KNOXVILLE – Tennessee feels pretty good about its top two scorers who return from last basketball season.
With a little more than a month remaining before the Volunteers tip off their 2019-20 schedule, they will have to figure out a third option to go with senior guards Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden.
Turner averaged 11 points per game last season, knocking down 49 3-pointers while appearing in 28 games. Bowden played in 36 of the team’s 37 games, starting five, and he averaged 10.6 points and made 51 3s for the Vols, who finished 31-6 and reached the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16.
Their scoring averages ranked fourth and fifth on the team, but the Vols’ top three scorers last season – Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone – are now on NBA rosters, and so is forward Kyle Alexander. That quartet started all 37 games last season and averaged a combined 56.1 points, 23.5 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game.
The rebounding and assist production is expected to be replaced without much trouble.
But what about the scoring?
AP photo by Timothy D. Easley / Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner dribbles downcourt against Purdue during an NCAA tournament South Regiona semifinal on March 28, 2019, in Louisville, Ky.John Fulkerson is the leading returning scorer behind Turner and Bowden at 3.1 points per contest. Yves Pons, who started 13 games, averaged 2.2 and Jalen Johnson averaged 1.5. It’s possible the Vols can duplicate the average of 82 points per game they tallied, but some of the points will have to come from different people.
“There is no doubt that John Fulkerson needs to get back to the player he was his freshman year,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Thursday. “There’s no question in that. And he’s made those strides. He’s a guy that we know we can count on. And Jalen Johnson has improved. Yves Pons, we’ve really used him in one of those hybrid-type roles, like Admiral Schofield where he can play both inside and outside. … Admiral started playing inside and worked to the outside because of the depth we had in the front line. Yves had to do it the other way.
“But those four guys have been there. Then Jalen (Johnson) has gotten better. So all that will take care of itself. But we certainly have confidence in those guys because of how hard they work. We know they’re going to continue to get better.”
The Vols will have options, especially with a four-player freshman class and possible incoming transfer Uros Plavsic. Josiah-Jordan James – a likely starter – fellow guard Davonte Gaines and forwards Olivier Nkamhoua and Drew Pember are the first-year additions. The 7-foot Plavsic also will be an option – should he be ruled immediately eligible after transferring from Arizona State – and so might redshirt sophomore Zach Kent, who’s 6-11.
“I don’t know if we can put a date on it, but I think in the next couple of weeks we will probably see something,” Barnes said of a ruling on Plavsic’s eligibility.
AP photo by John Minchillo / Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden, right, and Lamonte Turner celebrate after the Vols beat Iowa in the second round of the NCAA tournament on March 24 in Columbus, Ohio.The coach said his team’s motion-heavy offense will provide plenty of opportunities for multiple players.
James was kept out of practice Thursday with a sore hip, while Gaines attended but didn’t participate and was wearing a brace on his right hand. Pember practiced but has been dealing with a foot injury.
“The offense is set up that if something should happen with one guy with an injury, we will put someone else in and adjust to it,” Barnes said. “We will still run pretty much the same offense whether or not. You go back, last year was a little bit different. We were a very strong inside-oriented team. I think these guys will tell you we are still working toward that. Three years ago, we weren’t like that. It takes time to develop guys to do certain things.
“We won’t change a lot. We will tweak some things. The system we have in place, we will continue to use.”
AP photo by John Minchillo / Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden sets up a play during an NCAA tournament second-round game against Iowa on March 24 in Columbus, Ohio. Bowden started 36 of the Vols’ 37 games last season.Tipoff time
Tennessee will hold its annual Rocky Top Tipoff at 6 p.m. Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena. The showcase will include both the Vols and Lady Vols signing autographs and playing scrimmages, as well as other fan-focused activities.
The Vols will host Division II Eastern New Mexico in an exhibition on Oct. 30 before facing UNC Asheville to open the season on Nov. 5. The Lady Vols welcome DII Carson-Newman for an exhibition on Oct. 29 and open Nov. 5 at East Tennessee State.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.