Josiah-Jordan James 'presence' leads Vols to rout of South Carolina
It took 14 seconds for Josiah-Jordan James to announce his return to Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Tennessee senior guard made his first appearance in four games after suffering a high ankle sprain late against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8 when he checked in just over five minutes into the first half versus South Carolina on Saturday.
He offered a quick reminder of how valuable he is when he's on the floor, knocking down a corner 3-pointer that sparked an 18-point performance and headlined the No. 11 Vols' 85-45 dominance of the Gamecocks for the second time this season.
“We’re all happy for Josiah,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “We all know what he’s meant to our program and he’s dealt with a lot. He came back and practiced after we got back from (Texas) A&M and probably did more than we thought he wanted to do. Today, he was terrific. His presence has such a major impact on the team because he’s been in so many big opportunities and game situations. I think his presence takes a lot of pressure off guys. He gives his teammates a sense of comfort.
"When he came on to the floor in that first half, he was terrific. He had great poise and pace…We know we’re going to need him down the stretch.”
James' fourth season at Tennessee has been more frustrating than memorable.
He missed eight games in the Vols' non-conference slate with lingering soreness following knee surgery in the offseason. He returned in the Vols' win over Mississippi State on Jan. 3 and increased his minutes over the next seven games, re-joining the starting lineup for the first time in 10 months on Jan. 17 at Mississippi State.
James was returning to form, averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, which translated to Tennessee winning seven of eight games in the month of January.
Then injury interrupted his senior season for a second time in a 66-65 loss at Vanderbilt.
It was a situation that he and his Tennessee teammates had to learn to adapt to again, but it was especially crushing for James. The support system within the program provided some solace, though.
“It’s been tough,” James said. “My senior year. I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into my time here. I feel like I never could have imagined my senior year could have gone like this. Everything happens for a reason. Just coming in with the mindset that I’m getting the most out of each day and get better, even though it’s limited work that I’m able to do when I’m injured. Just having a positive mindset.
"The people we have here, they give me so much support day in and day out. It’s hard not to love this place even when you’re going through tough times.”
Because of limitations in practice, James turned to other activities to keep himself mentally in-check while now being able to play. He found comfort in his teammates, yoga sessions and two new pets.
"I still do my yoga," James said. "That keeps me sane. I try to get at least one class in a game. My teammates see me do it in the locker room, I do it at my house. I just try to do it as much as I can, just for my own well-being. I have my teammates come over to my apartment. We hang out. We watch movies. I actually have two cats now...so they keep me busy. I do a lot."
James continues to work with the training staff to get back to full health. While he's not there yet, he made up his mind in the wake of Tennessee's 68-63 loss at Texas A&M on Tuesday that he was going to play against South Carolina.
Barnes was optimistic he'd be back, too, but there was uncertainty about how much he would be able to play and to what extent.
He gave Barnes and the 20,000-plus fans in attendance a resounding answer–one that has come at the right time with two regular season games left and March looming large.
“I felt like I was at a point where I could go out there–obviously I’m not at 100 percent–but I felt like I could go out there and contribute whether it was giving the guards or the bigs some rest,” James said. “Whatever I was able to do, I was going to do it because we are at a point in the season where we need as many people as we can have and my body is at a point with the work that I’ve done with (team trainer) Chad (Newman) and (director of sports performance Garrett Medenwald) that I could go out on the court and contribute.”
*****
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @JNichols_2121, @ByNoahTaylor, @TylerIvens, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.