IIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTT’SSSSSSSSS MONDAY!!!!! And after being gone on vacation for a bit, it’s time to get back at it here regarding the Vols. And there certainly isn’t a shortage of things to talk about despite it being the summer.
So, let’s buckle those seat belts, start up those engines, and go rumbling over those orange and white dunes of Tennessee Vols-related thoughts scattered throughout my mind.
1) Man, it’s good to be Tony Vitello lately, isn’t it?I mean, it’s probably never been bad, but man, he truly is the king of the college baseball world right now. After bringing home the school’s first-ever national championship, he’s parlayed that success into landing some impact players in the portal while still contending for several more.
The latest is 1B/OF Erik Rataczek from Niagara. All that dude did last year was bat .396 (17th best in all of college baseball) while also posting a 1.183 OPS with 17 HRs and 71 RBIs. He’s one of the best players available in the portal, and he committed on Monday to the Vols. Well, he committed, but we’ll have to see if he ends up in Knoxville, as he could be drafted at a position that sends him to professional baseball this year. We’ll see.
Still, a big get, and he joins a group of impressive commitments in former Louisville INF Gavin Kilen and former Kennesaw State flamethrower Tanner Franklin, who’s topping out around 100 mph. We’ll see if he can add some more names in the coming week.
2) Dalton Knecht and Santiago Vescovi squared off last night in San Francisco when the Lakersand Warriors played each other in the NBA Summer League. Knecht hasn’t quite gotten his shot down, going a combined 6 of 25 in his first two games from the floor. He did, however, manage to have the highlight play of the day last night, cutting through the lane and slamming the ball between two defenders. That’s what I’m more pleased to see. I know he can shoot. I want to see him be aggressive and show he can take the ball to the basket against NBA-level competition. This isn’t quite that yet – these are principally just young players – but that’s the mindset I want to see from him.
Santi also had some moments for himself, including one at Knecht’s expense. In the second quarter, Santi skied in front of Knecht to snare an offensive rebound and put it back for a bucket. He also had an impressive runner through the lane that resulted in an and one. 6 points on 3-4 shooting in 15 minutes. Hopefully he can end up making enough plays this summer to get an extended look from someone.
