Don’t worry. If Tennessee Basketball doesn’t meet last year’s standards and is a disappointment this year, it won’t be in the typical way a Rick Barnes team is a disappointment. The Vols have some defensive issues, believe it or not, that will hold them back, rare for their program.
UT beat the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 80-64 to open the 2024-25 season officially Monday night. Now, surrendering 64 points would seem like a solid defensive outing. However, Gardner-Webb is the type of team that Barnes needs to be able to hold into the low 50s.
With less than four minutes to go, Tennessee Basketball held onto a 75-52 lead. That’s when Gardner-Webb went on a run and cut it down to just an 80-64 finish. Despite a size and athleticism advantage, UT was only able to force 15 turnovers and block two shots. This is all despite Gardner-Webb going just 6-of-23 from three.
Now, it is true you can worry about the offense, as the Vols should also be able to score more than 80 points against these types of teams. Chaz Lanier led the way, and proved he’ll be UT’s go-to scorer, with 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three. Jordan Gainey was 2-of-4 from three and added 17.
Gainey also had three steals, while Jahmai Mashack had four and Zakai Zeigler had two. Mashack scored 10 and was 2-of-4 from three, and Zeigler, despite being 0-of-6 from three, got to the line a lot and still managed 13 points. The team collectively deserves credit for only 11 turnovers.
Anyway, the reason the offense isn’t as much of a concern is because part of that is transition defense, which is where the Vols were oddly lacking in this game. More importantly, one of their biggest offensive weapons, Darlinstone Dubar, didn’t see the court.
Dubar transferred to Tennessee Basketball from the Hofstra Pride and is a 6’6″ guard who shoots 40 percent from three. He’s a dominant offensive threat and has the exact profile to be this year’s Dalton Knecht? So what’s holding him back from getting on the court?
Well, Barnes specifically said it’s because he hasn’t picked up the defense yet. As a result, it all comes down to that side of the court. If the defense were better, and if Dubar picked it up, Dubar would be on the court, and more transition buckets would have happened. That would have made 80-64 more like 90-50 or something in that range.
Simply put, it’s early, but Tennessee Basketball has some defensive issues to work out. Thankfully for the Vols, defense is not like it is in football. You can get better at it as the season goes on. However, it would be a cruel irony for that to cost Barnes his first national championship after just turning 70.
