Three Things to Watch in Tennessee’s Exhibition Against Indiana
Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics
By Tucker Harlin
#12 Tennessee hosts #17 Indiana in an exhibition Sunday in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Tip off is at 3 p.m. ET and the game will broadcast on SEC Network Plus
While the game won’t show up on an official record for either one of these teams, it will still serve as a learning opportunity for both sides ahead of conference play.
These are three things I’m watching for in the Vols’ exhibition against the Hoosiers.
1. OKPARA VS BALLO
This is the part of the exhibition I’m most interested to watch.
Jonas Aidoo was named to the SEC All-Defensive team in 2023-24, but there was an obvious shortcoming against some of the best big men Tennessee saw last season.
Zach Edey (twice), Hunter Dickinson, Armando Bacot, and Tolu Smith all dominated against the Vols in the paint.
Felix Okpara made life as hard as you could on Edey last year, and a big man who puts up more of a fight against some of the best post players than Aidoo did would be much appreciated by this year’s bunch.
Oumar Ballo is a terrific litmus test for what the Vols will get out of Okpara this season. Ballo has made a name for himself as one of the most productive bigs in college basketball in the last three seasons.
The best part about the test for Okpara is the fact it doesn’t count against him.
2. CHAZ LANIER’S CONTRIBUTION ON OFFENSE
Of the four portal acquisitions Tennessee made in the offseason, Chaz Lanier was the most anticipated commitment.
Lanier’s name was thrown around in portal discussions before the end of the 2023-24 regular season. Lanier didn’t even enter the transfer portal until sometime close to May, and it was a three-school race between Tennessee, Kentucky, and BYU to pursue him.
The hope with Dalton Knecht’s success last season was for it to act as a watershed moment for other portal acquisitions. The Vols had missed on a trio of portal guards between 2020-2023, but all of that changed when Knecht came to Knoxville.
It’s a lofty expectation for someone to come to Tennessee and do what Knecht did, but Lanier is likely the closest pickup the Vols made that can string together similar numbers.
In addition to scoring, there is always a possibility Lanier can give Zakai Zeigler a breather at point guard. Zeigler has generally sat on the bench no less than three minutes per game over the last three seasons, so taking a load off would be nice.
3. GROWTH OF YOUNGER RETURNEES IN THE OFFSEASON
Unlike many of the regular season games, this exhibition should allow Rick Barnes to go deeper into his bench for the sake of experimentation. New personnel and rotations will all be tested in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
There are two younger vets in particular that should get a lot of run Sunday in Cade Phillips and Cam Carr.
Everything we’ve heard about Carr in the offseason is a rave. Carr took the most of an opportunity to showcase his skills in front of NBA scouts at Jayson Tatum’s camp and is suddenly projecting very high on future NBA draft boards.
I’m not sure how much run he gets this season both due to his size and how deep he’s buried on the roster, but Phillips has shown an ability to step in and play the 5 when needed.
You’ll notice I left J.P. Estrella out of this conversation. Estrella will see the floor more this season as he and Okpara are the Vols’ two primary big men, but a case of plantar fasciitis will limit a lot of his production early in the year.
