Steven Pearl

STEVEN PEARL

Class: Senior

Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee

High School: West

HT, WT: 6'5, 235

Position: Forward

Number: 22

Twitter: @SPearl22

As almost all of you might know, Coach Bruce Pearl has a son on the "Baller Vols", and his name is Steven, but he just goes by "Pearl". Pearl, a walk-on, is another tough, nitty gritty guys for the Vols. Often times, Pearl can be seen on the sideline with his mohawk cheering on the squad, when he's in the game, you do not want to go around this guy. Well known for his hustle, defense, and knack for having to guard guys 5 inches taller than him in the post, Pearl is one of the ultimate hustle players. One of the plays of the year last year was Pearl's chasedown block, LeBronesque. One of the scariest thoughts is when Pearl has a tie up with another player, thats when his "psycho" mentality take over and he will do whatever it takes to get the ball, even after the whistle.

Pearl does so much for this team that is not recognized, he prides himself on defense and hustle plays. He loves to dive all out on the floor and seems likes he never loses any energy. Pound for pound, Pearl may be the strongest player and probably the best defender on the squad and has the highest basketball IQ as well. Pearl is the most hated player on the squad who do not understand basketball, they believe he is a waste of space because they do not understand all the little things he does to make sure the team gets that W. Even though he only averaged 1 point and 1 rebound, he does so much and brings some much heart to these Vols. He will be a key component in determining if the vols can achieve their goal, and make the Final 4.

Expectations: Everyday he's hustling

John Fields

JOHN FIELDS

Class: Senior

Hometown: Fayetteville, N.C.

High School: Jack Britt High School

HT, WT: 6'9, 222.

Position: Forward/Center

Number: 25

Twitter: @JFreeFly32

As I'm sure you know by now, we have yet another transfer into the program this year with Mr. John Fields. Fields actually began his career at East Carolina where he played 2 years, before transferring to UNC-Wilmington. Fields graduated after the 09-10 season concluded, so John decided to take advantage of his situation. With a year of eligibility left, he transferred to Tennessee without having to sit out of year because he had already graduated. The Volunteer program is glad to have him as a one year addition!

Not much is known about John, as not many people have seen him play. From what we are hearing, though, it sounds like he will be a force in the paint defensively and on the glass. He set a UNCW, single season block record last year with 59. He averaged 10.2 ppg and 8.7 rpg in his brief stint with the Eagles. He will bring more toughness and depth inside for Tennessee, which is something that was definitely needed with the departure of Wayne "Weezy" Chism. Aside from Brian Williams, noboby knows what to expect in the frontcourt, but Fields help us quite a bit. With Fields, Big Baby, and K Hall splitting time at the Center position, I feel much better. Hey John, if you read this, sorry I don't know much about you, just ball out for us so we know you lol.

Expectations: 3 ppg, 5 rpg, .5 bpg. Could see him as a good hustle guy.

Josh Bone

JOSH BONE

Class: Senior

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

High School: Brentwood Academy

HT, WT: 6'3, 195

Position: Guard

Number: 24

Twitter: @JoshBone24

Here is another one of our guys that transferred in to the Volunteers program. The former Southern Illinois Saluki came to Knoxville 2 years into his college career. He left the Saluki program after Fall semester of his junior year, he joined Pearl's squad in January 2009 as an invited walk-on. In his freshman year at Southern Illinois, Bone fractured his foot, which caused him to miss the first 9 games of the season. Josh averaged 9.4 minutes per game as a freshman for a Saluki squad that pushed #1 seed Kansas to its limits in the Sweet 16. In his sophomore campaign, Josh started 19 of 33 games averaging 8.1 ppg while leading the team in 3 point field goals made with 57.

Bone was regulated to scout team the second half of the 08-09 season and the first half of 09-10 season. He finally became eligible to face Wyoming on December 15, 2009. When Josh first came to the Vols, everybody knocked his defense ability. He was known as a good long range shooter, but they said he could not cover a soul. Volunteer Nation were quite surprised when he came in and was actually one of the Vols BEST perimeter defenders. It was obvious J-Bone had been working on his defense and all of the scout team practice definitely helped him out int hat regard. Bone did a great job defensively against Kansas' Sherron Collins when the Vols shocked the #1 ranked Jayhawks. Collins was off all night shooting wise and two players you can thank are Bobby Maze and Mr. Bone. Another great outing for Josh was against Ole Miss. He did a great job of shutting down their top scorer in point guard Chris Warren. In that game he scored 9 points (all on 3pointers) and had 3 steals. Bone was even better in the NCAA tournament. In round 2 against the Ohio Bobcats, Bone was part of a committee that shut down the explosive Bobcats backcourt. DJ Cooper and Armon Bassett made a mockery of the Georgetown defense in round 1, but the Vols threw all types of different defenders at the small assassins and never allowed them to get comfortable. Bone is a type of guy that is always ready and willing to do anything for his team. He works hard on defense and often times camps out in the corner ready to hit his deadly 3 ball. He's not going to take a game over, but his is a great role player that has a big say in what will happen this year.

Expecation: Defensive stopper, 3-5 ppg.

Melvin Goins

MELVIN GOINS

Class: Senior

Hometown: San Diego, California

High School: Christian Life Center Academy

HT, WT: 5'11, 195

Position: Point Guard

Number: 2 (Was #21 last year)

Twitter: @MelGo21

Tennessee is known as a school that thrives on getting kids a not so common way, by transfers. Just ask JP Prince, Bobby Maze, and Tyler Smith how their careers flourished once they became Vols. (Insert Tyler Smith joke here, even though we still love him.) Mel Goins is no different than any of those 3 just stated. Goins is one of 4 current transfers that will be eligible to play for the Baller Vols this season. Melvin started his career at Ball State where he was the starter for most of his freshman season. He averaged 8 ppg and led the team in assists and steals. After his freshman year concluded Goins decided to transfer to San Jacinto JC in California. In his one season there he averaged 17.2 ppg, 4.9 apg, and 2 spg on the way to being named the Foothill Conference MVP. After that season he decided to take his talents to Knoxville. When Mel Goins first committed to Bruce Pearl, most fans first reaction was, who? After reading up on him most fans saw his strength was defense, and we all know defense wins championships.

Last season for the Vols Goins averaged 5.3 ppg, but he had most of his impact on the defense end. Goins looks like he could step in and play strong safety for Coach Dooley and company. His strong, muscular frame helps him so much on the defensive end. I'd pay to see another point guard in the NCAA push him around, becuase I guarntee there are not any out there. Ask Evan Turner about Melvin, he'd surely remember. When JP Prince wasn't guarding ET, Melvin was. You could tell Turner was uncomfortable with how Mel was pressuring him full court relentlessly. His on ball pressure caused some panic for Turner. Normally Turner had no problem getting by his opponent on the peremiter, but not against a quicker, stronger Goins. Even though ET had a crazy stat sheet that game, JP and Melvin made it a whole lot tougher on him. If it wasn't for Melvin, the Vols would not have even advanced passed the first round of the NCAA tournament, let alone get to the Elite 8. In the first game against San Diego State, Melvin provided an offensive spark. In a defensive slugfest that ended up 62-59 in the Vols favor, Goins had a season high 15 points. He hit 4 threes in that game alone, one of which was a game winner with about 15 seconds remaining. Goins is not known as a shooter, but he stepped up when the game was on the line.

Melvin has a great "floater" once he gets in the lane. Every time you expect him to get swatted, he just floats it up there and gets it to go down. Already a lockdown defender with a good mid-range game, if he can develop his 3ball to be a little more consistent, he will be SCARY. On another note, Melvin showed in the Rocky Top League that he has sick hops as well, he threw down one of the craziest dunks I've ever seen in a game a 360 windmill. If you get a chance, check out that video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9EtHkIdyxU . Its the last dunk on there.

Expectations 8-10 ppg, 5 apg, 1.5 spg

Brian Williams

BRIAN WILLIAMS

Class: Senior

Hometown: Bronx, NY.

High School: Harmony Community Prep

HT, WT: 6'10, 278.

Position: Center

Number: 33

Twitter: @33BrianWilliams

The most experienced Vol returning to the fold this year is Center Brian "Big Baby" Williams. There is a lot to love about this big fella, especially what he showed towards the second half of the season. As most of you probably know, Brian and a few other teammates got into trouble on New Years Day 2010 when the car they were riding in was pulled over and things such as guns, weed, and open containers were found inside the car. The arrests led to the dismissal of Tyler Smith and suspensions for Mel Goins, Cam Tatum, and Brian. The arrest may have been a blessing in disguise for Mr. Williams. He was suspended for 9 games, when he finally came back it was easy to notice that this was not the same Brian Williams. The new Brian was playing with so much heart and intensity, you could tell he was happy to be back playing the game he loves. It was almost as if he was no longer taking the game for granted. Not only was he playing with more passion, but he also looked like he was growing into a leader role. He learned from his mistakes and he wanted to make all of those around him better from his experiences. When tournament time came last year, Big Baby took his game to a new level. Enjoying his time at his newly inquired starting position, Brian was all over the place in the tournament and was finally doing what everybody thought he should be doing. REBOUNDING. He knew every rebound should be his and you could tell in the effort he put forth in getting it. He used his God given size and punished others who got in his way, which was a big reason Vols made it to the Elite 8. He came out with a new, never before seen toughness to him. And he added a new dimension to his game. DUNKING. Through his first 2 and a half years, I honestly do not remember this massive 6'10 body throwing down a jam. Maybe its just me, but when he came back from the suspension Brian was trying to dunk everything (Unlike when it was only donuts, lol just kidding guy), just ask John Wall. Big things are expected of #33 this year, and I think he's ready to take charge on and off the court. Look for Brian to step into the roll as leader of the 2010-11 Baller Vols.

Brian is known as the clown of the team. Players always tweet about how funny he is, and Vol Diaries proved it during the tournament. I, also, have an experience with Brians goofyness. One day Scotty Hopson tweeted that he was going to eat with Brian and others. I said to him that of course anytime food is involved, Brian comes calling. Big Baby saw the tweet and was not happy with me, he responded to me and told me that I was "a real life midget", which confuses me to this day. He said my arms look very short and I had a big ass head, I got a kick out of it tho. The next day he tweeted money is the motivation, I responded with "I thought food was the motivation?" Brian, playing along, told me that my motivation was shopping at the mens store. All joking aside tho Brian is a very hard worker. He has totally transformed his body and you can tell that it helped with his quickness and stamina on the court. Brian has constantly improved and we can count on a big year. Hey Brian if you read this, I'm 5'10 for what its worth lol.

Expectations-Average a Double Double

Roster

I will begin this Baller Vols blog by giving you a glimpse of the upcoming season, which will consist of me telling you the roster.