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Vols promise ‘it’s not gonna be one of those years’

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Maybe there won’t be a Bruce Pearl fallout.

Tennessee’s basketball program made the NCAA tournament last season, but not much is expected out of the Vols now that Pearl’s been fired and players like Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins are gone.

But the at least one remaining Vol isn’t worried.

“My mindset coming out here this summer was to give the fans something to look forward to,” guard Jordan McRae told the Knoxville Sentinel. “We read the blogs and chatboards, and we (UT players) want to let the fans know it’s not gonna be one of those years.”

McRae’s confidence comes from his impressive summer in the Pilot Rocky Top League. Pearl knew McRae could play, but told the paper it was hard to find him playing time on the wing when guys like Hopson and Tatum were already there.

But it shows there is some talent for new coach Cuonzo Martin. And that’s a promising sign for Vols fans.

“This can be a very good perimeter team, especially if Skylar (McBee) gets to hitting the three,” former Vols player Jon Higgins told the paper. “The key for all of them is to keep improving, and Jordan needs to keep adding strength and weight.”

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.