Tennessee has almost always been athletic. In the past (up to the Parker yaers), it's been enough. Not any more. Tennessee hasn't landed a truly elite recruit since Candace Parker (and by "truly elite", I mean a rating of 98 or above per Hoopgurlz, or one of the top 2-3 players in most any given class). This is not to say Tennessee has not recruited really well. They have.
And Tenn certainly has landed their share of top 10 kids - Bjorkland, Baugh, Johnson, Stricklen, Gray, Massengale, Burdick, Graves and Tucker. All of them were top 10 kids (I'm not sure if i missed any since Parker's class, but i think i got them all). but none of those kids were in the same league as Harris, Charles, Prince, Moore, Lavender, EDD, Griner, Bone, Diggins, Ogwumike, Simms, Hartley, Thomas, KML, Williams, Stewart or Jefferson. Those kids were all either rated 98 or better, or were one of the top 2-3 kids in their class...
Now I totally disagree with Tony if he feels Tennessee is on the way out. But I think it's pretty clear that without getting the uber-elite players, Tennessee simply cannot challenge for a NC. Landing Davis and Russell would be a step in the right direction. If Tenn lands both of them, they could be challenging for a final 4 berth when those kids are juniors. I have no doubt Tenn fans will see it differently, but the reality is that even with first round draft picks Johnson and Stricklen (and they were also on the all rookie team), as well as former #2 Baugh, Tennessee was still incapable of getting past the elite 8.
Tenn has always had the athletes. Crash the O-boards and play stifling defense. That's what Tennessee has been known for in the past. But without at least 3 truly elite players on their roster, they simply won't be getting it done. And for the record, I'd argue that UCONN has 5 truly elite players on their roster at this time - Hartley, KML, and the entire freshman class of Tuck, Jefferson and Stewart. Tennessee doesn't have one single player on their team who is better than those 5. IMHO Graves is the best player on their team (she may not be the "best" this year, but she will be very soon).
Tucker was a HUGE get for Tennessee because up to that point, they'd swung and missed on everyone they went after, even 2nd tier JUCO players. She was the first elite player to take a chance on the new coaching staff. I think that, at least perceptually, opened the doors for other top kids to realize Tennessee was still going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Even if Tennessee lands Davis and Russell, they will need at least 1 or 2 more uber elite recruits to compete with UCONN 2+ years down the road. They'd need Wilson, Turner, Mitchell, or one of the other uber elite from that class (i'm not sure who will the best of that class)... just to have close to the talent UCONN has... And the way Duke has been recruiting, Tenn is looking up at them right now too.
