My All-Time Favorite Players: 13th - Cameron Tatum

I am excited to begin ranking my all-time favorite Tennessee basketball players. I will rank 13 players, in honor of the media picking the Vols to finish thirteenth in the SEC for the past 2 seasons. In the 2016-17 season, the team finished ninth. This past season, the squad finished the season as Co-Champions of the SEC. It’s safe to say we won’t be picked thirteenth again this year.

Cameron Tatum was a very special basketball player. He played his first 3 seasons with the Vols under Bruce Pearl, before finishing his career with Cuonzo Martin as head coach for his senior season. Tatum was part of one of the first teams at Tennessee that I can remember watching, and was one of my favorite players because of his resiliency and athleticism. I always favor players who can knock down 3-pointers and throw down powerful dunks as well. Cam was very effective in both of these categories during his time in Knoxville.

Tatum gradually received more and more playing time as his career progressed. In his freshman season, he played in all 34 games, with 4 starts. After undergoing knee surgery prior to his first year on Rocky Top, the first practice in which he fully participated in came just 15 days before the start of the season. Still, he showed great resiliency by scoring 19 points in the season-opener. Cam stepped up in big moments as a freshman, knocking down 5 shots from 3-point range in the final 5 minutes of a 12-point victory over Georgetown. Another highlight of his first season came when he scored Tennessee's first 14 points of the game against Gonzaga. He finished his freshman year ranked second on the team with 43 made 3-point shots. While averaging 18 minutes per game, he shot 42% from the field, 32% from 3-point land, and scored in double figures 10 times.

Tatum built off of his first year, with a consistent sophomore season. He played in 29 games, logged 6 starts, while averaging 7.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He led the Vols in 3-point shooting percentage, at a 38.9% clip. One of the biggest highlights of his second season came against Florida, when he efficiently scored 13 points in a mere 15 minutes.

One of my favorite things about Tatum was always his ability to contribute in several different ways throughout any given game. Early in his junior year, against Missouri State, he recorded 12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Players that can fill the stat sheet like this are very valuable to a team's long-term success. Later, as the Vols defeated No. 7 Villanova, Cam scored 17 points while connecting on 3-6 shots from beyond the arc. Tatum started in 33 of the Vols' 34 games and was the team's third-leading scorer, averaging 8.8 points per game.

Cam's first career double-double came in his senior season against No. 17 Pitt, as he logged 13 points and 10 rebounds. In a victory over South Carolina, Tatum became the 44th member of Tennessee's all-time 1,000-Point Club. Cam played 29 minutes per game, and averaged 8.1 points per game as a senior. He was second on the team with 13 charges drawn, serving as a key defensive presence. He became the eighth Tennessee basketball player to ever record at least 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 200 assists in a career. When his collegiate career came to an end, he found himself tenth on Tennessee's all-time list for made 3-pointers, with 155. Additionally, he was 41st on the Vols' career scoring list, with 1,083 points. All this came in his 138 career games played, which is second all-time for Tennessee.

The fact that Tatum was a part of Tennessee's lone Elite 8 run in school history makes him very special, in regards to my favorite players. He was a very likable player. Once, in a game versus Georgetown, he buried a 3-pointer and gave a high-five to Tennessee radio personality, Bert Bertelkamp, on his way up the court. Cam was an elite guard who will always be remembered for his hustle and ability to contribute on both ends of the court.