Donovan Mitchell turned Cleveland Cavaliers media day into a little Lady Vols spotlight.
The Cavaliers guard, coming off a season in which he averaged 27.9 PTS, 5.7 AST, and 4.5 REB per game, showed up wearing a pair of shoes that carried Tennessee flavor even though he has no current connection to the program. Mitchell, one of the NBA’s top guards, helped lead Cleveland to the conference finals last season before the Cavaliers fell to the eventual champion.
The giveaway was in the details. Mitchell’s shoes were white, trimmed in orange and Summitt blue, with a Lady Vols logo placed on the back. The pair was a PE edition, meaning Player Exclusive, so it is not released and is not waiting on a release either.
That kind of custom treatment has shown up elsewhere around the league too. The source points to Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, who once wore a PE shoe themed around the University of Oregon.
Mitchell’s DON 8s are part of Adidas’ line, and Tennessee’s place within the Adidas family may have helped make the Lady Vols theme an easy fit. The Vols have often been described as the face of the brand in college athletics, and the article notes that few college programs compare to Tennessee in that regard.
For now, it’s still unclear whether Mitchell will continue to rep the Lady Vols this season. But the media day photos are out there now, and for fans, that’s the kind of unexpected crossover that sticks.
In Other News...
Auburn Suddenly Has A Real Opening To Flip Its SEC Outlook
Tennessee heads into Saturdays matchup with Auburn at Neyland Stadium carrying a little more uncertainty than it did a week ago. College football analyst Josh Pate pointed to the season-ending injury to starting guard Wendell Moe as a real concern for the Volunteers, and he also flagged the pressure the quarterback absorbed in the most recent game as another sign the offense may have some answers to find before SEC play tightens up.
Auburn, meanwhile, sees a path if it can clean up its own issues in the run game and get steadier quarterback play. Against a ranked Tennessee team, those are not small fixes, but they are the kind that can change how a conference season feels in a hurry, especially in a road game where the atmosphere and the line of scrimmage will matter from the opening snaps. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Saw These Arch Manning Concerns Before Everyone Else
Arch Mannings stock has been under a microscope for a while, and the latest reminder comes from ESPN scout Jordan Reid, who moved the Texas junior to fourth among quarterback prospects in his newest draft rankings. Reid still likes the raw tools, but the concern has become familiar for anyone who has watched Manning closely: the physical traits are obvious, while the sharper parts of quarterback play, especially reading defenses and tightening up his mechanics, still need work.
For Tennessee fans, the interesting part is how early some of those warning signs felt apparent. Texas coaches have also been dialing back Mannings designed runs to keep him protected, and that cautious approach may be affecting both his rhythm and his decision-making. It leaves a quarterback with plenty of upside, but also one whose development is still being shaped by the way his own team is trying to manage him. [Read more 🡒]
Dalton Knechts Lakers Future Suddenly Feels Far Less Secure
Dalton Knechts path with the Lakers has turned into one of the more uncomfortable fall storylines for a former Tennessee star. Entering his third NBA season, he has seen his minutes and production drop sharply, and the kind of role he seemed poised to carve out in Los Angeles has become much harder to count on.
NBA insider Brett Siegel even mentioned Knecht as a possible roster cut during training camp, though the Lakers have not issued any official indication that they plan to move on. JJ Redick has praised Knechts work ethic and his push to earn a rotation spot, but for now the bigger question is whether that effort will be enough to steady a future that suddenly looks far less secure. [Read more 🡒]