If You Could Add Any Vol To The Current Roster, Who Would It Be?

Image: Wayne Chism

By Cody McClure

This year’s Tennessee men’s basketball team is preparing for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament (hopefully).

Between the seed and potential opponents we’ve drawn, the way the boys have been playing lately, and the tournament experience we have — this may be our best chance ever to reach the coveted Final Four.

As you probably know, it would be the program’s first.

I like this team better than last year’s team. There’s nobody as good as Dalton Knecht, but I think it’s a better-put-together team.

I like the team particularly well when it’s using a lineup featuring a quadrant of senior guards — Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, and Jordan Gainey — as well as junior big man Felix Okpara on the floor.

Of course, matchups are a thing. So is depth, thus minutes limitations will keep the roster in rotation.

Sometimes we’ve got a combination of guys out there that isn’t ideal. Making way for the possibility of a scoring slump … Although that seems to be less of an issue this year than in years past.

It got me to thinking, if we could have one basketball Vol from the past on this team, who would it be?

Would it be as simple as bringing back Dalton Knecht? He would already have the chemistry with some of the other guys. Lineups might get a little confusing but it would certainly be a good problem to have.

Could you fit Chris Lofton in there somewhere? Of course you could. You’d have to. But this team seems to be set pretty well from a guard standpoint. Lofton is better than these guys, sure, but would the most value maybe be in adding a great big man from the past?

I think that’s my answer.

Nothing against Okpara, but if this team had an elite big man with scoring ability in the paint, I would pick us to win the national title.

And I’m not even talking about a true five being a must here. I think if we had a Grant Williams or Tobias Harris to dump it down to for points, we’d be nearly unstoppable.

You might suffer a little with rim protection if you run into a monster, but you could always rotate Grant and Okpara when necessary. Or play them together and take out a guard.

The ability to score at will inside would be a lot of fun.

You could add a guy like Wayne Chism. Even Bernard King. He could certainly get it down on the block.

But I think I like the idea of the power ability from Grant Williams. He would add the most value to this roster.

That’s my answer. What say you?