Many of Tennessee’s basketball players took big steps in their game from last season to this year, and it showed. The Vols went from near the bottom of the SEC and a 16-16 overall record to winning a share of the regular season SEC title and tying the 1999-2000 team for the third-most victories in a single season in program history.
Coaching played a huge role in Tennessee’s massive improvement this year, as players looked developed and coached up all season. The Vols experienced the second-largest win improvement from one season to the next in school history this year, and Tennessee exceeded all expectations prior to the season.
But next year will be a different story. The Vols already cracked the top 10 of a way-too-early preseason top 25 poll, and they’ll likely be one of the favorites to win the SEC next year.
In order for Tennessee to accomplish those goals and to make it further in the NCAA Tournament than they did this year, every player on Tennessee’s roster needs to improve at least one area of their game. Some players need more development than others, but all of the Vols’ players need to improve their game this offseason.
I’ve broken up Tennessee’s roster into three categories as I look at what changes they need to make to their games. We have The Starters, which are the Vols’ five main starters from this past year, the Bench Players, which are the three main players who came off the bench this season, and the Developmental players, which are the players who played sparingly but could have bigger roles next season.
Here’s a look at what each player on UT’s roster needs to do to improve their game this offseason.
