Tennessee begins a new stage of the season Wednesday afternoon as the Vols open SEC play at Ole Miss.
It’s a new stage of the season for Tennessee but Josiah-Jordan James’ status remains unchanged as he continues to battle knee soreness.
“No change,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said of James’ status. “He’s doing a little bit more with (trainer) Chad (Newman) and (strength coach) Garrett (Medenwald), but with us, he’ll warm up with us a little bit, but he hasn’t gotten in on five-on-five stuff yet.”
Limited participation in Tennessee practices has been a staple for James since the preseason as the senior worked to return from an offseason knee scope.
However, the injury has lingered and kept James from competing in five-on-five action for any extended amount of time.
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The preseason All-SEC selection has been in-and-out of the lineup while playing in five of Tennessee’s first 12 games this season. James played in Tennessee’s first three games of the season before returning to the bench at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
The senior wing made a two-game return against Alcorn State and Eastern Kentucky before missing Tennessee’s final three games before SEC play.
Following Tennessee’s win over Alcorn State, James said his availability would be a “game-to-game thing” seemingly indicating the injury will be an issue for most, if not the entire, season.
In five games, James is averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from the field and 37% from three-point range.
With James sidelined, sophomore Jahmai Mashack and freshman Julian Phillips have stepped up into bigger roles.
Tennessee opens SEC play Wednesday afternoon against Ole Miss. Tip-off between the Vols and Rebels is at 5 p.m. ET. Courtney Lyle and Mark Wise are on the call for the SEC Network.
