At this time next year, Tennessee could potentially be replacing a pair of frontcourt players each standing 6-foot-8, 260 pounds.
Senior forward Jeronne Maymon is entering his final college season. His partner in the post, junior forward Jarnell Stokes, might opt to leave UT early and enter the 2014 NBA draft.
That’s a huge hole to fill, both literally and figuratively. On Sunday, the Vols landed a commitment to potentially help do precisely that.
Madison, Ga., power forward CJ Turman called UT coach Cuonzo Martin and pledged a verbal commitment one day after taking an unofficial visit to campus.
“I knew Tennessee was waiting on me to commit,” he told the News Sentinel on Sunday.
The Vols didn’t have to wait long.
Turman, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man from Monroe County High School, is ranked No. 147 overall in the 247Composite ranking, which averages the ratings from all major recruiting outlets. Turman is also ranked as the No. 36 power forward in his class and the ninth-best 2014 prospect in Georgia.
He picked the Vols over scholarship offers from Alabama, Miami, Houston, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Georgia, according to Morgan County coach Charlemagne Gibbons.
“(Tennessee) began recruiting him last summer,” said Gibbons, who added that while recruitment from other programs went up and down, UT did a good job of “consistently being there.”
Saturday’s unofficial visit to Knoxville closed the deal. Turman said he was impressed by the tour around UT’s campus and meeting with the current Vols.
Martin and the Vols now hold verbal commitments from four players ranked in 247’s top 150. Turman joins point guard Larry Austin (No. 100), shooting guard Jordan Cornish (130) and power forward Philip Cofer (134). All four are rated as four-star prospects by ESPN.
Between Turman and Cofer, UT will bring in a frontcourt measuring 6-foot-9, 250 pounds and 6-8, 205. There could be more help as well. The Vols are still heavily involved with 6-foot-7 power forward Leron Black, a Memphis native, and 6-foot-9 small forward Kevon Looney from Milwaukee, among others.
Gibbons said Turman is a banging, rugged rebounder, but also agile and athletic.
“CJ is a mobile big who can get up and down the floor, step out in certain situations and play with power around the basket,” Gibbons said.
In talking about Turman’s size and mobility, Gibbons noted that Monroe County plays an up-tempo, pressing system.
“The biggest thing about him is that there aren’t many kids in the country who are going to have his type of athleticism and lateral movement that he has,” Gibbons said. “I think that’s one of the most intriguing things about him. He moves so well for being 6-9, 250. That’s a load to move.”
Turman averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds as Monroe County went 25-5 last season.
“Defensively he can go in there (to Tennessee) right away and be force,” Gibbons said. “Offensively he can only get better. At the same time, he’s got a good left shoulder jump hook and can make the 12-to-15 footer.”
With Turman in the fold, UT coaches may have gained an edge in the ongoing recruitment of 2015 prospect Tookie Brown, Turman’s teammate at Monroe County. The 5-foot-10 point guard joined Turman on this weekend’s visit to Knoxville.
According to Gibbons, Brown is considering Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Butler, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Clemson and Connecticut.
Brendan F. Quinn covers Tennessee football and men’s basketball. Follow him at Twitter.com/BFQuinn.
Bruce Pearl through the years
Tennessee 82, Auburn 54
Tennessee 70, Missouri 75
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 47
AtopTheHill06 writes:
With the amount of quality recruits Martin is bringing in, people can no longer question his recruiting ability. Not to mention he's getting talented recruits who are Not "one N doners" and will stay to develop their talents.
bUTch_please writes:
Alright. We needed a power forward...hoop, there it is.
Welcome C.J.! We already like your initials.
Zo VOLS!
springtx_vol writes:
I don't really know where to go with this post. I am dyed in the wool orange. I have cheered to Tennessee since I was a little boy listening to John Ward on the transitor radio because there was only one college football game on the four channels on TV.
However, I don't know if these four recruits are what we need to beat KY and UF every year. Yes, none of them are one and doners. Yes, we have handled UF pretty well over the years. Yes, we beat KY's NBA draft first rounders last year.
I guess we will have to wait and see if a team with 6 or 7 upperclassmen will beat a bunch of one and doners every year. The real question is will that team of 6 or 7 upperclassmen will beat the Duke, UNC, Michigan State, Arizona, Butler, Louisville, etc., that have higher rated recruits. When is the last time that Duke "settled" for the 147 ranked player?
Still like CCM, though. When is the last time we had four top 150 recruits in the same year?
GBO
mocsandvolsfan writes:
There have been plenty of recruits at the big name schools that were 3 and 4 star rates. I've seen offers from Duke too for some players even lower ranked. Rankings don't matter so much as what they do when they get here. Evaluation for their ability is Martin's and fellow coach's responsiblity. So far so good with what we've gotten. I'd certainly like to see a top player come in though next year to go along with.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
ESPN's scout grade is 4*
reg_mza#219136 writes:
A good, big body, SEC-ready body, but what can he do? Offensive skills? Defensive skills? Jack-of-all-trades? Well we'll see, but glad we got some more size for our depth!
VolzsFan writes:
Those of you complaining are the same guys bragging about signing an offensive lineman with no SEC offers.
scvols writes:
Great get, in BB every year you have to build.
alfrizzle097 writes:
Does that more or less wrap up the recruiting class?
A little disappointing not to get any "program changers", but I'm hesitant to judge until I see them on the court since basketball is a sport where team fit and a shooting coach can make a world of difference.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Could you be a little more zpecific? Not that anyone really wantz you to. It waz just a very vague ztatement that really didn't mean much. zzzz
bosscat writes:
A top 10 national ranking for the 2014 rank and that's before this commitment--will probably move up 2 or 3 spots. Geez guys, I sure glad I don't work for you. I'm trying to remember--when have we had back-to-back recruiting classes as good as 2013 and 2014? Oh yeah, never.
Ironcity writes:
I get the complaining. I am not complaining but every year you want that GUY. The one every school offers. Last year Martin got one from west TN. The year before he Got Stokes midseson. I like the class but I would make room if that Looney or London want to come in.
TheEffect writes:
Sorry to rain on your parade, but the 2014 class has a long way to go. When it is done, Tennessee will not be in the Top 10. They may make Top 25. There are a lot of higher ranked 4 and 5 Star players who have not picked yet. After Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, etal have their say, the Vols will drop like a rock in the rankings.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
6'9" 250. 3-4* sounds very good to me. He's ranked as high as Maymon was I think by the time Maymon got to UT.( I'm not sure what he was ranked out of HS) Turpin(?) is higher than Ndiaye for sure...higher than Kenny Hall or as high as Wayne Chism? I don't remember for sure. But I think this is potentially a very good recruit. Makenjuola wasn't ranked at all as far as I know and he gave us some very good minutes at times. We should have some good players to surround these future bigs. It's likely we'll still have Hubbs and maybe Stokes too. We can hope(except that if we still have Stokes it would mean he didn't have a great year this next fall and winter)!
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Turman.lol Maybe he isn't reading this.
Snapshot writes:
That's funny. That clown doesn't realize there is no z in Vols.
sly_stone99#434111 writes:
Dude, go back and read the story. No, we aren't finished recruiting. So far it's a solid class of coachable kids that will play hard for CCM.
Vol-TIL-I-FaLL writes:
first and foremost ..duke has always been known for being only a basketball school, so thats one edge there , tenn was considered more of a football school, until recent history changed our course, now we're jus trying regain our due diligence on the field, until we can see growth again, while also trying to be better in a sport that we've had a player here or there come thru to bring optimism for a basketball season, but weve never been known for basketball, so stop bellyaching and jus hope for the best for both if you stand behind your orange
voloffaith writes:
Remember he/she is a chomper fan........FYI
vol98champ writes:
How this class ranks in 2014 is not nearly as important as how it ranks in 2016 when they, hopefully, are still here and most of the top 5 or 10 classes are gone.
1vavolfan writes:
Enjoy basketball season this year because Pearl's boys all graduate and Martin's 2 and 3 star players take over. The 2014 class is a major disappointment. The top player is #96 according to Rivals, meanwhile schools like South Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama,Missouri, and LSU are pulling in better recruits than UT. With UT's facilities, fan base, and recent success under Pearl, a 3 star player should never be on the radar. This will be the last year the UK and Florida games will be worth watching, just like football under Dooley.
The foolish optimism for Martin on this site is laughable. Martin can't get into the tournament with a roster of 4 and 5 star players but will somehow mold a group of ETSU type players into an SEC Championship team.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Pearl's teams didn't have any more 5* players than Martin's team does now. He did have more 4* players all depending on which rating you believed.
Again These players are ranked as high as any of UT's former teams player wise. I don't recall ever having two 5* players? Scottie was ranked out of HS. 4 or 5? So maybe two. We all know how that turned out for Pearl.
brod writes:
if bama was after him he can probably jump out of the gym. that is one quality in all of their bigs.
johnlg00 writes:
Look, there is just no way to say that the 147th-ranked player is MEASURABLY worse than, say, the 100th-ranked player. Given that there are tens of thousands of HS basketball players coming out every year, it is just not possible that every single one of them gets enough scrutiny to justify ANY "objective" rating. The differences in competition, publicity, overall team strength, system of play, relationships with coaches and teammates, etc., etc., are just too great and have too much variability for every player to be rated fairly on the same scale. IMHO, you could cover the difference between the 50th-ranked player and the 150th-ranked player with a dime. And tiresome as it is to keep repeating, many of the highest-ranked players have already reached their physical peak, think they already know everything, and thus have less room or incentive to improve by the time they get to college, and all but the merest handful have to get better to be key players on good teams. I guarantee you that if UT got the RIGHT four top-150, 4-star players a year, they could compete from now on at the highest levels.
PS: My step-son and his family live in Spring, TX. My wife was down there visiting them last week.
johnlg00 writes:
He is in fact a long-time troll on here. He has used many screen-names, some of which could suggest he is a Vol fan but all of them have a "z" in them.
johnlg00 writes:
Excellent point. Talent matters, but talent and player rating are not exactly equivalent. An experienced three- or four-year college player is often more than a match for a 1st-year player in most ways.
John_10065 writes:
KY will tire of Calipari's recruiting coup d'états eventually. Probably sooner than later.
You can't go after 1 and done players every year and have fiascos like last year in KY. These kids know they have one year to get a guaranteed multi-million dollar paycheck if they stay healthy. Some of them simply aren't going to put out 100% for a college team.
I also remember a few NC teams without a single highly recruited player on the roster. Talent isn't the only factor for winning.
And we own UF as far as I see it.
johnlg00 writes:
Good post; agree with all. To the best of my recollection, Bruce Pearl had three 5-star recruits--Duke Crews, Ramar Smith, and Scotty Hopson. How did all of those work out? Basketball is a good deal more oriented to individual talent than football, but it IS a team sport, a fact that many highly-rated players don't fully appreciate.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
In the film I saw he went strong to the basket. Of course in the SEC he'll likely have two or three defensive players on his back and hangin' on his arms(no whistle of course).
1vavolfan writes:
The difference between Pearl's classes and Martins's was not the number of 5 star players but the rest of the class. CBP consistently recruited top 50 players while CCM can't.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
LOL I forgot abut Crews and Smith. The only one to work out was Scotty, I suppose.
hikerdude writes:
Good post, John.
voloffaith writes:
Correction.....probably recruiting , but not getting like the Brucester did.....However , those players had their baggage(weapons in Nashville,etc)while Coach Martin's have been relatively clean.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Nope really the difference was that Pearl took some of the previous coach's recruits and made a team out of them. His own recruits didn't do bad but underachieved from what I can recall? I really liked Pearl's style and miss it at times and that would include S. Pearl who I'm guessing you criticized. If not then plenty of trolls did. But he's gone and I really think we'll see some basketball this year and next. In the tourneys too I might add. Very optimistic this year and hopeful for next('14).
reg_mza#219136 writes:
Yeah but that doesn't tell me what he's good at on the floor. Those scout rankings are extremely subjective. Duke Crews was a 5 star post player when we got him and we found that he was extremely athletic, could jump out of the building and could rebound well in spurts, but had no back to the basket post moves, no jump shot, and was a horrible free throw shooter so but stats wise he was SEC ready as well out of high school.
About all I can hope for is Thurman can get in there and bang around with some post players, not foul out, and give the starters a break.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
How am I supposed to know?hehe I looked at some film and he looks great against HS competition. He moves strong to the basket. He uses his big body well for position in some of the shots. I didn't see much defense but they didn't show any.
His shots were mostly dunks with some face to the basket short around the basket shots. I don't have the link but I just googled him. He seems to jump better than Stokes. But like I said on another article he might not shoot well with 3 players haning all over him.
johnlg00 writes:
Well, all I know is what I read in the papers, but his coach said he was quick and athletic for a guy his size, that his team ran a pressing defense and uptempo offense, that he has good lateral movement, a decent jump-hook, and 12'-15' range on his jumper. All of that works for me.
1vavolfan writes:
Maymon was a top 40 player in the Rivals top 150, this guy barely squeezed in at #147.
johnlg00 writes:
Most of those programs you mentioned finished up their recruiting for that class long ago. UT still has two scholarships to offer and are still in on some top-notch guys. I know you are only a slimy troll who never does anything BUT try to rain on the Vols' parade, but it is a stretch to say that the Vols haven't recruited well this year, and they aren't done yet.
murrayvol writes:
You're exactly right when you compare 147 to 100 or even 50. The difference lies in the top 30 or so players which is where you'll most often find recruits bound for UK, Kansas, Duke, NC, et al.
There is something good to be said for recruiting players who will stay for 2-3 or even 4 years but top shelf talent is more important for basketball than any other sport. Players like John Wall make a difference, particularly when they're surrounded with comparable talent.
murrayvol writes:
"Sorry to rain on your parade"?? Be serious.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
I'm not sayin' I'd rather have # 147 over a #47. I'm saying we're in good shape for this year and next. Martin at least seems to like this kid. I liked the film I saw and I don't know anything about him otherwise. But the reason I think we're in good shape is the team as a team really looks good. Raw but good on our bench this year. To compare any of our current players...even Hubbs to Wall is silly. He DID make a difference for Ky but he' made more of a difference for where he's playing now. Would I like for Martin to at least offer a top 50? Our much less talented players beat those "top 50" kids like a drum last year. Maybe a fluke and their best player was out too. But 30 darn points? WITHOUT Maymon!!
Does that mean I'm not happy Maymon's back? I'm not really sure if we're even arguing here. I DID say that it'd be nice to keep or get some others to go with these players.(Maybe that was on another thread) Stokes hasn't declared for the NBA yet and neither has Hubbs. Hubbs hasn't played at all. So I just think some are gettin' a little ahead about how "bad" Martin's doing. When we have a NCdarnAA tournament bound team this year we'll still have those people doggin' this site. Heck if we don't make the NCAAs I might even join them.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
PS I wasn't callin' you "silly" murrayvol!! I was the one "comparing" Wall to Hubbs in my head after your post. I'm actually enjoying these speculations about Martin and the team. Sometimes I sound on paper harsher than I actually mean it.
That said I still think UT as a basketball team this year should be as good as any that Pearl had who only gave up one "one and done" . Again on paper.
johnlg00 writes:
Can't doubt any of that. It's just that SIMPLY because a guy is ranked high by recruiting services, it doesn't mean that he will turn out to be the kind of guy who will be a net plus for your program. Until UT becomes KNOWN as a school that competes for titles on a regular basis, it will be hard to draw those top-30 guys. Obviously, you want the best players you can get, but you also have to do well with whatever guys you DO have. UT's talent is as good as anybody's this year. It is a key question whether or not the younger guys on the squad can step into key roles next year and perform at a high level. If they do, that will show the higher-ranked guys that UT is a good place to go.
As good as Calapari has been at getting top talent, not even he has been infallible at maximizing it in terms of team play and championships. I will say that Martin's system and general values are not calculated to appeal to the average ballyhooed, self-absorbed, would-be "superstars", and I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. If he has to choose between a guy with great talent but dubious values and a less-talented player who will work hard and stay clean, he would probably choose the latter, and I can't say I blame him.
reg_mza#219136 writes:
Well let's hope so. It would be refreshing to see a post player play like gangbusters as a freshman and was underrated a la Maymon in his first full year at UT. That would be awesome.
johnlg00 writes:
I agree. Not sure how realistic it is that Turman will "play like gangbusters as a freshman", since not too many do, but a guy that size who already has some athleticism surely sounds promising.
sly_stone99#434111 writes:
Points are duly noted. On the other hand I think COACH Martin (be respectful enough to respect his title)is well aware of what the 2014 class will be like. I'm patient in this process because he is building something special and UT is a school not boiling over in Bball tradition. Pearls career ended in a mess, which showed a coach doing things on the edge, then got caught. So far Coach Martin seems not the one to journey those areas, but build a relationship with players and Parents. So you know you're getting a kid that's about family and the values that come with it. That's hope of course. As a Vol fan I wish CCM well.
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