Tennessee basketball held a practice open to the media at Pratt Pavilion on Thursday afternoon as part of its in-house media day. The Vols are less than a month away from tipping off their season with a closed door scrimmage against Ohio State and an open practice beforehand.
Starting on the injury front, French freshman Clarence Massamba was limited with a right hamstring injury. He did drill work and was a bit in-and-out during team work. Cade Phillips did individual work but did not do any team work. It was not the shoulder injury that has given him issues this offseason but an abdomen issue that is very minor.
Tennessee did a ton of half court five-on-five work in what was a pretty competitive session. There wasn’t quite a divide between starters and backups but Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Nate Ament and Felix Okpara were on the same team. And the action was highly competitive.
After spending much of its practice doing half court work, Tennessee held a more formal full court 20-minute scrimmage with officials and media timeouts. Teams changed throughout that portion with Gillespie, Troy Henderson and JP Estrella changing teams throughout.
The scrimmage portion was super exciting with both teams getting up-and-down the court and a super high level of shot making on display. Freshman DeWayne Brown hit a crazy sky hook and Troy Henderson hit a pair of triples and a tough midrange jumper.
Tennessee’s leading scorers in the scrimmage were Nate Ament (19 points), JP Estrella (17 points) and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (13 points). Gillespie hit three triples and I don’t think he attempted more than five. Just an elite shooter.
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The Vols ended the scrimmage with Gillespie, Amaree Abram, Ament, Estrella and Okpara on the court together. From what I’ve seen, that is Tennessee’s best lineup at the moment.
A big reason for the competitiveness in half court was Ethan Burg who had a simply fantastic day. The Israeli newcomers hit four different three-pointers and three of them were off the dribble with two coming on step backs were he created all the space himself. Burg also had a really nice drive and finish over Okpara. He wasn’t quite as effective in the full court scrimmage but still did some nice things, especially getting to the basket.
Burg also did a better job handling the ball than he did the first time we watched him practice 2.5 weeks ago. It’s still a process for him to get used to the American game and Tennessee’s system as a whole. But he’s clearly making strides and had one of his better days. Burg’s shot even looks a bit different than it did a few weeks ago. His legs are a bit closer together.
JP Estrella also made a couple nice post moves and hit a pair of baseline fade aways. He was awesome during the scrimmage portion of practice as his scoring numbers indicated. Estrella scored on some post moves, cleaned up trash and even hit a late shot clock wing triple.
Estrella also made some nice passes out of the post that helped set up his teammates for open looks. He just gives Tennessee an offensive look they have not had in recent years.
People inside the Tennessee program have spoken highly of Amaree Abram and his ability to shoot the basketball since he arrived on campus. Abram didn’t have his best day shooting from the perimeter but did have a couple driving scores and created offensive opportunities from the defensive end.
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Amari Evans scored just two buckets during the five-on-five portion of practice, but he 100% made an impact. The freshman guard had a number of good defensive reps and grabbed a number of contested rebounds. He’s got that dog mentality that he was known for on the preps level.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie did what he’s done in a number of open practices. He’s quiet for a bit and helps get Tennessee in its offense while setting up other players. Then he got going, scoring on an and-one and hitting a triple. He was very efficient shooting the basketball and it just feels like he has another gear he can turn on at all times.
Nate Ament did not have his best day shooting the basketball but still hit a number of shots from both the perimeter and the midrange. Perhaps what impressed me most was his ability to get to the foul line during the scrimmage. He was a force downhill in transition, and sometimes in the half court, and made all eight of his free throw attempts.
Even on a day when he wasn’t fantastic shooting, Ament made a number of contested midrange jumpers coming off pin-down screens and then on post ups.
Felix Okpara was largely Felix Okpara. Finished trash around the rim and made life difficult for opponents to finish at the basket. Didn’t feel like it was one of his better offensive days and he failed to convert a few solid looks at the basket during the scrimmage.
Tennessee holds a scrimmage open to the public on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. If you can’t make it, stay tuned on Rocky Top Insider for complete coverage.
