2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team
Encyclopedia
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
.
. 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 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).
!colspan=8| Regular season
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!colspan=8| SEC Tournament
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!colspan=8|NCAA Tournament
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the fourth season for Bruce Pearl
Bruce Pearl
Bruce Dean-Fredrick Pearl is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers men's team. He is a graduate of Boston College, where he obtained his first position as an assistant basketball coach. He was the first coach to lead...
as the Volunteers' head coach. The team, a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
, played its home games at Thompson-Boling Arena
Thompson-Boling Arena
Thompson-Boling Arena is multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The arena opened in 1987. It is home to the Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Vols basketball teams. Since 2008, it has been home to the Lady Vol volleyball team. It is named after B....
.
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 Tournament2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...
. The team went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to the Louisville Cardinals
Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the 18th winningest college basketball team in NCAA Division I history and has the 10th best winning percentage in college basketball history. Currently coached by Rick Pitino, the Cardinals of the University of Louisville have been to 37 NCAA...
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
Chris Lofton
Christopher Franklin Lofton is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the University of Tennessee Volunteers...
, 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 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
LSU Tigers basketball
The Louisiana State Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The team is currently coached by Trent Johnson and has enjoyed recent success, including a Final Four run in the 2005–2006 season. Past coaches include John Brady, Press...
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 Wooldridge | 0 | G/F | 6–8 | 208 | Freshman | North Hollywood, California North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California North Hollywood is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, along the Tujunga Wash. It is bounded on the south by Moorpark Street and the Ventura Freeway, on the southwest by Burbank Blvd... |
Harvard-Westlake Harvard-Westlake School Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12.... |
| Tyler Smith | 1 | F | 6–7 | 215 | Junior | Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in Giles County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,870 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Giles County. It was named to honor the Polish-born American Revolutionary War hero Kazimierz Pułaski... |
Iowa Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They currently play in 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with the school's women's basketball, wrestling, and... |
| Bobby Maze | 3 | PG | 6–2 | 185 | Junior | Suitland, Maryland | Hutchinson (Kan.) C.C. |
| Wayne Chism Wayne Chism Devon Dwayne Chism , also known as Wayne Chism, is an American basketball player who played for the Tennessee Volunteers. He is currently playing in the Hungarian Basketball League for the Albacomp Fehérvár.... |
4 | F/C | 6–9 | 242 | Junior | Jackson, Tennessee Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area... |
Bolivar Central |
| Emmanuel Negedu | 5 | PF | 6–7 | 240 | Freshman | Kaduna, Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
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 Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia is a suburban town in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, incorporated as a city. Lithonia's population was 1,924 at the 2010 census.-Geography:... |
The Patterson School |
| Tanner Wild | 24 | PG | 6–0 | 170 | Senior | Huntington, West Virginia Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at... |
Huntington Huntington High School (West Virginia) Huntington High School is a four year high school located on top of a hill just outside of Huntington, West Virginia. It was established in 1996 through the consolidation of the old Huntington and Huntington East High Schools. The school has a student body of approximately 1600 students. Huntington... |
| Josh Tabb | 25 | PG | 6–4 | 196 | Junior | Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest... |
Harmony Community Prep |
| J.P. Prince | 30 | SG | 6–7 | 205 | Junior | Memphis, Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.... |
Arizona Arizona Wildcats men's basketball The Arizona Wildcats basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Sean Miller.Arizona has a long and rich... |
| Scotty Hopson | 32 | SG | 6–7 | 185 | Freshman | Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a city in Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 31,577 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Christian County.- History :... |
University Heights University Heights Academy University Heights Academy is an independent, college preparatory school for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The school was founded in 1973 and continues to provide a quality education for its students. Currently there is an enrollment of over... |
| Brian Williams | 33 | C | 6–10 | 267 | Sophomore | Bronx, New York The Bronx The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated... |
Harmony Community Prep |
| Ryan Childress | 34 | PF | 6–9 | 235 | Senior | Cincinnati, Ohio | Moeller Moeller High School Archbishop Moeller High School , known as Moeller, is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County, Ohio... |
| Phillip Jurick | 44 | C | 6–10 | 250 | Freshman | Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County... |
East Ridge |
Schedule and Results
|-!colspan=8| Regular season
|-
!colspan=8| SEC Tournament
2009 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 12–15, 2009 in Tampa, Florida at the St. Pete Times Forum. The first, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds were televised by Raycom/LF Sports, and the SEC Championship Game was seen on CBS....
|-
!colspan=8|NCAA Tournament
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
See also
- 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball TournamentThe first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
- 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
- 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
- 2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball teamThe 2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee. The team was coached by Pat Summitt and the team played their home games at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols are a member of the Southeast Conference.-Signees:...
- List of NCAA Division I institutions