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Beginning Monday, June 21st,
2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the
nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the
opening day of the 2004-05 Season.
Bookmark the
144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back
each day to see which team is previewed next.
#47 Tennessee Volunteers
SEC
2003-04: 15-14, 7-9, 9th
2003-04 postseason: NIT
By
Joel Welser
 With
senior’s Scooter McFadgon and Brandon Crump leading the way, the Volunteers
have enough talent to make a run in the SEC East. Head coach Buzz Peterson
will have to take the next step this year after falling to George Mason in
the first round of the NIT. The team has talent but went 0-8 in conference
play on the road. Tennessee has to find some leaders to fix those road
problems.
Who’s Out: John Winchester
started 13 games averaging 5.4 points per contest. The 6-3 guard is
transferring to Quinnipiac. Boomer Herndon and Justin Albrecht are also
transferring. Neither saw many minutes but played in 27 and 26 games,
respectively. Herndon, a 6-10 center and Albrecht, a 6-6 forward provided
some frontcourt options off the bench.
Who’s In: Andre Patterson
will have no problem replacing the frontcourt that is leaving Knoxville.
The 6-7 forward redshirted last year after transferring from UCLA. Two
years ago for the Bruins, Patterson averaged 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and
1.1 blocks. He should step in to the Vol’s frontcourt immediately.
Kentucky’s ‘Mr. Basketball’ for 2004, shooting guard Chris Lofton, is headed
to Tennessee. Lofton is an explosive scorer averaging 26.7 points his
senior year in high school. He is a pure shooter and he’ll consistently
knock down the 3-pointers with ease. Lofton will get the chance to see a
lot of minutes right away. Jordan Howell redshirted last season as
freshman. The 6-3 combo guard will provide another long range shooter off
the bench. JaJuan Smith averaged 25 points and six assists last year as a
senior in high school and will add to the depth of the Volunteers.
Who to Watch: Scooter
McFadgon and Brandon Crump should be the go-to-guys. The frontcourt is
solid with Jemere Hendrix and Major Wingate hoping to take on bigger roles
this year. The key to this team is the guy who has to get them the ball.
Point guard C.J. Watson has had two solid years so far at Tennessee,
averaging 5.3 assists per game during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
As a junior, things should only get better for the Las Vegas native. Watson
has his scorers returning and should be able to rack up some great assist
numbers. Watson isn’t a bad scorer either. He scored 11.5 points per game
last season and shot 41.1 percent from behind the arc. He’s got decent size
for a point guard at 6-2 and even managed 4.2 rebounds an outing. Watson is
the player Tennessee needs to help win on the road. He’s a smart player who
keeps the turnovers down and that should equate to some road wins now that
he is an upperclassman.
Projected Conference Rank:
By the numbers, this group can compete with Kentucky and Florida in the
east. They probably won’t end up on top of the conference, but a 6th
place finish in the SEC should be enough for the Volunteers to squeak into
the big dance.
Projected Post-season
Tournament: NCAA
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Email Joel Welser:
jwelser_chn@ameritech.net
Chat About CHN's Top #144
Ranking:
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