Tennessee Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Volunteers

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Tennessee Volunteers fans reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers during overtime of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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Tennessee Basketball Rick Barnes (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

The Vols can be as good as they were two years ago

Tennessee suffered a bit last season recovering from losses to the NBA and a big loss of Lamonte Turner to injury. This season Barnes’ squad is poised for a big bounce-back season, being seen as high as a top-5 team to begin the year and should undoubtedly battle with that team from Lexington for supremacy in the SEC.

With Fulkerson and Pons providing the leadership and the talent-laden sophomores on the roster to go along a top-5 recruiting class with a pair of dynamic guards, the Vols are loaded for bear.

The question of how far they can go may be answered by how Jordan James and Vescovi improve, not statistically, but on the defensive end of the floor. We should get a good idea early on of how good Tennessee, given the high-profile games they have on their schedule.

Tennessee has depth at every position on the floor and if the freshmen come as advertised and the transfers Anosike and Bailey, Jr. can have their previous successes translate to the SEC then the Volunteers ceiling is as high as anyone in the country.

Preseason top-25 power rankings for 2020-21. dark. Next

If everything goes right, a No. 1 seed should be in their sights and a trip to the Final Four is possible.

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