Vols finish tour of Italy a perfect 4-0
The Vols’ 10-day basketball tour of Italy can be deemed a success. The team came together, traveled together, saw the sights together, stayed together and won together. Four games, four cities, four wins. “More importantly than anything, the guys did what they were supposed to do,” coach Cuonzo Martin said before boarding the bus back to Como for UT’s final night in Italy. “We came to win games. The guys got a chance to play and I got a chance to play a lot of different lineups and use some different rotations.”
Wednesday night’s hodgepodge of lineups produced a 109-59 victory in the Vols’ Italian finale against Amici del Campetto. The win capped off the tour as UT passed its four international tests with an average 49.3-pointsper-game victory margin.
In the first three games, senior Skylar McBee gradually found his stroke. The 3-point line is more than a foot deeper overseas and the international ball has a slicker texture and different stitching. He got the hang of it before returning stateside.
McBee drilled three 3-pointers in an 11-2 UT run Wednesday that closed the first half giving the Vols a 56-32 lead. He finished with a game-high 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
“It takes a little getting used to, but by the last two games I definitely got the feel for it,” McBee said. “The games went by quickly and I only took five or six shots in the first two, so it was pretty hard to find that touch.”
Sophomore center Yemi Makanjuola, who gradually improved during the course of the tour, posted a doubledouble with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman Armani Moore also finished with 16, while junior college transfer D’Montre Edwards pulled down 13 boards. Both played well throughout UT’s four games and, along with freshman Derek Reese (did not play due to torn labrum), transitioned from newcomers to teammates.
“We gained a lot of chemistry with the new guys,” said junior Jordan McRae. “Everybody got to really know each other on the trip. There’s TV, but it’s not English. There’s really not a lot you can do beside hang out. We had a lot of laughs.”