24-8; 14-4, Southeastern Conference regular season champions
‘With a team as loaded as this one, surely Rick Barnes will be returning to the Final Four’.
People have been saying things like this for quite awhile now. It hasn’t happened yet, though. Tennessee’s head coach has made a host of successful stops over the years and led four different programs to the NCAA Tournament. He’s won more than 800 games, coached iconic stars, been named the Naismith Coach of the Year…and Barnes has exactly one Final Four appearance to pair with his overall 27-27 record in the Big Dance. Those are some impressive numbers…but folks who root for the teams Barnes has coached would tell you that they sure could be more impressive than they are. And then the Vols went and got slapped around in a first-round SEC Tournament loss.
This season, the Tennessee squad Barnes coaches has won the SEC title, boasts a surefire All-American who happens to be one of the most unstoppable scorers in the nation, and will be expected to make a Final Four run by a majority of the fans on Rocky Top.
The scoring ace in Knoxville has only been there for a few months, but he’s sure to go down as an all-time favorite. Dalton Knecht is about as self-made as a superstar can be, having been virtually un-recruited in high school and then cutting his teeth at the junior college level. He then made the jump to Northern Colorado, and now, the SEC. As if that rise wasn’t impressive enough, Knecht has never been more dominant at any of those other stops as he has been on the biggest stages of all this winter. He’s been the SEC’s leading scorer this season, and Knecht is a finalist for every major individual award in the country. Though known to serius basketball fans since last year, Knecht introduced himself to the country at-large with a sizzling 37-point performance in Chapel Hill at the end of November. And ever since, hasn’t allowed the nation’s attention to wander. Knecht has posted 16 games of 20 or more points; and seven games of 30+, including a pair of 39-point outings (against Florida and Auburn, no less). A pure, opportunistic three-level scorer, Knecht even dropped a 40-piece against Kentucky for Senior Day on Rocky Top. He can heat up and pick a defense apart from unguardable range, and when he sees an opening, Knecht drives powerfully towards the rim. Despite his wiry frame, Knecht is physically strong and will finish through traffic or thunder all the way to the rim for a slam that gets fans of both teams out of their seats.
With as prime a go-to scorer as any team in the country, Tennessee’s other players have largely been afforded the comfort to play to their truest skills. Since they are a skilled bunch, that’s been a constant problem for the Vols’ opponents. Center Jonas Aidoo and point guard Zakai Zeigler have been the most noticeable beneficiaries of the attention paid to Knecht. Each has enjoyed a career year en route to being named All-SEC, and Aidoo gave his diminutive buddy Zeigler – the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year – quite a run for the top defender’s honor.
Back in fall, it wasn’t a sure thing that Zeigler would even be ready to play the full season as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered in late February of last year. Zeigler has proven to be an intense competitor, and his return to the floor gave UT the catalyst it needed at both ends of the floor. Yes, he’s small, but Zeigler is also extremely quick, incredibly disruptive, and has seen nearly every trick bigger players can throw at him. Zeigler’s 185:66 assist to turnover ratio ranked 30th in the country this year, and he nearly broke even by stealing the ball from Tennessee’s opponents 58 times. Offensively, Zeigler has shot the ball more efficiently than ever, improving his three-point shot in particular since last winter. After showing lots of exciting flashes as a sophomore, Aidoo has come into his own as a junior. Though he fancies himself a bit of a face-up big and isn’t a bad shooter, Aidoo is at his best within leaping distance of the rim. Aidoo made 53.3% of his field goal tries this year on finishing third on the team in scoring, and that jumps to 62.8% around the rim, per Bart Torvik. An intimidating shot blocker who can get from end to end in a hurry, Aidoo keeps the opponent uncomfortable inside while Zeigler annoys them on the perimeter.
After sticking around in Knoxville for the entirety of their five-year careers, Josiah Jordan-James and Santiago Vescovi are ready to give their all in the pursuit of some more nets to cut down. Vescovi, an Uruguayan combo guard, had averaged 12.9 points on about three made triples per game over the past two years combined. This winter, other players have stepped into the scoring spotlight, but Vescovi has started every game for the third straight season. He’s a very reliable ballhandler and defender, and Vescovi can still pop off for some very timely buckets; he’s made multiple triples on 16 of the Vols’ contests. Jordan-James, once a 5-star prospect, has proven a great fit opposite Knecht. With Barnes leaning into his personnel and running more four-out sets than in the past, Jordan-James provides contrast as a more physical wing who can cover bigger forwards. With plenty of skills, including real creativity with the ball in his hands whether on the fly or in the halfcourt, Jordan-James has worn many hats for Barnes over the years and allows the Vols to play matchups without changing their lineup.
Tennessee ranks top 50 nationally in a host of rebounding statistics despite now often utilizing a more perimeter-oriented lineup, and Tobe Awaka is a significant part of that success. The sophomore forward is a strong, solidly-built post player whose hops and hard-nosed approach would have opponents believing that he’s considerably bigger than his listed 6’8″, 250 frame. Despite playing just over 13 minutes per contest, Awaka finished 11th in the SEC in offensive rebounds. Ro7nding out the every-game rotation are guards Jordan Gainey and Jahmai Mashack. Having taken different routes to Rocky Top, they have become steady contributors who make Tennessee one of the deeper 1-8 teams around. After two years as a scoring lead guard for USC Upstate, the speedy Gainey had proven to be another good fit playing sticky defense and helping to lead Tennessee’s second unit. Mashack is a big guard who functions a bit like Jordan-James: as a wing who can really get after it defensively and play physically against bigger guys while keeping the ball moving and chipping in timely offense.
Tennessee – and Barnes – have fallen short of the hopes on Rocky Top before, but this team has everything needed to win it all. The Vols have an elite halfcourt defense (top 10 in FG% defense and EFG% defense) and a superstar scorer. They take great care of the ball (turnovers on just 12% of their plays – top 20 nationally) while taking the ball away from opponents (a steal on more than 10% of opposing possessions; top 50) while adding nearly five blocks per game (top 25). There’s not much more to say: Tennessee has been one of the best teams in America this year, and no matter what’s been before, they ought to expect a deep run to challenge for another championship.
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