Vols Renew Series With Tennessee State Friday
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| Scooter McFadgon scored 31 points in his Tennessee debut to lead the Vols to an 81-70 win over Wofford last week. |
Tennessee Headlines
* Tennessee continues its three-game homestand to open the 2003-04 season when the Tennessee State Tigers visit Thompson-Boling Arena for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday, Nov. 28.
* The Vols opened the season with an 81-70 win over Wofford on Friday, Nov. 21. Scooter McFadgon's 31 points led five Vols in double figure scoring. The win was UT's 36th in its last 38 home openers.
* McFadgon's 31 points are the most by a Vol in a Tennessee debut since Bernard King scored 42 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Nov. 30, 1974. McFadgon scored his career-high points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.
* Tennessee State opened its season with a 73-71 win at the buzzer over Trevecca on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Adrian Pritchett hit a 15-footer as time expired to give the Tigers the victory.
* The Tennessee State game will be the first of two games in five days before UT will take a break for final exams. The Vols host Texas A&M at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
* The Vols are 50-15 (.769) all-time in the month of November.
Tennessee Tidbits
* Tennessee is 48-3 in its last 51 home games against non-conference opponents.
* The Vols got an early start to the 2003-04 season with a trip to the Dominican Republic from Oct. 15-19. UT went 1-1 playing against teams that were made up of members of the Dominican Under-21 National Team. Scooter McFadgon led the Vols with 29.0 points per game while C.J. Watson and Brandon Crump each added 12.0 points Jemere Hendrix contributed 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the two contests.
* The Vol roster does not list any seniors. In fact, the only scholarship player who has been a part of the program for more than one season is junior forward Brandon Crump.
* C.J. Watson gained additional international experience as a member of the 2003 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Team that competed in the Global Games in Dallas and in the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Junior World Championship in Thessaloniki, Greece.
* After sitting out the 2002-03 season, transfers Jemere Hendrix and Scooter McFadgon are eligible to play. Hendrix is a sophomore forward from Clemson who gained a reputation as a tenacious rebounder in practices last season while McFadgon is a junior guard from Memphis who is an outstanding shooter.
* UT was picked to finish third in the SEC East in a preseason poll of the league's media.
* Tennessee is in its 95th season of basketball with a 1,317-853-2 overall record.
Vols Begin Season At Home
Seven of Tennessee's first eight games will be played at Thompson-Boling Arena ... UT's only road trip before January is a Dec. 13 visit to Nebraska ... The Vols play two non-conference games on the road (at Nebraska and at UMass on Jan. 3) ... Nine of Tennessee's 11 non-conference games are at home.
Tennessee Improves In Openers
Tennessee increased its winning streak in season openers to five games and in home openers to 12 games with an 81-70 win over Wofford on Nov. 21 ... The Vols are 17-2 in their last 19 season openers ... UT is 36-2 in their last 38 home openers dating back to the 1966-67 campaign.
Scooter Scores Big In Season Opener
Scooter McFadgon had a memorable debut in a Tennessee uniform with a 31-point outing against Wofford (11/21/03) ... His 31 points were the most in a UT debut since Bernard King scored 42 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (11/30/71) ... McFadgon, a transfer from Memphis, easily topped his previous career mark of 22 points against Temple (12/22/01) ... In an exhibition game in the Dominican Republic, McFadgon also had a big game by scoring a game-high 36 points against Libre (10/16/03).
Looking at Tennessee State
Tennessee State opened it season with a 73-71 win over Trevecca on Tuesday ... Adrian Pritchett sank a 15-footer at the buzzer for the win ... Roshaun Bowens led the Tigers with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Garrett Richardson added 16 points ... The win ended a 21-game Tiger losing streak ... TSU returns three starters and a total of nine letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 2-25 overall mark ... The Tigers are in their first year under the direction of head coach Cy Alexander ... Alexander came to TSU from South Carolina State where he posted a 277-202 record in 16 seasons ... He led the Bulldogs to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including four times in the last eight years ... Tennessee State was picked to finish 11th in the Ohio Valley Conference in a preseason poll of the league's coaches and sports information directors ... Senior guard/forward Garrett Richardson, who is the nephew of Nolan Richardson III, earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors as a sophomore ... Last year Richardson averaged 12.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game ... The Tigers will use a three-guard offense at times with Richardson, Pritchett and Bruce Price on the perimeter ... Price, a freshman from Minneapolis, Minn., originally committed to play at St. John's coming out of high school ... Roshaun Bowens, a 6-foot-6 forward, led the Tigers with 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore last season.
Tennessee - Tennessee State Connections
Tennessee junior guard/forward Lou Wright and Tennessee State senior center Cedric Bryson were teammates at Southwest Tennessee Community College where they led the Saluqis to a third-place finish in the NJCAA Tournament ... Friday's game will feature 10 players from the state of Tennessee ... UT's roster lists five players from the Volunteer State while the TSU roster also lists five Tennesseans.
The Tennessee State Series
UT leads the all-time series with the Tigers, 2-0 ... This is the first meeting between the schools since a 91-69 UT win on Nov. 15, 1998 ... The Vols won the first meeting between the schools 91-75 on Nov. 23, 1990 ... The Vols are 36-1 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference ... The Tigers are one of two OVC teams on UT's schedule this year ... The Vols also play Tennessee Tech on Dec. 22.
Last Meeting With Tennessee State
Isiah Victor's 17 points led six Tennessee players in double figures as the Vols defeated in-state rival Tennessee State 91-69 in the season's home opener on Nov. 15, 1998 ... Victor connected on 5-of-7 from the field and led the Vols with nine rebounds ... Charles Hathaway (15), C.J. Black (14), Brandon Wharton (13), Vincent Yarbrough (11) and Rashard Lee (11) also tallied double-digits for the Vols ... Jamie Roberts led Tennessee State with 22 points while Demario Jones added 21 points ... The 18th-ranked Vols built a 40-33 lead by halftime and extended it to 58-45 on a 10-0 run midway in the second half and were never seriously threatened afterward.
Looking Back At The Wofford Game
Tennessee won its 36th home opener in 38 seasons with a 81-70 victory over Wofford on Friday, Nov. 21 ... Five different Vols scored in double figures ... Scooter McFadgon led all scorers with 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line ... McFadgon's 31 points were the most in a Tennessee debut by a player since Bernard King scored 42 in 1974 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee ... Brandon Crump had his fourth career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds ... Jemere Hendrix had 12 points and nine rebounds while C.J. Watson and Stanley Asumnu each added 11 points ... Sam Daniels and Tyler Berg led the Terriers with 11 points apiece ... Tennessee led 37-31 at halftime but Wofford went on a 12-4 run to take a 43-41 lead early in the second half ... The two teams battled back-and-forth until the Vols used a 12-4 run of their own to take a 70-62 lead on a McFadgon dunk with 4:50 left ... Tennessee shot 72.2 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 49.1 percent from the field.
Tennessee State Game Is Family Fun Night
The first of two Family Fun Nights will be on Friday, Nov. 28, against Tennessee State ... Family Fun Nights include four tickets, four 6-inch Papa John's pan pizzas, four Cokes and a game program all for only $44 ... Packages may be purchased at the Thompson Boling Arena ticket office or by calling (865) 656-1200 ... The next Family Fun Night will be against Georgia State on Dec. 20.
Watson Picks Up Where He Left Off
As a true freshman in 2003 C.J. Watson proved himself as one of the top point guards in the Southeastern Conference by leading the league with 5.44 assists per game against conference opponents while also leading the SEC in minutes played ... His 160 assists as a rookie ranked seventh on UT's single-season charts and were the second-most ever by a Tennessee freshman ... This year Watson has picked up where he left off last season by dishing out eight assists in the season opener against Wofford (11/21/03).
Crump Doubles Up
Brandon Crump recorded his fourth career double-double with an 11 point, 11 rebound outing in the season opener against Wofford (11/21/03) ... As a sophomore in 2002-03 the Houston, Texas, native had three double-doubles ... The 6-foot-10 forward is Tennessee's top returning scorer (11.0 ppg), rebounder (5.9 rpg) and shot blocker (1.03 bpg) from last season.
Vols Get Head Start On Season
While most other Division I basketball teams were holding their first practice of the season on Oct. 18, the Vols had already practiced 10 times and played two games ... After starting practice on Oct. 1, Tennessee traveled to the Dominican Republic Oct. 15-19 to play a pair of exhibition games against members of the Dominican Under-21 National Team ... Tennessee dropped the first game in La Romana 96-92 despite 36 points from Scooter McFadgon and 16 points and eight rebounds from Brandon Crump ... The next night the Vols traveled to Santo Domingo where they picked up a 95-92 win ... During the trip, McFadgon led the Vols with 29.0 points per game while C.J. Watson and Crump each added 12.0 points and Jemere Hendrix contributed 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds ... The Vols had an opportunity to enjoy the Caribbean sun and beaches but also assisted the communities they visited by holding youth clinics and bringing gifts of books, clothing and medicine ... One of the highlights of the trip came on the final afternoon when each of the players and coaches participated in a game of donkey polo.
Watson's World Tour
Sophomore point guard C.J. Watson had a busy summer travelling the world in 2003 ... The Las Vegas, Nev., native was a member of the 2003 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Team that competed in the Global Games in Dallas and in the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Junior World Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece ... Team USA rolled through the Global Games, winning the gold medal with a 104-80 win over the Global Games Select Team in the championship game ... At the FIBA Junior World Championship, Team USA fell out of medal contention with a loss to Australia in the quarterfinals but still finished the tournament with a 7-1 record ... Watson averaged 6.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.9 rebounds while playing 21.3 minutes per game in Greece.
Big Men On Campus
Brandon Crump and Boomer Herndon both spent a session at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp in Las Vegas over the summer ... For Crump it is the second consecutive year that he has attended the camp ... The twosome were among about 60 college players and a dozen NBA players attending the camp in early August ... One of the instructors Herndon worked with the most was 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson.
The Memphis Mafia
From the late 1950s until his death in 1977, Elvis Presley's friends were known as the Memphis Mafia ... In 2003-04 the Tennessee Volunteers have their own version of the Memphis Mafia ... Four players and one staff member are natives of the Bluff City ... Dane Bradshaw (White Station HS), Scooter McFadgon (Raleigh-Egypt HS), Fred Smithwick (Christian Brothers HS) and Lou Wright (Raleigh-Egypt HS) all attended high school in Memphis ... Former Vol guard and current administrative coordinator Clarence Swearengen is also a native of Memphis.
Homecourt Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena has provided the Vols with a definite homecourt advantage since the facility opened in time for the 1987-88 season.
* Tennessee is 177-75 (.702) in its 17th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
* Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 78-16 (.830) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
* Tennessee is 64-14 (.821) since the 1999 season at home. UT recorded a 14-1 record in 1999, a 15-1 mark in 2000, 12-3 in 2001, 10-4 in 2002 and 12-5 in 2003.
* The Vols are 36-13 against SEC teams at home over the last four plus seasons.
* UT has won 48 of its last 51 home games against non-conference opponents.
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