STF Super Awesome Team Previews: #6 Tennessee Volunteers

#6 Tennessee Volunteers

Team: Tennessee Volunteers

Conference: SEC

Last Season Recap: 24-11. Lost to Ohio State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Key Players Returning: The top six scorers return from last year's team that was a second half collapse away from reaching the Elite Eight. The biggest return for the Vols, and possible the biggest returning player in all of college basketball, is senior Chris Lofton. Lofton is a preseason All-American with a sweet stroke and the Melo like ability to carry an entire team on his back. Also back in Knoxville are the Smiths.... G JaJaun Smith (15.2 ppg), PG Ramar Smith (10.7 ppg), and F Tyler Smith (big time transfer form Iowa). Wayne Chism is best interior player for the Vols (6 rpg), but may need some help with the loss of Duke Crews (thrown off team).

What's to Love: The greatest collection of returning talent outside of Memphis and Chapel Hill. Lofton has to be considered one of the preseason favorites for the Wooden and is one of my favorite players to watch in all of college basketball. If I can pick one player to make a shot to save my life (man that wouldn't be too fun), I'm going with Lofton. He possess fantastic leadership skills and has the ability to carry a team on his back. Also a big fan of Bruce Pearl's high energy defense and passion for the game......and his choice in women.

What's Not to Love: This team is going to miss the little things that Dane Bradshaw provided. He was the perfect glue guy whose value never showed up in the box score. With the loss Crews and an early season injury to Chism, this team is suddenly very vulnerable in the middle.

(Edit: Nothing like a concussion to your only big man to make you rethink that indefinent suspension...Duke Crews has been reinstated by the team. Big HT to A Pudge Is A Sandwich for this item).

Key Player: Lofton is going to get his points and garner all of the attention. If the Vols are going to do something special this season, it's going to come down to the play of Wayne Chism. Even in the Vols high octane, guard oriented offense, there needs to have some kind of inside presence. And with the loss of Crews for the season, this will all come down to Chism. He has nice stroke from beyond the arc to extend defenses, but he'll have to increase his points in the paint and make-up for the Crews loss in the rebounding department for the Vols to be a Final Four team.

Best Case: Lofton plays to his Player of the Year caliber all season, including a tournament performance to remember. JaJuan Smith continues to put up points like he did in February, Chism provides a solid offensive post presence and makes up for the loss of Dukes admirably, Pearl can stay out of any inter-office romances.

Worst Case: Teams gang up on Lofton and no one else can step up as team leader, teams force the Vols into a halfcourt game and attack the Vols weak interior, the bad luck at the start of season (Crews out, Chism injured) continues until March.

STF Prediction: Last season's major man-crush on Lofton goes into this season....he wins the Wooden.....SEC Champs, Elite Eight.