With 2.7 seconds left on March 28, 2019, Tennessee was right where it wanted to be against Purdue. The Volunteers had battled through a tight, back-and-forth game and were ahead 82-80, one stop away from closing it out.
Then came the call that still hangs over Tennessee basketball.
After Grant Williams’ defense forced the ball out of bounds, Purdue got the baseline inbound with almost no time left. The pass went to the corner, Carsen Edwards rose to shoot, and the officials blew the whistle on Lamonte Turner for not giving him landing room. Because the shot came from behind the arc, Purdue suddenly had a chance to steal the game at the line if Edwards knocked down all three free throws.
Turner was clearly upset, but the call stood. Edwards made two of three, sending the game to overtime, and Tennessee later lost.
That sequence remains one of the biggest “what if” moments in Vols history. Rick Barnes is still chasing his first Final Four appearance, and while this doesn’t guarantee Tennessee would have made that leap, the matchup ahead looked favorable. The Vols appeared to match up well with Virginia in the next round, and some could argue they were better suited for that opponent than Purdue was, even though the Boilermakers ultimately came up short in that game.
For Tennessee, that whistle did more than extend a possession. It helped shape the end of the season, which is why it still lingers as a defining “what if.”
In Other News...
Former Lady Vol Avery Strickland Hurst Just Reopened Her Career Path
Avery Strickland Hurst is settling into another new stop in a college career that has already taken her through Tennessee, Belmont and Pitt. The former Lady Vols guard has transferred to the University of Missouri-Kansas City after re-entering the transfer portal, keeping her in the game while adding another chapter to a path that has already moved through several programs.
The move also brings a personal wrinkle, because she will now be playing in the same city as her husband, Grant Hurst, who is an assistant coach for the Kansas City Monarchs. For a player who has had to keep adjusting to new surroundings, this gives her next stop a different kind of significance as she joins a program in a familiar city. [Read more 🡒]
Dolly Partons Own High School Found A Powerful Way To Honor Her
Sevier County High School is finding a fitting way to carry Dolly Partons legacy onto the field this fall. The school announced that its football players will wear a commemorative helmet sticker for the rest of the 2026 season, a tribute to the East Tennessee icon who graduated from Sevier County in 1964 and remained one of the areas most recognizable figures.
The decal blends Partons signature with a butterfly and a guitar, and it will be placed on the back of the teams helmets as the season continues. Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80, and the gesture gives Sevier County a public way to honor one of its most famous alumni while tying her memory to the program she helped put on the map in her hometown. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Entered A Recruiting Battle Fans Need To Watch
Joseph Jet Gibbs has suddenly become one of the more interesting wide receiver names on Tennessees recruiting board. The four-star from Haw River, North Carolina, has been verbally committed to South Carolina since July, but that has not stopped a wave of heavyweight programs from pushing for him, with Tennessee among the schools that have recently jumped in with an offer.
The race around Gibbs is a good reminder that early commitments can get complicated fast when the nations biggest programs start applying pressure. Tennessee now finds itself in a battle that also includes Notre Dame, Auburn, Ohio State and Alabama, and the Volunteers will have to make a strong impression if they want any real shot at pulling the No. 302 overall prospect in the 2028 class away from his current pledge. [Read more 🡒]