Sophomore point guard Trae Golden could be returning to the starting lineup for Tennessee's men's basketball game against South Carolina at Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday (TV: MyVLT, 8 p.m.).
Coach Cuonzo Martin said at his Monday press conference that it will depend on how hard Golden works in practice this week.
"If he continues to work hard in practice, I think so,'' Martin said when asked if Golden would return to the Vols' (11-12, 3-5 SEC) lineup against the Gamecocks (9-13, 1-7).
Golden, who started the first 22 games this season, came off the bench in UT's 73-62 win over Georgia on Saturday night to score 16 points and dish out five assists.
"I just think I need to see Trae play hard on both ends of the floor,'' Martin said. "It wasn't to send a message; I don't get caught up in the periphery of what people think.''
Martin said Golden will be the Vols' point guard moving forward, and he's not interested in moving him to shooting guard.
"If he pushes himself to exhaustion and continues to improve, he has a chance to be one of the best guards in the league,'' Martin said.
Martin didn't say who Golden would replace in the starting lineup should he get his spot back.
Junior Skylar McBee started at point guard in place of Golden on Saturday night.
Martin said he plans to continue playing McBee at point guard, though McBee has played the vast majority of his minutes at shooting guard this season.
"I think he (McBee) is the second best option as far as running the point,'' Martin said.
If McBee doesn't come out of the starting lineup, he could get bumped over to start at shooting guard, where freshman Josh Richardson has started since the SEC opener on Jan. 7, a 67-56 win over Florida at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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Comments » 15
Noogaorange writes:
Fustrating season to date. I trust Coach knows what he'd doing so I'm going to quit trying to figure it out and just go with the flow.
Beat the chickens !!! GBO
wigmeister writes:
Welcome to the TN carousel. I really don't care who starts where as long as they win.
BigVolFaninSC writes:
He seemed more focused coming off the bench, but I will defer to CCM (gee, what a novel concept!) to know what is best for HIS team! I think when their D gets to the point to where it turns into quick points on the offensive end, maybe the lightbulb will turn on for all of them!
samvol writes:
Who cares...just win
jt45 writes:
There is no real starting lineup on this team, 2 or 3 maybe at best. Only the bench plays about on par with whoever is on the floor at any given moment,, so really this is no big issue or surprise.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Putting Skylar at the two deep for both the point guard and shooting guard makes sense to me. If he's the second best point option (the coach should know) he can spell Trae when he needs a break and give us a smooth running offense and shooting firepower that Washpun doesn't have. Richardson and McRae can share more minutes at the two that way, and McBee can come in for zone busting when needed. I like it.
Ironcity writes:
I like Golden on the floor but he does need to get more rest during games then he was when he was starting. Washpun is not the answer simply because he just can't get the ball up the court. I am a little disappointed we have not heard from the preferred walk on's Lopez and Campbell. If they were anywhere decent I would have to believe they would be getting meaningful minutes right now.
walt23tn writes:
I liked him coming off of the bench. Hopefully it was a wake up. I would do it until he learns that turnovers are a bad thing, and defense is a good thing. We would have a better record if didn't throw the ball away or dribble it off of his foot late in games. I think the ability is there, but he has to know he's not a must start....even this year. I am impressed with Cuonzo.
Stokes44yrs writes:
Honestly I'm very surprised at McBee being so high on the list...however I really liked his start last game and he does give us the option of 3s at the point. Golden can hit 3s also so I can see him easily over Washpun. I DO like Washpun's quickness on Defense . He's proven he can't run the point both in ballhandling and shooting. He's young though I hope he gets in the gym a lot over the summer. I also agree that Golden will make a good point eventually. He was much better against Georgia.
With good ball control and scoring to go with our Defense we might can pull off some upsets here at the end. I like our chances now a lot better than I did a month ago.
The SEC tourney championship is a long shot. I'd be ecstatic with a NIT bid.
First let's beat South Carolina redbirds! uhhhhhenpecks? Peckedhicks? Chickerinas? I forget???
underthehill writes:
I don't see whether Golden starts or not being a determining factor in the outcome. If McRae continues to play as he did against Georgia he definitely needs more playing time and will contribute to TN chances of winning.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
IMHO, Washpun's problem is less getting the ball up-court--he has fewer turnovers than almost anyone on the team--and more that he has NO offense. There is just no reason to guard the guy when he is on the court. As we have all said many times, there just ARE no simple answers to the gaps in the skill sets of SO MANY of these guys. Some of it will be remedied by more experience and playing time, but ultimately much of it will depend on how focused these guys are in curing their weaknesses in the off-season.
eVOLved writes:
Walt, I am also impressed. Definitely, Coach is smart: "It wasn't to send a message; I don't get caught up in the periphery of what people think.''
Stokes44yrs writes:
I'm thinking you're correct about his ball handling skills. Now that you made me think about it. I don't recall any problems so much. He has though to me seemed hesitant on the half court control. But that may be freshman jitters or just not knowing the offense yet. I don't remember many turnovers. Also both Trae and Washpun have to have help sometimes. I've noticed that the other players get the ball in and run down the court and forget the ball behind them. If the ball man is trapped?? But I don't think getting it down the court is our main worry. Mostly just getting good passes in the half court game. However we are getting much better. Especially Trae. But if no one's guarding Washpun then they're in the passing lanes more and make it hard for Wes.
I agree with Iron on Golden needing more rests. Or he seems to by looking at him sometimes. I'm guessing though that Lopez and Campbell just aren't ready to get on the court.???Guessing. Just have to trust Martin.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Some good points here. I too have noticed that sometimes our guys seem to run away from the ball when the other team is pressing in the back-court. This is yet another example of not thinking the game through, but should be fairly easily correctable.
I also agree that Golden might benefit from more rest during the game. The media timeouts are very predictable. Taking a guy out one possession before the scheduled timeout and putting him back in one possession after the timeout gets him about five minutes rest while missing only about a minute in clock time. That should be enough rest for a conditioned athlete to recharge while not putting too much pressure on a less-experienced replacement.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
For those who are still concerned about McBee getting so much playing time when his 3-point percentage is slipping, as long as the opponents THINK he is a 3-point threat, they will feel obligated to assign a man to chase him all over the court and especially be close to him on the arc. Such a player is likely going to be too busy or too far away to be able to double down on the post or cut off driving lanes for other players.
This is what is meant by "stretching the defense". McBee or any similar player doesn't have to draw double-teams like a dangerous post man does, he just has to keep ONE guy occupied on the perimeter to keep a potential help defender out of the passing and driving lanes.
Years ago, I read a hilarious pro-football novel called "Semi-Tough". The team in the novel had a speedy wide receiver with hands of stone who ran only fly patterns. The QB didn't have enough arm strength to actually get the ball to him even when he beat his man, but the opposition always assigned one man to cover him so he could maybe intercept an under-thrown ball. Then the other receivers usually had only single coverage when they ran shorter patterns underneath.
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