On Thursday night, Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander played their final games as Tennessee Volunteers.
The pair of seniors came to Tennessee as unheralded recruits who were joining a program in the midst of turmoil. Tennessee had just hired its third head coach in three seasons, and they were coming off a 16-16 year and had to fire a head coach due to an ongoing NCAA investigation into his past.
Schofield and Alexander played early and often as freshmen and sophomores, but their team didn’t have a lot of success. Tennessee went a combined 31-35 in their first two seasons, and UT was just 14-22 in SEC play.
But things turned around in a big way in their third season in Knoxville.
The Vols surprised the college basketball world by going 26-9 in 2017-18. They won a share of the SEC regular season title, made it to the SEC Tournament Finals, and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That year also saw Schofield earn Second-Team All-SEC honors.
In their fourth and final year together, the two helped Tennessee tie the school record for most wins in a season (31), earn the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for four-straight weeks, make it back to the SEC Tournament Finals, earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and make it to the school’s first Sweet Sixteen since 2014. Schofield was also named a First-Team All-SEC selection in his final year as a Vol.
Though the season ended earlier than they wanted, Schofield and Alexander put together impressive careers as Vols, and their names are sprinkled all over UT’s record books.
Here’s a look at where Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander finish in notable categories in Tennessee’s career record books.
Admiral Schofield
Games Played
132 games played – 5th all-time
Schofield participated in every game Tennessee played over his last two seasons. He started all but one of those contests as well, and when you add that in with the 60 games he played in his first two seasons, it accumulates to Schofield playing in the fifth-most games of any Vol in school history.
Career Scoring
1,570 points – 16th all-time
In his final game, Schofield surpassed Ron Slay for 16th in career scoring in program history. His final dunk in the final seconds of the Vols’ loss to Purdue put him one point ahead of Slay’s 1,569 career points. Schofield’s teammate, Grant Williams, is ahead of him in career scoring and has a chance to finish well inside the top 10 if returns for his senior season.
Career Rebounding
704 rebounds – 14th all-time
For a 6-foot-5 wing, Schofield was an effective rebounder. He averaged over six rebounds a game in his last two seasons and finished just inside the top-15 in school history in career rebounds.
Career Three-Pointers
184 three-pointers made – 7th all-time
476 three-pointers attempted – tied for 9th all-time
38.7 percent shooting – 7th all-time
Schofield will go down as one of the Vols’ best three-point shooters in his career. He’s in the top 10 of school history in three-pointers made, attempted, and shooting percentage. Schofield might be more well known for his dunks, but he hit plenty of clutch threes in his UT career as well.
Kyle Alexander
Games Played
135 games played – 4th all-time
105 games started – 11th all-time
The only player on UT’s roster this season who played in more games as a Vol than Admiral Schofield was Kyle Alexander. He finishes his Tennessee career having played in the fourth-most games in school history, and his 105 starts are just outside the top 10. He only missed a total of three games in his entire Tennessee career.
Career Rebounding
287 offensive rebounds – 5th all-time
2.12 offensive rebounds per game – 10th all-time
Though Alexander’s overall career rebounding numbers don’t place him in the top 10, his offensive rebounding numbers do. Tennessee didn’t start recording offensive rebounds as an official statistic till the 1996-97 season, but that’s still well over two decades’ worth of data, and Alexander proved to be one of the best offensive rebounders in UT history in that timeframe. He’s fifth all-time in career offensive rebounds and 10th in offensive rebounds per game in a career.
Career Blocks
185 blocks – 2nd all-time
1.37 blocks per game – 2nd all-time
There’s only one player in school history who was better at blocking shots than Kyle Alexander, and that’s C.J. Black. Alexander finishes behind Black’s mark of 212 career blocks and 1.80 blocks per game in a career. Otherwise, he’s blocked more shots than any other Tennessee player in program history. Alexander’s 57 blocks as a junior were the most by a junior player in Tennessee history, and his 64 blocks this season are the most a senior has ever recorded in school history. He also finished with the second-most blocks in a single season in school history this year, trailing only Black’s 73 he had in 1997-98.
One Response
As impressive on paper as they have been on the court… and none of these records take into account the intangible qualities that these fine young men bring to the table. They both deserve all the love & respect we can give them for their time & talents spent representing the University of Tennessee. They are the kind of student athletes that make us proud to say “its great to be a Tennessee Vol!”