The BasketVols Thread

I know nobody on the board will agree with me, but I think yanking a kid's scholarship if you haven't helped him find a place to transfer sucks. It sucks when Nick Saban does it and it sucks when we do it. We should be obliged to help players get their degrees even if they never see the court again.
 
I do not disagree. This is one of very very few instances where I straddle the fence. I understand both sides and it sucks..but ya gotta help people out. Is what it is though
 
I know nothing about Pops, but what if this is it? What if he can't play anywhere else or afford to pay his own way anywhere? This guy might well never graduate from college now. This might be a hugely negative, life-changing thing for Pops, and UT lets it happen because the new coach would rather have someone else ride the end of the bench for a year. I hope that's not what's happening.
 
Vercingetorix said:
I know nobody on the board will agree with me, but I think yanking a kid's scholarship if you haven't helped him find a place to transfer sucks. It sucks when Nick Saban does it and it sucks when we do it. We should be obliged to help players get their degrees even if they never see the court again.
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totally agree with you on this with the possible exception of breaking the law/extreme behavioral issues. even then, i think the team/coach/department should be something to get a young kid's life back on track, not a further derailment. it's a dog-eat-dog world that has to operate under the "next man up" mentality, but a step back from that cutthroat mindset would be awesome.

it would take a special sort of coach to meet with and place a kid in a suitable program… especially when so many out there are doing their best to block transfers to certain schools that may be a good fit.

i could probably rant more on this but i'm already rambling.
 
talking all kinds of junk to my fiance about this transfer
 
Three sessions into the Rocky Top League it’s apparent that*Tennessee*basketball signeeDetrick Mostella*has two favorite spots from which to launch his shots:

One is about 22 feet from the basket. The other is about two feet*above*the basket.

Despite a skinny 6-foot-2 frame, this guy is tops in hops. Even veteran Vol watchers can’t remember a Big Orange player who could jump like Mostella, who signed with Tennessee in April after spending 2013-14 at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass.

A former Scout four-star and top-100 prospect, Mostell has been the unquestioned star of the Rocky Top summer league to date, thanks to his gravity-defying slams. He made a 360-degree breakaway dunk in Game 1 that wound up on YouTube. He made another that was even more impressive in Game 2. Lined up in the third lane box on a teammate’s free throw, he saw that the foul shot was short. Stepping into the lane, he sprang forward, grabbed the rebound on the way up and, seemingly in one motion, slammed home a windmill dunk. Game 3 on Monday night saw him turn a breakout into a double-pump, 180-degee slam.

“He can float,” fellow spring signee*Devon Baulkman*said, shaking his head in amazement. “The little man can jump. He’s got sneaky bounce. When we first seen him play and he exploded the way he can explode it shocked me.”

Teammates no longer are shocked by Mostella’s kangaroo-like jumping ability. It stopped being a big deal to them long ago.

“He’s got sneaky bounce,” fellow freshmanWillie Carmichael*said. “He’s an athletic guy. He’s a great teammate. He’ll distribute the ball, do whatever it takes to win. He’s a great guy to be on a team with.”

Also impressed is sophomore guard*Robert Hubbs, who immediately tabbed Mostella when asked if any of Tennessee’s spring signees had turned his head.

“I would definitely say Detrick,” Hubbs said. “I didn’t know he was that athletic. He can really get up. He’s going to surprise a lot of people with put-backs and stuff like that.”

Mostella’s knack for soaring came as no surprise to one fellow freshman who played against him in the prep-school ranks.

“I already knew,”*Jabari McGhee*said of Mostella’s extreme athleticism. “I played him while I was at Hargrave (Military Academy), so I knew he was very athletic.”

McGhee says extreme jumping ability isn’t Mostella’s only unique characteristic.

“He’s also my roommate, and I tell you right now: He’s the goofiest guy on the team,” McGhee said.

(Photo by InsideTennessee)

At 6-feet-2, Mostella won’t be able to dunk at will against 6-foot-11 SEC centers the way he does against 6-foot-8 Rocky Top League centers. He’ll have to score from long-range occasionally. Fortunately for Tennessee, he seems skilled in this area, as well.

“I always knew he was real athletic,” McGhee said, “but he can shoot the ball, too. People better watch out.”

Mostella showcased his shooting ability in his RTL debut on July 16, hitting 12 of 24 shots, including 4 of 12 from behind the arc. One of the 3-pointers was truly unforgettable. With his team down three points and just 1.8 seconds left in regulation, he took an inbounds pass on the right wing and launched a desperation 35-footer that swished through the netting at the horn, sending the game into overtime.

He was even better in RTL outing No. 2, sinking 16 of 26 from the field, including 4 of 10 from 3, en route to 41 points. Mostella hit four 3s in a row in Monday night’s RTL outing. He finished with 29 points on 10-of-29 shooting, including 7 of 17 from beyond the arc. One of the 3s was a clutch one with 1:06 left that extended Rice Buick’s lead to 122-117 en route to a 128-120 victory.

No Vol seems more impressed with Mostella than*Kevin Punter, a fellow guard signee who was first-team All-America in junior college last winter.

“He can jump out of the gym,” Punter said. “He can shoot the ball. He’s going to be a great player …

“He’s a great player*now.”
 
Say this for*Tennessee*basketball coach*Donnie Tyndall: He’s aiming high on the recruiting trail.

The first-year Vol head man recently offered a scholarship to Elhadji Serigne Tacko Diop Fall, who – believe it or not – has a frame even longer than his name.

Tacko Fall*stands 7-feet-5, reportedly making him the tallest high school basketball player in the world. His length forces him to sleep diagonally across his bed. He reportedly has grown three inches since October and recently told TMZ Sports he expects to grow another two inches.

Originally from Senegal, Fall left Africa for America about a year ago. Due to limited basketball experience, he averaged just 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last winter as a junior at Liberty Christian Academy in Tavares, Fla. Still, college recruiters believe his height and eight-foot wingspan could make for a lethal combination someday.

His head coach at Liberty Christian vividly recalls his reaction the first time he saw the towering Tacko.

“Wow!” Tony Atkins told InsideTennessee. “That would be it. I’ve been around a lot of big guys, even a couple of 7-footers, but nothing like him.*Dakari Johnson(who started 18 games as a freshman atKentucky*in 2013-14) played for me, as well. Tacko is just huge.”

Even packing 270 pounds on his frame, Fall appears skinny. Not surprisingly, his coordination is lagging a bit. Still, Atkins says the player has made tremendous strides in recent months.

“He’s grown leaps and bounds,” the coach said. “We’ve only had him a year. Every day he gets better. He’s always had a clue, and he loves to play. But now, with the strength and conditioning program we’ve got him on, he’s moving a lot better. We’re still a long way off but where he is now, compared to this time last year, is almost 100 percent improvement.”

Stamina might be Fall’s greatest area of progress.

“Last year he couldn’t make but three or four trips up the floor, and he was winded,” Atkins said. “Now he plays 10 minutes at a time.”

The coach said Fall has been in the U.S. “a little over a year,” adding: “He played very little basketball in Senegal. Organized basketball … he’s been playing for 16 months.”

Like most big guys, Fall is lacking in quickness. He’s working diligently to become more fluid and dynamic in his movements.

“His reaction time is getting better,” Atkins said. “He just needs to get used to the speed of the game here in the United States. He’s great at protecting the rim when it’s right in front of him but he’s got to learn to be a better help defender.”

Not surprisingly, Fall spends most of each game camped out near the basket, where he can catch lob passes and grab rebounds – often without leaving the floor.

“We teach him to post deep because of his size,” Atkins said. “There’s not a whole lot of people who can push him off the block.”

Although the coach estimates that “eighty-percent plus” of Fall’s baskets are dunks, the big guy is no one-trick pony.

“He has a really good jump hook,” Atkins said. “We work a lot on jump hooks, playing with his back to the basket. Of course, we tell him if he’s close enough to dunk it, dunk it.”

Being a foot shorter, opposing centers generally prove incapable of stopping Fall when he gets the ball near the basket. In desperation, they foul him a lot. This tactic routinely backfires.

“He has unbelievable touch for his size,” Atkins said. He basically can wrap his whole hand around a basketball but he has a nice touch and pretty good form on free throws; he makes people pay who foul him.”

Fall gave several strong performances last season. One stands above the rest to his coach.

“He had a great game against IMG Academy – 20 points, 11 rebounds, 9 blocks,” Atkins recalled. “He almost had a triple-double.”

Because of his gangly frame and size-22 feet, Fall looks a bit awkward when he runs. His coach says running the floor is the strongest aspect of the player’s game, however.

“He can really run,” Atkins said. “It takes him about nine steps to go from one end to the other end. When he’s pushing he can really run. That was really impressive the first time I saw him – how well he can run. He can pick ‘em up and lay ‘em down. He can move for a guy with size 22s.”

Although new to the U.S., Fall is thriving in America's educational system. He reportedly has a 4.0 grade-point average and plans to be a biochemist someday.

Interest in Fall is on the rise.*Georgia Tech, LaSalle and*Xavier*offered scholarships before the Vols did, and a Big Ten school recently joined the chase.

“Purdue*offered Wednesday,” Atkins said. “He gets calls from almost every top-20 program in the country.*Florida*is showing a whole lot of interest.”

Even if Tennessee can’t sign Tacko Fall, pursuing him could produce a nice consolation prize. Reportedly, he has a younger brother, age 7, who already stands 5-feet-9.
 
If*Tennessee’s basketball program fails to fly high this season it shouldn’t be because the Vols lacked wings.

Senior wing*Josh Richardson*is coming off a spectacular post-season last March that saw him average 19.3 points in four NCAA Tournament games. He built on that momentum in the Rocky Top League, earning MVP honors while leading his team to the title with a 35.7 points-per-game average.

As explosive as Richardson was during RTL play, however, he was outscored by two Vol newcomers. Freshman*Detrick Mostella*led the league at 39.0 points per game and JUCO signee*Kevin Punter*finished second at 37.8. Another JUCO signee,*Devon Baulkman, finished just four-tenths of a point behind Richardson at 35.3, giving the Vols a 1-2-3-4 sweep of Rocky Top scoring honors.

Of course, these numbers would be meaningless if the guys were jacking up 40 shots per game to compile them. They weren’t. Check it out:

Mostella nailed 50.3 percent from the field and a sizzling 41.7 percent (35 of 84) from 3. Punter hit 45.3 from the field and 35.8 percent (19 of 53) from behind the arc. Richardson made 50 percent from the field and 36.7 percent (22 of 60) from 3. Baulkman connected on 46.8 from the field and 35.6 percent (32 of 90) from 3-point range.

Any discussion of Vol wings must includeArmani Moore. The 6-foot-5 junior’s strength, toughness and leaping ability make him an ideal fit for new coach*Donnie Tyndall’s pressing defense. Moore’s offense – long a weakness – seems to be coming around. He averaged 29.2 points per game in the Rocky Top League, ranking seventh among all scorers.

Moore shot an impressive 52.4 percent from the field in RTL play, including a surprising 40.6 percent (13 of 32) from beyond the arc. He was incredible in a 45-point Game 3 outing – sinking his first 15 shots en route to finishing 18 of 21, including 5 of 6 from 3.

In case you still aren’t impressed with Tennessee’s wing corps, consider this: A former five-star is itching to get on the court after missing most of 2013-14 season and all of the RTL season due to shoulder surgery. Rated America’s No. 2 shooting guard by Scout as a high school senior two years ago, 6-foot-6*Robert Hubbs*gives Tennessee six quality players at the wing positions.

Naturally, fans wonder if Hubbs is as good as he was before the injury. The answer: No. He’s better.

“I make sure I pick him first on my team every day (in pickup games) because he can score the ball so effortlessly,” Richardson said. “He’s working on his defense and his footwork, so he should be good this year.”

To recap: Tennessee’s wing corps consists of four guys who averaged at least 35 points per game in the Rocky Top League, a defensive whiz who averaged 29.2 in the RTL and a five-star recruit rated the second-best shooting guard in the Class of 2013.

“We definitely have a real explosive backcourt,” Hubbs told IT. “I like playing with these guys. We’re going to get up and down the court. There’s going to be a lot of highlights this year; I can tell you that.”

Punter thinks so, too.

“We’ve got a lot of people that can put it in,” he said. “We’re long and athletic and can score the ball. I’m just excited. I’m excited to see how everything’s going to jell together. I know it’s going to jell together great. I’m ready to start playing.”

The problem is mathematical: With six wings and only two spots for them in the starting lineup, four of Tennessee’s best players project to be on the bench at any given time. Or do they? In addition to the 2 (shooting guard) and 3 (small forward), Moore has played some 4 (power forward). So has Richardson.

“We’ve got some versatile guys that can slide over to the 4,” Richardson said. “Armani could do it. I could do it. Devon Baulkman could do it. Robert Hubbs (who played forward in high school) could do it. It should be fun in practice every day this year, and when the season comes people are going to be surprised.”

Richardson also has played some at the 1 position (point) during his career. Punter and Baulkman essentially played the point for their RTL teams, although both are more comfortable at shooting guard.

Josh Richardson(Getty Images)“We’ve got so many guys that are versatile, pretty much everybody can play the point,” Richardson said.

Tennessee’s surplus of talented wings probably means the Vols will play a four-guard lineup a good bit of the time. That way four of the six wings can be on the floor simultaneously.

“There’s definitely going to be four guards on the floor a lot,” Hubbs said. “We can all play just about 1 through 4, so it’s going to be a sight to see.”

Moore thinks the absence of dominating big men will create more minutes for the wings.

“I feel like our guard play will be really strong this year, especially with our bigs not being those banging-type big guys,” he said. “We’ve really got to have some good guard play.”

Although the three wing signees are challenging for his minutes, Moore admits being impressed with the newcomers.

“Baulkman has a really shifty handle,” Moore said. “He can really shoot the ball, and he’s aggressive going to the rim, as well.

“KP (Punter) is really an away-from-the-rim type player but he knows how to use his body to wiggle through the lane and finish. He’s really one of those guys who has a 100-percent mid-range jumper. Every time he puts it up I think it’s going in.”

Then there’s Mostella, whose flashy repertoire consists mainly of long-range 3s and highlight-reel dunks.

“Detrick is very explosive,” Moore said. “He’ll pretty much go get anything, and he loves to dunk.”

Richardson also likes what he sees from the three new wings.

“Punter can score the ball,” Richardson said. “He has a crazy mid-range game. He’s able to step out there from 3 a little bit more, and he’s been working on his game a lot.

“Baulkman is real versatile. He can dribble the ball real good. He’s a guy who can play the 1, 2, 3 or 4.

“Mostella is just a crazy athlete. He does some stuff that I couldn’t even dream of doing – the dunks and stuff like that. He’s a confident kid, and I think he can help us this year.”

Actually, the Vols have a seventh wing.*Ian Chiles, a graduate transfer, played mostly shooting guard at IUPUI last winter but projects to play the point for the Vols.

So, how will Tennessee distribute playing time among so many wing-type players?

Best guess: Chiles will split the point-guard duties with Baulkman and Punter. Punter will split the shooting-guard duties with Mostella and Baulkman. Richardson will share the small-forward duties with Hubbs and Moore. Hubbs will share the power-forward spot with Moore and the three freshman forwards –*Jabari McGhee,*Willie Carmichael*andTariq Owens. McGhee will share the center duties with*Eric McKnight, a graduate transfer from Florida Gulf Coast.

Carving up the playing time among Richardson, Hubbs, Baulkman, Punter, Mostella and Moore will be interesting. Watching this group of high-scoring wings carve up opposing defenses should be even more interesting.
 
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