Arkansas center Jonas Aidoo made his return to Knoxville on Saturday afternoon as Tennessee knocked off the Razorbacks 76-52 in the SEC opener.
Aidoo’s departure from Tennessee was spring was one of the biggest storylines of the offseason for Vol basketball. The 6-foot-11 power forward spent the first three years of his college career at Tennessee before deciding to pursue other opportunities and eventually landing at Arkansas.
So what did Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes tell Aidoo in the postgame handshake line after the Vols earned the blowout victory?
“When I shook his hand, I hugged him. I said, ‘Jonas, I love you,’ and I do love him,” Barnes said. “He found a situation that was really hard for him to turn down, and he did it. I had no problem with it, but I think it was hard. I mean, he did a lot for us while he was here, but I wish him nothing but the best.”
Aidoo was a pick piece of Tennessee’s SEC Regular-Season Championship team a season ago, averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks on his way to earning First Team All-SEC honors.
The Durham native did struggle in the NCAA Tournament, particularly in Tennessee’s season-ending loss against Purdue. Still, Aidoo was ranked as one of the top players in the transfer portal last offseason and was considered a major loss for the Vols in the portal.
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Aidoo was largely ineffective in his return to Knoxville on Saturday, totaling four points, five rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes of action. The senior forward has had an underwhelming season to date while battling injuries.
He is averaging 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game so far this season though had been playing better as of late. Aidoo’s performance against Tennessee was his worst in the Razorbacks’ last six games.
Tennessee added Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara to replace Aidoo this offseason and the 6-foot-11 center is averaging 7.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Okpara combined with Cade Phillips’ emergence off the bench and Tennessee has done a strong job of replacing its center production from a season ago. Okpara totaled 10 points in three rebounds while facing off against Aidoo on Saturday afternoon.
While things didn’t end well for Aidoo at Tennessee, Barnes says he has nothing but well wishes for his former player.
“It’s like Jahmai Mashack said it best,” Barnes said. “He said, all we can do is pray for them and wish them the best, and we’ve got to take care of our business here and keep moving. And that’s what we’ve done.”
