KNOXVILLE - Olivier Nkamhoua knew the answer he wanted to give.
So the Tennessee forward barely waited to hear the question.
When asked recently about the opportunity for the Volunteers - and particularly for him and his freshman classmates - to go up against the Memphis Tigers' highly touted group of first-year college players, Nkamhoua cut off the query before it was complete.
"We're very excited," Nkamhoua said, before adding, "Sorry, I cut you off there."
The 13th-ranked Tigers (8-1) visit Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff against the No. 19 Vols (7-1), who have won 31 straight home games. It's a matchup of in-state foes with a little bad blood between the head coaches and perhaps the teams after they combined for 57 fouls last year in Memphis, but an aspect that shouldn't be overlooked is the potential of the Tigers' freshmen, a seven-player signing class that was ranked No. 1 in the country by 247Sports.com.
Of course, only five of those are available. James Wiseman - the 7-foot-1 center was the top prospect in the country for 2019 - is serving a 12-game NCAA suspension for accepting $11,500 from current Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway when Wiseman was still in high school and Hardaway, a Memphis native who starred for the Tigers before going on to the NBA, was the head coach at Memphis East.
Memphis guard Lester Quinones (broken right hand) is out as well. He and Wiseman had combined to average 30.0 points per game, but Wiseman - who hasn't appeared in a game since playing the first three in November - will not return until mid-January.
Yet Tennessee's four freshmen - the Vols' signing class was No. 31 - have had their moments as well.
Josiah-Jordan James, a 6-6 guard, has averaged 6.1 points per game, leads the team in rebounds (6.8 per game) and is second in assists (2.3 per game). Nkamhoua - who at 6-8 has joined John Fulkerson (6-9) and Yves Pons (6-6) in giving the Vols an inside edge - has averages of 5.8 points and 4.9 rebounds and is coming off season highs in points (11) and rebounds (13) in Tennessee's 72-42 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 4.
Davonte Gaines (6-7) has found his way into the rotation, too, averaging 16 minutes, 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds the past three games. Finally, Drew Pember is working his way back from injury, with coach Rick Barnes noting the 6-9 forward "continues to understand how hard you've got to play at this level."
Even without Quinones and Wiseman, Memphis has a talented group. Forward Precious Achiuwa is putting up 13.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, and D.J. Jeffries has averages of 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Tennessee forward Olivier Nkamhoua grabs a rebound in front of Florida A&M center Evins Desir on Dec. 4. The 19th-ranked Vols host 13th-ranked Memphis in a matchup of one-loss teams Saturday afternoon. / AP photo by Wade Payne"We're very excited to play against a team like that, because they have freshmen that are playing great, but we want to show that our freshman class is up to par," Nkamhoua said. "Like, we're always excited to play, but games like these - games like these are just exciting. It's just a great feeling to get into a game like this. As freshmen, we all can't wait to step on the court.
"Like, I know Ticket (Gaines), Drew, me and Josiah are all always excited to play. Any game we have, especially if it's at Thompson-Boling, we're always excited to play."
The atmosphere is expected to rival that of a Kentucky-Tennessee game. The result won't be contingent solely on the freshman Vols, especially with another quartet - senior guards Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner, and junior forwards Fulkerson and Pons - that has experience in high-profile games.
For Tennessee to win, though, it will need some level of production from its freshmen. And they feel they're ready for the moment.
"They've been here, they've seen it. They know," Barnes said. "During the recruiting process they saw what it was like. They know. Being in it for the first time, it's something that they're going to have to go through. But I think that's where you would like to think your older guys are going to make sure they keep themselves emotionally ready. Not really expend that emotion and lose energy because of it. It should be a fun time. It should be a great atmosphere. I think it's great for college basketball. It's great for this state.
"Again, it goes back to our fans. I don't think there's a better fan base in the whole country. And you know it won't be the last time this building is sold out this year. That's what has been exciting, one of the reasons that being here has been so exciting, because our fan base has really gotten behind these guys."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.