Josiah-Jordan James played his college basketball career at a strange time.

In his freshman year, James' season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He was in the midst of his career when NIL was allowed by the NCAA and the transfer portal became what it is today, as well.

Despite these turbulent circumstances, James stayed steady. He was consistently there for Tennessee basketball as he played all five of his college seasons in Knoxville.

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During this time, James was a big part of teams that claimed SEC regular season and tournament titles while reaching two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight. Along with these accolades, he'll remember the connections he made along the way.

"I'm obviously proud of everything we were able to accomplish," said James. "This group in my five years of being here was the most fun to be around. We genuinely loved each other so much, and that's the hardest part sitting here right now. Just not being able to go to practice tomorrow and knowing that the season is really over. But the relationships that we have are lifelong relationships. I just hated that our season had to end so early."

On Sunday afternoon, James played his final game with the Vols. After five years of successful basketball, his eligibility was exhausted.

The final game came in an Elite Eight loss to Purdue. Tennessee had the hopes of winning a National Championship, but it fell just three games short of that goal during the NCAA Tournament.

In a moment where James was filled win the pain of coming up short and his career coming to an end, he was able to take a moment to reflect on what he was a part of.

"It's hard to put into words, like the pain that I feel right now, but it's even harder to put into words like the joy and the happiness I've gotten from being around this team, this university for the past five years," said James. "These guys mean so much to me. I can't really describe it, but I love them. I love them so much."

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As one of the older players on the roster, James helped set the foundation for this season. Following the 2019 NCAA Tournament exit, the Vols had to replace the departures of the likes of Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone and Kyle Alexander.

One of these was James who came in as a five-star recruit on Rivals.com. As James helped restore the program back to the heights it reached in previous years, a teammate joined him midway through the season to help.

Santiago Vescovi made his debut just after new year and instantly helped out. Five seasons later, both James and Vescovi stayed the course and were staples of the Vols.

During this time, they formed a strong connection working together every day to push Tennessee as far as they could.

"When you have something that you know is something and when it comes to an end like that, really as tough as it is, we'll sit back, or I certainly have all year, realized how blessed I've been to have this group of guys," said Vols coach Rick Barnes. "And it started with, as I mentioned earlier, with Josiah and Santi."

Now Tennessee will have to find another group of veterans to lean on. With the Covid year being phased out, the Vols will ask rising seniors Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashck and Jonas Aidoo to fill the role that James and Vescovi are leaving.

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