NEW YORK – It’s not a surprise that Tennessee made it to Madison Square Garden. It was pretty much a given they would get that far. But chances are, they aren’t who many people might have picked to take home the NIT Season Tip-Off, which they did with a 78-68 win over Villanova. Simply put, the Volunteers have had a lot to overcome to get to this point.
Tennessee has been overlooked among SEC teams for a few reasons. For one, there’s Kentucky and its much-hyped recruiting, as well as others in their division who have projected to be better like Florida, and improving teams like Vanderbilt and Georgia. The Volunteers also have four new starters this year, although only one is a freshman, and that always leaves question marks. Most of all, this team has a controversy swirling around its head coach, who admitted to providing inaccurate information to the NCAA, and constant speculation about his job status.
It wasn’t just media types or fans who weren’t so sure about this team. The coach came into the season of an admittedly similar mindset.
“I had plenty of doubts how good this team could be because of how new it was,” head coach Bruce Pearl said after the Vols’ win on Friday. He noted how hard the team has worked, but downplayed the win, adding, “We’re picked fourth in the SEC East, so there’s some really good teams picked in front of us.”
Pearl emphasized that the Vols are not young, just new in the sense that three of the four new starters are in new roles. While that means they are experienced, it also means there is a change in roles, and there are plenty of players who were good in limited roles that never quite adapt to a more expanded role. Scotty Hopson, who led the Vols with 18 points and captured the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor, is the only returning starter.
One player who joins Hopson is freshman Tobias Harris, who had a successful homecoming and earned All-Tournament honors after scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the title game. Brian Williams has solidly patrolled the post and given them some offense; in the title game he had 12 points and seven rebounds. Junior Cameron Tatum, an athletic wing, is now in the starting lineup after being a good role player. Perhaps the biggest key to victory against Villanova was Melvin Goins, the other starter, as he and reserve Skylar McBee were hugely responsible for the job the Vols did shutting down the Villanova guards in the absence of injured point guards Trae Golden and Josh Bone.
Pearl and his players can see this team coming together and starting to find their roles, even this early in the season.
“This team is beginning to trust each other and beginning to care about each other and rely on each other,” Pearl said.
Watching Friday’s win over Villanova, one could see this happening. Players who were previously unheard of helped in the victory, and it wasn’t just the scoring that was balanced. Pretty much every player who came into the game contributed something in the stat sheet or beyond. That’s something that wasn’t lost on the players.
“That’s what Coach is always stressing, always make game-winning plays,” said Tatum. “I think guys on this team have bought into that. We had multiple game-winning plays out there, from Steven Pearl to Melvin Goins to Scotty Hopson to Tobias Harris, even Kenny Hall. Guys are out there making game-winning plays and doing everything it takes for this team to win a championship.”
Dominating the news with Tennessee in recent months has been what surrounds Pearl. On September 9, Pearl revealed that he provided incorrect information in an interview with NCAA investigators about his staff’s recruiting practices. Since then, Pearl has had his contract terminated, and last month SEC commissioner Mike Slive suspended Pearl for the first 8 SEC games. Many wonder if Pearl is on borrowed time at Tennessee since a formal notice of allegations from the NCAA has not yet been presented to Tennessee, mainly because there is more than just the basketball program being investigated.
All of the speculation and discussion about what happened and Pearl’s future is unavoidable, but the players have tried to do what they can. Certainly, taking home the NIT Season Tip-Off is a sign they are succeeding in that.
“We’re just here to play basketball. We can’t control what goes on off the court, it really doesn’t have anything to do with the players and what we do on the court,” said Tatum, who was a key contributor against Villanova with 17 points. “We just try to go out there and play and win for ourselves and win it for Coach as well. We’re just trying to show people that whatever is going on off the court does not have anything to do with us and what we’re going to do on the court.”
Added Harris: “Coming off a night like tonight, it showed us what hard work has done.”
The story is going to follow the team as things proceed with the NCAA. But as much as Pearl tried to downplay the win as only meaning something right now, the Volunteers have shown they can overcome a lot of challenges being handed to them thus far, and that will only help later. It’s why Pearl said the attention should focus to his players, and why he surely feels more positive about this team now.
“We’ve handled some adversity,” Pearl said. “Now we have to handle some success. That will be the next step for this basketball team.
