In the 2021 class, there weren't many players ranked higher than Jonas Aidoo.

The center ranked No. 25 nationally and No. 2 at his position.

Ultimately, he committed to Tennessee to join Rick Barnes and a team coming off a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.

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Despite the lofty expectations, Aidoo didn't have things immediately click once arriving in Knoxville. While fighting for play time as a freshman, he played in 19 games for an average of 7.8 minutes per appearance.

In this time, he averaged 2.1 points on 32.5% shooting.

The next year, Aidoo saw action in 35 games and started nine. He took a step in the right direction while averaging 5.1 points on 50.7% shooting.

However, 10 games into his junior year, things have begun to look easy for the Vols' big man. He is the undisputed starter and has recently dominated on both ends of the floor.

Aidoo is coming off a career night while scoring 29 points in a double-double effort. This moved his season average to 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 53.3% shooting.

“I tell Jonas all the time he’s so much better than he gives himself credit for," said Barnes. "I thought (in his career-high performance) he settled early and in the second half, I thought he got physical. Jonas is more physical than you might think and he can shoot the ball. I think what he’ll continue to learn."

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With the double-digit scoring mark hit in each of Aidoo's previous four appearances, he has no plans of stopping.

Alongside other scorers such as Dalton Knecht, his recent emergence makes Tennessee dangerous on the offensive side of the ball. With Aidoo's teammates trusting him to be an elite scorer, he is looking to continue scoring.

"I feel comfortable," said Aidoo. "My teammates have been encouraging me to shoot the ball. As long as they believe in me, I'll keep shooting."

Off the bench, Tobe Awaka lets Aidoo get rest while keeping play at a high level. The sophomore can tell his partner is playing at a top level on offense and defense.

To Awaka, this is due to the positions he's putting himself in.

On offense, he's putting himself in situations that lead to open shots. On defense, he's cleaning up mistakes as a rim protector.

"Just being in the right spots offensively and defensively," said Awaka on Aidoo's success. "Defensively, he's a great rim protector whenever we have a defensive mishap, somebody gets to the rim. Offensively, he's just been really efficient because of his jump shooting 3-point shot and just around the rim."

Next, Aidoo will look to continue his impressive season in San Antonio. Tennessee is facing NC State in the Hall of Fame series. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN2.

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