Lamonte Turner undergoes shoulder surgery

One of the bigger and perhaps forgotten storylines of the 2018-19 season for Tennessee was the injury of Lamonte Turner. The 2017-18 SEC sixth man of the year missed several games in the first half of the season after undergoing a second shoulder surgery over the offseason.

As he heads into his final offseason at Tennessee, he will undergo a third surgery.

The rising senior point guard had a rollercoaster of a season this year. Turner eventually entered the starting lineup, taking over for Yves Pons in the middle of SEC play. He ran hot and cold for the better part of the year as he tried to find his shot again after the surgery.

Turner offered a little bit of a mixed bag in terms of his late game heroics this year. He’s a guy that wants the ball in his hands with everything on the line. He showed that big shot making ability with a dagger three late against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. We also saw him play little reckless late in the game at LSU.

Unfortunately for Turner, the entire season came down to his defense of Purdue star Carsen Edwards in the corner late in the second half. Turner was of course called for a foul on Edwards three-point attempt, which allowed Purdue to send the game to overtime and eventually win. That’s a brutal way to end the season, especially personally for Turner.

Regardless of what happens with Jordan Bone and Grant Williams and their NBA decisions, Turner has a shot to be a primary scorer for Tennessee next season. If Bone does go to the NBA, that would put Turner in a spot to be the lead point guard for the first time in his Tennessee career.

The 6-2, 195 pound guard averaged 11 points and nearly four assists this season for the Vols. He should be more than capable of running the offense next year, if his number is called.