Roster flexibility an asset for Vols in NCAA opener
During the final nine minutes of last Sunday’s 65-50 thumping
of Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament championship game, Tennessee employed the four-guard lineup of Kennedy Chandler, Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler along with sixth-year senior forward John Fulkerson. Which was fine by Fulkerson. “It kind of reminds me of my high school days and AAU days when I was always the big man,” Fulkerson said this week in a news conference.
The proven ability of James and Vescovi to play much bigger than their respective 6-foot-6, 214-pound and 6-3, 191-pound frames has given coach Rick Barnes the luxury of mixing things up heading into Thursday’s NCAA tournament South Regional opener between the third-seeded Volunteers and 14th-seeded Longwood University in Indianapolis (2:45 on CBS).
Chandler and Zeigler showed they can successfully coexist as freshman point guards during a late November rout of North Carolina, and the Vols also can go with significant size due to the likes of 7-foot Uros Plavsic, 6-11 Jonas Aidoo or 6-10 Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, but Barnes is plenty confident in the 6-9, 219pound Fulkerson being the man in the middle.
“When Fulky is really locked in and playing well and doing the things that he can do, we can get him the ball around the elbow area, and guys can cut off of him,” Barnes said. “Our movement has been good, and we’ve become a team that is moving and cutting and moving those parts around. That’s when we are playing our best basketball.
“Knowing they were playing the matchup zone they were in, we finally got settled down, and we were really just trying to keep our movement going. He was good in that area. We like it when he can get some space there to work with.”
Tennessee will have a gargantuan height advantage compared to the Lancers, whose tallest starters are 6-7 Zac Watson and 6-6 Jesper Granlund. They have no players taller than 6-8.
Regardless of his role, however, Fulkerson just wants a different experience than last year’s trip to Indiana, a state that hosted the entire 2021 NCAA tourney due to COVID19 restrictions. Not only were the fifth-seeded Vols bounced abruptly by 12th-seeded Oregon State 70-56, but Fulkerson was relegated to a spectating role after suffering a concussion and facial fracture in the SEC tournament.
“I hope this is a night and day difference — me playing and us winning,” Fulkerson said. “It was not great last year, and hopefully it will be great when we leave.”
Same but different
Tennessee and Longwood will be vying inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which is the same 20,000-seat facility that housed the Vols last March. The venue was known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse a year ago but underwent a name change in September.
Last year’s NCAA tournament had up to 25% capacity at its various Hoosier State sites amid the pandemic, and the Vols already were encountering a totally different feeling before Wednesday’s practice.
“I remember being in this gym right here just warming up and waiting to get on the court while wearing our masks,” Plavsic said. “It’s just so much fun to be around people. The chemistry on our team is so much better because we get to spend a lot of time together.”
Barnes: “It was just so different driving up to this building. Being in Indianapolis is just a totally different feel than a year ago, and I don’t think there is any question that our guys are excited to be here and ready to play.”
A first for Lancers
While Tennessee is making its 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament and its 11th since 2006, Longwood is part of the 68-team field for the first time in program history. Both teams have won 26 games, with Longwood having never won more than 17 at the Division I level before this season.
Vols players were asked Wednesday whether they had even heard of Longwood, which is located in Farmville, Virginia, before Sunday’s selection show.
“I think it really doesn’t matter who you’re playing and whether you’ve heard of them before or not,” Vescovi said. “That’s the fun part about the NCAA tournament. Any team can beat any team at this point, and every team is a champion in their own way.
“You can’t take any team for granted. They have a great team. That’s why they’re here, too.”
Caravan returning
Tennessee announced Tuesday that the Big Orange Caravan is returning this spring with a five-city tour that will begin with Chattanooga on April 19. Headlining the visit will be Barnes along with Lady Vols basketball coach Kellie Harper, football coach Josh Heupel and athletic director Danny White.
Tickets to the event, which will include “light food options,” are $20 and can be obtained at AllVols.com.