The Starters
The Vols had five players start the vast majority of their 35 games this season. Grant Williams and Jordan Bowden started all 35 games, and both Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander started 34 contests. Jordan Bone started 33 games. Unless something changes between now and November, Tennessee will likely employ the same starting five next year.
Jordan Bone, PG – Defense and Driving
Bone is one of the quickest guards in college basketball. He’s learning how to use that on offense, but he needs to use it more and up his intensity on defense as well. He wasn’t a liability on defense this year, but he wasn’t a strength either. He needs to more consistently stay in front of opposing point guards and force them into mistakes. On offense, Bone needs to drive to the basket more. He’s developed a solid pull-up jumper and can make threes when he shoots them, but his quickness and athleticism will go to waste if he doesn’t cut to the basketball more with or without the ball already in his possession.
Jordan Bowden, G – Confidence and Consistency
Though Bowden’s defense never took as dramatic of a drop-off as his offense, his struggles shooting hurt him and the team. Bowden went from shooting 53.7 percent and an incredible 61.9 percent from three while averaging 11.6 points per game in UT’s first 12 games to shooting just 32.3 percent overall and just 28.7 percent from three while averaging only 7.9 points per game in the final 23 games of the season. His assist and rebound numbers went up, but his shooting dropped off significantly. Bowden needs to improve his consistency on offense and get his confidence back. He doesn’t have that problem on defense, but he needs to find his rhythm on offense again.
Admiral Schofield, G/F – Slashing in the Lane
Schofield’s game saw arguably the most improvement from one season to the next this year. He went from a third or even fourth option on the 2016-17 squad to the No. 2 scorer and even the main offensive weapon down the stretch for the Vols. Work ethic won’t be a problem for Schofield (he famously shoots 1,000 shots at practice), and he doesn’t have as much to work on as others. Assuming he doesn’t turn pro, Schofield should be UT’s main scoring option next year. He’s already worked on his jumper and continues to improve that, but he needs to add another element to his game. Schofield is one of the more physical players on the roster, and he needs to use that more on offense. If Schofield can develop a quicker first step and consistently drive to the basket from any angle on the court, he could be a first team All-SEC player.
Grant Williams, F – A Consistent, Deeper Jump Shot
If there’s one thing you know about Grant Williams, it’s that he’s a bully down low. He knows a variety of post moves and can hit the baby hook shot fairly consistently. One are that needs to find more consistency is his jumper, though. Williams has a decent jump shot already, but he doesn’t have the range on it you’d like to see for someone his size. Williams isn’t a big, 6-foot-9 forward; he’s closer to 6-foot-5 than he is 6-foot-7. He can bang down low with bigs, but he can really separate himself from the pack and be an even more dangerous offensive weapon if he can get a consistent mid-range jumper or even a solid three-point shot. He made 12 of his 32 threes (37.5 percent) last year, but that dropped to making just three of his 20 threes this season. He doesn’t need to be shooting two or three shots from behind the arc a game, but getting a more consistent jump shot further from the basket will do him a lot of good.
Kyle Alexander, F – Expand the Offensive Repertoire
Alexander plays his role as a defensive post player well. Vol fans saw just how important he was to the team’s success when the Vols lost to Loyola-Chicago in the NCAA Tournament without him on the court. The rising senior doesn’t need to improve a whole lot about his defense, but his offense needs to continue to develop. He showed solid improvement this year, but he needs to continue to expand his offensive tools. Alexander will never be relied on to be the main scorer for UT, but if he can add another post move or two, he can become a viable offensive option. And please, Kyle, work on dunking the ball more.
