KNOXVILLE - The Tennessee men's basketball team improved to 7-1 Wednesday night with a 72-43 victory over winless Florida A&M at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Here are three observations from the latest victory for the 21st-ranked Volunteers:
1. The emergence of Olivier: Olivier Nkamhoua appears to be the Tennessee freshman with the highest upside on the current roster, and his performance Wednesday supports that belief. It's apparent the 6-foot-8, 224-pound forward has a skill set that hasn't been fully tapped into, and he occasionally adds a new wrinkle during games. Against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga it was a 3-pointer from the top of the key; against Florida A&M it was starting a fast break after a rebound, one of 13 he grabbed against the Rattlers; there was a penetration and over-the-head pass to a wide-open Jordan Bowden for a 3-pointer in the preseason exhibition win over Eastern New Mexico. Game by game, Nkamhoua is getting more comfortable on the court. Once he's able to learn how to play with his back to the basket and still be an option facing it, he'll be an even bigger threat as a playmaker.
"He alone can change our team with the ability he has if he will buy in to it," Vols coach Rick Barnes said Wednesday night.
2. More Vols handling the ball means more options: Facing an overmatched opponent is a good time to try out new things, so the Vols experimented Wednesday night. As shown during last weekend's games at the Emerald Coast Classic, the Vols need to develop more ball-handling options to take some of the load off Lamonte Turner, who has one of the highest usage rates in the Southeastern Conference at fourth behind Anthony Edwards of Georgia, Breein Tyson of Ole Miss and Saben Lee of Vanderbilt. Multiple options presented themselves Wednesday as senior Bowden and freshman Josiah-Jordan James joined Turner in taking turns initiating the offense. So did freshman Davonte Gaines, who had a couple of second-half possessions on which he took the ball upcourt as the lead guard.
Barnes said the 6-foot-7, 178-pound Gaines could be an option there in future games, too.
"Throughout high school and his AAU season he played the points up, and he's got good ball skills," Barnes said. "It's all new, but he's a guy that we're confident in the fact that he's going to work hard trying to do the right thing. He's going to err on trying to do the right thing. He's not going to be perfect, but he's going to try to do the right thing and he's not afraid to bring the ball down the floor. He's not afraid to handle the basketball."
3. Cupcakes are (almost) finished: The early portion of Tennessee's schedule has been good for working out kinks and trying to develop some on-floor combinations and rotations for Southeastern Conference play. Aside from a Dec. 21 visit from Jacksonville State, though, the games considered easier are done. Next is 15th-ranked Memphis on Dec. 14, and a trip to Cincinnati and a home game against Wisconsin loom this month leading into the SEC slate. It appears some questions have been answered, but others remain for a team that isn't all that deep and is very young. There will be bumps ahead, but it appears they will be fewer than expected back in October. After eight games it's apparent why there has been plenty of optimism regarding the potential of this group, but the new and less experienced players filling complementary roles have primarily shined against lesser competition and struggled in more challenging games. With a higher level of competition ahead, there will be more opportunities for those players to get comfortable on bigger stages.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.