University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. South Carolina - Game Preview
February 21, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2005
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| South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Tennessee Volunteers
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TV LIVE STATS RANKINGS: THE COACHES: South Carolina Gamecocks
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Tennessee Trends
- If the season were to end today, Tennessee would have the SEC East's fifth seed and would play in the 7:30 (EST) game in the first round of the SEC Tournament. As the East's fifth seed, Tennessee would be matched up with the West's fourth seed. At this time, Arkansas is fourth in the West.
- The South Carolina game will be just the second time since the start of conference play that the Vols will play in a game that will not be televised. The only other was the conference opener at Georgia (1/5/05). UT's game at Florida (1/19/05) was shown tape delayed by Sunshine in Florida.
- The Vols are making a bid to become just the second UT team in the last 13 years to have more assists than turnovers. As a team, Tennessee has recorded 340 assists against 338 turnovers this season. The only other team to accomplish the feat in the last 13 years came in 2002-03, Buzz Peterson's second season at UT, when they had 452 assists and 442 turnovers. In 2001 Tennessee had a school record 528 assists but committed 528 turnovers. It would be just the eighth time in the 27 years that both assists and turnovers have been recorded at UT that the Vols had more assists than giveaways.
- C.J. Watson has picked up much of the scoring load over UT's last eight games. He is averaging 15.1 points on 50.0 percent (38-of-76) shooting from the field and 47.1 percent (16-of-34) 3-point shooting over the last eight games. He has been the Vols' top scorer in three of their last six games.
- Brandon Crump returned to the Tennessee lineup against Alabama (2/9/05) after missing four games with a sprained ankle. In the three games since his return, he is averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game. He led UT with 16 points off the bench against Florida (2/12/05).
- Against Florida (2/12/05) Crump became the 23rd UT player to record 600 career rebounds. In 109 career games he has 607 rebounds. He needs four points for 1,200 in his career.
- Major Wingate has picked up his game since Crump's injury, averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in UT's last eight games.
- C.J. Watson, Chris Lofton and Andre Patterson are the only UT players who have not missed a game this year. Watson and Lofton are the only ones to earn starts in all of Tennessee's games.
- The Vols have used nine or fewer players in nine of their last 11 games.
- Tennessee is 8-2 when leading or tied at halftime.
- Four different players have led the Vols in scoring this season. C.J. Watson (7 times), Chris Lofton (7), Scooter McFadgon (6) and Brandon Crump (6) have all led UT in scoring.
- C.J. Watson became the sixth Tennessee player to have 400 career assists when he dished out seven assists against Kentucky (1/25/05). He ranks sixth all-time at UT with 422 career assists.
- UT's starters have accounted for 80.0 percent (1,380 of 1,724 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
- C.J. Watson became the first Vol in five years to record 10 or more assists in a game when he registered a career-high 10 dimes against Nebraska (12/30/04).
- C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton have tied a school record for single-game 3-point percentage by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Watson did it against Campbell (12/23/04) and Lofton accomplished the feat at New Mexico (12/18/04). They tied the mark set by Shane Carnes (5-for-5 against Michigan State on Dec. 20, 1994) and Thaydeus Holden (5-for-5 against Vanderbilt on Jan. 18, 2003).
- Tennessee's 70.0 percent (7-of-10) 3-point shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) established a new school record for 3-point success. It broke the record of 64.3 percent (9-of-14) set Jan. 27, 1992 against a North Carolina State team on which Buzz Peterson was an assistant coach.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,342-881-2 in its 96th season of basketball.
- Freshman Chris Lofton is the third Kentucky Mr. Basketball to sign with the Vols. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 26.7 points per game for Mason County HS. Allan Houston (1989) and Jermaine Brown (1991) also earned Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Kentucky.
- UT needs two home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 198-83 in 18 seasons of play in Thompson-Boling Arena. UT, which has averaged 12 home wins in Buzz Peterson's first three seasons in Knoxville, has 16 home games on the schedule this year.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | South Carolina |
| 69.0 | Points | 68.8 |
| 69.2 | Opponent Points | 63.7 |
| -0.2 | Scoring Margin | +5.1 |
| .458 | Field Goal % | .470 |
| .454 | Opponent Field Goal % | .415 |
| .379 | Three-Point % | .331 |
| .372 | Opponent Three-Point % | .319 |
| .690 | Free Throw % | .630 |
| 32.4 | Rebounds | 33.9 |
| 33.7 | Opponent Rebounds | 33.9 |
| -1.3 | Rebounding Margin | Even |
| 13.6 | Assists | 13.4 |
| 13.5 | Turnovers | 13.4 |
| 3.5 | Blocks | 4.3 |
| 7.2 | Steals | 7.8 |
| 11-14 | Record | 14-9 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | South Carolina |
| McFadgon, 14.1 | Points | Powell, 15.2 |
| Patterson, 6.4 | Rebounds | Powell, 6.4 |
| Watson, 4.7 | Assists | Kelley, 3.4 |
| Crump, .584 | Field Goal % | Powell, .551 |
| Lofton, .475 | Three-Point % | Gonner, .388 |
| Lofton, .862 | Free Throw % | Trice, .900 |
Looking At South Carolina
The Gamecocks fell to 14-9 on the season and 6-6 in Southeastern Conference action with a 68-87 loss at 16th-ranked Alabama Saturday ... South Carolina had one of the toughest schedules in the nation last week by hosting third-ranked Kentucky Tuesday and then visiting Alabama Saturday ... USC took a 73-61 upset over the SEC East leading Wildcats on Feb. 15 ... Senior forward Carlos Powell has been one of the most productive Gamecocks this season ... The Florence, S.C., native leads USC and ranks ninth in the SEC in scoring (15.2 ppg), ninth in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and third in field goal percentage (55.1 percent) ... Tarence Kinsey, 6-foot-7 junior guard, is second on the team with 9.6 points per game ... South Carolina is one of the best shooting teams in the SEC, ranking third in the league with a 48.2 field goal percentage in conference games ... The Gamecocks are allowing opponents to shoot just 43.0 percent from the field in SEC games, third-best in the league ... Kentucky had its worst field goal percentage in league games this year when the Wildcats made just 35.3 percent of their shots at South Carolina last week ... USC ranks fourth in the SEC with a 36.0 3-point field goal percentage in conference games ... Carolina leads the SEC with 4.50 blocked shots per game ... South Carolina is 12-2 when playing at the Colonial Center in Columbia but just 1-7 in road games with its only road win coming at Georgia (Feb. 5) ... USC has led or been tied for the lead going into the locker room at halftime in eight of its 12 SEC games this season ... Dave Odom is 71-51 in his fourth season at South Carolina and owns a career record of 349-225 in 19 years as a head coach.
The South Carolina Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series, 22-21 ... South Carolina won this season's first meeting 66-63 Jan. 15 in Columbia ... Tennessee and South Carolina have split the season series in each of the last two years ... Last year USC took a 85-65 win in Columbia while UT won 63-56 in Knoxville ... When the series is played in Knoxville, the Vols own a 15-7 advantage ... The Vols have won nine of the last 15 meetings between the schools ... South Carolina leads the series 13-6 when it is played in Columbia ... UT is 0-3 against South Carolina in the Colonial Center ... The two teams have met two times in the Southeastern Conference Tournament with each team winning one time ... Tennessee and South Carolina met for the first time on Jan 15, 1927 in Columbia ... The two teams played off-and-on between the 1927 and 1972 seasons but did not play each other from 1972 until 1988 when the series was renewed.
South Carolina Connections
Tennessee sophomore center Major Wingate and USC senior forward Carlos Powell were high school teammates during the 2000-01 season at Wilson High School in Florence, S.C. ... Wingate, a native of Florence, S.C., attended Wilson HS through his junior year ... USC's Powell attended Wilson HS for his junior and senior campaigns ... The duo were also AAU teammates ... Jemere Hendrix attended Clemson University for part of the 2001-02 season.
Last Meeting With South Carolina
Chris Lofton's 25-footer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime bounced on the rim four times before falling to the side as South Carolina garnered a 66-63 win from the Vols on Jan. 15 in Columbia ... The game featured nine ties and neither team led by more than seven points ... Andre Patterson cut USC's lead to 64-63 with 1:19 left in the game when he drove the baseline an put in a reverse layup ... On USC's next possession Tre' Kelley drove the lane and received a foul call with 20 seconds remaining ... Kelley scored his only two points of the game on the two free throws that gave the Gamecocks a 66-63 lead ... After calling a time out, Buzz Peterson diagramed a play to get Lofton open that was executed perfectly except for the unkindness of the iron ... Tennessee was whistled for 11 fouls in the game's final 9:30 while South Carolina was called for one ... In all, UT was called for 24 fouls to USC's 13 ... Scooter McFadgon led the Vols with 17 points ... Brandon Crump, who was whistled for his fifth foul with 3:22 left in the game, scored 11 points to go with a team-high five rebounds ... Lofton struggled from behind the arc (1-of-6) but shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field to finish with 11 points ... C.J. Watson added nine points and six assists ... Powell led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting ... Josh Gonner added 16 points for the Gamecocks while Tarence Kinsey had 12 points ... USC shot 52.4 percent from the field while UT shot 45.3 percent.
Last Game: Shorthanded Vols Fall At Ole Miss
Playing without leading scorer Scooter McFadgon, Tennessee fell 58-60 at Ole Miss Saturday, Feb. 19 ... Mississippi's Tommie Eddie capped a career game by making a pair of free throws with 32.7 seconds left to give the Rebels a 59-58 lead ... After calling a time out with 14.3 seconds remaining, the Vols saw Dane Bradshaw's 3-pointer bounce off the rim and into the arms of UM's Cavadas Nunnery ... Nunnery was fouled immediately and made his first free throw to give Ole Miss a two-point lead with less than a second left ... Nunnery missed his second shot and Tennessee was not able to get a shot off before time expired ... The Vols had led 31-23 at halftime but the Rebels opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers from Kendrick Fox and another from Todd Abernethy to go on an 11-3 run and take a 34-33 leads with just under 16 minutes left ... Eddie scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the game's final 11 minutes ... Freshman Chris Lofton, who had given the Vols a 58-57 lead with a tough 3-pointer with just over a minute left in the game, led the Vols with 17 points ... C.J. Watson was the only other Vol in double figures with 16 ... Andre Patterson had a game-high 12 rebounds ... Tennessee committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
Crump And McFadgon Earn NABC All-District 7 Honors
Brandon Crump and Scooter McFadgon were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 7 Team on February 18 ... Both were second team selections ... This is the second consecutive year that McFadgon has been a second team all-district selection by the NABC ... The teams are selected by a panel of member coaches of the NABC ... First team selections included Francisco Garcia (Louisville), Chuck Hayes (Kentucky), Rodney Carney (Memphis), Taquan Dean (Louisville) and Willie Jenkins (Tennessee Tech). Joining Crump and McFadgon on the second team were Anthony Winchester (Western Kentucky), Tim Smith (East Tennessee State) and Kelenna Azubuike (Kentucky).
Watson Named Finalist For Cousy Award
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Jan. 14 that Tennessee junior guard C.J. Watson is one of 19 finalists for the 2005 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award ... This is the second year that the Cousy Award, which considers outstanding point guards from all three NCAA divisions, has been given ... Watson is the only other player from the Southeastern Conference listed among the finalists ... The award will be presented at a press conference at the Final Four in St. Louis. Mo., on April 4.
Tennessee Ranked Among Greatest Basketball Programs Of All Time
Tennessee was ranked as the 77th "Greatest Basketball Program of All Time" by Street & Smith's ... The Vols were one of six teams from the Southeastern Conference that were ranked in the publication that took into account factors such as postseason appearances and wins, conference championships, all-time wins and NBA Draft picks ... Kentucky (1), Arkansas (8), LSU (50), Alabama (54), Florida (96) and Mississippi State (99) were all ranked among the top 100 programs by the magazine.
Mini Vols
Three times in early February the Vols went with a smaller lineup, regardless of the size of their opponents' starters ... UT had only one player taller than 6-foot-5 in the starting lineup against Vanderbilt (2/2/05), LSU (2/5/05) and Alabama (2/9/05) ... C.J. Watson (6-foot-2), Chris Lofton (6-2), Dane Bradshaw (6-4), Scooter McFadgon (6-5) and Stanley Asumnu (6-5) all started at least one of the Vols' three games ... The only starter taller than 6-5 in those games was 6-10 Major Wingate ... Going with the smaller lineup created some interesting matchups with 6-4 Dane Bradshaw guarding 6-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass of LSU and 6-10 Jermareo Davidson of Alabama ... Going small was nothing new for UT as Stanley Asumnu spent a good part of the Mississippi State game (1/12/05) guarding 6-9, 240-pound Lawrence Roberts in the post ...In the three games with the smaller lineup, Tennessee averaged just 9.0 turnovers, 8.7 steals, 4.0 blocked shots and forced 16.3 turnovers per game ... The Vols recorded 38 offensive rebounds (12.7 per game) during the three game stretch.
Shirts vs. Skins
On the Monday (1/10/05) following Tennessee's loss to Vanderbilt, head coach Buzz Peterson told the team that they would have to bring their own clothes to practice in, that they had to earn the right to wear their Tennessee gear again ... The result of the motivational tactic was a 64-63 upset of 11th-ranked Mississippi State on Wednesday, Jan. 12 ... When Peterson arrived at practice on Thursday, the team's captains told him that they wouldn't earn the right to wear their normal practice gear until they won a road game and the team continued to practice against each other as shirts against skins ... After earning an 83-76 overtime at Florida (1/19/05) the team voted to continue wearing their own clothes for practice.
Buzz's Bombers
Tennessee's starting backcourt of C.J. Watson, Scooter McFadgon have combined to make 146 3-pointers this season ... As a unit, they are shooting 39.9 percent (146-of-366) from beyond the 3-point arc ... Lofton, a freshman, is leading the Southeastern Conference with his 47.5 percent (67-of-141) 3-point shooting ... Watson is shooting 39.3 percent (42-of-107) from 3-point range while McFadgon is converting 31.4 percent (37-of-118) of his triples ... The trio has made 146 of Tennessee's 173 (84.4 percent) 3-pointers on the season and 70 of 76 (92.1 percent) in SEC games.
Lofton Among Nation's Top 3-Point Shooters
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... In just the second game of his career he scored 22 points on 6-of-10 3-point shooting against nationally-ranked North Carolina at the Maui Invitational ... Since then, he has established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation.
- Lofton ranks seventh in the Feb. 14 NCAA statistics with a 48.1 percent (64-of-133) success rate behind the arc ... He currently leads the Southeastern Conference with his 47.5 percent (67-of-141) from 3-point range ... Is making a bid to become just the second freshman in league history to lead the SEC in 3-point percentage (Alabama's Terrence Meade led the SEC by shooting 42.3 percent in 2000) ... Lofton ranks third in the SEC with 2.75 3-pointers per game.
- His 47.5 percent (67-of-141) 3-point shooting qualifies him for UT's single season record books ... A minimum of 100 attempts is needed to qualify ... Jon Higgins has held the school record since making 48.6 percent (53-of-109) of his 3-pointers as a sophomore in 2000-01.
- Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range.
- Two times this season he has made six 3-pointers in a game (against North Carolina and at Florida).
- Lofton's 67 3-pointers rank sixth on Tennessee's single-season lists and are the second-most ever by a Tennessee freshman ... Allan Houston holds UT's freshman record with 83 triples in 1989-90.
- 65.1 percent (67-of-103) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line.
- His 11.9 points per game ranks third on the UT roster this season. In conference game he is averaging 11.8 points per game ... He has led Tennessee in scoring seven times.
- He ranks second on the team with 34 steals ... He recorded a career-high four steals at Louisville (1/22/05).
- His 49.0 percent shooting from the field is third on the team ... A guard has not led the Vols in field goal percentage since Bobby Carter's 46.1 percentage (142-of-310) in 1960-61.
Watson Running The Point
Entering his junior season C.J. Watson had accumulated more assists over the previous two seasons (305) than any other player in the Southeastern Conference during that period ... This year the Las Vegas, Nev., native ranks fourth in the SEC with 4.68 assists per game ... He currently ranks second on the team with 12.6 points per game.
- In conference games he leads the team with 13.5 points per game and is making 40.0 percent (20-of-50) of his 3-pointers.
- His 39.3 percent (42-of-107) 3-point shooting ranks second on the team ... He ranks eighth all-time at Tennessee with 110 career 3-pointers made ... Against Campbell (12/23/04) he tied a school record for 3-point percentage in a game by going 5-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc.
- His 422 career assists are sixth all-time at Tennessee ... He became just the sixth Vol to record 400 career assists ... Recorded a career-high 10 assists against Nebraska (12/30/04) and had his best effort against a conference opponent with nine assists against Mississippi State (1/12/05).
- Watson's 47 steals lead the Vols ... His 1.88 steals per game rank fourth in the SEC ... Watson finished his sophomore season with 45 steals ... He has averaged 1.5 steals per game over his career ... He sealed the win against Xavier (12/11/04) when he took the ball from Dedrick Finn before he could get a shot off at the final buzzer ... In the season opener he recorded a career-high five steals against Stanford at the Maui Invitational.
- In his last eight games he is averaging a team-high 15.1 points on 50.0 percent (38-of-76) shooting that includes 47.1 percent (16-of-34) shooting from 3-point range ... He is 29-of-35 (82.9 percent) from the free throw line in his last eight games.
McFadgon Leading Vols In Scoring
Scooter McFadgon has led the Vols in scoring in each of his two seasons in Knoxville ... After leading Tennessee and ranking fourth in the SEC with 17.6 last season, McFadgon is leading the Vols with 14.1 points per game in his senior season ... Six times this season he has led the Vols in scoring, including a season-high 23 point effort in Tennessee's overtime victory at Florida (1/19/05) ... He has scored in double figures in 20 of his 23 games this season.
- McFadgon ranks ninth all-time at Tennessee with 102 career 3-pointers made and eighth with 289 career 3-point attempts.
- After missing two free throws in the season-opener against Stanford (11/22/04), McFadgon went on a streak where he made 31 consecutive free throws without a miss ... The streak came to an end against Xavier (12/11/04) when he went 4-of-6 from the line ... It was the second-longest streak for him as he had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made last year.
Crump Reaching Milestones This Season
Brandon Crump's senior season has been a year full of milestones ... The Houston, Texas, native has reached the 1,000 point mark, 600 rebound and 100 blocked shot marks this year ... The 6-foot-10 senior forward has scored 1,196 points in 109 career games ... He currently ranks fourth on the team with 11.2 points and is second with 5.3 rebounds this year.
- He became the 37th player in Tennessee history to score 1,000 career points when he reached the milestone against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) ... He became just the fourth UT player 6-foot-10 or taller to reach the 1,000-point milestone ... He is the first Vol to reach 1,000 career points since Ron Slay accomplished the milestone in the 2002-03 season.
- He needs four points to become the eighth player in Tennessee history to record 1,200 points, 600 rebounds and 100 blocks ... Crump became just the 23rd Vol to record 600 career rebounds.
- He ranks 29th all-time at Tennessee with 1,196 career points and 11th with 105 career rejections.
- Crump overcame a slow start to his senior season ... After the Vols' first five games he was averaging 8.8 points per game, six points less than he averaged as a junior (14.8 ppg) ... He broke out of his early season slump in style with a career-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) ... The 26 points were one better than his previous career high that he had accomplished two times (most recently against Mississippi in 2004).
- Crump suffered a sprained left ankle just two minutes into the Louisville game (1/22/05) and did not return ... He missed four games due to the injury before returning against Alabama (2/9/05) ... He is averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in the three games since his return ... Against Florida (2/12/05) he led the Vols with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 6.4 rebounds per game leads Tennessee and his 57.6 percent shooting from the field is second on the squad ... The transfer from UCLA, who is in his first season playing for UT, led the Bruins and the Pac-10 Conference win a 60.8 field goal percentage in 2002-03 and his 5.5 rebounds also led the team ... The Los Angeles native recorded a career-high 16 points against Belmont (12/20/04) ... Five times this season he has recorded double figure rebounding marks, including Four times against SEC opponents .. Going against a much larger front line versus LSU, Patterson recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
- His 6.4 rebounds per game ranks 10th in the SEC this season and his 6.9 boards in conference games rank eighth in the SEC.
- Three times this season he has tied his career-high with 12 rebounds ... His 12 boards are the highest rebounding total by a Vol this season.
Bradshaw Stepping Up
After averaging just 12.4 minutes in UT's first 12 games, Dane Bradshaw has seen his role increase with the start of conference play ... In 12 SEC games the sophomore guard is averaging 19.6 minutes per game ... In non-conference games he averaged 1.7 assists but has improved that to 2.4 in league games.
- He has drawn four starting assignments in conference action, three of which came when the Vols went with a smaller starting lineup. Averaging 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a starter against SEC teams.
- In the smaller lineup, the 6-foot-4 Bradshaw has drawn defensive assignments against 6-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass of LSU and 6-10 Jermareo Davidson of Alabama.
Wingate Moves Into Starting Lineup
Looking for a bigger lineup, Buzz Peterson inserted Major Wingate in the Vols' starting lineup at Florida (1/19/05) ... In his eight games this year as a starter, Wingate is averaging 8.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game ... Wingate had earned 15 starting assignments as a freshman last season.
- When Brandon Crump went down with an ankle injury early in the game at Louisville (1/22/05), Wingate responded with his best game as a Volunteer ... The Florence, S.C., native scored 13 points and had eight rebounds against the Cardinals.
- Since Crump's injury, Wingate ranks fourth on the team with 8.5 points and third with 4.0 rebounds per game in the eight games.
- Since moving into the starting lineup he has responded with career marks ... Against Louisville (1/22/05) he had career marks in six categories including scoring (13 points) and rebounding (8 boards) ... He improved his scoring mark in his next game against Kentucky (1/25/05) with 14 points against the seventh-ranked Wildcats.
Former Vols Earn Degrees
Jon Higgins (1999-2003) and C.J. Black (1996-2000) received their college degrees on Dec. 10, 2004 ... Higgins, who is currently playing professionally in France, received a degree in political science while Black, who has played professionally in the U.S. and Europe, received an interdisciplinary studies - urban studies degree as a part of Tennessee's Renewing Academic Commitments (RAC) program.
Vols Enjoy Success On And Off The Court In Hawaii
Tennessee's win over Stanford in the first round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational isn't the Vols' only victory in Hawaii so far ... Pee-Wee Gash was the champion of the EA SPORTS March Madness 2005 video game tournament Saturday, Nov. 20 ... Gash defeated North Carolina's Rashad McCants in the finals ... Buzz Peterson, along with a local youth, won a free throw shooting contest that featured the tournaments head coaches Sunday, Nov. 21 ... Peterson made all 10 of his attempts in the two rounds of the competition ... The event was to raise money for local Maui schools.
Crump, McFadgon & Watson Named Tri-Captains
Seniors Brandon Crump and Scooter McFadgon along with junior C.J. Watson have been named team captains for the 2004-05 season ... It is the first captaincy appointment for McFadgon while Crump and Watson were also captains last season ... In 95 years of Tennessee basketball prior to this season, only four players had been two-time captains ... V.H. Klein (1913-14), Harry Anderson (1935-36), Garland O'Shields (1945-46) and Johnny Darden (1978-79) are the only other Vols to serve two terms as captain.
Crump Attending Graduate School
Senior forward Brandon Crump received a degree in sport management in May 2004 and is currently pursuing a master's degree ... A true scholar-athlete, he ranked second on the team with 14.8 points per game while leading the Vols with 6.8 rebounds per game in 2004 ... In the classroom, he was named to the 2003-04 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll and was selected as the Edamerica Scholar-Athlete of the month in February 2004.
Home Court Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena has provided the Vols with a definite home court advantage since the facility opened in time for the 1987-88 season.
- Tennessee is 198-84 (.702) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 99-25 (.798) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 45-16 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 60 of its last 67 home games against non-conference opponents.
Vols Sign Three In Early Period
Buzz Peterson announced that three players signed national letters of intent to play basketball at the University of Tennessee in the November signing period.
- Tyler Smith, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward from Pulaski, Tenn., was selected as one of the top 10 high school players in the nation when Street & Smith's named him a second team selection on the 2004 Boys High School All-America Team. As a junior at Giles County High School the first team all-state selection averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists while leading the Bobcats to the state tournament. As a sophomore he earned tournament MVP honors after leading Giles County to a state championship. Rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, he was named the MVP of the all-star game at the adidas Superstar camp last summer in Atlanta.
- Matthew Dotson, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Centerville, Tenn., is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He was named the Class 3A Player of the Year for Hickman County High School's district last year. A big man who has a deft outside shooting touch that extends beyond the 3-point arc, he averaged 23 points and 14.5 rebounds as a junior.
- Damion Harris, a 6-foot-10, 275-pound center from Greenville, S.C., was a Class AAA All-State selection at Wade Hampton High School last season. As a senior in 2003-04 he led the Generals to the state tournament and as a junior he averaged 16 points, 14 rebounds and 6.5 blocks in leading Wade Hampton to the Class AAA Upper State finals. He first signed with the Vols last year, but is spending the 2004-05 season playing for Prince Avenue Prep in Pickens, S.C.
