With the start of Tennessee's promising basketball season less than two weeks away, there appears to be some separation between freshman guards Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer.
At least on the roommate competition front.
"We play Madden a lot," Johnson said, "and he's beaten me pretty much every time we've played."
The bigger and far more relevant question regarding these five-star signees is who will be the better defender once the Volunteers' Nov. 25 opener against Charlotte inside Thompson-Boling Arena arrives?
"That's not really up for me to say," Springer said. "We'll let you decide that. We both can get after it. We're both dogs on defense."
Tennessee was tabbed Thursday as the preseason pick to win the 2021 Southeastern Conference men's basketball race, with Kentucky, LSU, Florida and Alabama rounding out the top five. The stability element of sixth-year head coach Rick Barnes and the nucleus of senior forwards John Fulkerson and Yves Pons and sophomore guards Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi are reasons enough for Tennessee's lofty perch.
Yet the Vols also landed the nation's No. 4 signing class headed by Johnson and Springer, who readily admit a passion for stellar defensive play.
"From a very early age, my parents always told me that defense is just as much a part of the game as offense is and that you've got to be able to play both sides," Johnson said. "I feel like it all starts on the defensive end. If you can defend, then you'll find your way onto the court. Having that taught to me at an early age has made me the player I am today."
Said Springer: "For me, I've always been one who wants to play defense and not let the other team score or get easy points on you. That's always been my mindset."
Tennessee Athletics photo by Andrew Ferguson / Tennessee freshman guard Keon Johnson brings the ball up the court last week during a practice at Pratt Pavilion.Johnson is a 6-foot-5, 186-pounder from Shelbyville who played at the Webb School in Bell Buckle and was the nation's No. 19 overall prospect for the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. He was wise in listening to his parents, as his mother, the former Conswella Sparrow, was a two-time All-SEC performer at Auburn.
The 6-4, 204-pound Springer also hails from a basketball background, with father Gary having played for Iona College before becoming a sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984 (former Vols big man Dan Federman was Philadelphia's fifth-round selection that year). Springer is from Charlotte but played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, before signing with the Vols as the nation's No. 16 recruit.
Despite arriving with national accolades and showing a defensive knack, Johnson and Springer have not been able to avoid the occasional wrath of Barnes. Johnson admitted he encountered a tongue lashing during the first summer practice, but he hasn't been without company, as Springer is quick to point out.
"I feel like everybody on our team gets those," Springer said. "You know it's coming. You've got to get prepared for it, and you can't take it the way he's saying it.
"You've got to listen to what he's actually saying, because he knows what he's talking about."
Johnson and Springer have worked this preseason at multiple positions by design, with Johnson claiming he would be comfortable at the 1, 2 or 3 spots. Springer believes Tennessee's surplus of guards will not be problematic whatsoever, adding, "We all know each other pretty well by this point."
The excitement to get this season going is evident with the two newcomers, even if Thompson-Boling will have its capacity capped at 4,000 amid this ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"I feel like Tennessee is one of the more fortunate schools in the country in that it didn't hit us too hard and that we were able to come in over the summer and work as a team," Springer said. "This has been one of my dreams since I was a little kid - being able to play in a big arena like this at a great school like Tennessee. I can't wait to go out there with my teammates and have my first college experience.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Signing announced
Tennessee on Saturday announced the signing of five-star guard Kennedy Chandler to a national letter of intent.
Chandler (6-1, 165) averaged 22.2 points and 4.3 assists last season at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis but is playing his senior year at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas. He is the nation's No. 12 prospect, according to ESPN, which makes him the third highest-rated ESPN recruit ever to sign with the Vols.
Tobias Harris was ESPN's No. 6 prospect in 2020, while Scotty Hopson was No. 9 in 2008.
Tennessee previously announced the signing of Jahmai Mashack, a wing from California and a top-100 prospect.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.