Making The Case For Tennessee To Open At No. 1
With the college basketball off-season and transfer portal in a dead sprint to the finish line, we are starting to get a real idea of the rosters teams will have next season. Some things will sort themselves out, but as I look at updated rankings, I find myself asking the following question: Are the Tennessee Volunteers getting severely underrated?
For the past couple of years, I think criticism of Rick Barnes and Tennessee has been both fair and unwarranted at different times. Underachieving in the NCAA Tournament will always be brought up despite the circumstances at specific moments. Whether you like it or not, Tennessee has been consistent in where they're ranked since they got going in the 2017-18 season. Let's forget about the past for just a second and look at the present. This is the most complete Tennessee roster since Barnes took over. They'll still be elite defensively, they have the type of forwards and bigs that Barnes likes, and they added shooting which they desperately needed.
So with that being said, might it be justifiable to say that it's hard to win in the NCAA Tournament and that Tennessee deserves a high ranking based on what they have now? They'll have weaknesses. Every team in the history of college basketball has had at least one. However, given that we've established, it's hard to advance in the tournament and even harder to win a National Championship, a ranking even partly based on past failures is unfair.
So why do the Vols have a case for the number one ranking? It's simple, really. Even with the losses, they addressed the issues they needed to. Adding shooting had to be the primary goal, and Tennessee added multiple elite shooters in addition to bringing back one of the better shooters in the country.The guys they lost, while good players and Barnes had plans to replace them. Chris Ledlum can be that post-forward Barnes always loves. Tobe Awaka can be that athletic forward/center-type player that eats in the middle of the floor on both ends. Dalton Knecht can come in and play off of those pin-down screens that Barnes loves to run, while Jahmai Mashack will give you everything Josiah-Jordan James gave you on the defensive end.
All in all, Tennessee is going to be worse defensively this year. Not just compared to themselves last year, but to the rest of college basketball. Barnes knows the risks, though. You have to make sacrifices to get better, and if you're a top 5 defense and top 15 offense, what's stopping them from being able to win a National Championship? There won't be much respect for this Vols team initially, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be.
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