KNOXVILLE — Trae Golden proved Wednesday night he’s got a good memory.
The University of Tennessee freshman backup point guard had his last meeting with Memphis freshman point guard Joe Jackson on his mind as the Volunteers hammered the visiting Tigers 104-84.
“It was one of my last tournaments in AAU,” Golden recalled after UT (10-4) finished practice Thursday evening at Pratt Pavilion before flying to Fayetteville, Ark., for Saturday afternoon’s SEC opener against Arkansas (10-3).
Jackson’s Memphis Magic knocked Golden’s Atlanta Celtics out of a tournament in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-1 Golden admitted that loss was some motivation for Wednesday.
“[Assistant] Coach [Steve] Forbes was joking around with me, saying I couldn’t guard [Jackson],” said Golden, last year’s Mr. Basketball in Georgia. “I wanted to make sure I tried my hardest to play defense on him and go at him on the offensive end.”