Three Steps To Fix the Tennessee Volunteers Basketball Team

For the first time since Bruce Pearl came to Knoxville, the Tennessee basketball team suddenly finds itself in a bit of a slump. Consecutive losses to Kansas and Gonzaga—two unranked, yet legitimate teams—including the Vols’ first home loss since March 2006, leave Tennessee in a bit of limbo. While Pearl still has a full stable of talented athletes, these clearly aren’t last year’s Tennessee Volunteers. But that’s fine. The Vols just need to understand this and move on. This year’s Tennessee team has a ton of potential; it probably possesses more overall talent than last year’s edition, which at one point was ranked No. 1 in the country. If the Volunteers adhere to the following three steps, they will find themselves in the Sweet 16 again in March. 1. Get the ball inside. Chris Lofton, the superstar shooting guard of Pearl’s first three years, is gone. Bomber JaJuan Smith is gone too. Tennessee simply does not have the same firepower in ... (link)