Analyst high on Pons' NBA potential, 2020-21 Vols

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and NBCSports’ college basketball writer Rob Dauster (from his home in the Washington D.C. area) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss where one Tennessee senior and perhaps one Tennessee junior could play at the next level, and where things stand for Rick Barnes’ program heading into the 2020-21 season.Dauster seems to higher than most analysts on the potential NBA future of Tennessee junior Yves Pons, the newly minted SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Pons still hasn’t announced an intention to declare for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent, but there’s no reason to believe he’d do anything else. Every college player is allowed to do that one time but still return to school as long as they don’t hire an agent, and Pons is a junior, so it makes sense to at least test the waters.While some remain on the fence of skeptical of Pons’ professional future, at least in this country, Dauster sees things differently. He has Pons ranked No. 32 overall on the most recent version of his hot board, and he offered several reasons for that belief.Dauster also discussed the potential NBA future of former Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden, a Knoxville native who started all four seasons for the hometown Vols and played a pivotal role in the program’s rebirth in the Barnes era. Bowden was pegged by many as a potential breakout star heading into his senior season, but a prolonged shooting slump plagued much of that season. Bowden’s elite athleticism and two-way ability still have him firmly on the radar of at least a few NBA organizations, though, and probably more than that, and Dauster spoke about Bowden’s potential going forward.While much of the discussion with Dauster focused on Pons and Bowden, the conversation concluded with a chat about the Vols heading into next season. Putting it mildly, Dauster is very high on Tennessee heading into next season, and he offered several reasons to support that claim.The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released Monday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.