Tennessee basketball continued its summer practices on Tuesday afternoon at Pratt Pavilion. It was the first time that practice has been open to the media this summer which makes it the first time that we’ve gotten the chance to watch this new roster practice.
The Vols did a number of drills while also getting up-and-down the court in five-on-five scrimmage action for the second half of practice so there was plenty of good stuff to track.
Let’s start with some house keeping stuff. Sophomores Cam Carr and JP Estrella both didn’t go through practice with minor injuries. Carr was out for the second straight day with a sore knee but isn’t expected to miss much time at all. Estrella has a bone bruise on his left foot and will miss more time than Carr but it isn’t anything serious.
Some thoughts on the incoming transfers. Ohio State center Felix Okpara was extremely impressive. He’s 6-foot-11 and his arms are extremely long. Combine that with him being a great athlete and it’s easy to see how he blocked 83 shots last season.
Okpara doesn’t have a very versatile offensive game but he is truly an elite lob threat and dunker around the rim. His offensive ceiling isn’t as high as Jonas Aidoo’s but defensively and as a true above the rim finisher, I believe Okpara is an upgrade.
Chaz Lanier’s ability to shoot the basketball lives up the hype. I’ll touch on it more in the scrimmage section of the notes but he can fill it up from deep. Lanier’s ability to get to the basket and finish is a shortcoming in his game right now and an area he needs to improve. Rick Barnes was also harping that Lanier, and frankly most of the team, needs to play faster.
Offensively, Charlotte transfer Igor Milicic impressed me most. He’s a true 6-foot-10 and can score at all three levels. I was impressed by how quick he was able to get his shot off. Milicic has a quick trigger and that allowed him to knock down a handful of contested jumpers. I remain optimistic about what Milicic can be defensively too. His long arms helps him get in passing lanes and block shots at the rim.
Hofstra transfer Darlinstone Dubar is much more physically put together than I expected. He’s a very strong guy which should bode well defensively and on the glass. Offensively, he’s a bit like Lanier in that he shot the ball well but is a bit limited creating his own shot.
The difference between Dubar and Lanier offensively, from what I could tell in one practice, is that Lanier has more range on his jump shot and is more effective shooting off the dribble.
My main thought from my first time watching this team is that Rick Barnes and his staff built a roster that fits perfectly around Zakai Zeigler. Three transfers are high level perimeter shooters and the other is an elite lob threat.
I was already higher on this team than most national media and I feel even more confident about that after watching them practice for the first time. It is only one practice but I liked a lot of what I saw.
More From RTI: Watch Tennessee Basketball Practice Highlights
Five-on-Five Observations
It wasn’t a true scrimmage but Tennessee did play five-on-five for a while including a stretch where the shot clock was just 10 seconds and the pace was frantic. The same 10 players competed the entire time and were truly getting after it.
The orange team was the first team: Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara.
The grey team was the second team: Bishop Boswell, Grant Hurst, Jordan Gainey, Darlinstone Dubar and Cade Phillips.
It is, again, worth noting that Cam Carr and JP Estrella were not practicing. Those are perhaps the two best players on the second team and they were definitely missed.
With that being said, the orange team dominated the day. It wasn’t a true scrimmage but they were keeping score and the final score was 63-31.
Zakai Zeigler was the best player on the court and looked like one of the best players in the country. He was completely in control of everything on the court. I kept scoring stats and didn’t full count assists. But I had eight instances in my notes where Zeigler set up a basket.
Two instances that stood out. First, a baseline drive where he rifled a pass into the corner to Chaz Lanier who knocked down a triple. Lanier hit four total triples, both on catch-and-shoots and off the dribble. I didn’t chart every shot but I would guess he took 10 or 11.
The second instance came when Okpara blocked a shot and Zeigler ran it down, lobbed a beautiful pass over Boswell’s head to Milicic who threw down a transition slam. Speaking of Milicic, he led all scorers with 19 points during the five-on-five session. He hit three triples including on a pick-and-pop and while slipping a screen. He also took the ball up the court on a handful of occasions.
Milicic’s offensive diversity impressed me. He scored in transition and in the half court at the basket with both hands.
Zeigler and Okpara are an absolutely fantastic combination. They play off each other like they’ve played together for years, not a month. Zeigler found the center for a number of lobs including one when Okpara finished the dunk over Cade Phillips.
Jahmai Mashack hit a triple when the defender went under the on-ball screen. The confidence in taking the shot was notable and it excited assistant coach Rod Clark.
The grey team simply struggled to create open looks. Zeigler and Mashack gave its guards issues on the perimeter while Okpara was fantastic at defending the rim.
Bishop Boswell is the lone scholarship freshman on the team and the point guard is going through the challenge of facing off against Zeigler every day in practice. Turnovers were an issue for Boswell, but overall I like his makeup. He’s really well built for a freshman and has all the traits of a strong defender.
There’s a weird dichotomy where Cade Phillips didn’t have a great day but I also feel like he’s taken steps forward. He is just playing with more confidence. He also took a handful of three-pointers which I didn’t see him ever do last season. Phillips didn’t get any to go but his shot looks good and he had a few go in-and-out.
When the grey team had success it was on a lot of pick-and-pop or ball screen slips to the three-point line. Dubar hit a pair of threes as did Hurst.
Five-on-Five Scoring Stats
Orange Team
Zakai Zeigler — 15 points
Chaz Lanier — 12 points
Jahmai Mashack — 7 points
Igor Milicic — 19 points
Felix Okpara — 10 points
Grey Team
Bishop Boswell — 2 points
Grant Hurst — 8 points
Jordan Gainey — 9 points
Darlinstone Dubar — 10 points
Cade Phillips — 2 points
