Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl has had a whopper of a recruiting haul over the past two years, even if the Vols have lacked McDonald’s All-Americans in Pearl’s three signing classes.
Adding transfers Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince to a freshman class that included Ramar Smith, Duke Crews, Wayne Chism and Josh Tabb enabled the Vols to play catch-up quickly.
As strong as those players have proven to be in Pearl’s system — Tyler Smith and Prince have their chance to prove their worth this season — none of them were McDonald’s All-Americans.
A look at the various preseason Top 25 polls shows a strong correlation between the teams that have signed multiple McDonald’s honorees signed over the past four years and a high ranking.
Duke has signed 11 McDonald’s All-Americans, North Carolina eight, Kansas and Texas six, UCLA, Ohio State and Kentucky four and Florida is one of nine schools with three.
LSU with two, along with Arkansas, Auburn and Georgia have also added a McDonald’s All-American.
So how does Tennessee, as one of six SEC schools without a McDonald’s All-American over the past four years, crash the preseason polls as a consensus top 10 and ranked as high as No. 4?
“You just get the best players you can, and there are certain things they need to be able to do,’’ said Pearl, whose uptempo style and aggressive defense requires players with great athleticism. “I’m pleased with the talent and type of players we’ve gotten at Tennessee.’’
Pearl and his staff have had a busy summer recruiting circuit that’s not yet finished.
By the end of summer, UT will have scouted the Peach Jam in Augusta, Ga., the Take Five Tournament in Cincinnati, the LeBron James Skill Academy in Akron, Ohio, the Reebok Classic in Philadelphia, the Atlanta Celtics tournament in Atlanta, the Las Vegas Main Event Nike Tournament, The Super 64 adidas event in Las Vegas, the Super Showcase in Orlando, Fla., the Best of the Summer Camp in Los Angeles and the 17-under AAU national tournament in Orlando.
The Vols have at least four scholarships to offer the class of 2008, and already have a commitment from Phillip Jurick, a 6-foot-11 prospect from East Ridge High School in Chattanooga.
Pearl, however, said UT might not use all of its available scholarships this year as the class of ’09 features an abundance of talent in the state, including rising juniors Leslie McDonald (6-5 forward, Briarcrest) and Ferrakoln Hall (6-7 forward, University School of Memphis).
McDonald is the No. 14-ranked player in the Class of 2009 by Hoopscooponline.com and Hall is No. 48.
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Comments » 9
apark#208735 writes:
I like Pearl and what he does. It's exciting to see some good instate talent coming up for 09.
dlfulgham#209397 writes:
Jawbreaker saves what he thinks will be the best article for last--a wise approach. I, meanwhile, foolishly pick what I think will be the best article first. Funny that we picked the same article.
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
i'll make a prediction.....Pearl will win a national championship at Tennessee before Fuller will win his second national championship.....anyone?
shoalcreekvol writes:
God bless Bruce Pearl. Amen.
Dalton writes:
The positive feeling you get with Pearl coaching this teams doesn't seem in danger....this guy doesn't sit still.....could have been a hell of a CEO glad we have him and hope we keep him.
Colliervol writes:
You're right tnman. He probably will win one before Coach Fuller does.
bleed_orange writes:
I think UT will win a National Championship with in the next 5 years. Because when TN keeps winning, they are going to start to get some McDonald's All Americans and then look out for what Coach Pearl will do with even more talent then he has now. Before he is done at UT, I think they will be comparing him to the likes of Coach K, Smith, Williams, Knight, Rupp, Wooden and finally the one and only Pat Summitt! Go Big Orange!
JDS
bleed_orange writes:
I know I am getting kind of ahead of things. I cann't help it. I'm just a little excited about the future for the TN men's basketball team. All I'm really saying is, I can see super things ahead for Coach Pearl and UT. He probally will never acheive such high goals, but there is the possiblity there. I can feel it. Thank you for putting me in check. GO VOLS!
JDS
ZacharyUTK writes:
Man, it sure is exciting. The fella knows how to fire us students up. I wish Ol' Phil would take a page from his book. I kinda saw a glimmer of it when we played the second game of last football season and Fulmer made an announcement on the jumbotron that thanked us for the enthusiasm against Cal. Sounded like he was really making it personal; really talking to us as fans - from the heart. I liked that. He needs to relate to the fans and students a lot more than he does. Summitt did a great job with the cheerleading skit. Way to go, Pat!
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