2021’s starting 5: West Tennessee edition

<p>Putting together a solid team for East Tennessee was fun. Now let’s put a team together for West Tennessee.</p> <p>I was torn at who should start at shooting guard. I’m a fan of [player_tooltip player_id="843840" first="Jalen" last="Brown"]. [player_tooltip player_id="775540" first="Alden" last="Applewhite"] is coming off a stellar junior season.</p> <p>The other four positions were easy to put together.</p> <p>Here’s my starting five.</p> <p><strong>Point</strong> <strong>guard</strong></p> <p><strong>Kameron</strong> <strong>Jones</strong>, <strong>ECS</strong>: Jones is a walking bucket. He’s a 6-foot-3 point guard with great ball handles and unlimited scoring abilities. Jones is one of those point guards that can turn it on whenever he feels like doing so. He was a unanimous pick here.</p> <p><strong>Shooting</strong> <strong>guard</strong></p> <p><strong>Alden</strong> <strong>Applewhite</strong>, <strong>Houston</strong>: I needed a guard that can shoot it from deep and see over the defense. Applewhite can do both. If Jones sees a double team, Applewhite, hopefully, will be open, and he has to be ready to shoot. Applewhite had great moments in 2019 for the Mustangs where he got into a rhythm and couldn’t miss. He’s the perfect shooting guard because of his height (6-6).</p> <p><strong>Small</strong> <strong>forward</strong></p> <p><strong>Alex</strong> <strong>Anderson</strong>, <strong>Tipton</strong>-<strong>Rosemark</strong> <strong>Academy</strong>: Anderson will take so much attention off of Jones and Applewhite. He’s a 6-6 wing that’s great at slashing. Anderson finishes strong at the rim. He rebounds the ball well and plays hard on both ends of the floor.</p> <p><strong>Power</strong> <strong>forward</strong></p> <p><strong>Johnathan</strong> <strong>Lawson</strong>, <strong>Wooddale</strong>: Lawson is a special player. He can play positions 1-4. I could have placed him anywhere, and he would’ve been effective. Lawson can see over the defense. He passes the ball well and knows how to finish at the rim. Occasionally, Lawson knocks down 3s in transition. Overall, the 6-8 guard/forward is a solid player.</p> <p><strong>Center</strong></p> <p><strong>Mason</strong> <strong>Miller</strong>, <strong>Houston</strong>: Miller’s natural position is small forward, but in this lineup, I would have him playing center. At 6-8 ½, Miller can step out and knock down the 3. He can knock down 17-foot jump shots. With his length, he could easily average 8-10 rebounds a game.</p> <p>This lineup consists of five guys that can contribute in multiple ways. It may seem farfetched for all five players to play together since all of them are used to having the ball, but it isn’t farfetched. Lawson looks to be a facilitator before a scorer. Applewhite likes to take smart shots instead of a lot of shots. Jones is willing to get his teammates involved. Since Miller is at center, I would run a lot of high pick-and-roll action with him and Jones. So, if Miller’s defender doesn’t roll off the pick when Miller does, Jones should find him either rolling to the basket or spotting up for a jumper. With these five players in the lineup, double teams will be costly.</p> <p>Each player could easily average 15-20 points a game.</p>