Tennessee Men's Basketball
Tennessee junior college transfer Melvin Goins not only goes with the flow, he likes to add to it, too.
Goins' personality is befitting of a point guard, to be sure.
"I'm a mellow type of person, so all of this suits me,'' said Goins, who along with senior Bobby Maze will be charged with regulating a talented, veteran basketball team this season.
Goins arrived in Knoxville in August a power pack, chiseled, quick and with a skill to advance the ball upcourt like few others.
A true point guard, his coaches like to say.
And a competitor.
Goins was in the throws of a healthy battle for the starting point guard duties when he was forced to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery a month ago.
The prognosis was that it was the type of injury that could keep Goins out five weeks.
Goins was back in less than three weeks, jumping into the fray just as the Vols hit their most difficult stretch of preseason work - four consecutive days of what coach Bruce Pearl calls "contact" practices.
"Look at that guy,'' Pearl said at practice. "Melvin is tough. How many other guys would even be out here?''
Goins was on the sidecourt watching a UT practice two hours after undergoing the surgery. So much for the doctor's parting orders at the hospital for him to go home and get some rest . . .
"I've got to be here with my team,'' said Goins, still groggy from the pain medicine.
It hasn't been an easy road for Goins, from the time he moved from San Diego to Texas to finish his high school years, to his freshman Mid-American Conference season at Ball State and then back to California for a year of junior college where he earned his conference's player of the year honor.
"This is business for me,'' Goins said. "But I like it here in Knoxville, a lot.''
Pearl said Goins is one of the more reserved players he has run across, but he has been worth getting to know.
"Melvin is quiet,'' Pearl said. "But when he's around people he's comfortable with, he can be the funniest guy in the room.''
Q: The teammate who makes you laugh most is ... ?
A: "Gotta be Brian Williams. He's a character, and he always has a joke for every situation.''
Q: What opponent do you look forward to playing the most this season?
A: "Kansas. Sherron Collins is a special point guard.''
Q: What road trip are you looking forward to the most?
A: "St. Thomas. I've been there before, and it's beautiful.''
Q: Do you have a hidden talent?
A: "Football. I led San Diego County in rushing yards as a freshman.''
Q: Favorite food?
A: "Crab legs. We'd get fresh ones when I was growing up in San Diego.''
Q: Worst sports memory?
A: "My freshman year of college (at Ball State), all if it. It was a losing season, and I hate to lose. The coach I signed with had left, and it was all downhill from there.''
Q: What do you plan to do after your basketball career is over?
A: "I'd like to be an entrepreneur of some kind, maybe a travel agent. I love to travel."
Q: My game is like . . . whose?
A: "I watch a lot of basketball. My favorite player is Baron Davis. But yeah, I play like Byron Eaton. When I was a freshman in high school, he was a junior, and I played up an age group and played under him. I practiced with him a lot.''
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Comments » 8
samjrr writes:
Lets get it Goins.
MidTennVol writes:
Hey Griff -- "was in the throws???" Are you a Florida grad? Supposed to be "throes."
FatherVol writes:
Just wondering ... where do these young kids get all the cash for nearly full sleeves of tattoos at 18-19 years of age?
oldsmokey67 writes:
Is it voice of reason or voice of Treason.A true Vol fan won't bash his players.I say it is voice of Treason.GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
It will be interesting to see how the distribution of playing time works out between Maze and Goins at PG. If the team really is able to pick up the full-court defensive pressure CBP prefers, it could be OK to split the time more or less equally. If it is forced to play at the relatively slower pace it did last year, one or the other has to play more minutes than the other to improve team cohesion in the half-court offense. If that one is Goins, I'm afraid Maze may not take it well since this is his last year. I don't see either one of them as NBA material at this point, so the competition between them may be intense. If there are chemistry problems on this team, this is a likely place where it will show. I HOPE they can see each other as complementary players, and tag-team the opposing PGs into frustration and futility.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I certainly agree that there lots of lineup options for this team. However, that is where the role-definition aspect of coaching comes in. Not only is it necessary to specify the style the team will play with different combos on the floor, each player will have a different role depending on who he is on the floor WITH.
I confess I hadn't given much thought to Goins and Maze on the floor together, but I see how that could work for a few minutes at a time at least. With this team, just about the only players I can't see as possible contributors at more than one position are Goins(PG only), McBee(SG only), and Williams(LP only). The biggest difficulty is the limited practice time necessary to get the different combos accustomed to the different styles and roles.
Of course, much of this will be moot if the team can generate a consistently devastating press/fast-break game. The playing system will remain the same and the substitution pattern can be more consistent. Still, I think it would pay HUGE dividends if CBP and staff could create a specific zone team to trot out when necessary. Interestingly, the players who would be better offensively against a zone are probably the same ones who would almost HAVE to play a zone defense themselves.
bigorange61 writes:
Do you know he paid cash? How much did he pay? No, you don't know jack. Maybe he has a friend or relative that is a tatoo artist who did them free. You don't know. Why make stupid accusations?
TnScooby writes:
Post a link, do some research or name names...you are a slanderous IDIOT!! All of your posts are flatout lies and innuendo...Trolls like you are PATHETIC!!! ...LMAO...You wouldn't recognize REASON if it hit you in the face...like your parents obviously did FREQUENTLY!! Just Go Away!!!!!
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