DALLAS - There were conflicting opinions in Tennessee's locker room after the Volunteers' 73-47 victory over Wright State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Thursday.
In the final minutes, Jalen Johnson and Admiral Schofield made dunks that brought the Vols on the bench to their feet inside the American Airlines Center. But whose was best?
"Admiral's dunk was better just because it was on somebody, you know?" redshirt sophomore guard Lamonte Turner said. "But anytime Jalen gets a fast break, it's a sight. It's a sight, man. No question."
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Schofield put the Vols ahead 65-43 with 2:34 left. The junior forward drove to his left, and instead of going for a layup as many of his teammates were expecting, he elevated over two defenders for a slam.
Johnson's came in transition. It was a high-flying, one-handed performance that seemed to elicit a louder cheer from Tennessee fans than Schofield's. And with 43 seconds left, it was one of the finishing touches on the victory.
"I've got to go with my man Jalen, because he doesn't really get those kind of opportunities," sophomore shooting guard Jordan Bowden said. "AD (Schofield) can do it at any time."
Johnson's dunk came just moments after he entered the game for the first time. The athletically gifted redshirt freshman is a favorite among his teammates and coach Rick Barnes for his work ethic that has persevered during a season in which he has received limited playing time.
He also has a reputation for throwing down high-flying dunks in the pregame layup line.
"I mean, Jalen had a good dunk, but AD dunked on somebody," freshman forward Derrick Walker said. "Whenever you can dunk on somebody, that's probably always going to better. But Jalen's got some more tricks in his bag that he ain't pulled out yet. So stay tuned."
Johnson said he believed Schofield's dunk was better. After snagging a steal and seeing open court in front of him, Johnson's mind was not on style points as his teammates on the sideline rose to their feet in anticipation of his dunk.
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"First, I'm thinking I've just got to make it," Johnson said. "I want to go for a wow factor next time. I just had to get the two points that time."
Point guards Jordan Bone and James Daniel III suggested the dunks were equally impressive.
"Both of them, they caught me by surprise," Bone said. "Admiral, that drive was amazing. I thought he was just going to lay it up and finesse it. But when he punched it, man, it caught me by surprise. But Jalen surprises me every time he jumps."
Daniel called the decision between the two "super tough."
"I'd have to give them a tie," Daniel said. "They both need another dunk."
Remembering Augie
Just before tipoff, news broke that legendary former University of Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido has died. Garrido coached the Longhorns from 1997 to 2016, and Barnes was the men's basketball coach at Texas from 1998 to 2015.
Garrido, a six-time Big 12 coach of the year, was 79.
"Sad day," Barnes said. "Just many fond memories of Augie. I can remember seasons when things weren't going well, he was one of those guys like Yoda. He always had a little something he could tell you.
"But I loved him more as a man than I did as a baseball coach."
Less than two months ago, Garrido was the speaker at the Tennessee baseball program's First Pitch Banquet. Garrido had recently been hospitalized due to a stroke.
Barnes on short list
Barnes was named Thursday as one of four finalists for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year award. The other finalists are Virginia's Tony Bennett, Ohio State's Chris Holtmann and Villanova's Jay Wright. The winner will be announced April 1 in San Antonio, the site of this year's Final Four.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.