Welcome to The Sports Bank’s fourth annual college basketball season preview series where we break 111 teams in the 111 days leading up to the opening tip-off of the 2013-2014 season. We will rank the 84 power conference teams (including the new Big East and American Athletic Conferences) and top 27 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Led by Jordan McRae, Jarnell Stokes, and the return of Jeronne Maymon, the Tennessee Volunteers are the obvious choice to finish behind Kentucky and Florida in the SEC.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Last Season: T-4th, 11-7 in SEC, 20-13 overall
Predicted SEC Finish: 3rd
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Jarnell Stokes (Jr)/Rawane Ndiaye (Jr)
PF: Jeronne Maymon (Sr)
G/F: Jordan McRae (Sr)/Derek Reese (So)/D’Montre Edwards (Sr)/A.J. Davis (Fr)
SG: Josh Richardson (Jr)/Armani Moore (So)/Quinton Chievous (So)/Robert Hubbs (Fr)
PG: Antonio Barton (Sr)/Darius Thompson (Fr)/Brandon Lopez (So)
Gone: PG-Trae Golden (transfer-Georgia Tech), F/C-Kenny Hall, SG-Skylar McBee, PF-Dwight Miller, C-Yemi Makanjuola (transfer-UNC Wilmington)
2013-2014 Outlook:
Maymon returns after sitting out all of last season with a knee injury. He and Stokes form one of the most physical frontcourts in all of college basketball which makes up for their lack of height since both guys are 6-8. Each player is capable of posting a double-double on a nightly basis and posses capable inside/outside ability. JUCO transfer Rawane Ndiaye provides shot blocking and rebounding off the bench as the only other post player on the roster.
McRae had a breakout junior campaign thanks to his outside shooting and ability to break down defenders off the bounce. He is the team’s go-to offensive weapon even more so this year due to the transfer of starting point guard Trae Golden.
Outside of McRae, Cuonzo Martin has a ton options on the wing. Josh Richardson figures to start again after a solid sophomore campaign. With returning role players Armani Moore, Derek Reese, Quinton Chievous, D’Montre Edwards being joined by highly touted freshman Robert Hubbs and A.J. Davis, there is a ton of length and athleticism that should allow Martin to play smaller and quicker.
Golden’s transfer was rather surprising and left a huge hole at the point for Tennessee. Luckily for the Vols, they were able to snag graduate student transfer Antonio Barton who decided to leave Memphis. Barton is not as talented as Golden but brings an experienced floor general to the roster. He won’t need to do much this year but his calming presence is important since freshman Darius Thompson is the only other scholarship point guard on the roster.
With their toughness inside and athleticism on the wing, the Tennessee Volunteers are the clear cut third best team in the SEC. If their point guard play doesn’t dip much, the Vols can be a very dangerous team come March.
Player to Watch: Jarnell Stokes
The easiest way to describe Stokes is “beastly.” He overcame double teams on a nightly basis last season and with Maymon back in the fold, Stokes should be freed up to do even more damage down low.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/12 at Xavier
11/28 vs. UTEP (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/29 vs. Iowa/Xavier (Battle 4 Atlantis)
12/1 vs. Kansas/Wake Forest/Villanova/USC (Battle 4 Atlantis)
12/14 at Wichita State
12/18 vs. N.C. State
12/30 vs. Virginia
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#29 St. John’s
#30 Harvard
#31 UCLA
#32 Iowa
#33 Boise State
#34 Villanova
#35 Oregon
#36 St. Louis
#37 La Salle
#38 San Diego State
#39 Stanford
#40 Arizona State
#41 BYU
#42 Pitt
#43 California
#44 Iowa State
#45 Providence
#46 Cincinnati
#47 UNLV
#48 Purdue
#49 LSU
#50 Illinois
#51 Xavier
#52 Boston College
#53 Ole Miss
#54 Missouri
#55 Washington
#56 Saint Mary’s
#57 Maryland
#58 Butler
#59 Minnesota
#60 Florida Gulf Coast
#61 Akron
#62 Temple
#63 Alabama
#64 Florida State
#65 Arkansas
#66 N.C. State
#67 Kansas State
#68 Davidson
#69 Dayton
#70 Miami FL
#71 SMU
#72 Texas A&M
#73 Long Beach State
#74 UMass
#75 Northwestern
#76 Indiana State
#77 Georgia Tech
#78 Oklahoma
#79 Richmond
#80 Manhattan
#81 Belmont
#82 Texas
#83 Houston
#84 Washington State
#85 Iona
#86 Oregon State
#87 Louisiana Tech
#88 Towson
#89 Wake Forest
#90 Central Florida
#91 Rutgers
#92 Drexel
#93 USC
#94 Charleston
#95 Seton Hall
#96 Vanderbilt
#97 George Mason
#98 Clemson
#99 Penn State
#100 Nebraska
#101 West Virginia
#102 South Florida
#103 Mississippi State
#104 DePaul
#105 South Carolina
#106 Texas Tech
#107 TCU
#108 Virginia Tech
#109 Georgia
#110 Utah
#111 Auburn
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.