Fansided

Tennessee basketball: Starting lineup options for 2019-2020

By Mike Phillips

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 24: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes fights for a rebound against Jordan Bowden #23 and Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 24: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes fights for a rebound against Jordan Bowden #23 and Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 28: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 28: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

After a promising season ended in a disappointing Sweet 16 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, Tennessee will look to reload and make another run at an SEC title.

For a while, it looked this season would be the year of the Volunteers. Tennessee ended up as the no. 1 team in the country thanks to a massive winning streak, but they stumbled down the stretch to fall off the top line in the NCAA Tournament.

The Volunteers got to the Sweet 16 on the strength of the two-headed monster of Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, but Tennessee was knocked out by red-hot Carsen Edwards and Purdue. That brought a bitter end to the best season of the Rick Barnes era in Tennessee, and the Volunteers could have a new look next season.

Schofield and Kyle Alexander have graduated, so those are two big losses for the program to overcome. In addition, Williams and Jordan Bone have declared for the NBA Draft, but neither has shut the door on a potential return to Knoxville for the upcoming season.

Getting either player back would be a huge boost to Tennessee’s chances, especially with Kentucky poised to put together another loaded recruiting class of one-and-dones and LSU continuing to look formidable. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the lineup options Barnes could have when assembling the Volunteers’ roster over the summer.

First up, we’ll take a peek at the best case scenario.