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2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team
American college basketball season
American college basketball season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| mode | Basketball |
| year | 2008–09 |
| team | Tennessee Volunteers |
| image | Tennessee Volunteers logo.svg |
| image_size | 125px |
| conference | Southeastern Conference |
| division | East |
| short_conf | SEC |
| record | 21–13 |
| conf_record | 10–6 |
| head_coach | Bruce Pearl |
| hc_year | 4th |
| asst_coach1 | Tony Jones |
| asst_coach2 | Steve Forbes |
| asst_coach3 | Jason Shay |
| stadium | Thompson-Boling Arena |
| champion | SEC East Division champions |
| bowl | [NCAA tournament](2009-ncaa-division-i-men-s-basketball-tournament) |
| bowl_result | Round of 64 |
The 2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the fourth season for Bruce Pearl as the Volunteers' head coach. The team, a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, played its home games at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Preseason
The 2007–08 Volunteers finished the season 31–5 overall with a 14–2 mark in conference play. They won their first outright SEC regular season men's basketball championship in 41 years. In postseason play, the Volunteers earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The team went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to the Louisville Cardinals and finished ranked at #7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
The Vols lost three seniors from their team during the off-season: Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Jordan Howell. Also, sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore point guard Ramar Smith were dismissed from the team for a combination of "violations of the University of Tennessee’s substance-abuse policy and academic shortcomings."
On November 3, 2008, the SEC released the rosters for the preseason All-SEC first and second teams. Junior forward Tyler Smith was chosen for both SEC Player of the Year and first team All-SEC. Wayne Chism and J. P. Prince were selected for the second team All-SEC, thus tying Tennessee with LSU for the most All-SEC selections (3).
Recruiting
Bruce Pearl was able to pull together a highly ranked recruiting class for the 2008–09 season. The class included: Emmanuel Negedu, rated 13th among power forwards in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com; Renaldo Woolridge, the 11th ranked small forward; Bobby Maze, a junior college guard averaging 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game; and Scotty Hopson, a McDonald's All-American and ranked 5th overall by Rivals.com. The class also includes point guard Daniel West and center Philip Jurick. Rivals.com ranked the class as 7th best in the nation.
2008–09 Roster
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Former School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renaldo Woolridge | 0 | G/F | 6–8 | 208 | Freshman | North Hollywood, California | Harvard-Westlake |
| Tyler Smith | 1 | F | 6–7 | 215 | Junior | Pulaski, Tennessee | Iowa |
| Bobby Maze | 3 | PG | 6–2 | 185 | Junior | Suitland, Maryland | Hutchinson (Kan.) C.C. |
| Wayne Chism | 4 | F/C | 6–9 | 242 | Junior | Jackson, Tennessee | Bolivar Central |
| Emmanuel Negedu | 5 | PF | 6–7 | 240 | Freshman | Kaduna, Nigeria | Brewster (N.H.) Academy |
| Quinn Cannington | 11 | SG | 6–4 | 165 | Junior | Knoxville, Tennessee | Fulton |
| Steven Pearl | 22 | SF | 6–5 | 228 | Sophomore | Knoxville, Tennessee | West |
| Cameron Tatum | 23 | G/F | 6–6 | 196 | Redshirt freshman | Lithonia, Georgia | The Patterson School |
| Tanner Wild | 24 | PG | 6–0 | 170 | Senior | Huntington, West Virginia | Huntington |
| Josh Tabb | 25 | PG | 6–4 | 196 | Junior | Carbondale, Illinois | Harmony Community Prep |
| J. P. Prince | 30 | SG | 6–7 | 205 | Junior | Memphis, Tennessee | Arizona |
| Scotty Hopson | 32 | SG | 6–7 | 185 | Freshman | Hopkinsville, Kentucky | University Heights |
| Brian Williams | 33 | C | 6–10 | 267 | Sophomore | Bronx, New York | Harmony Community Prep |
| Ryan Childress | 34 | PF | 6–9 | 235 | Senior | Cincinnati, Ohio | Moeller |
| Phillip Jurick | 44 | C | 6–10 | 250 | Freshman | Chattanooga, Tennessee | East Ridge |
Schedule and results
|- !colspan=12 style=|Regular season |- !colspan=12 style=|SEC Tournament |- !colspan=12 style=|NCAA Tournament
Rankings
References
References
- The "Volunteers" nickname is exclusive to men's athletics at the school. Women's teams and athletes are formally referred to as "Lady Volunteers", but the short form of "Lady Vols" is more widely used (the university officially approves the use of both forms).
- "2007-08 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics".
- "2022-23 Men's College Basketball Rankings for Week 7".
- "GoVolsXtra, University of Tennessee sports coverage".
- "Smith, Chism, Prince Named Preseason All-SEC by League Office University of Tennessee Athletics".
- (August 19, 2008). "Basketball Recruiting - Cincinnati moves into 2008 team rankings".
- "Scout.com: Ready to be Amazed?".
- "University of Tennessee Athletics Men's Basketball".
- "2008-09 Men's Basketball Schedule".
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