The Tennessee Volunteers Begin Their March to the Final Four Tonight

It's here, y'all.

We powered through most of football season to get to the time of year that really matters. The BasketVols tip off the 2019-20 season tonight as UNC-Asheville comes to Knoxville. I know we lost two of the best players in program history. I know everybody thinks we're a bubble team. I know we have depth issues in the frontcourt.

You know what else we have? Senior guards Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden to pair with five-star McDonald's All-American Josiah James. A head coach who led Tennessee to its most wins ever in a season last year. Guys who have watched and learned from some of the best guys to ever put on a Tennessee uniform.

And to be quite honest with you, I'm not too concerned with what anybody thinks of a Rick Barnes team heading into the season.

Barnes knows what he needs to do to get this team to surpass expectations just like he did with his team two years ago that was picked to finish second-to-last and won the conference. It's going to look dramatically different without Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, but if Barnes has proven anything in his four years in Knoxville, it's that he can coach guys up.

I am really looking forward to this season. I think this Vols team is going to shock a lot of people when they look up in March and see the Vols as a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. We've got Washington, Florida State, Memphis, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Kansas, Kentucky and everybody else in the conference waiting for us. So let's go take it.

It all starts tonight. Let's go.