KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As we get closer to Friday's matchup between Tennessee and Oregon State, we're going to dive into the Beavers' roster. We aren't looking at every player on the roster, but are instead focusing on the players who are most likely to have an impact in Friday's game.
0 Gianni Hunt, 6'3" Sophomore Guard:
Gianni Hunt is just a sophomore, but he's played a ton already for the Beavers in his career. Last season, Hunt played in each of Oregon State's 31 games. He's a capable scorer but is far from someone who you can count on to fill it up on a nightly basis. He's a bit inconsistent from a scoring standpoint. Twice this season Hunt has scored 17 points, but he's also been held scoreless on six different occasions. He can handle the ball and is fairly quick, but he won't likely be Tennessee's biggest concern on Friday.
1 Maurice Callo, 6'10" Junior Forward:
Maurice Callo is another Beaver who has been inconsistent from a scoring standpoint. Early in the year he appeared to be someone who the Beavers could rely on to score in the post, but as the year went on his scoring output dropped off. He scored a season high of 18 early in the season. From the start of February until the PAC12 Tournament championship game, he didn't score more than 7 points in any game. In fact, he was held scoreless five times during that stretch. This would be comforting to the Vols, if not for what he did the last time out. In their tournament championship game, he exploded for 15 points to help propel his team to victory. It's certainly a big if, but if the Beavers get that sort of productivity offensively from Callo, their chances of winning likely skyrocket. With John Fulkerson's availability uncertain, he's someone to keep an eye on.
2 Jarod Lucas, 6'3" Sophomore Guard:
Jarod Lucas would be my biggest concern if I was on Tennessee's staff. Lucas is a guy who loves to shoot it from deep. He's not shy about pulling, even if he's guarded closely by an opponent. Even if there are two defenders near, you can't rule out Lucas getting a shot up. He averages 12.9 points per game and shoots an eye-opening 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. Other than Ethan Thompson, he's the main guy who will have the ball in his hand when it gets to crunch time. He has a tendency to fall away on shots, which can help him to create some extra space even when he's guarded tightly. He's the type of guy that could drive an opposing fan base bonkers in the tournament if he gets hot. It often seems like he's almost as worried about drawing contact as he is making the shot. If there's one shooter who the Vols need to be concerned about, it's Lucas.
5 Ethan Thompson, 6'5" Senior Guard:
Ethan Thompson is the guy to watch if this one is close late. He's the Beavers' leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. He's the guy who Coach Tinkle trusts with the ball in his hands. He's not as big of a 3-point threat as a guy like Jarod Lucas is, but he finds ways to get into the lane and create issues for opponents. He's not super quick but seems like a guy who has good body control. At 6'5", size helps him get the looks he wants when he gets going downhill. He's not immune to turning the ball over, having done so 76 times this season. He's a relatively calm ball handler and things just seem to work smoother when Thompson is involved.
10 Warith Alatishe, 6'7" Junior Forward:
Warith Alatishe is a player who can create mismatch problems for opponents. He's a good jumper who's athletic and rangy. He's not the strongest guy on the court, but when things break down, he can create some offense. He's playing with confidence right now, having put up 10 or more points in eight of his last 11 games. A lot of his scoring comes from 10 feet and in. He's a player who Tennessee who could play off of if he gets the ball on the wing. He's only 1-14 from 3-point range on the season, and it's not a shot he prefers to take. Alatishe is a high leaper who can execute the turnaround hook shoot pretty well. Defensively he's a problem for opponents. He leads the Beavers in blocked shots at 41 this season.
11 Zach Reichle, 6'5" Senior Guard:
What jumps out on the page immediately is his defense, but not in a good way. To call him a liability might not be 100% fair, but at times he's pretty darn close to it. Opponents have targeted him, going after him in isolation situations from the wing. He's just not extremely quick and because of that you can attack him off the dribble. He'll take and can make open threes, but don't expect him to force shots off the dribble the way that Lucas does. Reichle is much more comfortable being a spot up shooter who can make you pay if you leave him open.
12 Roman Silva, 7'1" Senior Center:
Roman Silva is large human. At 7'1", he could be a flat-out problem for the Vols. This is especially the case if John Fulkerson doesn't play. Not only is he tall, but he's an overall big body. He's about 265 lbs. and could potentially shove some of Tennessee's smaller, slighter defenders around a bit. In 27 games this year, he's scored in double figures just four times. Much like Maurice Callo, it's hard to know exactly what to expect from Silva on Friday. Like Callo, Silva's play could be determined by what kind of lineup the Vols put on the court Friday.
Defensively, Silva can be a bit of a liability. He's flat-footed and isn't very quick. He gets out over his toes trying to come out to defend 3-point shots and has done the same at times when defending the post. The Vols can get him in foul trouble if they go at him with intent.
On offense, he's not the quickest decision maker and he tends to hold the ball a little low at times.
What does this mean for Tennessee?
If Silva starts to make an impact on offense early, Rick Barnes could decide to bring a guard down to double the post. If this happens, Tennessee could try and tie the big man up or even get a steal if they do it quickly. This is the case because at times, Silva holds the ball low enough for guards to get.
If he plays, he could present a real opportunity to go after him on the defensive end if the Vols force him to guard Pons or a quicker player. Coach Tinkle could decide to not play him apart from special circumstances where he could come in for a single offensive possession. However, if Fulkerson can't play, Silva could pose a matchup issue down low on the offensive end.
34 Rodrigue Andela, 6'8" Junior Forward:
Andela is a consistent player down low for the Beavers. Like most of Oregon State's post men, Andela isn't any sort of elite scorer. However, his size could be somewhat problematic for the Vols. He's a good rebounder and could hurt the Vols by giving the Beavers second chances if not boxed out. He's not extremely athletic, but would be much more formidable trying to guard Tennessee's quicker post players on the perimeter than Roman Silva would be from a quickness standpoint.