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In the midst of a five-game SEC winning streak, Tennessee received bad news that power forward Olivier Nkamhoua is likely to miss the remainder of the season with a left ankle injury that will require strategy.
It’s a stinging blow for Tennessee as the inconsistent junior was playing better basketball and is the anchor of the Vols’ defense. Nkamhoua’s averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds this season, but has totaled 31 points and 12 rebounds over the last three games.
The blow is biggest on the defensive end where Nkamhoua leads the team with 25 blocks and is one of just three Tennessee players with over 10 blocks.
So how does Tennessee replace his production? Rick Barnes says it’ll be by committee and depends on who will step up.
“What that does is open up minutes that other people can grab and every guys is here because we recruited them to be here,” Barnes said. “Whoever gets those minutes will be the best defensive player or players. Olivier had really started doing good stuff there. Obviously his shot blocking gave us some rim protection. … We can swing Josiah to that spot a little bit more, but we’ll need some other guys. It’s a great opportunity for some guys and we’ll see who wants to capture it and go with it.”
According to UT game notes, Tennessee is going to its small-ball lineup to start Wednesday night at Mississippi State.
The Vols will start Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi, Justin Powell, Josiah-Jordan James and Uros Plavsic. The move is unsurprising as Tennessee has increasingly played lineups with James at power forward as of late.
Over the last five games, three of Tennessee’s top four most used lineups have included James playing power forward.
Still, Tennessee is going to need more minutes from its bench and a trio of freshmen are the likely candidates.
“It’ll be Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield), Jonas Aidoo. We played Jahmai Mashack at the four too,” Barnes said. “Between those guys it’ll be who gives us the best chance to win basketball games and it’ll get down to who’s the better defensive player. They’re all young, all three of them are freshmen, and we think they all have the ability to score but what we need out of them is consistency on the defensive end that’s who’ll get those minutes.”
Huntley-Hatfield and Mashack have been edge pieces of Tennessee’s rotation this season. Huntley-Hatfield, 6-foot-10 power forward, is recording 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in just over 10 minutes a game, but the five-star recruit has struggled to find a rhythm.
Mashack is averaging 0.7 points and 0.9 rebounds per game in just over five minutes a game. The 6-foot-5 wing is a similar mold to James and has played the four spot a number of games this season.
The California native’s offensive game is extremely raw but the wing has the size, strength and athleticism to hold his own in a small-ball lineup.
Aidoo has played in just six games this season and hasn’t played an significant minutes in a game that was still in doubt. Still, the top-50 recruit is extremely talented and Barnes believes he’s turning a corner.
“A week and a half, two weeks ago you could tell he was starting to get where we wanted him to be, playing with more speed,” Barnes said. “There’s no doubt, he’s the best rim protector we have on our team. I watch him do it every day in practice. I do think he’s grasping right now what it takes to play at this level night in and night out. He’s here because we believe he has a great future ahead of him but we need him to expedite it right now.”
Tennessee is hoping for major contributions from one of its freshmen, but if no one steps up in a big way it’ll lead to an abundance of small-ball lineups.
The Vols’ small lineups have been extremely effective this season, but Nkamhoua was the most effective five in that lineup and brings a combination of athleticism and size that Tennessee doesn’t have.
