When freshman Cade Phillips arrived on campus, Tennessee basketball planned on redshirting him for his inaugural college season. That idea seemed like a lock when Phillips missed Tennessee’s three August exhibition games in Italy with a shoulder injury.
But Phillips returned to the practice floor early this fall and made Tennessee question its plan. When the freshman power forward checked in with 13:03 remaining in the first half of the Vols’ 80-42 season opening win over Tennessee Tech, the plan was defunct.
Phillips isn’t going to redshirt his freshman season. Why did Tennessee change its mind?
“He did it himself,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Monday night. “The fact that he, Cade, brings us a different type of frontline player. He’s a lot stronger than he looks.”
The 6-foot-9, 212-pound power forward isn’t going to be a major scorer for Tennessee. Of the Vols’ four freshman, Phillips offensive game is the least developed. But what he lacks in scoring prowess, he makes up for with his toughness and ability to make scrappy, winning plays.
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On his first possession against Tennessee Tech, Phillips blocked a shot. The wiry big man posted a modest two points, one rebound and one block in 10 minutes.
“He’s a guy that, kind of what Santi does on the perimeter, he does inside,” Barnes said. “He’s gonna get you extra possessions. He’s gonna run down loose balls. He really has gotten good at getting off the ball. He’s a guy that you really can lob the ball to and he’ll go get it, but he understands what we’re trying to get done, and he’ll get better too.”
Tennessee’s coaches are still searching to find its rotation. Barnes noted that Monday was the first time this year that they’ve had everyone available as Zakai Zeigler has worked back from a knee injury and a number of other Vols have dealt with minor injuries.
It’s not an easy task for Barnes and his staff either. The Vols are extremely deep and have lineup versatility thanks to wings Josiah-Jordan James, Dalton Knecht and Jahmai Mashack.
But it’s easier to figure out the front court rotation. Junior Jonas Aidoo is the starting five-man, Tobe Awaka is his backup while freshmen Cade Phillips and JP Estrella are competing for fringe rotation minutes.
How the interior rotation looks when Tennessee faces Wisconsin on Friday night in Madison will be telling. It’s a major early season test for Rick Barnes and his team and how they use Phillips will be telling.
