Tennessee's Jordan Bowden makes a one-handed shot during the top-ranked Vols' win against Florida on Saturday in Knoxville.
Mark WiedmerKNOXVILLE - Every great college basketball team has role players. Well, everyone but Duke. The Blue Devils just have a bunch of future NBA lottery picks waiting their turns to be viewed as such.
But everyone else in the top 10 has somewhat unsung guys who often start the game on the bench before coming in to provide energy or defense or 3-point shooting, whatever the starting unit might somewhat lack.
Then there are the multiple contributions of Tennessee junior guard Jordan Bowden. A Knoxville native who has started only five games all season for the top-ranked Volunteers, the 6-foot-5, 193-pounder almost certainly leads the team in highlight-reel dunks, especially after Saturday's left-handed putback jam during the first half of an eventual 73-61 win over Florida.
"I was shocked," said Grant Williams, whose 16 points led the Vols in scoring for the 12th time this season. "He dunked with his left (off) hand. I've never seen him do that before."
This entire Tennessee team is doing things not even the oldest and most loyal Volniac has ever seen before. The Vols' 18th straight victory extended the program's longest winning streak. It's also the most games fourth-year coach Rick Barnes has ever won in a row in his 32-year career as a Division I coach.
Sure, it's going to get tougher over the next few weeks. If the Vols hope to build on their remarkable 22-1 overall record and 10-0 Southeastern Conference mark, they'll have to top dangerous South Carolina at home on Wednesday, then beat surging Kentucky at its Rupp Arena on Saturday, topple Vanderbilt at home three nights later, then garner back-to-back road wins against LSU and Ole Miss.
And that still leaves one very nasty road game at up-and-down Auburn to wrap up the regular season.
"Teams are getting better," Barnes said. "We've got to get better."
Though he wasn't made available to the media on Saturday, almost no Vol has gotten better than Bowden since the start of the season. After failing to reach double figures in seven of Tennessee's first 12 games, the former Knoxville Carter High School player - he finished his prep career at 22 Feet Academy in South Carolina - has now hit double figures nine of his past 10 appearances, including finishing with 13 points off the bench against the Gators.
Beyond that, five of those double-figure outputs have been for 15 or more points.
"I think he has really enjoyed coming off the bench," Barnes said of Bowden. "He is coming in and being aggressive, and that is what you need with a guy coming off the bench, whether he is aggressive offensively or defensively."
Though his teammates have watched his shooting skills with awe for years - Bowden hit almost 40 percent of his 3-pointers a year ago and is knocking down more than 90 percent of his free throws this season - he has often been a reluctant shooter on game day, to the point that Barnes has previously scolded him, "If you're not going to shoot, I can't play you."
Williams has noticed the difference.
"I think it started in practice," he said of his fellow junior. "He has had an aggressive mentality. Jordan understands what we need him to do and that we need that from our guards. We need guards to be aggressive rather than passive, because when we don't have that, it puts more pressure on guys like myself and (Admiral Schofield). (We need opponents) to have to worry about every single person on the court."
That mission was accomplished long ago.
Season stats show five Vols averaging in double figures, led by Williams' SEC-best 20-point average and Schofield's 16.5 average. They also show starting center Kyle Alexander with 8.6.
"They're equally good offensively and defensively," said Florida coach Mike White, mindful that the Vols entered Saturday leading the league for all games played in scoring offense (86 points per game) and scoring margin (18.4) and were third in scoring defense (67.6).
"Their guards can muscle you and their bigs can move their feet. They're just really, really good."
Some believe Duke's win at Virginia on Saturday will be enough to vault the Dookies past the Vols to No. 1, despite their winning streak. In a sense, that would be a shame. On the other hand, can you imagine the motivational tool such a slight would give Barnes down the stretch of the SEC? Talk about being able to play the "no respect" card.
But for now, it's best to enjoy what is rather than what might not be come Monday. Best to replay Bowden's putback dunk against the Gators or his similarly spectacular alley-oop dunk coming out of a timeout at Vanderbilt.
And just in case you need quotes to further heighten your Big Orange joy, try the following ones from Barnes and Schofield.
Said Barnes of Bowden: "He is playing good basketball, but he has better days ahead of him."
Said Schofield of the entire team: "Once we lock in, I don't think anybody can fool with us, honestly."
The Admiral now has at least 18 straight wins to back up those words.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.