A trio of Vols returned to the court for a late-night shooting session following Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina on Tuesday night in Knoxville.
After averaging 84 points per game in their last four SEC contests, Tennessee’s offense struggled mightily against the Gamecocks, falling by a score of 63-59. The Vols’ defense did their part on Tuesday but had no help from the offense.
“You can’t leave — you can’t miss 10 point-blank layups and do what we did on the free-throw line and expect to win,” head coach Rick Barnes said after the game.
Tennessee shot just 36.2 percent from the floor, 23.8 percent from three-point range, and 60 percent from the free-throw line. The Vols’ inability to finish layups and dunks at the rim was an especially noticeable aspect of Tennessee’s struggles on Tuesday.
“I mean, I can talk about guys miss shots, but you can’t miss layups. I’m just telling you, you can’t,” Barnes continued on to say. “The game is too hard when you got a chance to dunk the ball or finish, and we can’t.”
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Dalton Knecht struggled at the free throw line (6/10) but still racked up a 31-point outing with a strong finish in the game as Tennessee was trying to fight back. Still, though, Knecht had more than half of Tennessee’s points. It’s one thing when that happens and the Vols score 85 points on the night, but it’s another when the Vols fail to hit the 60-point mark.
The Vols’ first loss at home this season prompted Knecht, senior Josiah-Jordan James, and junior Jahmai Mashack to return to the court after the fans had left to start getting up some shots.
Knecht was the first on the court and came out with a purpose. The senior guard started with free throws before moving to the far end of the court to work on pull-up three-pointers in transition. Knecht looked locked in as he shot with a purpose and progressed his way through his shooting routine.
Mashack joined Knecht shortly after and went to go work on the other end of the court. Mashack threw his headphones on, picked out a song, and started working on shots near the rim: bank shots, layups – anything around the restricted arc.
James was the last of the trio to step back onto the court and worked his way to Mashack’s end. The two began chatting before moving into some free throws and open-court shooting. The volume may have decreased when the talking began, but still putting in extra work nonetheless.
This is the first time that we’ve seen Tennessee players putting up extra work after a game, but it’s also Tennessee’s first loss at home this season. Players typically (and understandably) go straight to the plane following postgame on the road.
Tennessee will return to the court this weekend as Kentucky hosts the Vols in Lexington. The Vols and the Wildcats will square off at 8:30 p.m. ET in Rupp Arena.
“I mean, obviously it’s not gonna get any easier,” Barnes said on Tuesday. “I don’t care if you’re going to Kentucky or anywhere else in this league, you gotta be ready to play at home or on the road.”
— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) January 31, 2024
