KNOXVILLE — Sometime this afternoon, Tennessee basketball point guard Trae Golden will pack a suitcase for his first trip to Hawaii.
“I say I’ll pack Tennessee sweat suits and some swim trunks,” the smiling sophomore said Tuesday.
Golden and the rest of the Volunteers can’t check into island mode just yet, though. UT plays its final tune-up for next week’s stacked Maui Invitational tournament when Louisiana-Monroe visits Thompson-Boling Arena tonight.
“As a team we like to look at things one game at a time, so of course we know we’re going to Hawaii,” Golden said, “but tomorrow night we’re making sure we get the job done.”
The Vols fly Thursday morning to Hawaii, where beautiful beaches, sunny weather and a chance to show off a new coach, a new team and a new program await. It’s probably easy to overlook a winless Sun Belt Conference team that won just seven games last season when all that is waiting and the next opponent is sixth-ranked Duke.