2008–09_Tennessee_Volunteers_men's_basketball_team

2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

American college basketball season

For Tennessee's women's team in the same season, see 2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team.

The 2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team[1] represented the University of Tennessee in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the fourth season for Bruce Pearl as the Volunteers' head coach. The team, a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, played its home games at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Quick Facts Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball, SEC East Division champions ...
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Preseason

The 2007–08 Volunteers finished the season 31–5 overall with a 14–2 mark in conference play. They won their first outright SEC regular season men's basketball championship in 41 years.[2] In postseason play, the Volunteers earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The team went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to the Louisville Cardinals and finished ranked at #7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.[3]

The Vols lost three seniors from their team during the off-season: Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Jordan Howell. Also, sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore point guard Ramar Smith were dismissed from the team for a combination of "violations of the University of Tennessee’s substance-abuse policy and academic shortcomings."[4]

On November 3, 2008, the SEC released the rosters for the preseason All-SEC first and second teams. Junior forward Tyler Smith was chosen for both SEC Player of the Year and first team All-SEC. Wayne Chism and J. P. Prince were selected for the second team All-SEC, thus tying Tennessee with LSU for the most All-SEC selections (3).[5]

Recruiting

Bruce Pearl was able to pull together a highly ranked recruiting class for the 2008–09 season. The class included: Emmanuel Negedu, rated 13th among power forwards in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com; Renaldo Woolridge, the 11th ranked small forward; Bobby Maze, a junior college guard averaging 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game; and Scotty Hopson, a McDonald's All-American and ranked 5th overall by Rivals.com. The class also includes point guard Daniel West and center Philip Jurick. Rivals.com ranked the class as 7th best in the nation.[6][7]

2008–09 Roster

Name Number Position Height Weight Year Hometown Former School
Renaldo Woolridge 0 G/F 6–8 208 Freshman North Hollywood, California Harvard-Westlake
Tyler Smith 1 F 6–7 215 Junior Pulaski, Tennessee Iowa
Bobby Maze 3 PG 6–2 185 Junior Suitland, Maryland Hutchinson (Kan.) C.C.
Wayne Chism 4 F/C 6–9 242 Junior Jackson, Tennessee Bolivar Central
Emmanuel Negedu 5 PF 6–7 240 Freshman Kaduna, Nigeria Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Quinn Cannington 11 SG 6–4 165 Junior Knoxville, Tennessee Fulton
Steven Pearl 22 SF 6–5 228 Sophomore Knoxville, Tennessee West
Cameron Tatum 23 G/F 6–6 196 Redshirt freshman Lithonia, Georgia The Patterson School
Tanner Wild 24 PG 6–0 170 Senior Huntington, West Virginia Huntington
Josh Tabb 25 PG 6–4 196 Junior Carbondale, Illinois Harmony Community Prep
J. P. Prince 30 SG 6–7 205 Junior Memphis, Tennessee Arizona
Scotty Hopson 32 SG 6–7 185 Freshman Hopkinsville, Kentucky University Heights
Brian Williams 33 C 6–10 267 Sophomore Bronx, New York Harmony Community Prep
Ryan Childress 34 PF 6–9 235 Senior Cincinnati, Ohio Moeller
Phillip Jurick 44 C 6–10 250 Freshman Chattanooga, Tennessee East Ridge

[8]

Schedule and Results

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Rankings

See also: 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
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References

  1. [1]
    The "Volunteers" nickname is exclusive to men's athletics at the school. Women's teams and athletes are formally referred to as "Lady Volunteers", but the short form of "Lady Vols" is more widely used (the university officially approves the use of both forms).
  2. [2]
    http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2007-2008/teamcume.doc
  3. [3]
    "2022-23 Men's College Basketball Rankings for Week 7". ESPN.
  4. [4]
    "GoVolsXtra, University of Tennessee sports coverage". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  5. [5]
    "Smith, Chism, Prince Named Preseason All-SEC by League Office University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  6. [6]
    "Basketball Recruiting - Cincinnati moves into 2008 team rankings". basketballrecruiting.rivals.com. August 19, 2008.
  7. [7]
    "Scout.com: Ready to be Amazed?". Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  8. [8]
    "University of Tennessee Athletics Men's Basketball". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  9. [9]
    http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/tenn-m-baskbl-sched.doc [dead link]
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