With Tennessee’s starting backcourt of Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier each battling foul trouble and eventually fouling out in the Vols’ 66-64 win over Illinois, Tennessee basketball needed Jordan Gainey to step up.
Step up Gainey did. The senior shooting guard played the best game of his Tennessee career. He scored 18 of his Tennessee-high 23 points in the second half with his biggest bucket being a contested right-handed layup as time expired.
UNREAL FINISH
VOLS WINNNNNNNN pic.twitter.com/7KhizezTW2
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) December 15, 2024
Following the game, Gainey talked all about his big second half against the Fighting Illini and his game winning buzzer beater. Here’s everything Gainey said.
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said After Tennessee Escaped Illinois Victorious
On what he saw on Tennessee’s final possession, if he though the shot was going in
“Definitely, as soon as I put it up on the glass, I looked through the hoop and saw it rattling up there. And then it finally went through it and I saw my teammates coming. But you know, we work on that play just about every day in practice and late-game situations, so we were all prepared for the moment. And my teammates ran it perfectly and executed it.”
On if it would have been possible for Gainey to come off the bench in the second half a year ago and play 15 minutes at point guard without turning the basketball over
“I’d say really, just practice. Going against Zakai (Zeigler) every single day is just, causes me to get better each and every time. And he works, and we just compete each day. We’ve been competing since last April. And, you know, we’re in the gym all the time, and he’s giving me tips, giving me pointers about what I got to do to keep him off me, to keep pesky defenders off me, like that. And just be able to go against him every day, and just taught me how to keep the ball and not turn it over. And Coach Barnes is on you every single day about keeping the ball and not turning it over.”
On if he felt like he needed to take over in the second half because of Tennessee’s foul trouble
“Really for the offense and my teammates, we all have the next-man mentality. We know we faced a little bit of adversity throughout the game, but we knew we just had to step up to the plate and handle the business. So we were all ready for the moment, and everyone that came in the game made a big impact.”
On if he felt like Illinois was going to run another defender at him when he caught the basketball and he was going to have to pass the ball, or if he was just looking right at the rim
“Really, I saw the ball bounce, and I just gave us a rep so everyone could get set up, and then soon as Igor popped open and he gave it back, I just saw my defender keep backing up, and he just kept backing up, and he was just dead in the water, and it was too late for them to send a double because probably two seconds left, I was already at the rim at that point. We executed it perfectly.”
On how different it is playing without Zakai Zeigler for a long period of time; why this team is able to do so with players like freshman Bishop Boswell and fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar stepping up
“The next man-up mentality. And, you know, just everyone was ready. Going back and forth in practice and just competing. Just having that mentality of getting better every day whenever you step foot on the court. It’s no different, and everyone has a job on the team, and you go in there, focus on it, it makes it a lot easier.”
