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Rick Barnes says he considers seven players to be ‘starters’ for No. 1 Tennessee
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Tennessee Volunteers are the No. 1 team in the country, and the quality and quantity of their players is a big reason why.
Four players — Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone and Kyle Alexander — have started all 19 games for the Vols, but the fifth spot has been shared by three players — Lamont Turner, Jordan Bowden and Yves Pons.
Turner made his first start in the win over West Virginia on Saturday and led the Vols with 23 points. When discussing if Turner would start moving forward, coach Rick Barnes said he thinks this team has seven viable starters (via SportsRadioWNML.com):
“I really haven’t given it a lot of thought to be honest with you. I would think now, yes, but I haven’t given it a lot of thought. A lot of it is based on matchups with other teams. Now, I’ll probably stay with it, but I really haven’t given a lot of thought to it. I thought he handled it well. I think Yves Pons has handled it well. I think Jordan Bowden’s handled it well. Like I said, I consider us having seven starters, and whatever we need to do from game to game, we’ll do that.”
The Vols travel to South Carolina on Tuesday night, and we’ll see then if Turner remains in the starting lineup or not.
Either way, he is sure to play a big role for the Vols as they try to remain unbeaten in SEC play.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
