This was supposed to be a strength of Tennessee basketball. At the beginning of the year, Lamonte Turner was the Vols’ best returning player and was expected to lead the team as a fifth-year senior combo guard. Meanwhile, Josiah-Jordan James was a five-star 6’6″ combo guard who figured to make an immediate impact.
Combine those two with Jordan Bowden, a pure scorer, and even in a rebuilding season, Rick Barnes had clearly put together an amazing backcourt. Well, with the season entering the homestretch, the exact opposite has occurred.
Turner had shoulder surgery last year and battled an injury there throughout the entire first two months of the season.