One arrived at the University of Tennessee as a five-star signee from Charleston, South Carolina, while the other came to Knoxville from Montevideo, Uruguay, via a stop at the NBA Global Academy in Australia.
Fifth-year senior guards Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi have played a combined 282 basketball games for the Volunteers. They were crucial components in Tennessee's surge to the 2022 Southeastern Conference tournament championship and have been again this season as the Vols wrapped up the league's regular-season title with Wednesday night's 66-59 win at South Carolina.
James and Vescovi will compete for the final time inside the Food City Center on Saturday (4 p.m. on CBS), when the No. 4 Vols (24-6, 14-3 SEC) host No. 15 Kentucky (22-8, 12-5).
"I can't put it into words, because we'd be here all night," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Friday afternoon in a news conference when asked about the veteran duo. "I could talk about each one of them for hours and hours. When they got here, we were really in a transition period, and these guys were young and growing up, but they've been the rock.
"Josiah and Santi have been the foundations. They know the coaches better than anybody. They know the standard of everything we want done here, so they're a voice not only to their teammates but a voice that, as a coaching staff, we listen to."
Tennessee fans on Saturday will bid farewell to Dalton Knecht, the transfer from Northern Colorado who is a lock for the SEC player of the year, and walk-on Colin Coyne in addition to James and Vescovi, who were freshmen when the coronavirus outbreak halted the 2020 league tournament in Nashville roughly an hour before the Vols were scheduled to play Alabama.
A humbling NCAA tournament first-round loss to Oregon State ended Tennessee's 2020-21 season, but the three years since have yielded the 2022 SEC tournament title, last year's thumping of Duke that earned the Vols a ticket to the Sweet 16, and the program's first outright league championship in 16 seasons.
"There are so many countless things, to be honest, from relationships with the guys to the bonds we've created," Vescovi said of his time with the Vols. "I think I've grown as a person and a basketball player, which were the main two things I wanted to get out of the University of Tennessee. Most importantly, I think I've created a home here.
"Knoxville is going to be in my heart forever. I love the city. I love the people. I love everything about it."
The 6-foot-3, 196-pound Vescovi has averaged 10.6 points throughout his career, while the 6-7, 220-pound James has averaged 8.9 points and 5.8 rebounds. Each has taken a back seat this season to Knecht and has done so in a selfless way.
Knecht's addition this season may yet take the Vols to places they've never been, but James and Vescovi have not only enjoyed the career ride to this point but their time together.
"I would say Coach Barnes is the most consistent person, and right behind him is Santi," James said. "You know what you're going to get out of him every single day. He's a hard worker and a great leader, and he's somebody who has uplifted me through tough times. I wouldn't be here without him."
Said Vescovi of James: "He's been my partner, my brother and my best friend since day one."
Vescovi had the more unique debut of the two, arriving as a midyear enrollee on Dec. 28, 2019, and receiving official eligibility clearance on Jan. 3, 2020. One day later, Vescovi set a program record for a debut performance with six 3-pointers and totaled 18 points during a 78-64 home loss to LSU.
"I can remember that first game like it was yesterday," Vescovi said. "My first play was a turnover, which was kind of a welcome to reality moment, but making those first couple of 3s and seeing the arena go off was an environment I wasn't used to playing in. It felt nice. It felt great."
Said Barnes: "He had five or six 3s, but he was in terrible shape. We still laugh about that."
Vescovi said he wouldn't take anything back from his time in Knoxville and added that he wouldn't be surprised if both veteran Vols wound up coaching someday due to their love for the game. The two have certainly left their mark on Barnes, who hopes their end at the Food City Center isn't anywhere close to the end of their college careers.
"Jo came in with expectations, and with Santi, nobody knew who he was," Barnes said. "They both got here in different ways, but they're going to leave the same way as far as being cornerstones in their time here."
Coyne contribution
While James, Vescovi and Knecht have played in all 30 games this season, the 6-9, 238-pound Coyne has experienced seven total minutes during home routs of Tennessee Tech, Norfolk State and Vanderbilt.
"We were getting ready to play Auburn, and Johni Broome is left-handed," Barnes said. "We said we've got to get some moving to your left, and Colin went out for days and worked on shooting left-handed. He takes his role so seriously, and you love people like that."
The perfect foe
James scored 26 points on Feb. 3, when Tennessee traveled to Rupp Arena and led wire to wire in a 103-92 downing of the Wildcats. That resulted in James and Vescovi improving to 3-2 against Kentucky in Lexington, and James said the Wildcats are the perfect opponent to play coming off Wednesday's title-clinching win.
"They don't like us and we don't like them," James said. "I'm glad it's them with us coming off the SEC championship, because I know everybody will be locked in and that everybody will be ready to go."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.