Admiral Schofield feeling 'old' in leadership role for Vols

Tennessee's Admiral Schofield, right, shoots over Texas A&M guard Jalen Jones (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Tennessee's Admiral Schofield, right, shoots over Texas A&M guard Jalen Jones (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
photo Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield reacts to Tennessee taking the lead during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 84-77. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

KNOXVILLE - Admiral Schofield tells the story from Tennessee's loss in last season's Southeastern Conference basketball tournament differently than his coach.

As Rick Barnes told it during the Big Orange Caravan last month, he momentarily benched the freshman in the early minutes of that game against LSU because Schofield's lip was quivering due to a combination of nerves and wanting to win so badly.

"I was very into the game," Schofield recalled after his Rocky Top League game at Knoxville Catholic High School on Monday night.

"I play with passion. We went to the bench - I had shot a couple shots that weren't good shots from the beginning - and he told me when I was on the bench that my lip was quivering. I didn't feel my lip quivering. I felt fine. When he said that, I kind of looked at him like, 'OK, Coach.'

"I don't get nervous or scared when I play. I wanted to win so bad. I will say this: I was shaking, though. I was kind of shaking, because I really wanted to beat Ben Simmons and those guys."

Though Schofield is only a sophomore, Tennessee is counting on him to carry himself like a seasoned veteran on and off the floor, because that's what he is on a roster with two upperclassmen and six freshmen.

When Schofield was navigating his own transition from high school hoops to life as an SEC player, he had two seniors in Kevin Punter and Armani Moore to mimic as the Vols adjusted to Barnes and his staff.

That's the role Schofield is having to fill this summer for Tennessee's rookie crop.

"I feel old now," Schofield said. "I don't know why I feel really old. I feel like a senior or something, but those guys, they are eager to learn. They're quick learners. They've come in and given us something that we didn't have last year. That's another level of athleticism, just a little bit more size, but we're a lot faster than what we were last year and a lot more skilled."

Hoping to improve his own game, Schofield has focused on sharpening his guard skills this summer while watching cut-ups of some of LeBron James's moves from the NBA playoffs with assistant coach Michael Schwartz.

His offseason improvement hit a roadblock, though, when Schofield had his tonsils removed in the spring. After struggling to breathe through his nose and sleeping only three or fours hours per night the past two years, Schofield went to get a sleep test and was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

"They said I would stop breathing every 10 seconds and I would stop breathing for about 50 seconds," Schofield said. "That's almost a minute. That's not healthy at all. That's close to death. That scared me, so I wanted to see my options, and surgery was an option.

"We were looking at doing it in October, but that was too close to the season starting, so we decided to wait till after the season and I finally got it done in the spring."

Schofield needed about six days to recover, and he lost some upper-body strength and dropped to 218 pounds after the surgery. Back up to 238, Schofield feels his conditioning is actually better because of the surgery. His goal is 230.

"I'm able to run like never before," he said. "I feel like a deer when I'm running sometimes, but I'm really happy with where I'm at right now and where I'm going."

Schofield is bullish on newcomers Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden, Kwe Parker, Jalen Johnson, Grant Williams and John Fulkerson, and he praised them for spending so much time in the gym and empathized with their plight of struggling through grueling college workouts for the first time in their lives.

After averaging 7.6 points a game and starting 22 times last season, Schofield feels he's in a position to relate to the rookies and show them the way.

"You've already been through the fight a little bit and got your feet wet," he said. "The best thing for those guys is to have somebody that's young and has been through it and is mature enough to show them and help them and guide them. That's the role I'm playing right now in trying to help Coach Barnes get through to these guys.

"They're learning, and they've improved every day."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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