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Watson has leverage
Guard expects more NBA suitors
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The NBA's version of summertime basketball has shifted from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, but former Tennessee guards C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton appear to be finished for now.
While Lofton has a deal in place with a Turkish League team should he not make an NBA roster, Watson has opted not to play with the Warriors in Utah's Rocky Mountain Revue League.
"My agent is trying to work something out to be guaranteed through the whole year,'' said Watson, who signed a one-year deal with Golden State in January. "I plan on going back to Oakland at the end of August and work out there.''
Watson, who played overseas and in the NBA Developmental League prior to signing with Golden State, had a strong Las Vegas showing for the Warriors in recent weeks. He's expected to be pursued by other teams after averaging 18.8 points, 4.8 assists, 4.2 steals and 31 minutes per game.
Watson said he appreciat es having some leverage but said the waiting is "frustrating.''
Meanwhile, Golden State announced Tuesday evening that it had acquired point guard Marcus Williams from New Jersey for a conditional first-round pick. Williams is expected to be a backup to Monta Ellis, which leaves Watson's position more tenuous
UT coach Bruce Pearl said Lofton likely will end up in Turkey, but that's not such a bad thing.
"The first year playing overseas is always the most challenging, but Chris is going to a good team with a good coach who has had players move up,'' Pearl said Tuesday. "This is the beginning of a long journey for Chris. He'll get other opportunities to play in the NBA, and he has a clause in his contract (with the Turkish team) that if he gets picked up by an NBA team he can be released.''
Former Vol JaJuan Smith is still battling to make the Dallas Mavericks, while former UT player Scooter McFadgon is playing for the NBA Developmental team of "Ambassadors" in the Rocky Mountain Revue League.
Smith got off to a strong start with the Mavericks in Las Vegas, averaging more points per minute than any other Dallas player in the NBA Summer League.
Smith averaged 7.6 points in 10.6 minutes and shot 13-of-27 from the field (.481) and 7-of-15 (.467) from beyond the 3-point line with five assists and one turnover.
Smith started slow in the Salt Lake City league, but a strong performance Monday night (5-of-13 shooting, 4-of-9 on 3-pointers and 14 points) has him back in the running for a job.
He did not play Tuesday night against the C.J. Watson-less Warriors.
Watson, who played against Smith in a Las Vegas summer game, said he believes Smith has what it takes to make it in the NBA.
"It was pretty much the same JaJuan - he had a quick five points in our game and shot the ball well,'' Watson said. "I think JaJuan is an NBA player; he just needs time to develop and add a little ball handling to his game.''
Former UT great Allan Houston, a guest on the Sports Page radio show last week, said Smith has a better chance of ultimately landing on an NBA team than Lofton.
"JaJuan is a little quicker,'' Houston said. "The advantage they both have, is they both can shoot. A few years ago, coaches were afraid to go with the smaller guards, but now you are seeing it in more spots.''
That said, Houston indicated no one should rule out Lofton.
"The way Chris shoots the ball, there just aren't a lot of guys (like that),'' he said. "Chris will always have an opportunity, it just depends on where he's at.''
McFadgon, meanwhile, has played a total of 24 minutes in two games for the NBA Developmental team in the Rocky Mountain Revue League, making 2 of 8 shots (0-for-2 beyond the 3-point arc) to average three points per game.
Top 10 Team: This year's Tennessee team has a No. 10 preseason ranking from CBSsportsline.com, No. 11 on the Fox Sports website and they are No. 10 in the Rivals.com preseason rankings.
As for the schedule, the Vols are playing plenty of high ranked opponents, including Gonzaga (12 in the CBSsportsline.com poll), Memphis (13), Marquette (14) and Florida (23).
The Vols might also meet Michigan State (No. 9) and Georgetown (15) at the Old Spice Classic in November in Orlando.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by BigOrangeHustler on July 22, 2008 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you KNS for listening to my suggestions. Good read.
Posted by VOLS85 on July 22, 2008 at 11:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I also posted three polls the other day listing Tennessee's ranking in pre-season polls...they were from foxsports, rivals, and cbs (the same as posted by KNS)...do you think they are taking pointers from our posts?
Posted by uahvol75 on July 22, 2008 at 11:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i cant believe we're not ranked higher than 10
Posted by BigOrangeHustler on July 22, 2008 at 11:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
VOLS85, i think they are because just yesterday i suggested they run an article on CJ Watson because his stats in summer league were so good.
Posted by johnlg00 on July 23, 2008 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
uahvol75, I too think we are better than that but I can see why the "national experts" don't rank us higher. For one thing, the team lost about 12 years of playing experience with Ramar, Duke, Chris, JaJuan, and Jordan. Two of those are arguably the two best players in at least the last ten years. At point guard, a weakness of the team last season, they will likely depend on a true freshman and a somewhat colorful transfer who has seemingly inspired mixed feelings in the past. For another thing, UT has yet to advance past the Sweet 16, so we don't meet the standard of a Top-Ten team. The team will undergo a major shift in chemistry this year compared to CBP's first three. We are going from a scrappy bunch of overachieving four-year guys to a talented, highly-touted group, few of whom will likely be here four years, and the ones who are will likely be disappointed about that. Some programs have shown that they can succeed in today's "semi-pro" era, but UT has never been in that situation before. This team will be a high-wire act all season. So many promising parts, so many possible strategies, so many powerful egos. The team has limitless potential, but reaching it will be catching lightning in a bottle. No wonder the "experts" can't rank us any higher, IMHO.
Posted by LazhilUT on July 23, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think that CJ might be shooting himself on the foot;
Ah if Miami could get rid of Marcus Banks...I'd love to have CJ in a HEAT uniform.
Posted by Orange4life on July 23, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
complaining of a top 10 PRE season ranking? Come on, we never will get that recognition, but they can change all that. While i agre with some parts John, I think a more dynamic look is the word. If anyone can orchestrate this team, Pearl can, and I think the post will be our weakest. Aside from Tyler, no one else can play with there back to the basket. Thats why we talk and they play I guess. Gona be interesting.
Posted by alfrizzle097 on July 23, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think Chism has added enough to his game to have the "back to the basket label." He showed quite a bit of it going down the stretch last year. Pray tell, what style will Williams play?
Posted by VolGraduate on July 23, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
top 10 is a great ranking considering the players we lost and the way the vols played in the sweet 16
Posted by johnlg00 on July 23, 2008 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Orange, your word "dynamic" is very apt. In the best (and, IMHO, most likely) case, we will be explosive in the full-court game, offensively and defensively. We should have the depth for every player to play as hard as possible every second he is on the court. Otherwise, the main issues will be where and how often we get Tyler the ball and how efficient Hopson is per opportunity. The thing is, at least for distant observers, "dynamic" can look like "undisciplined" if efficiency is lacking. If we use our numbers to keep the tempo high, we will automatically have so many different combos on the floor that cohesion in the half-court game is likely to suffer. This team will not look like a classic UNC/Duke/UCLA type NCAA Champion, even if it does win the championship. This may be the most exciting UT team ever, going into the season. That does not automatically mean that its total success is assured. This team will challenge CBP in ways he has never experienced before. He has always risen to such challenges in the past, so I am optimistic he will again. As excited as we are, we have to realize that we haven't actually "made it" yet and therefore shouldn't wonder why the rest of the country may not be as giddy as we are about the Vols.
Posted by marc_ash on July 23, 2008 at 2:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I would "appreciat es" it too if I were him.
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