By Kenneth Cross
Legendary Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes enters his 37th season as he postures 779 wins and once again, the Volunteers are picked at the top of the SEC. They joined seven other SEC teams in last season’s NCAA Tournament when they physically took out Duke, 65-52, in the second round.
“I think it’s complementary, obviously,” noted Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, about the preseason acknowledgment. “It’s a compliment to our players, our program. It’s fun. It’s a fun time of year I think.”
The media poll had Tennessee as the favorite with Texas A&M and Arkansas at second and third.
The Vols are in line with the “get old, and stay old” philosophy as well. Shooter Santiago Vescovi and wingman Josiah Jordan-James will be two of the the key leaders for this team as Vescovi enters his fifth year.
Barnes talked about the duo coming into Knoxville at a time when the program was in transition as both have played key roles in growing Volunteers basketball into the top SEC level once again.
“He (Santiago) and Josiah went through a lot that first year and I think that has helped them grow tremendously as players and people,” said Barnes.
Vescovi will also be able to plug into the point guard role and with his deadly three-point shot, he is a much tougher matchup. Defenses have to stress his shooting abilities from 15-18 feet as well as know when to stop his dribble. He also can facilitate and find open Vols.
“It’s amazing where he started as a defensive player and where he is today,” Barnes said.
Jordan-James has been beset with injuries since coming aboard five years ago. He has many facets to his game and those could be key from a fifth-year player as the Vols will be looking to use the skills of older players to embellish key elements from the team.
The return of point guard Zakai Ziegler will make the Volunteers an even tougher matchup. You may recall Ziegler went out last Feb. 28 with a torn ACL in the win over Arkansas.
Ziegler averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists per game as he was all-SEC second team and a member of the all-defensive team. He had five steals in three different games and his 51 three-pointers made were second on the team behind Vescovi’s 91.
“You look at our league this year, this is an old league,” commented Barnes. “It’s an athletic league. It’s a skilled league now. I think it’s the best league in the country.”
The age and experience of the Volunteers and several of their SEC competitors will be prime in keeping these teams in the midst of the league races and throughout the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, come March.
“The way the league has grown over the last couple of years, the depth in it, it’s going to be a dogfight,” reminded Barnes. “Then obviously injuries, players staying healthy, all that comes into play.”