Nationally, expectations may have been low for Tennessee’s 2018 basketball season. But behind closed doors, UT’s players knew they had something special.
“Honestly, we knew what we were going to do from the get go,” Grant Williams said after Tennessee’s win over Georgia on Saturday night.
His intuition was spot on. Even though national experts disagreed.
This time last year, Rick Barnes recognized that this season was going to be a turning point for his program. That’s why he put his team through the “hardest spring since he’s been here” last offseason.
“When we came back from the SEC Tournament last year, we knew we had to make some changes in the program,” Barnes said. “We knew the first way to do it was get a group of guys who are totally bought in. With both feet firmly in the program.”
The spring led to a successful trip to Europe. That trip helped the young Vols team finish third in the Battle 4 Atlantis to start the season. Then they carried that momentum into SEC play, including a historic win in Lexington.
So, what now?
The Vols have their first SEC Title since 2008. They’ve swept the Cats and Commodores. They even got Barnes his first win against the pesky Georgia Bulldogs.
This Tennessee team hasn’t shied away from high expectations. Don’t expect them to start now.
“It’s not over yet,” Williams added on Saturday night. “It’s a long season. We’re excited to see where it goes.”
Barnes’ team has no fear. That’s a big reason why they’ve succeeded with the odds against them all year. They aren’t afraid to believe in themselves when no one else does.
And before a pivotal game on Saturday, Barnes echoed that sentiment to his team before they look the floor. His message? Don’t be afraid just because the lights are brighter.
“Don’t have any fear,” Barnes said. “Let’s go play. These guys knew what they were playing for. We talked about what he had for the past three weeks. I told them, if you want to be a champion, you’ve got to win now. You can’t give one away now.”
Tennessee wouldn’t be a co-champion if it wasn’t for Admiral Schofield. He stepped up in a big way on Saturday night when Grant Williams fouled out.
Before that though, he was the go-to guy against Ole Miss and Mississippi State as well. And no one exudes more confidence than the junior guard.
Schofield is the perfect face for a team full of big, confident personalities.
“Those guys had no idea what we’ve been doing in the off-season,” Schofield said Saturday night. “It was hard to sit there and listen to them say we were going to finish second to last in the league.”
Tennessee has ended their postseason drought. But they’re not settling for just one banner this season.
