I simply don't buy the "but we'll get better by the end of the year" thing. The only "really" new part on the team is Cooper. Deshields had an entire year to sit out and watch. This is Russell's 3rd year. Every single starter on the Tenn roster has at least 1 year experience except for Cooper. AND the team went to Italy or something this year to bond and play some games, right?
So really, Tenn should be ahead of every other team out there, not behind them. To say "but we will improve loads by the end of the year". Riiiight. So will UCONN, ND, Baylor (who by the way is acclimating may more pieces than Tenn), as well as SC (who is far more experienced than most teams out there).
I think (just my opinion) that some of the frustration for Tenn fans is that they look at the roster and see all the players who were ranked super high coming out of HS, and they think that makes them a FF team. It simply doesn't, and when you have a hobbled Diamond to go along with coaching that is still working from a style drawn from the 80's and 90's (as Mil, Vctw, and UCMiami pointed out), it's not a recipe for elite success. You simply cannot run offense that consists mainly of dribble around the perimeter, make a few passes for the 1st 10 seconds of the shot clock, then jack up a shot, miss, and expect your bigs to crash the boards and put back a score.
Will they be relevant? Sure. Just like in Pat's years, they have enough talent to be in the top 10. Will they win a NC? Not at all - can't do it against other elite teams with equal talent but better coaching.