New Faces To Know

Tennessee brought in one of their best basketball recruiting classes in school history. There are some new faces for Vol fans to know before the season opens against the Buffs Tuesday night.

Rick Barnes enters the 2020-2021 season with perhaps the highest expectations he has had since taking over in Knoxville. Tennessee is expected to be a serious contender for the National Title this season, and the Vols will have their first chance to show that they are ready to live up to the hype when their season finally begins on Tuesday night against Colorado. While the Buffaloes will undoubtedly focus their preparations on containing Tennessee’s pair of senior big men in Yves Pons and John Fulkerson, they will also need to be prepared for some new faces on the Volunteer roster. Apart from returning starters, the Vols have some new additions for the 2020-2021 season that should make a significant impact against the Buffs and each opponent the Vols have if they hope to reach their lofty goals.

The first new face for the Vols is true freshman guard Keon Johnson. Johnson arrives at Tennessee from the Webb School (Bell Buckle, TN). The 6’5” 190 pound guard was rated as a five-star prospect, one of the highest rated players Tennessee has ever signed. The expectations for Johnson are exceptionally high, and his arrival is one of the reasons that the Vols have such high expectations. Johnson may have been the best on ball defender in the entire 2020 recruiting cycle. He has good height, an excellent wingspan, great feet, and superb defensive instincts. Johnson takes pride in his defense and puts effort into being elite on that side of the ball. That is an attitude that should endear him immediately to Barnes, who prizes team and individual defense. Players that make an impact defensive have found their way onto the floor for Barnes far more quickly than offensively minded players that were a defensive liability. Tennessee was one of the best defensive teams in the nation for the 2019-2020 season. Their defense will again be important if they wish to compete on a national level. Adding in another outstanding defender of the caliber of Johnson to the Tennessee wing is a frightening thought for opponents. Johnson is also solid and consistent on the offensive end. Perhaps not as polished as some of the options the Vols will have, but a solid weapon all the same. 

The second five-star prospect that Tennessee adds to their roster is Jaden Springer from IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL). The 6’4 205 pound Springer is originally from Charlotte, NC, but finished his high school career at IMG. Where Johnson is perhaps at the top of the 2020 class as an on ball defender, Springer is near the top as a pure offensive scorer. Springer, like Johnson, can handle the ball as well as play out on the wing as a two guard. Springer’s position doesn’t matter much, however, as he is capable of scoring from all levels of the floor wherever he plays. Much of Tennessee’s offense under Barnes has come from creating plays and working their system to get designed shots for players. While this has been effective for Tennessee, if players are in foul trouble or having an off night, the offense has gone cold for long stretches of the game. Tennessee’s defense has kept them in those contests, but the Vols have lost games because they lacked a player to simply send in that could score. Springer is that missing piece. While he is capable of facilitating for others, Springer can get his own shot and make it outside of designed plays. That means that if the Volunteer offense is in the doldrums, Springer can function as a threat to score in the wider offense, without needing anything drawn up for him. Being able to utilize a player as explosive offensively as Springer is valuable to Barnes as it addresses perhaps his team’s greatest weakness over the last few seasons.

The next new face that the Vols added in their 2020 recruiting class is Corey Walker, a four-star forward our of Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, VA). Tennessee filled a massive need in their 2020 class when they landed Walker. Despite his reputation for excellent development of guards, since Rick Barnes has arrived in Tennessee, his offenses have been far more efficient and successful when run through his post players. This Volunteer roster is headlined by the duo of Fulkerson and Pons, however the Vols entered this recruiting cycle with little in the way of depth behind the two seniors. Adding Walker brought the Vols a versatile, athletic big man to provide front court depth. Walker is more than just a depth player for this Vols team, however. At 6’8” and 220 pounds, Walker has the height and strength to play in the post against many leaner forwards. He also has nice feet and a long wingspan that allow him to shoot over or around defenders that may be taller but less athletic. Walker is also a quality rebounder. He can come in an play as a traditional power forward, as a more modern stretch four, though his outside shooting needs to continue to develop there, or as a very tall, long small forward on the wing. Walker’s body and skillset, coupled with Tennessee’s front court depth should see the talented freshman make an early impact.

The final new addition to the 2020-2021 roster comes in the form of graduate transfer forward E.J. Anosike. Anosike joins the Vols after playing for Sacred Heart or the Northeast Conference, where he was one of the best players in the league. Arriving in Knoxville, Anosike follows his older sister, Nicky Anosike, who was a star of multiple National Championship teams at Tennessee under Pat Summit. Perhaps it has been thanks to those family ties, but Anosike has, according to his teammates, fit in to the culture on Rocky Top quickly. In terms of an on-court role, the 6’7” 250 pound forward should find plenty of work for the Vols. Anosike is a superb rebounder and thrives doing the dirty work under the rim. He has an eye for knowing how the ball will come off the rim and positioning himself well. He shows good fundamentals on both ends of the floor. Anosike also shows a toughness and edge that the Vols have missed in recent years. He is a powerful, thick body in the post that uses his strength and leverage well. He out works, hustles, and fights for loose balls to secure them. On the offensive end, Anosike turns many of those hard fought rebounds into put back points. Anosike is a bit of a garbage man, doing the dirty work to collect bad shots, then uses his strength to power through the scrum to turn a bad offensive possession into a good one. It is merely speculation how many minutes should be expected from Anosike, but there is clearly a need for the role he fills.

These new faces are important reasons that the Vols are expected to compete for a National Title, and they will certainly have to live up to expectations if the Vols are to reach those goals. These new faces all add to a long bench for Rick Barnes, a bench full of players that have the tools to do any job he could ask of them. Who of the newcomers carves themselves a starting role, and how Barnes divides up minutes will be an interesting story to watch, particularly early this season.