One of the many objectives with this season’s deep and experienced Tennessee men’s basketball team has been developing Jonas Aidoo into a formidable forward who is recognized nationally.
It’s both a work in progress and an adventurous ride.
The 6-foot-11, 240-pound junior from Durham, North Carolina, had a tremendously effective stat line during Saturday’s 85-79 win at Georgia, compiling 10 points, a career-best 15 rebounds and five blocked shots, which matched a personal high. He also helped the Volunteers limit Georgia 7-foot, 275-pound senior center Russel Tchewa to one point and three rebounds in 26 minutes.
Aidoo’s performance came on the heels of Wednesday night’s 77-72 loss at Mississippi State, when 6-11, 245-pound Tolu Smith III had his way with 23 points for the winners, while Aidoo managed nine points and five rebounds before fouling out with 4:55 remaining. That resulted in Thursday and Friday not being the most enjoyable days of his career.
“The coaches were very hard on me,” Aidoo said in a news conference after Saturday’s win that improved the Vols to 12-4 overall and 2-1 in Southeastern Conference contests. “We watched film for a couple of hours and talked about how we need to be more physical. There are going to be games like the other night all season in this conference, so we’ve got to build from that game and move on.
“Coach (Rick) Barnes preaches consistency with me, so I just have to start playing with a more competitive edge than I’ve been playing in past games.”
Aidoo’s nonconference efforts included a 29-point outburst in 27 minutes against Georgia Southern, but he also fouled out of games against against Purdue at the Maui Invitational and at North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge. He opened league play on Jan. 6 with a 24-point, 10-rebound showing against Ole Miss, but then came Wednesday’s trip to Starkville.
For the season, Aidoo’s average of 11.2 points per game ranks second on the team behind Dalton Knecht’s 17.2-point clip, and he leads the Vols with 7.4 rebounds a contest and with 26 blocked shots.
“Defensively, with his length and what he does around the rim — I keep telling Jonas that he’s going to develop into one of the best post guys in the country,” Barnes said Saturday. “I think he needs to touch the ball more as well.”
No worries here
The start of SEC play has not been kind to Vols fifth-year senior guard Josiah-Jordan James.
James, who has averaged at least 10.0 points per game each of the past two seasons, is averaging 5.0 points through Tennessee’s 2-1 start to conference action. The 6-7, 220-pounder is just 7-of-27 from the floor (25.9%) and has missed all nine of his 3-point attempts, going 0-for-3 in each game.
“From start to finish, he would still be considered our most consistent player,” Barnes said. “The exciting thing about all this is what if we put it all together? That’s what January is all about. Josiah will be fine.”
It’s way up there
Knecht has averaged 31.3 points in Tennessee’s four true road games against Wisconsin, North Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia.
After pumping in 36 inside Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday, the 6-6, 213-pound transfer guard from Northern Colorado was asked to take a guess at his road average.
“I’ve got no clue,” Knecht replied. “I don’t really care about that. At the end of the day, I just want to get wins.”
Aidoo was standing beside Knecht, and he was asked if he wanted to guess Knecht’s road average.
“About 80,” Aidoo said.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.