Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl loves a winner, and signee Daniel West has certainly proven himself to be that.
West, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard from Saginaw (Mich.) High School, signed to play with the Vols on Wednesday and will enroll in classes in June.
West led Saginaw to its second consecutive state title in Michigan’s largest high school classification and a No. 4 (USA Today) national ranking, scoring 21 points with eight assists in the Class A state title game against Detroit’s Pershing High School.
“Daniel’s a winner, simple as that,’’ Pearl said. “Now, the answer to our point guard situation next season is going to be Ramar Smith’s development. But I expect Daniel to compete and contribute as a freshman.’’
Pearl said West just needs to get stronger and gain experience.
“But there’s a lot about him I’m very excited about,’’ he said. “Defensively, he’s got some Mookie Blaylock in him; he’s very quick and he anticipates well.
“Offensively, he’s very good at making people around him better, and that’s what you look for in a point guard.’’
UT is expected to get signed scholarship papers from McDonald’s All-American Scotty Hopson on Tuesday.
Hopson, a 6-7 shooting guard from Hopkinsville, Ky., is playing in the Jordan Classic all-star game Saturday in New York City and holding a press conference at his high school.
The Vols signed two players from the class of ’08 in November, 6-10 post player Phillip Jurick from East Ridge High School and 6-8 wing Renaldo Woolridge from North Hollywood, Calif.
Woolridge will play in the Adidas Derby Classic in Louisville on Saturday night.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee 60, Connecticut 57 men's…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
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Comments » 148
dwolfcreek#397971 writes:
WELCOME TO ROCKY TOP , YOUNG MAN .
RemembertheAlamo writes:
One down...one to go....we now need a big man?
juicetke#226846 writes:
Sing Fax Lady Sing!
bigbluevol writes:
Good deal. This signing combined with Hopson's on Monday or Tuesday and Woolridge and Jurick make up a very strong class. Now, as Pearl said at the luncheon in Chattanooga the other day, he can focus on his most important recruit - Tyler Smith. Should he come back, we will be very strong again.
TommyJack writes:
most excellent
murrayvol writes:
Welcome to Knoxville Mr. West. Glad to have you on our side.
LadyVolsEighTimes writes:
Thank You CBP, and thank the sweet baby Jesus as well!
If Wiliams puts in the work this summer we may be in really good shape. Chism, needs someone to give him a breather.
As much as I love Lofton, maybe Hopson will be able to replace him. Big season outta Prince and Duke Crews will really help, and Josh Tabb shouldbe back firing on all eight cylinders!
givehim6 writes:
True point guard, sounds great! Welcome to UT! It will get a bit warmer hear than you might be use to, but you'll be ok. My wife is from WA State, she's lived in TN. 4 years now. She now has a souther draw, she did it you can too. GO VOLS!
tennesseePhatz writes:
UT has signed a very talented point guard. I have been watching the guy all season and their is no doubt in my mind we have one of the top five PG in the nation. Stay tuned for all of you who are concerned. He can shoot it, penetrate and dish off and play great defense. If you watched Davidson young guard (Curry) play this season, he has nothing on the incoming Mr. West.
LadyVolsEighTimes writes:
Oh, and it would be a good idea to start running alot and doing suicides
bshone#598776 writes:
Coach Pearl's Recruiting
2006: Top 10 recruiting class with Crews, Chism, Smith, and perhaps our best defender Tabb.
2007: Red-shirt Cameron Tatum and big boy Brian Williams in addition to transfers Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince.
2008: Locked up 2 four-star players in Jurick and Woolridge in November, and now we have five-star Hopson and (should be more than) three-star West.
CBP, you da man.
tennesseePhatz writes:
Two state championships will do that for a player.
The Saginaw High point guard teamed with backcourt partner Mike Green to make 10 3-pointers, leading the Trojans to a 90-71 Class A state championship victory over Detroit Pershing Saturday at Michigan State University's Breslin Center.
"I've never shot well here, not last year, not in the semifinals," said West, who has verbally committed to Tennessee. "Finally, I felt it when I was shooting. It was a good feeling."
West made four 3-pointers, while Green hit six. Will Marlow and Raymond Stepney made one each to give the Trojans the state finals record for 3-pointers with 12.
"The way we shared the ball and shot the ball ... it was special," Saginaw High coach Lou Dawkins said. "We shot lights out, especially to start the game."
GreerVol22 writes:
15 points, 11 assists, 6 steals on average. What more could you want out of a point guard?
GerryOP writes:
How many days until Midnight Madness?
Chainsaw writes:
Awesome! Keep 'em coming, Coach Pearl!
Hopson2008 writes:
And the funny thing is...itsme...UT still beats Memphis with much less talent. Got Pearl?
cjraney writes:
itsme-
The tigers are gathering an OUTSTANDING recruiting class and you have my congratulations. However I still like the Vols chances to win 3 in a row over UM b/c basketball is a team sport. And our team has already proven they can overcome your talent, size, and homecourt advantage. Sure we lost Lofton & J.Smith but it was T.Smith, Chism and Prince that beat the Tigers.
Enjoy your 38-2 season and great recruiting class; its been a great year for Tiger fans. But prepare for another beatdown from big brother UT next season.
FWBVol writes:
Let's see, Memphis has won how many more national championships in men's basketball than UT? Oh yes, the answer is ZERO! I'll I like this signing class just fine. And I'll take our teram and our coach over the guys at Tiger High any day.
overatedvols writes:
Oh great, while we land this the Memphis Tigers land Tyreke Evans. The top high school player basketball player in the nation. Well, hopefully at least this guy can help us get past the sweet 16 this year while avoiding a disasterous finish to the season like what happened this season. Still, while we are hoping to get past the final 16 it appears Memphis will be competing for a national championship again.
overatedvols writes:
This breaking news is just not good for us vols. Why do they always manage to get the top players?
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/...
boiseVOL writes:
Memphis fans are posting here? If we are so over rated, then how do you explain the entry in the L column. I am glad to see you ranting. Do you think that it will make it all better if you vent. If that helps you, great. For me, I will let the court decide it again next year.
volwalk writes:
Tigerhigh blows 9 point lead with 2 minutes left in the championship game===ranked 2nd in the nation and 2nd in Tennessee. Get over it overatedvols---let me guess Memphis will get 2nd ranked recruiting class. See the irony???
VOLS ARE #1 in the State!
VOLS85 writes:
All I know is that Memphis hung the same amount of trophies we did this year, because that's all that counts, right? Well that, plus beating memphis...
overatedvols writes:
Vol fans, at least we were playing in that national championship game. You guys don't even know what it's like to play in an elite 8 game.. whew.. We've done that 3 years in a row. Ask UCLA what it's like playing Memphis in the elite 8.. ha ha. We didn't look outclassed by a middle of the road Louisville team that got masacared by an overrated north car. team in the next game. We didn't crash and burn in our tourney and we didn't limp thru the remainder of the season following the vols game like you guys did. Seems memphis finished you up for the year. Next year ..we win and then over the last 4 meetings it's 2 and 2..what then?? It's the only thing you guys can boast about after that disaster of a season you guys had. If we win next year ..it's 2 and 2. Nothing to brag about there and of course otherwise ...look at Memphis..wow... awesome.. what a year... we awed the nation. Now the top recruits are lining up to come to Memphis. You guys.. well.. you get Daniel West (who?).
Memphis was the best team in the nation last year
and if you deny it you are lying to yourself.
See ya next year..can't wait to shut you up.. Will be fun. A blow out at your place.. gonna love it.
You guys stick to football.. Leave it to the experts over in Memphis for basketball. Jealousy gets you nowhwere. You know we had an awesome team..much better than yours.whether you will admit it or not.. you know it. Oh..save the ignorant remarks... we beat you. We lost 2 all season and one was the national championship. Ark beat you??? They must be better. Yep, they are.
Memphis.. number 1
Razzle writes:
overated? why should the vols stick to just football when they own tiger high in basketball now too?
IBleedOrange444 writes:
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BigOrangeHustler writes:
We own tiger high ( 2% graduation rate). Tyreke, you, as well, will now be able to know what it feels like to lose to TENNESSEE'S TEAM- The VOLS. And Mr. West will be able to savor the feeling up beating up on Tennessee's best high school (athletically- of course)
LadyVolsEighTimes writes:
All being the National Champion runnerup means is that you are the First Loser.
At best, the number one loser.
overatedvols writes:
Orangeblood you think too much of yourself. Why was Tenn. our most important game. Give me a break. That's like saying Memphis is the vols football team's most important game. We played Georgetown, USC, Arizona, Texas, Michigan St. UCLA and Kansas. Please don't flatter yourself. The teams I mentioned are basketball royalty. Tenn. is in the category of never has beens. The only SEC team that would fit into the royalty class is Kentucky (we beat them season before last). Not Tenn. and not Miss. State. Our goal was to make it to the Final 4 and then the national championship. Beating Tenn. was never on our list of preseason desires. It was just part of the road to basketball heaven..which we reached. Get over yourself. You are nothing.
Tenn. will never make it as far as Memphis in basketball. At least not in our lifetimes. Memphis is getting the nations top recruits. You are not going to be able to compete. Now, set your sites on something you might be able to accomplish...yet another sweet 16 and your coach at the final 4 as a spectator ..watching Memphis play again.
VOLS85 writes:
Memphis hasn't accomplished anything more than Tennessee has...you went to the NC, great, but unless you win it, it doesn't mean jack...oh and by the way, you've been getting top recruits, and we still beat you. To boot, we did it with less talent. We're pulling 5 and 4 stars now, so please go back to your hole and talk about how you think Memphis might have a chance to beat UT in basketball next year (save us the pain),and we can move on to our next formidable sports program, football.
It just kills you that we are a legitimate basketball program now...and if you try to retort with "you haven't made it out of the sweet sixteen", someone should b!tch slap you for ignorance. 31-5, top 5 ranking, and better success than teams like Dook in the last three years. GO HOME, NO ONE LIKES YOU
bshone#598776 writes:
As others posted earlier, Memphis indeed has a ton of talent - but how valuable is freshman talent that consistently leaves for the NBA?
Memphis has become a perfect school for players to skip from one rock (high school) to the next (the NBA).
In some ways that is great, because Memphis has indeed made it to three elite eight's. However, the Vols have a different approach and in many ways it's not comparable to Memphis. The main reason for this is because Tennessee had a losing record when Pearl took over.
MEMPHIS was expected to be a tremendous team and as a Memphis fan you should be happy with three elite eights, but also disappointed since they did not get a championship in what will likely be their best opportunity ever.
TENNESSEE didn't expect to go 5-3 in the NCAA tournament over the last three seasons. They have exceeded expectations.
So just because both schools play in the same state and Tennessee has beat them twice in a row doesn't mean they should be compared to one another. As a Vols fan I still compare our current 31-5 season to each of the years before where we were lucky to be .500.
Crushing Memphis at home two years ago and beating them on their home court this year to ruin their perfect season and become #1 for the first time in school history was all just the cherry on top!
overatedvols writes:
Yes we are getting top recruits and where did it get us. It got us in the elite 8 for two years and this year in the national championship game. It doesn't matter unless you win the national championship?? Come on now.. you are not that ignorant. Let's see Tenn. in the final 4 next year and hear you say it doesn't matter unless you win everything. Ignorant comments come out of this board at a record pace. We realize all the bitterness is from jealousy and envy. You guys just can't stand it that we are better. That's what makes it so fun.
volwalk writes:
Memphis season in a nutshell>>>They dominate the weaka$$ Conference USA--WOW. They host the most hyped game of the year, all the glitter, hoopla, Priscilla, Penny and can't wait to showcase a whipping;;;;;B U T the Big Orange spanks them and turns out the lights in Memphis. They get lucky against an SEC team (Miss.STate) then get lucky draws in the tourney--Mich State, UCLA>> (they should have lost 4 times in the last couple of weeks and their luck finally ran out with the 2nd best team in TN) Tigerhigh finally plays a very good team in Kansas and you guessed it; bad coaching and poor free throw shooting helps deliver a second loss for tiger high.
You guys will continue to get the talent; but it will only get you second best including in your own state.
GO VOLS #1 Basketball team in the state.
utchris writes:
Overated -
Lets see how big of an idiot you are by saying Daniel West who? He was recruited and offered by Memphis, but chose UT over them.
If Memphis was the best team in the country last year then why did they pull off one of the biggest choke jobs in NCAA history with under 2 mins left. Just think, your clowns only needed to hit one free throw to win and they could not even get that done. Maybe they should have been practicing free throws instead of getting arrested at the plush club.
It must suck that to know that all you have to look forward to each year is one sport out of what..20? Oh that is right, I forget the all girl cheer squad and the national championship in Rifle.
Putz
utucla writes:
You know what the best thing about a Tiger fan is? If it weren't for them....we would have nothing to laugh about. Just tell me how many nat'l championships you have "overatedvols". I'll bet you guys will probably hang a banner next year for coming in second place. Again...thanks for the laughter....Tiger fans love to say, "Nothing Sucks like a Big Orange"...."but, no one chokes a championship like Tiger High"....(greatest choke job in NCAA championship history)...now that's something to be proud about...make sure you put that on your banner....
volwalk writes:
good one utucla!!
You gotta laugh at Calamari---How he ignored their free throw problems and even made jokes about it....I haven't heard the great coach calamari joking after that choke job. WOW!
YakVomit writes:
Hey....Memphis leads us in Homicides!!
bluevol writes:
Oh man I'm bummed. We get 1 top 50 recruit and Memphis has 3 already. Now it looks like #13 Devin Ebanks is going to sign with Memphis and give them 4 top 50 recruits. On top of that word is #56 Wesley Witherspoon appears he's going to sign with the Tigers too. I haven't seen anything like this since Michigan's Fab Five. I'm really blue over this. :(
http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewran...
volwalk writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
gatorhater writes:
What's the difference between Memphis and UT? Other than a world of difference in football, UT plays Florida twice every year, while Memphis plays Central Florida twice. This is why Tennessee is the biggest game Memphis plays every year, as this is the only consistent team on their schedule that can give them a game.
Of course, Tennessee plays Memphis, Vandy twice, UK twice, Gatorland Twice, etc. Memphis would not be 38-2 playing that schedule!
Colliervol writes:
Another one year wonder that Memphis is banking on. My only advice for Memphis is that they better lock up the keys to the Plush Club. Tyreke and his posse will make Dorsey look like Mr. Rogers before it's over.
Bring everybody you like to Thompson Boling next fall but you're still going home with loss #13 in the series. Unless Cal figures out a way to "postpone" that game as I figure he's going to try to do. He needs quality home games next fall and the first place he's going to look to cancel is UT. Cause he knows that's a loss. And he darn sure doesn't want to lose three in a row to our little old "regional" program.
bluevol writes:
Oh yeah, volwalk, the Vols have 1 top 50 and a #57, the Tigers have 3 top 50. That's makes it more even. I guess when Memphis signs the #13 and #56 it won't be so "even." Maybe the Vols wont get blown out by 19 points each by two teams ranked below them . I guess Kentucky is better than the Vols since they split but Kentucky wins the tie-breaker on points. The Wildcats won by 6 and the Vols beat Kentucky at home by 3, while Kentucky's leading scorer and rebounder was on the bench with a torn up knee. Maybe one day the Vols will get to an Elite Eight. Memphis has only been to six, plus 3 Final Fours and two championship games. Maybe, but I doubt it. How about Calamari, National Coach of the Year now he's going to have the #1 recruiting class in the country. They need to fire him! Yeah Memphis played a weak schedule. Only the 6th toughest schedule out of 320 division 1 schools and set a record for most wins in a season with 38 against that schedule.
http://www.rpiratings.com/mensrpi.html
Bye
:)
overatedvols writes:
I try to stay away from the hick/redneck comments to talk basketball but since you guys know you don't have any defense for my main comment: "Memphis is better than you and has a better program" You have to resort to the thug comments. I guess I don't blame you. When someone comes to your board and he brags that his team is superior and you know it is .. you have to come back with something. I can always do the redneck jokes.
All i'll say for now is you guys better git out of your double wides and head for the nearest walmart cause a tornado by the name of Memphis is a comin real soon.
Colliervol writes:
Philosophical question. Calipari has a coach from Mainland China sitting on his bench for "education" so the guy can take some tips back to his country. With Tyreke Evans coming, will he have to add a bail bondsman as an assistant and will the Chinese guy take that back to his country thinking it's the norm for an American team to have one?
bluevol writes:
The crime rate of Memphis Daddy? We are talking basketball here. Now that's really relevant to the topic. Maybe when the Vols' mens' team can beat the Lady Vols we can talk.
:)
dfreeman writes:
overrated - you keep telling us we are jealous yet you and your pathetic life have been wasting time on our board! For us to be so Jealous, you seem to be spending an awful lot of time trying to MAKE us jealous! It won't work! We own your "top program" in all-time wins! When that changes come back and then run your mouth.
Colliervol writes:
So far, all the Chinese coach has learned in Memphis is as follows and in no particular order:
-Some very interesting curse words that are hard to translate into Cantonese.
-How not to intentionally foul so you can give away a national championship.
-How not to practice free throws.
-Courtesy of Joey Dorsey: How to "make it rain" at the Plush Club.
Is this a great country or what?
Colliervol writes:
Now, now Daddyvol. Give credit where credit is due. They do have a national champion Pom squad.
bluevol writes:
Did someone mention choke?
Thu, Mar 27: Louisville 79-Tennessee 60. Tennessee seems to get all choked up and can't even get past the Sweet Sixteen, ever, not once. Tennessee doesn't choke. The don't keep it close enough to choke. They get annihilated.
bluevol writes:
I think if you spoke your mind you'd be speechless DaddyVol.
:)
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