For longtime Tennessee basketball fans, the team that trots through the Food City Center smoke come late October will be one of the more unfamiliar squads of the past handful of years.
The long-tenured core players of the Vols’ back-to-back historic postseason runs have moved on, setting up a chance for the next generation to try and guide Tennessee into the uncharted waters of a Final Four.
Blue-chip freshman Nate Ament and veteran point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie highlight the class of new faces who make up head coach Rick Barnes’ group. Their arrival, along with the influx of many other fresh names, lays a foundation for some of the higher expectations surrounding a Barnes-coached Tennessee team.
“I would probably tell you the number one thing we’re most excited about is the camaraderie that they’ve already developed,” Barnes said. “I think that goes directly to the kind of people that we brought in, but also what our returning players have done.”
The Vols return seven players from last year’s group, center Felix Okpara being the only starter. To supplement the loss of so many veterans, Barnes and his staff went to work overseas. Ethan Burg was the product of their recruiting efforts and will be the first Israeli native to ever wear a Tennessee uniform.
Burg brings an extensive track record from his time playing for Israel’s national team in the FIBA Eurobasket circuit, along with spending a pair of seasons as a standout performer in the Israeli Basketball Super League. The 6-foot-3 guard made a late arrival to campus a few weeks ago due to his international play.
“He’s got time,” Barnes said. “Ethan is older. He’s been around. You can easily sense his maturity. He simply said to me his first night here, we had dinner, and he said, ‘Coach, you tell me exactly what I need to do to help this team, and I’ll play that role.’ He’s mature enough to do that.”
While Gillespie will handle the majority of time in quarterbacking the Vols’ offense, the Maryland transfer will have to grab some breathers during the action over the course of the season. His substitute off the bench isn’t expected to reach the same level of production, but needs to be a competent replacement for what Barnes wants to do. A large number of candidates can play this role, but the jury remains out on who will fill it come time for the regular season. As is customary for Barnes, trial and error is the only way to make a concrete decision.
“Our last practice, I was watching the film and we had, I think, seven different guys bring the ball down the floor, the way we’re trying to play,” Barnes said. “I think as time goes on, more guys will be able to do it.”
The quest for answers to who will make up the Vols’ final starting five is only just beginning, and is always prone to change even as the year progresses further. For now, Tennessee is focused on meshing as a group and finding its chemistry within the Barnes system.
“We know how we want to play,” Barnes said. “We got the system that we believe in. Every year, you tweak that system based on who you have. Players will make you change, and sometimes they make you add things that you might not have. I think roles change throughout the year. I think players can do that. But at this point in time, we’re not preset, predetermined on anything other than getting better. And it’s up to them to do that.”
