TAMPA, Fla. — The confetti had dropped. The trophies had been handed out. But when the last thread of the net finally was cut down following Tennessee’s 65-50 win over Texas A&M Sunday at Amalie Arena, Vols guards Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi ran to place it around the neck of head coach Rick Barnes.
“Whenever we were cutting the net, ‘Jo’ came up to me and we looked at each other and we were like, yep, we need to get coach,” Vescovi said. “We know he’s not going to go up there to get it. We know how much he means for every single one of us ... so we wanted to share that moment with him.”
After watching the Vols capture the SEC tournament title for the first time in 43 years, Barnes could be celebrating more big moments with his team in the NCAA Tournament.
A squad that lost two of its first three conference games this season shared the basketball in the conference championship game with the kind of unselfishness that has become its trademark.
Tennessee exploded to a 14-0 lead behind three players who finished in double digits: Vescovi led all scorers with 17 points, James poured in 16 and sensational freshman Kennedy Chandler added 14.
Chandler, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, also had seven of the Vols’ 19 assists.
Texas A&M, playing it’s fourth game in as many days, looked a little leg-weary. Despite having lost eight straight games at one point this season, the Aggies beat Florida (83-80 in overtime), No. 4 ranked Auburn (67-62) and Arkansas (82-64) in succession earlier in the tournament.
The Aggies were sloppy from the start, committing eight first-half turnovers that led to 10 points for Tennessee.
“Our guys throughout the eight games received all of the teaching and coaching,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “... I think we’ve won 7 out of 9 since then. It’s just — their response to all of that and then all of the work the staff did to get to that point, that’s ― even though it wasn’t fun, it’s been an incredible learning experience.”
True to their gritty nature, the Aggies fought back to within 29-20 at halftime. But Tennessee turned it on in the first 10 minutes of the second half to stretch the lead again. Vescovi led the way with a pair of 3-pointers and three made free throws after being fouled behind the arc. Tennessee shot 43 percent from behind the 3-point line and 39 percent from the field, stymied briefly by the Aggies’ smart switch to a zone defense.
“I knew they were going to fight,” Barnes said of Texas A&M, who he said deserves a spot in the NCAA Tournament. “Even when we got off to a great lead, during timeouts I said, ‘These guys are not going to go away.’ And they went zone, and we didn’t handle it very well.”
Barnes, 67, won a school-record 402 games at Texas in 17 seasons, reaching the NCAA Tournament 16 times with the Longhorns, including the Final Four in 2003.
But the job he has done at Tennessee this season is one of his best in an illustrious career.
Last year, the Vols finished 18-9 overall and 19-7 in SEC play, good only for fourth place in the conference. They were knocked out by Oregon State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Barnes said he read a story about Michael Jordan’s brand of leadership and shared it with his team following the season and repeated it again at the start of this season.
“Just talking about leadership and how hard it is, you’re not going to be liked all the time, and how Michael Jordan led his team and what type of leader he was,” James said. “He preached that at the start of the season, and it kind of spewed out to everyone else.”
Barnes said he knew the leadership had to be owned by the players and was embraced by Vescovi and James. It nurtured players such as Chandler, one of the nation’s top freshmen, who gets better with each game.
“Just to see all of our hard work, he pushes us each and every day,” James said. “He never takes a day off. A lot of emotion came out of us, but we have to credit him. Without him, we wouldn’t be here.”
That’s why Barnes sat back watching his players cut down the nets, knowing that climb up the proverbial basketball ladder may just be beginning for Tennessee.
“I think it’s their time,” Barnes said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and I kept telling them the last couple days this time of year is about players. It’s not about plays and this and that. It’s going to be about players making plays.
“I think it’s something they’ll forever enjoy throughout their life. I think it’s their time. I really do. ... Their time to get the trophy, their time to cut the nets down, and they came to Tennessee to help us make it a special place. They’ve done that. It’s truly their time.”
