Vols' basketball veterans, newcomers gelling ahead of season

Josiah-Jordan James learned quickly that the Tennessee men's basketball coaching staff's plans to possibly redshirt Cade Phillips would be hard to justify.

Off season practices where the fifth-year senior James has had to guard the 6-foot-9 freshman forward have been an eye-opener.

“Defensively, Cade is really dynamic," James said. "I know (the coaches) had talked about Cade redshirting when he first got here, but the way that he’s been playing and practicing–I have to guard him because I’m at the four spot, so I know what it takes to go against him each and every day and I know it’s a challenge. I have to bring my A game because he’s real physical and he’s fast.

"He knows what we need to do on both ends of the floor and he’s a really good connector on both ends of the floor.”

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Even Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes has continued to mull over the decision whether or not to give Phillips—a highly touted three star prospect in Vols' 2023 signing class—a year to develop off of the court.

"There was no doubt when Cade came that we, we said from the beginning, we talked to him about he was going to redshirt," Barnes said earlier this month. "...I don’t know if we can redshirt him because if you ask Santi (Vescovi) and Josiah, they would say, you can’t. Because you watch him every day in practice and I go home and watch the tape he’s productive, you know? And he might not even score a basket the whole day...He’s understanding what we want to do offensively, you know he’s picked it up quicker than we thought."

Phillips' quick progression is one of a number of things that the Vols have learned about each other to this point.

Just weeks out from its season opener against Tennessee Tech and days before a high profile exhibition clash with preseason No. 4 Michigan State, Tennessee's roster, which features a balance of veteran experience and incoming talent, is gelling together.

“I feel like everybody who was on the team last year and this year, we’ve grown in many ways on both ends of the floor, but specifically on our offensive end,” James said. “And then our newcomers, the freshmen and the transfers that we have are very dynamic, both on the ball and off the ball. Just the style of play we’re playing with is a little tweaked from years past and so, we’re playing much faster trying to get up and down the floor so we have more offensive possessions.”

The newcomers also include 6-foot-11 freshman forward J.P. Estrella and two freshmen that took the redshirt route a year ago in D.J. Jefferson and Freddie Dilione V.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Dilione arrived at Tennessee last January as an early-enrollee and a season watching from the sidelines has paid off in his development into an expected contributor.

“I think it was very beneficial for Freddie to get that experience under his belt and I’ve seen a lot of growth on the court and off the court,” James said. “Freddie, when he got here, he could care less about defense and what that required but now he’s starting to learn that you’ve got to be able to guard off the ball and on the ball. I’ve seen that a lot in his off-the-ball defense. Offensively, he’s very dynamic. He’s quick, he’s strong, he’s big. He’s kind of like Zakai (Zeigler) in a 6-5 body. He’s able to do a whole lot on both ends of the floor.”

Tennessee added two proven shooters from the transfer portal in guards Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey.

Knecht averaged 20.2 points per game and shot better than 47% from the field at Northern Colorado last season. He has made an immediate impact and has even challenged the veterans.

“(Knecht) has helped a whole lot,” James said. “He can score at all three levels. I would put him and Tyreke Key up there as the best shooters I’ve ever seen. Me and DK are workout partners and he is pushing me. I get upset when I don’t hold my end of the bargain on shooting or on whatever drill we’re doing. He’s really dynamic with the ball in his hands and off the ball as well. I know for a fact that he’ll take our offensive game to a whole other level."

With leading scorer Santiago Vescovi out due to family reasons and guard Zakai Zeigler still uncertain to return after recovering from an ACL tear eight months ago, Tennessee's game against Michigan State on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network) offers up an opportunity for further growth for the Vols' younger players on their first big stage.

“You know, with our new guys, it will be a great experience for them," Barnes said. "When you’re talking about Santi (Vescovi) and Zakai, you’re talking about two guys that are elite defenders, two guys that know what we want, two guys that bring speed to the court. They change the court. Last year when Zakai got hurt, the one thing we wanted to do was get our depth right so we could deal with situations like that. It’s going to give (the freshmen) a chance to play more more than they’re ready for if those guys don’t play because I don’t think they’re ready to play four minutes all out on both ends yet.

"Getting it on film and letting them see it will probably grab their attention as much as I try to show them every day. Games are different. I’m excited for it. I’m excited for our young guys.”

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