Donnie Tyndall didn’t hide it.
The fresh faces are in abundance.
“We’ve got a bunch of new guys out there,” the first-year Tennessee head coach said. “When you look at our roster, we only have four returning guys that have played at this level, and even Robert (Hubbs) and Derek (Reese) to a point last year were limited.”
With that said, here’s a handful of newcomers who will either start tonight’s home-opener versus Texas Southern or are in line to make a significant impact this season.
Willie Carmichael: Arguably the surprise of the group, Carmichael racked up just four minutes of playing time and zero points against the Rams, but Tyndall said that the 6-foot-8 freshman could wiggle his way into a first-team role shortly. The Vols have issues down low, and Carmichael could be candidate for extra minutes if fellow newcomer Dominic Woodson continues to struggle down low.
“The biggest thing was (Carmichael) was practicing harder and better than Dom Woodson on Sunday,” Tyndall said. “We had a day off Saturday, and if you can’t come out after a day off, after a tough loss and be ready to pop and go in a practice, then someone else is probably going to move in front of you.”
Jabari McGhee: Despite playing just 12 minutes off the bench in Friday’s season-opening loss to No. 15 VCU, McGhee reportedly ran with the first team this week in practice, and Tyndall pegged the Albany Ga., native as a potential starter against the Tigers.
“I think the biggest thing is he got in against VCU and didn’t play scared,” Tyndall said. “He was aggressive. He was tough. He played with confidence, and he’s raw offensively and got a ways to go. But he went and tried to rebound the ball. He rotated over and took a charge. He did some winning-play type of stuff. It’s not always pretty, but he’s effort guy. And I thought he gave us good minutes.
“I probably should’ve played him a little more.”
Detrick Mostella: Undoubtedly the Vols’ most explosive newcomer, Mostella has the ability to go off scoring-wise at any moment. But it’s his inconsistency in all facets of the game that has Tyndall pumping the breaks just a tad on the freshman’s early season success. A microcosm of that was Mostella’s performance against VCU, where he tied a team-high with 17 points but failed to pick up any rebounds or assists.
“He can score the basketball, we get that,” Tyndall said, “but we’ve always talked about … if you’re not making shots, what else do you do to help our team win? It’s got to be rebounding the ball. It’s got to be deflections or steals. It’s got to be having a positive assist to turnover ratio.
“So he’s a young guy. He played well in some areas, and he’s going to continue to get better. But the thing I love about Detrick is he came to the practice floor ready to go. He had great work. He was receptive in the film room, and because of that, he’s got nowhere to go but up.”
Kevin Punter: A junior-college transfer from Missouri’s State Fair Community College, Punter, along with senior guard Josh Richardson, have been tasked with handling UT’s point guard duties.
“I can’t wait,” Punter said in regards to the showdown with Texas Southern. “We had a couple of exhibition games, but I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be a lot different for the first home game of the season. I’m ready to win that first home game, give coach his first win, give the team its first win. We’re excited.”
