Lamonte Turner
photo by James Boofer
KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s basketball season took a stunning turn Saturday with Lamonte Turner’s announcement that he was forgoing the remainder of his final season and undergo left shoulder surgery.
By all appearances, everyone was caught off guard by the news. Coach Rick Barnes talked at length during his press conference about having a long talk with Turner on Friday night. The subject of Turner’s shoulder was broached and Barnes said that they would make changes until his condition improved.
In Saturday’s 75-53 victory over Jacksonville State, Turner was deployed on the low block during the second half. The move coincided with UT’s best offensive play of the day and maybe the season.
“We did some things in the second half offensively that we haven’t done all year, which hopefully we’re going to be able to look at and learn from,” Barnes said.
The coach’s perspective was altered dramatically by what transpired thereafter. Per a statement Barnes released later, Turner and his family informed him of his decision after the redshirt senior guard met with the media.
The Christmas break at least gives Barnes and his staff an opportunity to consider their options. It’s not much of a chance, however. The season resumes at a relentless pace beginning with a visit from Big Ten foe Wisconsin on Saturday. The Vols open SEC play against LSU on Jan. 4.
The loss of Turner diminishes UT on several fronts. He was the team’s most experienced player. Without him, the Vols are down to eight eligible scholarship players and four of them are freshmen.
Among active players, Turner was the SEC leader in career assists with 347. He added 11 to that total on Saturday. He also had reached the 1,000-point career scoring mark. Despite the shooting struggles caused by his shoulder pain, Turner was second behind Jordan Bowden in per-game scoring average this season at 12.3 points.
Overall, Turner was one of only five Vols to record 1,000 points, 300 assists and 300 rebounds for his career.
Turner’s intangibles are harder to quantify but impossible to overstate. Barnes has lauded Turner’s leadership and competitiveness as being instrumental to the Vols’ resurgence.
“He played a key role in establishing the culture of our program,” Barnes said Saturday in his statement.
Tennessee’s starting five against Wisconsin will offer a first look at the Vols’ plans going forward. Do they replace Turner with another guard or not? Fellow starting guards Bowden and Josiah-Jordan James can address the production void created by Turner’s absence. His other qualities will be harder to replicate, however.
Two other guards – freshmen Davonte Gaines and redshirt junior Jalen Johnson – likely will have bigger roles. But it’s uncertain how much more can be expected of them. They played a combined 21 minutes on Saturday. Gaines made the biggest impact with seven points and three rebounds.
Finally, does Turner’s departure change UT’s plans for freshman guard Santiago Vescovi? The four-star prospect will join the team next week. Barnes said on Friday that it’s “highly unlikely” Vescovi would play this season.
But that was before everything changed.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri who covered University of Tennessee athletics for the Knoxville News Sentinel from 1988-2019. He may be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com