KNOXVILLE - Robert Hubbs III has one final chance to change the narrative on his Tennessee basketball career.
And the program's longtime enigma knows it.
Three different coaching staffs have tried to get the former five-star recruit to realize his potential every time he steps on the floor for a game, but it's up to Hubbs to reach that level in his senior year with the Volunteers.
"That's one thing I think about every night before I go to bed," Hubbs said Monday night after scoring 38 points in his summer league game at Catholic High School.
"This is my senior year, so I have to go out with a bang and do things right. I'm just trying to get back to where we were my freshman year. That was an amazing feeling; that Sweet 16 (run) was just unbelievable."
That was more than two years and two coaching changes ago when Hubbs, recovering from midseason shoulder surgery, watched Tennessee's last NCAA tournament reach the second weekend.
Perhaps his third head coach will be the charm for Hubbs, as Rick Barnes last season never hid his determination to get it to click for the talented, maddening guard. Barnes often was critical of Hubbs publicly, not mincing his words in meetings with the media as Hubbs matched flashes of promise with disappearing acts.
"I definitely needed it," Hubbs said. "I'm thankful for that, to be honest. I thank him for getting on my butt. He's just changed my whole mentality. Ever since we lost the last game, my mentality's made a whole 360-degree turn. I'm approaching the game differently, taking care of my body, going out and approaching every workout like it's my last.
"I know this season's got to end someday, so I'm just going out there and thinking about the upcoming season."
Hubbs again will be vital to Tennessee's success, but this season he'll be the Vols' lone senior on a team with six freshmen and essentially eight new players. There's a different expectation level, both in terms of production and leadership, that comes with that distinction. It's made this summer far different from his previous two, in which new coaches were involved.
"It feels awkward," Hubbs admitted with a laugh. "When I came in as a freshman, we had older guys like Jeronne (Maymon), Jarnell (Stokes), (Jordan) McRae, Antonio (Barton), Josh (Richardson). All those older guys, they looked older, and now it's just like we've got a bunch of young guys. It doesn't look the same. It's just a whole different aspect.
"That's good. We're young, we're talented, we're athletic and I think we're going to do really good on the defensive side this year. We're really long. Everybody on the wings are 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5. We've got to take care of things on defense this year."
Tennessee benefited the past two seasons from two seniors stepping up their games. Richardson's final-season rise ended with him going 40th in last summer's NBA draft, while Kevin Punter Jr. was one of the SEC's most improved players last season.
Hubbs admitted those examples are on his mind as he speaks with Barnes about staying aggressive on both ends of the floor and playing within his skill set.
"Our returning guys have to grow a lot," Barnes said on Monday's SEC teleconference. "We're going to expect a lot (and) see if Robert Hubbs can step up for us to the plate and deliver the way we would expect to see him do it. We'd like to see those strides made by Kevin Punter a year ago. That's going to be a big challenge for Robert to do that."
This summer Hubbs is working hard and preparing more intensely than he has at any prior point in his career, hoping to heed the warning his coach issued to him last season.
"I really wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing," Hubbs said. "I wasn't in the gym as much. (Barnes) told me, 'Hubbs, you're going to be one of those guys that either makes it or don't make it, and if you don't make it, you're going to look back and wish you had done this or done that.' I take that into my mentality.
"I listen to everything he says, (say) 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir' and just go day by day trying to get better."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.