together, it’s hard to say the Vols don’t actually have the best collection of wings in the nation entering this year. You can’t argue with experience, and you can’t argue with raw talent. You also can’t argue with how they’ll be coached.
As a result, there’s no way around it. Tennessee basketball was disrespected with its collection of wings being ranked No. 6. There are two five-stars and three upperclassmen in general among this group. You can’t ask for more than that.