Tennessee Basketball: Breaking down Vols’ 2017 recruiting class
By Taylor Sturm
The Tennessee Volunteers are ready to take a step forward under Rick Barnes, but how will the new recruits out of the Class of 2017 make an impact in 2017-18?
Last season, the Tennessee Volunteers were one of the most up and down teams in all of college basketball. Rick Barnes, the new coach of the Vols, had this team in top form and actually inside the 2017 NCAA Tournament bubble until everything fell apart in the second half of the season.
In fact, Tennessee had arguably the toughest schedule in all of college basketball, facing every team that made it to the 2017 Final Four – Gonzaga, South Carolina, Oregon, and North Carolina. The Vols lost to Oregon by just four, UNC by just two, Gonzaga by 10, and South Carolina by 10 and 27.
Their youth led to their inability to close out big games, and eventually the season, as they lost seven of their last ten games.
Tennessee did, however, get a win over Kentucky, so it wasn’t all for naught, right?
This season, expectations are a bit higher. Sure, no one would call for Barnes’ head if the Vols missed out on the 2018 NCAA Tournament, but the expectation is that Tennessee should 100% be a bubble team – especially after last year’s showing.
The youthful jitters that plagued Tennessee to end the season last year should be gone. It is time for this team to take a step forward, and the additions to the roster in 2017 recruiting have shown this. In addition to the usual incoming recruits, Barnes went after foreign, post, and JUCO players in an attempt to give this team depth that is ready to succeed immediately.
Here is a look at the Vols’ 2017 recruiting class.