Tennessee

Marvin West: Tennessee best basketball teams – Knox TN Today

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2022

Marvin West: Tennessee best basketball teams – Knox TN Today

Baseball: Tony Vitello’s over-the-wall bashers personal the Tennessee sports activities highlight. Their file is 40-4 with 103 dwelling runs.

Soccer: Tennessee exceeded expectations within the NFL draft. Estimated contract worth for 5 Vols is $24 million.

Basketball: Surprisingly, it lingers. Early exit from the NCAA event, no shock, was six weeks in the past however Rick Barnes stays wakeful. The coach is making an attempt to show over his roster. Six Vols have gone away.

***

Morning discussions at Hardee’s in Union County are most frequently concerning the climate, politics, Freeway 33 reconstruction and the way the okra is doing. Solely elevated value of dwelling threatens the no-profanity settlement.

It was a bit disconcerting to find encroachment by Tennessee basketball. The main focus wasn’t Barnes’ conventional event dropsy or the hyperlink between NIL cash and the switch portal and even alternative recruiting.

The virtually-an-argument was about how good had been the latest Volunteers and which workforce was the perfect ever in Massive Orange Nation.

Thankfully, I arrived late, however, being a resident genius, was invited to step in as moderator. Espresso-to-go rescued me.

The query didn’t go away. Which Tennessee workforce actually was the perfect?

I and my bicycle nonetheless had a newspaper route the 12 months John Mauer’s finest workforce gained an SEC title. I additionally missed Emmett Lowery’s finest. Later, as a UT scholar, I noticed loads at Alumni Memorial Gymnasium. I stay dismayed that Tennessee had a shedding file in ’54 with Carl Widseth, Ed Wiener, Herman Thompson, Invoice Lovelace and Buddy Cruze.

The “finest” query was nonetheless there. Analysis turned mandatory. That led to the formation of an influence panel of knowledgeable consultants, previous Vol Hank Bertelkamp, not fairly as previous Vol Kenny Coulter, comparatively younger former Vol Lloyd Richardson and well-known Vol historians Bud Ford and Tom Mattingly. I accepted a self-appointment as chair.

Needless to say basketball is older than I’m. It goes again to 1891. James Naismith put up the proverbial peach baskets on the Worldwide YMCA Coaching Faculty, now often called Springfield (Mass.) School. Seventeen years later, the sport arrived at Tennessee.

Our “finest” panel skipped the period of heart jumps after every purpose. We didn’t take significantly the interval when Jellico YMCA, Knoxville Excessive Faculty and Johnson Bible School supplied the opposition. We did take observe that soccer coach Zora G. Clevenger was additionally the basketball coach for a number of seasons. His 1916 workforce went 12-0.

In additional trendy instances, Bertelkamp averaged 14.3 factors per sport in 1952-53. Coulter averaged 14 in 1958-59. Richardson performed within the early Seventies, within the time of Jimmy England, Don Johnson, Mike Edwards and Len Kosmalski. Lloyd didn’t get to shoot as a lot.

The panel minimize to the chase. It in contrast the perfect groups of Ray Mears, Don DeVoe, Jerry Inexperienced, Bruce Pearl and Barnes. Panelists voted 1-2-3. Outcomes had been validated by Sarah.

The 1976-77 workforce gained. To my shock, the vote wasn’t shut.

Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld revered one another and had been completely unselfish. With only one basketball, they produced nice numbers. Bernard led the SEC by averaging 25.8 factors. Ernie G. scored 22.8, Mike Jackson 15.4, Reggie Johnson 11. Johnny Darden contributed 5.6 and lots of assists. King led the league in rebounding with 14.2.

The workforce went 22-6 in opposition to a intentionally troublesome schedule –Duke, San Francisco and UCLA had been 50 per cent of the losses. Mears thought stiff competitors would assist at event time. It didn’t. Syracuse despatched the Vols dwelling.

Tennessee did win that SEC championship with 16-2. Ah sure, we keep in mind it effectively.

The panelists stated the 2007-2008 workforce was second finest, 31-5 general, 14-2 as SEC champions, Candy Sixteen within the event, No. 5 within the last AP ballot.

Pearl and I believed key gamers had been Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince. Jordan Howell was a captain.

Tennessee began the 12 months ranked No. 7 however obtained trashed by Texas. The Vols gained 11 in a row, misplaced at Kentucky, however defeated the following 9 foes, together with No. 1 Memphis in Memphis. The polls turned orange.

Some stated this was the largest victory in Tennessee basketball historical past.

The Vols couldn’t deal with the celebration and pats on the again. They misplaced at Vanderbilt, bounced again in opposition to Kentucky, gained one and misplaced one within the SEC event and gained twice within the NCAAs. Louisville inflicted a large upset.

My favourite workforce, 1966-67, was excellent however not the perfect. It was awarded third place. It completed 21-7, 15-3 within the SEC, No. 8 within the last AP ballot.

Mears had loved appreciable success in 4 earlier years. He improved markedly as a coach when RonWidby turned a senior. Ron was an area expertise, Fulton Excessive Faculty, multi-talented, refuse-to-lose disposition.

Widby led the SEC with 22.1 factors plus eight and a half rebounds a sport. Tom Boerwinkle averaged 12 factors and 10 rebounds and usually tolerated Stu Aberdeen teaching him with a brush. Invoice Justus averaged 11 factors and Tom Hendrix 10. Billy Hann was a superb level guard.

In my thoughts, this tight-knit assortment turned the primary nice workforce at Tennessee. The unforgettable efficiency was a three-overtime victory at Mississippi State, third-best UT sport I ever noticed. That season finale clinched the league crown.

“We had been picked fifth or sixth pre-season, however we had confidence,” recalled Widby. “I advised Marvin that he had it incorrect, that we had been going to win the championship.”

Justus was a witness.

“Ron made the remark that we had been going to win the SEC. I keep in mind pondering he’d gone loopy.”

Widby had 35 factors and 9 rebounds in that dramatic, unbelievably tense sport in Starkville. Certainly, he merely refused to lose. He scored 10 in a row within the overtimes. Justus hit the clinching free throws.

Widby oversaw stuffing me, totally clothed, into a chilly bathe as punishment for my lack of November religion. Newspaper editor Ralph Millett thought that was very humorous and changed my Kmart swimsuit.

FYI: Coming quickly, panel picks 25 finest gamers.

Marvin West welcomes reader feedback or questions. His tackle is marvinwest75@gmail.com

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Tennessee Legend Candace Parker Announces Retirement From Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

Published

7 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee Legend Candace Parker Announces Retirement From Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

Photo via Yahoo Sports

Tennessee and WNBA legend Candace Parker is retiring from basketball, she announced on her Instagram on Sunday afternoon.

“I’m retiring,” Parker wrote in her post. “I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”

Parker is one of the most storied basketball players of all time. Playing 16 seasons in the WNBA, Parker won WNBA Championships with three teams, was a seven-time First Team All-WNBA selection, the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year and two-time MVP.

An extremely versatile player, Parker averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds and four assists per game over the course of her career. The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 17-plus points per game in eight different seasons topping out with a 20.6 point and 10.8 rebound per game season in 2010.

More From RTI: Ohio State Center Felix Okpara Talks Signing With Tennessee Basketball

Parker was dominant in a three-year career at Tennessee, earning Associated Press First Team All-American honors twice and winning the Wooden Award twice. She averaged 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds over the course of her career and 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game in her junior season.

A Naperville, Illinois native, Parker helped lead Tennessee to National Championships in 2007 and 2008— the final National Championships in legendary coach Pat Summitt’s career. In her retirement post, Parker discussed the impact Summitt has had on her life.

“My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to ‘chase people and passions and you will never fail.’ Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I’ve learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!” Parker wrote.

Parker’s 2008 basketball season is legendary. After leading Tennessee to the 2008 National Championship she made her WNBA debut that summer and averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while earning WNBA Rookie of the Year and First Team All-WNBA honors.

Parker has broken into broadcasting in recent years and has shined as a studio analyst for CBS, TBS and TNT during the NCAA Tournament in recent years. In her post, Parker stated her plans to continue broadcasting while also exploring other business ventures.

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Undrafted Free Agents: Tennessee players who are getting a shot in the NFL

Published

14 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Press Room

Undrafted Free Agents: Tennessee players who are getting a shot in the NFL

Volquest Answers Your Tennessee Football, Basketball & Recruiting Questions In The Mailbag I 4.25

Three Tennessee Football players heard their names called in the 2024 NFL Draft on Saturday, with running back Jaylen Wright going in the fourth round and quarterback Joe Milton and defensive back Kamal Hadden getting picked in the sixth round.

Wright went to the Miami Dolphins with the 120th overall pick, Milton was picked at No. 193 overall by the New England Patriots and Hadden went to the Kansas City Chiefs at pick No. 211.

After the seven-round draft ended, eight former Tennessee players signed as undrafted free agents:

McCallan Castles — Philadelphia Eagles

Castles, who spent one season at Tennessee after transferring from UC Davis, caught 22 passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns last season, averaging 12.3 yards per catch and 21.8 yards per game.

Jacob Warren — Las Vegas Raiders

Warren, the fifth-year senior tight end, caught 53 passes for 607 yards and eight touchdowns with the Vols. He caught 16 passes for a career-high 191 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games last season.

Ramel Keyton — Oakland Raiders

Keyton in five seasons at Tennessee caught 86 passes for 1,456 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had career highs with 35 catches for 642 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games last season.

Aaron Beasley — Seattle Seahawks

Beasley, another fifth-year senior, had 238 total tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 44 career games. He added an interception that he returned for a touchdown, six passes defended, four fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. Beasley over the last three seasons had 229 tackles, 32.0 tackles for loss and all of his 7.5 sacks.

Gabe Jeudy-Lally — Tennessee Titans

Jeudy-Lally, the transfer defensive back who played previously at BYU and Vanderbilt, and 41 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks during his 13-game career at Tennessee. He had 138 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions and 13 passes defended.

Jeremiah Crawford — Carolina Panthers

Crawford in three seasons at Tennessee played in 30 games and made 13 starts at tackle on the offensive line. He started seven times in 10 games last season, six times in 10 games in 2022 and appeared in 10 games off the bench in 2021 after transferring to Tennessee from Butler Community College in Kansas.

Jaylen McCollough — Los Angeles Rams

McCollough played in 54 games at Tennessee over five seasons, finishing with 241 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and six interceptions. He had 58 tackles each of the last two seasons and combined for 6.5 tackles for loss.

Dee Williams — Seattle Seahawks

Williams flashed brilliance as a return specialist during his two seasons at Tennessee, returning 35 punts for 540 yards, averaging 15.4 yards per punt and taking two punts back for touchdowns.

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What I liked, didn’t like about Tennessee Titans’ 2024 NFL Draft class | Estes

Published

21 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Press Room

What I liked, didn’t like about Tennessee Titans’ 2024 NFL Draft class | Estes

This pivotal offseason remains an ongoing project, but the Tennessee Titans can be optimistic about the direction. They are better than they were a few days ago.

And they’re a lot better than they were a few months ago.

The Titans’ seven-player 2024 NFL Draft class, after an eventful run in free agency, was another step in rebuilding and reshaping a roster and a team that’ll look much different under a new coaching staff led by Brian Callahan.

“I feel really good about the draft class and what these guys are going to be able to come in and do,” Titans general manager Ran Carthon said. “I think we have some guys that are going to come and compete to start, and I think we have some guys that’ll compete for spots and make us a team with some depth.

“I know there’s still some holes to fill, and we’re going to get to it.”

The Tennessee Titans’ 2024 NFL Draft class

1st round (No. 7): JC Latham, OT, Alabama2nd round (No. 28): T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas4th round (No. 106): Cedric Gray, LB, North Carolina5th round: (No. 146): Jarvis Brownlee Jr., CB, Louisville6th round (No. 182): Jha’Quan Jackson, WR, Tulane7th round (No. 242): James Williams, LB, Miami7th round (No. 252): Jaylen Harrell, EDGE, Michigan

What I like about this class

Not a lot of risk-taking here, and that’s good. The Titans didn’t need boom-or-bust players. They needed reliable draft picks they could depend on to immediately step in and bolster a subpar 53-man roster.

To that end, they leaned toward physically mature players who were productive and durable in college. With their first few picks, the Titans put the 2023 Outland Trophy winner (Sweat) with a tackling machine (Gray) and a proven, trusted player (Latham) for Nick Saban at Alabama. Yes, Latham will have to change positions, but no matter what, you’d expect him to be in the starting five on the O-line.

What I dislike about this class

There were too many needs on this roster for the Titans to be able to address them all with seven selections, yet they never traded down to add more picks. And they probably could have done it without many of these names being different. Undrafted free agency, once again, looms important for a team still searching for contributors.

Best value pick

In 2021, Williams was a five-star high school prospect and the nation’s No. 15 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings. To see why, go find highlights from his time at Miami and enjoy him flying to the football and punishing ball carriers. A seventh-round flier for that type of talent? Heck, yeah.

Worst reach

Even before Sweat’s recent arrest, opinions varied on where the big man should be projected. Taking Sweat six picks into the second round was an expensive price for a prospect The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had with a Day 3 grade as the draft’s 10th-best defensive tackle.

Biggest question

Whether Latham can make the switch to left tackle after playing right tackle at Alabama. If not, that’ll mean the Titans used back-to-back picks in the top 11 on offensive linemen they don’t trust to protect Will Levis’ blind side at one of the sport’s most premium positions.

Estes: Titans drafted a project in JC Latham because of trust in Bill Callahan

Recommended: Titans first-round pick JC Latham’s journey an example of ability to embrace change

The Titans improved the most on . . .

The defensive front seven needed a boost in the draft and got it with Sweat and Gray, who Carthon said was capable of handling calls for the defense. That’d be a big deal with Azeez Al-Shaair now in Houston. Grabbing a linebacker like Williams and last season’s sack leader for national champion Michigan (Harrell) in the draft’s final picks didn’t hurt, either.

The Titans didn’t improve enough at . . .

Several spots. Tight end and safety jump out as the most troublesome positions after the draft, and while veteran free agents will be available to help, that’d be plugging holes rather than building for the future.

I’m higher than the experts on . . .

Williams. There are good reasons why he wasn’t a highly coveted draft pick. He’s the classic linebacker/safety tweener who is often undervalued in the pros, and as NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote: “While it’s fun watching him run and strike from high safety, it is much less fun watching his coverage confusion.”

But the talent is there, and after sitting on his couch for three days, Williams got emotional while describing what it meant to him to get that late call. I think the Titans may have something with Williams. At the very least, he should be fun to watch on coverage units.

I wasn’t as enamored with . . .

Jackson has playmaking potential that could make him a late-round steal. But the Titans had all kinds of opportunities to grab an impactful wide receiver in this draft, and they waited until the sixth round to take an undersized slot receiver/punt returner with injury concerns. Those guys are a dime a dozen in the NFL, and the Titans already have Kyle Philips and Kearis Jackson. Is the new guy better and more physically reliable than those two returning slot receivers? The new coaching staff must think so.

I’m intrigued by . . .

This line about Brownlee from Brugler’s profile: “(He) makes it a point to get in the head of receivers and beat them up physically and mentally.” Hmmm. I’m eager to see how that’ll go in practice against DeAndre Hopkins.

Most likely to start Week 1

Latham. If he doesn’t play left tackle, the Titans don’t have a left tackle.

Bottom line

This class didn’t move the needle very far in terms of star power, but it’s tough to find many problems with it. The Titans checked as many boxes as they could with the picks available. Above all, they got stronger on both lines of scrimmage and added seven players who should all be capable of at least making the team out of training camp.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.

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