Jordan Gainey provides glimpse of what role could be in Vols' offense

The No. 9 Vols, who were going through stagnant offensive start in their season opener against Tennessee Tech on Monday at Food City Center, had just 9 points nearly 10 minutes into the first half when Gainey entered the game for the second time.

The transfer guard, fresh off of a two impressive performances in both of Tennessee's exhibition games, hit a jumper to end a three-minute scoring drought. He connected on a 3-pointer on the following possession and in minutes the Vols were riding a 24-2 run on their way to a dominant 80-42 win.

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Gainey was the kick-starter.

“That’s a good term. Kickstarted. I thought he did do just that," Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. "I thought the first group went in and guys, I do think they turned down a couple shots early and because we talk about not getting stagnant, getting moving and the fact is, sometimes you’re going to play a game where people are going to try to encourage you to shoot the first one. But guys that can shoot it, they get that look, they’ve got to shoot it. But Jordan comes in and again, he can shoot it, but he’s more than that."

Gainey was battling an illness, which kept him out of practice in the days leading up to the game but he made an impact, totaling 22 minutes and 11 points on 50% shooting from 3-point range.

Watching the flow of the game from the bench helped.

"Really just doing what we practiced," Gainey said. "Coming off the bench, just seeing how the flow of the game was going, just really doing what I do and getting to my spots and figuring out what I could to go get our team flowing a little bit."

Gainey has wasted little time working his way into a contributing role since arriving on campus as a transfer from USC Upstate last May.

In Tennessee's 89-88 exhibition win over Michigan State, Gainey finished second on the team in scoring with 20 points which was key in the Vols getting out to a commanding 17-1 lead in the first half.

Teammate Zakai Zeigler, who worked out in the offseasons with Gainey before his transferred to Tennessee hasn't been surprised by how quick he has adjusted.

"What you guys see, we see everyday," Zeigler said. "He's somebody that's been around. I've seen him workout multiple times, even before he decided he was going to be here with us. I've seen him working out and I've seen him in open gym, so I always knew his capabilities. It's no different now. He's just got the same jersey on now."

Gainey may already be fitting into a role in Tennessee's offense that could be critical for the Vols' going forward.

Barnes was intentional when he went into the portal to grab Gainey and guard Dalton Knecht to add depth and consistent scorers to a veteran-laden roster that already features returning leading scorer Santiago Vescovi.

Tennessee was plagued at times last season by stretches of scoring droughts but Gainey showed he could be the kind of player that is the first off of the bench to provide a spark.

"I'm excited if (Gainey) is the guy that ends up coming off the bench like that," Barnes said. "We need that kind of jump start when somebody comes in like that gets us really into a different groove...

"He's more than a guy that can shoot the ball. He's working how to move without the ball. He ran a lot of point. He's not afraid to do that either."

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