To begin the season, it was transfers Jordan Gainey and Dalton Knecht leading Tennessee to a hot start.

However, as the team enters SEC play, both newcomers have begun to cool down.

The coaching staff and team see this as a slump rather than reality, though. In the case of Gainey, his recent struggles from the field don't worry assistant coach Gregg Polinsky long term.

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"Jordan Gainey is going to at some point pop out of what we would say for him would be a shooting slump because he’s a very good shooter," said Polinsky. "I am really proud of him for sustaining things and thinking about the team first. The rest will come for Jordan.”

Since the start of December, Gainey has made just 33.3% of field goals and 26.1% of 3-pointers.

There is a clear solution to leaving this rough patch behind, though. Polinsky says he just needs to shoot his way out of it.

“Keep shooting," said Polinsky on how Gainey can get back on track. "Real smart isn’t it? Now when you’re a good shooter, you have to have confidence and Coach (Rick) Barnes is a guy that you know, as hard as he is in terms of expecting accountability and doing what you’re supposed to do, he also is very good about providing confidence to guys. And if they don’t shoot it, that is when he gets upset. Now, they got to feel the game, right? You miss three or four threes in a row and they get run outs, you got to be smart enough to try and get something to the paint, get to the free throw line. But a guy like Jordan Gainey, you want him taking open shots.”

Gainey isn't oblivious to his cold stretch, either. While he knows he is capable of breaking out of it, he is aware of what it will take to do so.

"Definitely need to be playing better," said Gainey. "Just really trying to get better every day.

"Really just listening, watching film. Listening to coach, trying to break down every aspect of my game that's not going well and just working on it each day."

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While Gainey has struggled to knock down shots at the clip he is capable of, he hasn't let that take away from his play in other areas. This includes on defense.

While being an effective defender was the biggest area he needed to grow in once arriving on campus, he is putting in the clear effort to improve in this category. While there are still things to clean up, it's a necessary step in his development.

"I feel like its getting better each day," said Gainey. "I still has things to clean up on but just knowing I'm getting better is a big step forward for me.

"Just being able to guard in the post more. Keep my man in front of me, rebounding and just being more disciplined."

Gainey still being engaged on defense is something that has stood out to the coaching staff.

"I’m really proud of Jordan for continuing to sustain his defensive effort and being a team guy and wanting to do the right things," said Polinsky.

Now, Tennessee will travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State in its second game of conference play and first SEC road game.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET airing on SEC Network.

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