KNOXVILLE – Perhaps Lamonte Turner’s absence was a blessing in disguise for the Tennessee basketball team.
With Turner out as he worked to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, Jordan Bowden was forced to become an even more versatile player because he had to step into the role of backup point guard. There may have been times when the shift stunted some of Bowden’s scoring, but he has had five games with at least four assists this season after having just four such games in his first two seasons with the Volunteers.
Turner, a redshirt junior guard, missed the first three games this season but appeared in three in late November before going out of action for the next six. He returned in last Saturday’s Southeastern Conference opener against Georgia and also played Tuesday night at Missouri.
As a result, Bowden is back at his more natural position of shooting guard. Combined with him now coming off the bench, the 6-foot-5 junior has gotten into a rhythm, scoring 20 points in each of the past two games.
The best part? He has done so despite struggling from 3-point range, going 14-for-17 inside the arc and 1-for-8 from beyond in that stretch.
Bowden and the third-ranked Vols (13-1, 2-0) will try to keep rolling in SEC play on Saturday night as they visit Florida (9-5, 1-1) for a 6 p.m. game that will be televised by ESPN.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes talked Thursday about “the energy, the focus” shown by Bowden.
“You go back and look, I think he’s made one or two 3s in his past two (games). I don’t think he made one the other night (at Missouri). But he’s getting out and running,” Barnes said. “He’s been able to get some of that with his defense, where he’s deflected the ball and (been able to) get out in the open court. I think he understands, and he always has understood, where his shots come from in the offense. I think he is doing a much better job getting ready for that.”
Bowden’s play in transition has helped him be more effective, Barnes said.
“The last two games, he’s really played with a great deal of pace, where he’s, instead of just running, he’s slowing down a little bit, changing pace, where his defender can’t run through everything. Also allowing the post guys to give a little bit of rub there with a screen,” Barnes said. “It’s just him. He’s always been a worker. But I think his confidence has been a real key with him. And the fact is, we need him. Defensively he’s been really good, too. You go back and watch the tape, he’s been really good on the defensive end. I think that’s translated to some of his offense.”
It doesn’t hurt that the return of Turner has allowed Bowden to be able to play off the ball and not have to handle as many primary ball-handling duties with the second unit.
Barnes has been adamant Tennessee needed Turner healthy for the team to reach its full potential. The Vols used three guards a lot last season, with graduate transfer James Daniel III also available late in games. Now that Turner has returned – and seems healthier than he did during his first return – the potential Barnes foresaw could start to come to fruition, because the Vols can essentially play with three point guards late in games: Jordan Bone, Bowden and Turner.
“I think all three of those guys like playing without the ball because we demand so much out of our point guards,” Barnes said. “It’s hard to do it for a long period of time, and there’s no doubt that teams are going to game plan to stop that flow as much as they can. I think it helped Jordan to play the point because I think it helped him improve his all-around game. The fact he plays off of it, I think we can be even better when those guys rebound and go with it.
“A year ago, we closed most games with a small lineup, but we haven’t been able to do that all year with Lamonte not being there, and we didn’t have a chance to do it the other night because of foul trouble. All three of those guys benefit from playing off the ball and on the ball.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.