One of the biggest worries for Vols fans this offseason has been whether Rick Barnes is putting enough emphasis on defense. Tennessee was elite defensively last year, but the lack of scoring turned a potentially close game against Michigan into a blowout. Michigan is a good team, but shooting 31.6% from the field simply won’t get it done.
Tennessee and Rick Barnes took the next step in their attempt to land Juke Harris
Based on that, Tennessee went out and got two very highly regarded scoers. Wing Tyler Lundblade from Belmont is a sharpshooter who averaged 15.6 points a game and shot 40.6% from three last year. He won the Missouri Valley Player of the Year Award as well, but he's never been known for his defense. Point guard Dai Dai Ames is a solid defender and an elite bucket getter who averaged 16.9 points a game at Cal last year, but again, he hasn't fit that Rick Barnes defensive-first identity.
With that in mind, Rick Barnes has already started to prove the doubters wrong and send a message as the Vols just picked up one of the best defensive players in the nation last season in Miles Rubin. The 6-foot-10 Loyola Chicago product averaged 2.3 blocks a game last year and grabbed 7.1 rebounds a night. For those who were worried if Tennesse is prioritizing defense enough, here you go. Barnes has made it clear that you won't score on us inside next season.
Miles Rubin was elite defensively last year
To go a step further, Rubin was in the 97th percentile in shot blocking last season. That’s absolutely elite, and he may even be a better rim protector than Felix Okpara, which is saying a lot. I get why people were a bit worried that Barnes was dropping the defensive identity because his first two additions were scorers, but this roster is far from complete.
After all, Tennesse is still heavily in the mix for Moustapha Thaim, a legit 7-foot-2 center and an elite shot blocker. If the Vols can pair him with Rubin, they would have the best defensive frontcourt in the nation, hands down.
Barnes still needs to add some more perimeter defenders, but as we said, the roster still has plenty of open spots.
Add us as a preferred source on Google