'More control' has Shembari Phillips liking life as Vols' starting point guard

Tennessee guard Shembari Phillips shoots as Chaminade guard Kiran Shastri (33) defends while teammate Austin Pope (0) looks on during a game last month at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Tennessee guard Shembari Phillips shoots as Chaminade guard Kiran Shastri (33) defends while teammate Austin Pope (0) looks on during a game last month at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.

KNOXVILLE - Tennessee's point guard by committee soon could be a committee of one.

If Shembari Phillips continues to play as well as he did in the Volunteers' 81-58 shellacking of Georgia Tech on Saturday, the job may become his to lose.

The sophomore scored 14 points with five rebounds, seven assists and one turnover late in the home game as the starting point guard, a position he'll hold at least until freshman Jordan Bone returns from a foot injury later this month.

"I thought Shem did a really good job today," Vols coach Rick Barnes said after the win. "You go back to a year ago, he had never played the point. He's getting more and more comfortable with it. He still would rather probably be off the ball, but he's good at it. He's starting to understand his looks and starting to handle pressure better when people do it.

"When you look at his line with seven assists and one turnover, I thought he had a great day today."

Phillips started at point guard the final two games of the Maui Invitational after Lamonte Turner started in Bone's absence against Wisconsin to open the tournament in Hawaii. In the past four games, Phillips is averaging 11.5 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (6-of-8 on 3-pointers) with 11 assists and eight turnovers.

More importantly for Tennessee, though, is Phillips appears to be warming to playing the position.

"It's whatever the team needs," he said. "I feel like I can play off the ball and I can play on the ball. Whatever the team needs at the time or whichever game, if someone steps up and (Barnes) feels like they're doing a better job than me, then I'll move back to the wing.

"I do enjoy playing the point, and I'm going to continue to get better at it every day and we'll see what happens."

What happened when Phillips played point guard as a freshman wasn't pretty. It wasn't a natural fit, but Tennessee was short on options, particularly after Kevin Punter suffered a season-ending injury. Phillips was turnover-prone, erratic and often struggled.

The Vols believe the 6-foot-3 Georgia native can be an outstanding perimeter defender and an effective slasher on offense.

"He's more aggressive than most of our point guards when it comes to getting in the paint and also just guarding," freshman forward Grant Williams said. "He's a great scorer. Not many people know that about him, but scoring the ball, he's great. Also he commands us on the court. He can lead us. He can talk to us.

"He's out there communicating where we need to be, if we need to slow it down, need to go faster - whatever we need to do, he's there."

Experience from playing so much last season should help Phillips be more poised, which the Vols will need with games against top-10 opponents North Carolina and Gonzaga this month.

"Shembari understands he doesn't have to do too much," freshman forward John Fulkerson said. "He just has to run the offense. He doesn't have to score every time. He just has to make the right pass and run the offense."

And Phillips is starting to enjoy his position of power.

"I feel like I have more control over the game a little bit," Phillips said Saturday, "especially when my guys are cutting hard like they were today and just getting open, so I can deliver the ball as best as I can.

"Just being in that position and being able to facilitate is a good thing for me."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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