2008-2009 Vol roster is set; summer schedule

With Bobby Maze signing on as UT’s 5th and final incoming recruit for 2008, the roster is set for next year (barring any unforseen Ramar/Duke type announcements). Here is the depth chart as I see it:

PG: Bobby Maze (Jr), Daniel West (Fr)

SG: Scotty Hopson (Fr), Cameron Tatum (So*), Josh Tabb (Jr)

SF: J.P. Prince (Jr), Renaldo Woolridge (Fr)

PF: Tyler Smith (Jr), Ryan Childress (Sr)

C: Wayne Chism (Jr), Brian Williams (So), Phillip Jurick (Fr)

* possible medical redshirt would make Tatum a RFr

Note that there’s a lot of flexibility in this depth chart; with the right lineups you could see Hopson, Tatum, or Tabb playing the 3-spot, J.P. Prince playing the 1, and Chism or Woolridge playing the 4. With Duke Crews we could speculate Tyler seeing time at the 3, but without him I don’t see that happening, at least not for significant minutes.

If the rotation is settled to 10 players, I think Jurick and Woolridge are the odd-men out as it stands now; if it is cut to 9 Josh Tabb may not see many minutes.

I now have a goal for the summer, and present you a schedule that I plan to stick to, providing at least a post a week between now and football season for your offseason basketball fix:

June: player previews for Ryan Childress, Wayne Chism, Josh Tabb, and J.P. Prince

July: player previews for Tyler Smith, Bobby Maze, Brian Williams, and Cameron Tatum

August: player previews for Phillip Jurick, Scotty Hopson, Renaldo Woolridge, and Daniel West

Hopefully that will give me time to incorporate impressions from the Rocky Top League into the previews for the new guys, since we have not seen them play at the college level yet.

Once September rolls around, many of us will be in full football mode . . . but that doesn’t mean the work stops around here. I’m going to crank up team and season previews to get us primed and ready for the 2008-2009 season, which will tip off in early November.

Stay tuned, guys. Another exciting season of BruceBall is a mere 6 months away.