Tennessee Basketball: Takeaways from Lenoir-Rhyne exhibition matchup

Kennedy Chandler & Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

Make no mistake, the Tennessee Volunteers were no slouches last season on defense and they may have lost starter Yves Pons (8.7 ppg) and part-time starters Jaden Springer (12.5 ppg) and Keon Johnson (11.3 ppg) – three of their top five scorers. The caveat is, they still do have the same head coach in Rick Barnes who recruited players in 2021 in order to replace Springer and Johnson who he recruited in 2020. The two recruits with the most upside are Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Kennedy Chandler

The ceiling for Huntley-Hatfield may be limitless and is only being hampered by his inexperience. Huntley-Hatfield connected on 7 of 10 field goals to end with 15 points, points which he got in the paint as his man left to help. He may not be creating his own shot and his game while facing the basket is not his strong suit, the 6’10 /245 center can finish, with or without contact. The benefit for Huntley-Hatfield is that he is a teammate of John Fulkerson, who is just 25 games from becoming NCAA leader in games played, who better to mentor the young bigman?

Another freshman who comes as advertised is Kennedy Chandler. Much like Huntley-Hatfield, Chandler’s ceiling is extremely high, but unlike Huntley-Hatfield, Chandler is already on his way to breaking through that ceiling. Versus Lenoir-Rhyne, Chandler was 8 for 10 on field goals as he drove to the basket at will. Then -for good measure- he connected on 4 of 5 three-pointers to finish with 21 points in 22 minutes while dishing out six assists.

It is not hyperbole to state; if Chandler’s long-range shooting remains consistent, he will be unguardable if defenders have to play close enough to challenge shots.