Scouting Report: Tennessee Volunteers

There is no denying that things are not going well inside of Big Blue Nation right now. Kentucky is sitting at 10-6 overall, 1-3 in the Southeastern Conference, after back-to-back losses to Alabama and South Carolina. Last Saturday’s 26-point loss at Alabama was the programs worst ever in Tuscaloosa. Then, they turned around and lost wire-to-wire against the Gamecocks at Rupp Arena. As is typically the case in SEC play things are not getting any easier. The Tennessee Volunteers host the Wildcats at Noon on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Coach Rick Barnes has the Volunteers playing as well as any team in the country. Tennessee is ranked #5 with a 14-2 record and a perfect 4-0 mark to begin their SEC schedule. This is a veteran team that will star four seniors plus five-star freshman Julian Phillips. That mixture of experience and young talent has created an efficient offense anchored by the best defense in all of college basketball. For a struggling Kentucky team this will be quite the test on Saturday afternoon. On one hand, the ‘Cats need all of the opportunities they can get to beat good teams. However, a three game SEC losing streak could very well be staring UK right in the face.

It is no secret that the Wildcats will have their hands full on Saturday at Noon. The Volunteers have the better basketball team. However, in a rivalry matchup that doubles as a Southeastern Conference game anything can happen. To prepare you for this contest we have a personnel deep-dive, full breakdowns of their offensive and defensive schemes, and the keys to the game for Kentucky. Let’s dive on in and get to know the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee Volunteers Personnel

Starters

#25 Santiago Vescovi: 6’3″ 192 lbs, Senior Guard

12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.4 apg

Lefty. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 109 of 148 shots have been 3’s. 35.8% from 3. He is almost exclusively looking to shoot 3’s. Have to be tight to him at all times. Pick him up early and take away the deep 3’s. Will dribble into them as he brings it up the floor. Go over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Switch anytime there is too much space. You are switching OUT to take away the 3’s. Make him drive it when you are switched onto him. Left-hand driver. Drives it left to score, driving to pass when he goes right. Don’t over help when he drives it right. Make him finish. Absolutely no help off of him. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. Take him away from 3! Make him finish 2’s going to his right. NO 3’s!

#4 Tyreke Key: 6’2″ 211 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

9.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 77 of 113 shots have been 3’s. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than 2. 36.4% from 3. Really looking to squeeze off catch-and-shoot 3’s. Have to be tight to him at all times. Absolutely no help off of him. Go over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Switch anytime there is too much space. You are switching OUT to take away the 3’s. Will attack the basket more when driving right and get to the pull-up jumper going left. Need to give a hard contest to all pull-up jumpers. Will bring the ball up the floor some. Be ready to take a charge on his initial drives. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Take him away from 3 and make him score contested 2’s. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#2 Julian Phillips: 6’8″ 198 lbs, Freshman Forward

10.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.6 apg

Long and super athletic wing/forward. Much better as a driver than a shooter. Right hand driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! He is looking to attack your closeout and drive it right. Just 6-26 from 3 on the season. Very good intermediate range finisher. Need to get your hands up and make him score over you. Aggressively hunting jump shots in the mid-range. Need to give a hard contest to all mid-range jumpers. Closeout short on the perimeter and stay between him and the basket. You can help off of him some but be aware of him cutting to the basket. Also, you need to go find him and be physical when the shot goes up.. Excellent offensive rebounder! Averaging 2.2 offensive rebounds per game. Must box him out. Make him score with you between him and the basket. Contest all jumpers!

#13 Olivier Nkamhoua: 6’9″ 236 lbs, Senior Forward

11.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.4 apg

Athletic, strong, and skilled 4-man. Very good when he can catch the ball off of the block and face you up. Excellent mid-range shooter with the face-up jumper! Have to be tight to him when he faces up and give a hard contest to the mid-range jumper. Also will face you up to drive it right. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Will drive it right from the top of the key, high post area, or the 15-foot range on the wings. You can help some when he drives it right. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Take away the quick drop step and be physical on his left shoulder. Likes to shoot the turnaround jumper. Give it a hard contest. Be ready for him to duck you in when he is on the block. Be physical! Good offensive rebounder. Box out! Contest all mid-range jumpers. No right hand drives!

#33 Uros Plavsic: 7’1″ 265 lbs, Senior Center

5.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.1 apg

Tall, physical 5-man. Going to exclusively score it at the rim. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll to the rim. They will throw it to him some but only for a dunk. You need to give ground on the roll to stay lower than him. Don’t help up off of him at the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages go down significantly if you push him off of the block. Really looking to duck you in at the front of the rim. Have to be ready for it at all times and be physical. Don’t let him duck you in! Stay down on the fakes. Make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. Need to carve out space by boxing him out. No dunks at the rim. No duck-ins.

Bench

#5 Zakai Zeigler: 5’9″ 171 lbs, Sophomore Point Guard

10.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.4 apg

Point Guard. Going to handle the ball when he is there. Pushes the ball hard looking to penetrate. Very quick with the ball. Good shooter. 72 of 132 shots have been 3’s. 33.3% from 3. Be there to give a hard contest to catch-and-shoot 3’s. Aggressive right hand driver. No right hand drives!!! You can start by hoping under the ballscreens and handoffs, but you need to get your hands up to contest if he shoots behind. More dangerous as a driver and facilitator than he is as a shooter. Need to stay between him and the basket and try and limit the need to help. Don’t over help when he drives it, especially when he is driving it left. Not a super high percentage finisher. Make him score contested 2’s over you. Get the ball stopped in transition. No right hand drives! No layups!

#30 Josiah-Jordan James: 6’6″ 224 lbs, Senior Guard/Forward

8.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 apg

Lefty. Big, strong wing. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s! 40 of 58 shots have been 3’s (8 games). 37.5% from 3. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. No help off of him. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Chase him off of downscreens and get over the flares. Need to switch when he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. Loves to slip screens! Don’t get slipped on. Will post up smaller defenders. Will shoot the turnaround jumper in the post. Left hand, right shoulder inside. Contest all jump shots. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#0 Jonas Aidoo: 6’11” 241 lbs, Sophomore Center

5.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 apg

Backup 5-man. Strong, physical post presence. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll to the rim. They will throw it to him some but only for a dunk. You need to give ground on the roll to stay lower than him. Don’t help up off of him at the rim. Despite being right handed he finishes with his left hand in the post a lot. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages go down significantly if you push him off of the block. Will duck-in some at the front of the rim. Be physical and don’t let him duck you in. Capable face-up shooter. When he is further off of the block he will face-up. Need to contest when he shoots. 5-14 from 3-point range. Elite offensive rebounder. Over 2 offensive rebounds per game. Box out!!!

#15 Jahmai Mashack: 6’4″ 201 lbs, Sophomore Guard

4.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.5 apg

Very athletic backup guard. Much more aggressive as a right hand driver than as a shooter. Just 5-17 from 3 on the season. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! He is looking to attack closeouts. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Get your hands up and make him score contested 2’s over you. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. Go up through downscreens and under flares to stay between him and the basket. Will fly in from the perimeter to offensive rebound. 24 offensive rebounds in 16 games. Must box him out! No right hand drives. No layups for him.

#11 Tobe Awaka: 6’8″ 250 lbs, Freshman Forward

3.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.4 apg

Backup post. Very strong and mobile. Exclusively looking to score at the rim. Will duck you in hard looking for a deep post catch. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and push him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Don’t help up off of him at the rim. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll to the rim. Give ground and stay lower than him on the roll. Elite offensive rebounder. Averages over 2 offensive rebounds per game. Box out!!!

Tennessee Volunteers Offense

A lot of the national attention goes to the defensive end, but the Tennessee Volunteers are not bad offensively either. They are very balanced, have several capable 3-point shooters, and offensive rebound better than any team in the country. Coach Rick Barnes has the Volunteers playing a lot of 4-around-1 Motion offense with most possessions starting from a secondary type of alignment. You will see the same beginning action on the overwhelming majority of possessions but there are enough different reads and cuts they can make that it is hard to consistently defend. Also, above all else, this is an elite passing team. That is evidenced by the fact that they are second nationally in assists per made field goal. Per KenPom, 68.8% of Tennessee’s made field goals are assisted on. Let’s step inside the film room and take a look at the Tennessee Volunteers offense.

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Almost all of Tennessee’s half court possessions begin out of a secondary alignment with a ball reversal and staggered double away. They will read the defense and make different cuts on the staggered double. On this possession, #30 James back cuts the double so #4 Key comes off of the single downscreen. After back cutting, #30 James comes back off of another single downscreen and gets his man to go up through. We want to CHASE #30 James off of downscreens.

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The Volunteers can also curl the first screen instead of coming off of the staggered double. When #4 Key curls it allows #25 Vescovi to come off of the single downscreen for a 3. We have to stay tight to him, be right on his hip, and give a hard contest to all of his 3’s. Really hard offense to guard.

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Here is another look at Tennessee’s secondary, staggered double away offense. Once again they curl the first screen and have #5 Zeigler come off of the single. When you are guarding #25 Vesovi you have to be ready to guard him off of screening action at all times. Stay tight, right on his hip, and CHASE him. If you go up through, like Vanderbilt does in this clip, he is going to hit a 3.

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One thing the Tennessee Volunteers get to a lot in the half court is this downhill handoff action. Anytime there is a downhill ballscreen or handoff you need to be VERY willing to switch. You can’t let #5 Zeigler turn the corner to his right hand. Also, as he drives it, do not over help. He isn’t a very high percentage finisher and is very small. Don’t help off of the Vols big men at the rim and give up a dunk. We would rather make #5 Zeigler finish it himself. Driving to pass at the rim.

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Tennessee’s forwards/centers are very aggressive looking for opportunities to duck-in at the front of the rim. On this possession you see #13 Nkamhoua slip the ballscreen and then #33 Plavsic slam into his man at the rim. You have to be ready for him to duck you in. Be physical and make him score with you between him and the basket.

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Joey Hauser at Michigan State and Julian Strawther at Gonzaga had a bunch of success scoring on us off of this type of action. The Tennessee Volunteers are going to try and exploit us on the single scoring screen as well. Our defender guarding the screener HAS to be up in the action more to not let #25 Vescovi curl right into a jump shot. Just way too easy for him here against Vandy.

Tennessee Volunteers Defense

The Tennessee Volunteers have the best defense in college basketball. Their ability to force turnovers and apply pressure while still staying in front of the ball and contesting every shot is truly special. It is a man-to-man defense that is heavy in the gaps with a focus on limiting dribble penetration. On the season, Tennessee has held 12 of 16 opponents to 60 or fewer points, nine to 50 or fewer, and have only allowed 70 or more in their two losses to Colorado and Arizona. Just take a look at some of their KenPom numbers defensively:

• #1 in adjusted defensive efficiency (82.5)
• #1 in effective field goal percentage (38%)
• #7 in turnover percentage (25.1%)
• #1 in 3-point percentage (20.9%)
• #12 in 2-point percentage (42.9%)
• #5 in steal percentage (14.9%)

Tennessee’s guards have the quickness to bother the ball while staying in front, their wings have the athleticism to disrupt both on and off the ball, and their big men have the size to protect the rim. When you add in great personnel with a high level of effort you get the best defense in the country. To the extent that the Volunteers have a defensive short fall it has been guarding the post this season. They are still very good in that category, but compared to the other areas it is technically their weak link. That should be good news for Oscar Tshiebwe as he looks to bounce back from his worst game as a Wildcat.

Keys to the Game

• Take care of the basketball. Scoring on the Tennessee Volunteers is hard enough. Giving up too many empty possessions will make it even harder to score enough to win. 12 or fewer turnovers with no more than half being live ball.
• No 3’s for #25 Vescovi, #4 Key, or #30 James. These guys primarily are hunting 3’s. Make them drive the basketball. Remember, both Vescovi and James are left-handed. CHASE off of downscreens. No help off of them. Be TIGHT at all times. No more than 5 combined 3’s.
• End possessions with a defensive rebound. The Volunteers are the best offensive rebounding team in the country at 40.6%. We aren’t far behind at 39.1%. We must have the edge in that category and defensive rebound at a rate of 75% or better.
• Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.