Know Your Foe: Wofford Terriers
By: Dallas Bowlin
Senior Staff Writer/Editor/Host
All Vol Call In Show
Ok, now it’s go time for Tennessee Basketball. The exhibitions against Xavier and Duke were rough, but the more you listen to what Coach Rick Barnes had to say before and after those games, the more it’s pretty obvious that was somewhat the plan. I’m not saying the coaching staff intentionally went into the contests thinking, “Let’s lose by as much as possible,” but they were more concerned with how the players respond to adversity and what pieces fit where.
You’ve heard of the idiom “baptism by fire,” which is described as “being thrown into a challenge without much preparation, where the test is immediate and intense.”
If you ask me, that’s exactly what those exhibitions were, and the team will be much better off for it.
Now, for the real deal, the Vols welcome the Wofford Terriers into TBA on November 6th. Tennessee and Wofford last squared off in the NCAA Tournament, where the Big Orange came away with a 77-62 win, behind Chaz Lanier’s game-high 29 points.
RETURNEES:
G Luke Flynn, F Brian Sumpter, G Chace Watley
LOSSES:
G Nils Machowski (Transferred to UConn)
G Kahmare Holmes (Transferred to DePaul)
G Cayden Vasko (Transferred to UCF)
G Jayden Tyler (Transferred to Youngstown State)
G Brendan Rigsbee (Transferred to DII)
F Rex Stirling (Transferred to Jacksonville University)
NEWCOMERS:
G Jacob Daniels (D2 transfer)
G Cam Lowe (D2 transfer)
F Evan Ramsey (UVA-Wise transfer)
G/F Chris Arias (Jacksonville University transfer)
G Misho Kalinov (Freshman)
Cutter Sisk (Freshman)
TEAM SUMMARY:
Wofford is led by its second-year head coach, Kevin Giltner. Giltner played for the Terriers during the 2008–2012 seasons. He became a starter as a senior and was named first-team All-Southern Conference following a 14.8 points-per-game campaign.
He began his coaching career at Wofford as the director of basketball operations. After one season in the position, he was promoted to assistant coach. He was then hired by Virginia Tech in 2019 as the special assistant to head coach Mike Young before being promoted to assistant coach following one season.
Giltner was hired as Wofford’s head coach on September 19th, 2025, following the departure of Dwight Perry.
In his first season as head coach, Giltner led the Terriers to a 19-13 overall record and 11-7 in conference. Wofford ended the season 251st on KenPom, with an offensive rating of 109.3 (167th) and a defensive rating of 116.5 (311th).
Luke Flynn, Chace Watley, and Brian Sumpter returning means the Terriers return three of their five starters from last year's squad.
To add some additional firepower to its roster, Giltner and the Wofford staff went to the D2 ranks, and they landed some pretty powerful pieces. Cam Lowe comes from Black Hills State, where he led the team in scoring and shot 40% from three on 6.6 attempts per game, with multiple 10+ attempt games. Don’t think he can only shoot, though; he can pull the ball on the floor and get to the rim as well.
Evan Ramsey, the seven-foot big man from UVA-Wise, was one of the best rim protectors in D2 last season. He blocked 57 total shots for an average of 1.8 blocked shots per game. He wasn’t a slouch offensively either, averaging 14.1 points per game and a season-high 24 points against Anderson (SC), one of the best teams in D2 last season.
Jacob Daniels was the point guard for the national finalist Lander. He averaged 13.6 points per game with 54/28 shooting splits and was a pest on defense, with 58 total steals.
OFFENSE:
Giltner’s offensive philosophy is heavily influenced by his mentor, Mike Young, whom he not only coached under at Virginia Tech but also played for at Wofford. It is focused heavily on spacing, ball movement, ball security, and three-point shooting.
You won’t see much isolation basketball from Wofford, as Giltner calls for quick ball movement and strong fundamental screening in its fast-paced style of the motion offense.
The traditional motion offense often leans towards more methodical possessions, while Giltner’s style is drastically faster, with more player-driven reads (that’s becoming a common theme in this series).
Last season, Wofford was 92nd in the country in three-point attempt rate at .439; however, they did struggle a bit to convert on those. They ranked 131st in three-point percentage at 34.9%.
The Terriers' 1.50 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked 49th nationally, while their 9.4 turnovers committed per game ranked 19th nationally, showcasing their emphasis on taking care of the ball.
Wofford’s emphasis on three-point shooting can be seen in this clip alone.
In this clip, we see a glimpse of their half-court offense. They start in a four-out, one-in alignment. The point guard and strong-side corner man initiate a DHO (dribble handoff), then the receiver of the DHO gets the ball to the big man at the top of the key, which signals the weak-side corner to sprint through a pin-down and receive the handoff. The defense gets caught ball-watching, and the screener gets an easy lay-in. Beautiful set.
The Terriers showcased their offensive prowess in an exhibition matchup with Virginia Tech on October 16th. Wofford fell short, 78-76, but freshman Cutter Sisk was the star of the show, scoring 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 3-of-3 from three, along with six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. The Terriers finished the day shooting 53.2% from the field and 50% from three.
DEFENSE:
Coach Giltner’s defensive philosophy hinges on perimeter defense and on-ball pressure. Despite that, Wofford didn’t perform exceptionally well on the defensive side of the ball last season, as opponents scored 77.1 points per game.
The Terriers will play an aggressive man-to-man defense. However, the footage against Auburn shows them consistently playing drop coverage on ball-screen defense, with the primary defender fighting over the screen in an attempt to contest the shot from the side.
HOW TENNESSEE CAN WIN:
I want to start with the ball-screen defense. Wofford is going to allow Tennessee (if the Auburn film is any evidence) to get into the midrange for pull-up jumpers. A lot of teams would be deterred from taking those, but Coach Barnes’ teams won’t. They realize the value of it. At California, Dai Dai Ames was efficient at getting into the midrange and converting. Juke Harris was pretty efficient as well at Wake Forest. If they’re giving you easy looks, take them.
Defend, defend, defend. Tennessee had some pretty bad breakdowns on defense in its two exhibition matchups. Communication was a noticeable issue. If this team wants to reach its ceiling, it has to improve defensively.
Rebound the ball. That’s pretty simple. Tell ’em about it, Taurean.
HOW WOFFORD CAN WIN:
I don’t even want to think about it. But they put up a valiant effort against Virginia Tech, so this is not a squad Tennessee can sleepwalk against and expect to win.
If they can get going from three, they definitely have a chance. The Vols allowed Xavier to shoot 37% from three and Duke to shoot 36% from three, so they have shown the ability to let teams get hot.
Protect the ball. I mentioned earlier that Wofford prioritizes protecting the ball and was one of the most efficient teams at doing so last season. They don’t want to give the Vols extra opportunities.
PREDICTION:
I do think this one has an opportunity to be a close-knit contest. However, I think we begin to see glimpses of Coach Barnes’ message sink in, and the Vols pull away in the second.
TENNESSEE - 84 | Wofford - 69
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