Pons gives signs of ending slump
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes was never really concerned about Yves Pons.
The athletic 6-foot-6 sophomore had struggled for about a month. Scared to shoot. Not comfortable with the basketball in his hands. That started to bleed into his defense as he began to lose focus on that end of the court as well.
So while Pons’ performance Tuesday night may not have been dominant, scoring six points in seven minutes in the top-ranked Volunteers’ 72-60 win over Missouri was definitely a step in the right direction.
Pons had a combined 11 points in his previous nine games, all in the new calendar year. He had only 13 shots in that stretch — even though teams were basically content to leave him open — and made just four, so Barnes was pleased to see Pons make both of of his field-goal attempts against the Tigers. Despite entering the game 4-for-13 on free throws this season, Pons made both of his shots at the line, too.
When asked about Pons during his slump, Barnes had repeatedly said he wasn’t worried. Now Pons has given a sign the rough stretch could be behind him.
“Defensively, he was good,” Barnes said after Tuesday’s game. “I was glad to see him get aggressive offensively. I know that’s where we can continue to get better.”
Pons added two assists, a rebound and a block, and one of his baskets was a dunk on an alley-oop pass from Kyle Alexander, who set the play in motion with a steal. It was part of an 18-2 run that helped Tennessee assume control in the first half.
“Did you see my expression?,” junior guard Jordan Bowden said. “I told Kyle I didn’t know he had it in him. I didn’t know he had that touch, but it was good to see that happen.”
Pons’ other basket came when he drove past a defender, something he rarely does, and laid the ball in with his right hand.
“He really shocked me on that drive,” Bowden said. “I didn’t know he had that, but he was being aggressive tonight,
and when he does that, he can be really good for us. I guard Yves all the time in practice, and it’s really hard when he’s in attack mode, offensive rebounding. He’s a really big help for us, and if he keeps playing like this, we’ll be a good team.”
The Vols (21-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) will try to extend their program-record winning streak to 18 games when they host Florida (12-10, 4-5) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Watching Williams
Tennessee junior Grant Williams’ standout season has him in the running for two more national honors. He is on the final midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and is a finalist for the Karl Malone Award, given to the power forward of the year in men’s college basketball.
Williams is one of 12 players up for the Robertson honor, given to the nation’s top player, and he is one of 10 finalists for the Malone honor. He and senior guard Admiral Schofield were previously announced as two of 20 players on the late season watch list for the John R. Wooden Award for the national men’s college basketball player of the year.
Williams has averaged 20.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game this season. He has made 58 percent of his shots from the field and 84 percent of his free throws.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfree press.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/ VolsUpdate.