Tobe Awaka’s Fire ‘Great To See’ For Tennessee Basketball

Tennessee’s Tobe Awaka grabbed his third offensive rebound in less than three minutes midway through the second half. Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham fouled him reaching for the ball and gave one extra slap on the wrist after the whistle.

Awaka got in the Wildcat guard’s face when Kentucky forward Aaron Bradshaw pushed him in the back. The Vols’ sophomore power forward turned in a hurry, shoving Bradshaw in retaliation with a fire in his eyes you rarely see.

Jahmai Mashack was right behind Awaka barking at Kentucky’s players. Zakai Zeigler laughed while clapping his hands. When Awaka walked to the Tennessee bench as officials went to the monitor to  sort out of chaos, nearly every coach and player gave Awaka a high-five.

“We’ve kind of been challenging Tobe to be that enforcer that we know he can be,” Tennessee senior Josiah-Jordan James said. “And that play really set it off for us. Just knowing that he has our back and I feel like if Tobe has your back, you can win World War III with him on your side. So it was really great to see and it shows that we’re not going to back down from anybody.”

Tobe Awaka’s eyes show just how ready he was to throw hands. #Vols pic.twitter.com/Q9WAJAsj3q

— Reece Van Haaften (@Reece_VH) February 4, 2024

Zeigler had the most unique perspective on Awaka’s fire. The junior point guard’s known Awaka since high school when they played on the same EYBL team. Zeigler knows how to push Awaka’s buttons and couldn’t keep from laughing while discussing the sequence postgame.

More From RTI: Rick Barnes Asked For More From Zakai Zeigler. He Delivered.

“Well I mess with him a lot, so I see him actually get mad some,” Zeigler said. “So that’s why I was in the back just like, you know, hyping it up a little bit. Like maybe I shouldn’t have done that, but I see it a little bit and it was weird. It was actually really funny to me.”

Awaka is soft spoken off the court and is one of the most low key players on the team. But the sequence showed exactly what Tennessee FCA Chaplain Chris Walker told RTI about Awaka last fall.

“His intensity and his effort is not chill at all,” Walker said. “In an instant he can turn it on and become this animal that you didn’t think was in there and that’s what you can love about him also, he can turn it off and be mellow when he goes to the bench and the game is over.”

While most haven’t seen Awaka show that level of intensity, it was no surprise to those inside Tennessee’s program including head coach Rick Barnes.

“I mean, there’s no doubt that he’s got a streak in him. I mean, Tobe’s tough,” Barnes said. “But have I seen it? Yeah, I’ve seen him like that a few times.”

Tennessee already led by 10 points when the sequence occurred and it didn’t spark a major run for the Vols as both teams traded baskets over the next few minutes. But it did raise Tennessee’s intensity and focus on a night where both were already sky-high.

“I told Tobe after it happened, I was like, ‘we’re not going to lose this game,'” James said.

And while it didn’t spark a massive run for Tennessee, it did spark more strong play from Awaka. In the next 3.5 minutes, Awaka grabbed three more rebounds and scored four points.

The sophomore power forward entered the game on a cold stretch. His fire helped him snap out of it.