May 29

By Jimmy Hyams

Greg McElroy thinks Tennessee’s football future is bright under coach Jeremy Pruitt, it just might take a while to get there.

McElroy watched Tennessee intently during a practice and its spring game in April.

“Let me start by saying how impressed I am with the staff that Jeremy Pruitt has assembled and the vision he has for the program,’’ McElroy said in a recent interview on Sports Talk, Sports Radio WNML.

“Personnel is not as important to me right now. What I wanted to gain from having gone to Knoxville … I wanted to see what it was they saw Tennessee becoming. Not what they were, but what are they going to become.

“I’m very optimistic given the direction of the program and knowing the things that Jeremy Pruitt is stressing and prioritizing. I’m very optimistic about where this program is going to be a couple of years down the road.’’

But the immediate future isn’t so bright.

“As far as personnel is concerned,’’ said the former Alabama quarterback and SEC Network analyst, “I think they need to improve a lot of spots.’’

McElroy said as many as 12 players who started the spring game might start the Sept. 1 opener against West Virginia. (My estimate is closer to 10).

McElroy said a 6-6 record is a “reasonable expectation; I think that should be the goal.’’

He added: “Six wins would be great, I really believe that. Not just because it would show progress … but increasing the win total in such a difficult year would be remarkable.’’

Plus, he said, you would get added bowl practices for some young players.

McElroy expects Pruitt to continue to be aggressive pursuing grad transfers. UT has signed two – quarterback Keller Chryst of Stanford and running back Madre London of Michigan State. The Vols have pursued several others but haven’t signed anyone else yet.

McElroy thinks Chryst and London will be “immediate difference makers.’’ Chryst was 11-2 as a part-time starter at Stanford. London rushed for almost 1,000 yards in three seasons as a Spartan.

But getting to six wins won’t be easy. The Vols are unlikely to beat West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama or Auburn. They should beat East Tennessee State (4-7 last year), UTEP (0-12) and Charlotte (1-11).

McElroy thinks Missouri is a darkhorse team in the East because of its “offensive firepower.’’ And he believes South Carolina is two years ahead in the rebuilding process under Will Muschamp, who won nine games last year.

That means UT likely will have to beat Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt to go 6-6.

While McElroy says a fair goal for Tennessee this season is six wins, nine wins in year three – which Butch Jones accomplished – is doable.

“I think that should be the goal,’’ McElroy said. “I think Tennessee fans should have sky-high expectations in year three, four and five.

“Years one and two, it might take a little time and if they’re relying on a lot of youth, then you peak in year three and four, when those guys are juniors and seniors. So I think it’s well within reason (to win nine in 2020). They just have to find the right pieces in recruiting.’’

“And if they find the pieces and they buy into the program that Jeremy Pruitt is laying out, then it’s absolutely possible.’’

McElroy pointed out that former UT coach Butch Jones had a “tendency’’ to finish strong and won three bowl games in a row. “That’s why I think Tennessee always went into the offseason with a full head of steam and a lot of momentum. And he had a tendency to play well early in the season.’’

But last year, the roof caved in. The Vols went 4-8 overall, 0-8 in SEC play.

McElroy said UT gave a “forgettable’’ performance last year against UMass.

“If you’re significantly better than the opposition,’’ he said, “you need to play like it. Tennessee didn’t always do that.’’

McElroy said UT found ways to lose games, like against Florida in 2017 and 2015.

Now, McElroy likes the direction of the program under Pruitt and his staff.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to take,’’ McElroy said, “but I would say three years is a safe guess as to when this program will be vying again at the top of the SEC East.’’

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By Jimmy Hyams

When Gary Parrish of CBS Sports ranked Tennessee’s men’s basketball team No. 4 in his way-too-early top 25, he barely heard a whisper.

When he moved UT ahead of Villanova – which might lose Final Four star guard Donte DeVincenzo to the NBA early — into the No. 3 spot recently, bedlam ensued.

“What’s been wild is that I had Tennessee at 4 for basically the past month and it didn’t get nearly as much attention as having Tennessee at 3,’’ Parrish said in a recent interview on Sports Talk, Sports Radio WNML.

“I acknowledge that (UT) is the first school on that list that made me flinch and go, `OK, really, is this where they ought to be?’’’

Maybe. Maybe not.

“You look at a team that returns just about every meaningful piece from an SEC co-champion,’’ Parrish explained.

Parrish said UT’s 35-game sample last year (and 26-9 record) in which Ken Pomroy had the Vols rated in the top 15 on offense and defense suggests the Vols are “really good, obviously much better than what the recruiting rankings suggested they would ever be.’’

And, frankly, coach Rick Barnes has surprised Parrish with his success at Tennessee after his ouster at Texas.

“I don’t say that as an insult to Rick at all,’’ Parrish said. “I’ve known Rick a long time. I like Rick a lot and I have a good relationship with him.’’

But, the way UT has been built – the top seven players last year were all three-star recruits – isn’t the way you succeed at a high level in college hoops.

“That’s why it is such a unique story, what happened to Tennessee, because just go look around the other high-major leagues – championship teams aren’t built the way he built this team,’’ Parrish said. “They’re just not.’’

Not at Kentucky or Duke or North Carolina or Kansas.

In fact, not one player on the UT roster was offered by one of those bluebloods of college basketball.

“So when recruiting (at UT) wasn’t going well,’’ Parrish said, “I just assumed that the results wouldn’t go as well, either, because that’s usually the way it goes.

“He (Barnes) would probably tell you, we’re getting the guys that we want to get. We’re recruiting a certain level of player, and I’m sure that’s true to some degree. But the recruiting hasn’t gone the way high-level recruiting usually goes based on recruiting rankings – which is a pretty good indicator of who is and who isn’t going to be good at a high major level.’’

So to have a preseason top five team is “remarkable,’’ Parrish said. “It’s something that is exceeding most reasonable – if not all reasonable – expectations.’’

Parrish said his preseason poll is based on returning players, the team’s record the previous season, newcomers and what else is happening around the country.

“I don’t think a top three ranking (for UT) is actually too high based on what I just described,’’ Parrish said.

Parrish said his high rating of UT is a compliment to both Barnes and the players.

“I would imagine most of those players, if not all of those players, thought they were better than what they were (ranked) coming out of high school,’’ Parrish said. “But the recruiting analyst do a pretty good job of identifying the elite talent.’’

Parrish said there isn’t much difference in a player ranked 80^th or 125^th but there is a “massive difference’’ in a player ranked No. 1 v. No. 30.

Most of UT’s players were ranked from 150 to 250. Grant Williams, the SEC player of the year as a sophomore, was ranked in the high 100s and picked Tennessee over an Ivy League school and a mid-major.

“It’s possible that some of these (UT) players were undervalued,’’ Parrish said, “but it seems also undeniable that Rick Barnes and his staff have done a great job with them as individuals and molding them into a truly nationally relevant team.

“It is unique. You won’t find many Power Five co-champions that don’t have a top 100 recruit on the roster. But that’s what Tennessee had last year and if the projections play out the way they should, we could be looking at a back-to-back SEC championship team that is built in an incredibly unique way at a high-major level.’’

Parrish did admit he didn’t see this type success for Barnes.

“I never expected Rick Barnes to have a preseason top five team,’’ he said, “but he is about to have one at Tennessee and I hope all fans are appreciating it and enjoying it because it is a unique situation.’’

Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all

By Jimmy Hyams

Knoxville’s Chris Groer was looking to four-peat as the 40s doubles champion in the Atlanta Senior Invitational.

Then he was looking for a partner.

Groer and Knoxville’s John Fritts, a former Tennessee tennis player, had won the Atlanta event three times in a row. But Fritts cramped during his singles match,

Groer noticed that his singles nemesis, Eduardo Rincon, a former Davis Cup player for Colombia, wasn’t playing doubles.

Groer asked Rincon. Rincon said yes. And the rest of the doubles field said “uncle.’’

Groer and Rincon blitzed through the field, losing only four games in xxx matches, capturing 20 games in a row and taking the finals with ease, 6-0, 6-2.

“Eduardo was back by the fence, ripping returns,’’ Groer said. “The only time he came to the net is to shake hands.’’

Groer and Rincon, the tennis coach at Kennesaw (Ga) State, have crossed paths as opponents several times. Groer lost a Futures match to Rincon on the clay in Florida in 1998. Last year, he lost to Rincon in singles in the Senior Cup in Huntsville, Ala., 11-9 in a super tie-breaker.

“He’s had my number in singles for about 20 years,’’ Groer said.

On the flip side, Groer has never lost to Rincon in doubles.

“It was sort of a good partnership,’’ Groer said.

Due to other obligations, Groer was unable to play in the 40 singles. He’s won it twice and lost in the finals twice.

Next year, Groer advances to the 45s in singles and doubles.

Next weekend, Groer and Fritts will play for Tennessee in the 35 division of the Senior Cup, along with big-serving John Chesworth of Knoxville. It will be Groer’s 10^th year in a row in the competition.

In the 45s, Knoxville will be represented by Bob Williams, Taylor Hamilton and John Gibson.

Georgia is the No. 1 seed, Tennessee the No. 2 seed.

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