Gregg Polinsky was the first to notice it.

The Tennessee assistant basketball coach, charged with scouting and evaluating Cade Phillips as a prep standout at the Link Academy two years ago, picked up on something that is now paying dividends for the No. 3 Vols early in their 2024-25 campaign.

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What Polinsky saw on full display Tuesday night when Phillips came off the bench early to scored on three-straight possessions to highlight a 12-point, six rebound performance that helped Tennessee to a convincing 96-70 win over Syracuse at Food City Center.

“A lot of credit to coach (Gregg) Polinksy," Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. "He watched Cade (Phillips), knew him and evaluated him at a level. What he saw in Cade was a big-time competitive spirit and a guy that was willing to get better."

That willingness has allowed the 6-foot-9 Phillips to carve out a role for himself through the first eight games of his sophomore season.

It started in the locker room inside Little Caesars Arena in Detroit when Phillips approached team sports performance director Garrett Mendenwald moments after Tennessee's season ended in a loss to Purdue in the Elite Eight.

The next day, Phillips was back in the team facilities in Knoxville.

"Some people on the outside might not realize how physical of a sport this is," Phillips told VolReport in October. "But if you’re not strong enough and your body can’t handle it. After the Purdue game, it was the same mindset. We got back and got straight to it.”

Phillips is handling it. He has handled a lot over the last three months.

When J.P. Estrella was limited with an injury in preseason practices, Phillips took on a heavier load. He has had to do the same since Estrella was ruled over for the remainder of the season, now offering Tennessee what Barnes calls, "a different look" among its three bigs, Felix Okpara included.

There times against Syracuse that both Phillips and the 6-11 Okapra, who was among the Vols' offense transfer haul, were on the floor at the time time.

"For the four and five position, that's a lot of length, that's a lot of athleticism," Phillips said. "Me and (Okpara) pride ourselves on being rim protectors, but also being able to guard the perimeter. So, being able to have two of those out there on the court, to play off of each other--even on the offensive end. Me being able to space the floor a little bit more to allow him to work on these pick-and-rolls and sort rolls, I think there's a lot of good combos with our versatility with both of us on the floor."

Phillips and Okpara shared on-court chemistry long before this week.

The two virtually lived in Pratt Pavilion--Tennessee's practice facility--last summer after Okpara arrived from Ohio State. Those sessions have paid off for them. Now they're paying off for the Vols.

"Cade (Phillips) can play all over the court, really," Barnes said. "And the more and more he’s out there, you guys are watching him develop right in front of you, where he’s feeling more and more at ease and doing some things. And I think offensively, the fact that those guys have competed against each other from day one, since Felix (Okpara) got here, all summer, I’ve said before they didn’t get any rest (in the offseason).

"They had to play almost every rep. And the fact that we mixed the lineup the way we have, I think they’re comfortable playing together.”

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