Tennessee freshman guard Troy Henderson has missed the Vols’ last two games due to injury but appears to be nearing a return according to head coach Rick Barnes.
“He’s coming back today,” Barnes said before Friday’s practice. “Because the game was Tuesday, he just felt like he needed a couple more days. But based on what I’ve been told, he’ll be back today.”
Henderson suffered the left shoulder injury in practice the week between Tennessee basketball’s matchups against Kentucky and Alabama. The freshman guard was originally questionable on the Alabama game injury report, but has missed both of the last two games.
The Virginia native was a full participant in Tennessee’s Friday practice as the Vols prepare to face a streaking Auburn team.
Henderson has had an ever changing role during his freshman season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 assists in 15 games played. However, Henderson’s role has increased in recent weeks as he’s grabbed the reigns of Tennessee’s backup point guard position from Ethan Burg.
The 6-foot-1 point guard played 10.5 minutes per game in the four matchups prior to suffering his injury including 22 minutes in his eight-point performance against Texas A&M.
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Barnes has handled backup point guard differently in the two games Henderson has missed. Burg played one minute against Alabama but recorded a turnover and missed shot before Barnes pulled him from the game. Against Georgia, Bishop Boswell mostly handled the backup point guard role with Nate Ament and Amaree Abram also helping out.
Starting point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie has combined to play 79 of the 85 minutes in Tennessee’s wins over the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs. Finding Gillespie a few minutes more rest time is important for Tennessee as the season continues.
“Well, it’s important,” Barnes said of finding Gillespie more help. “I think Ja’Kobi’s got to quit putting so much on his shoulders, too. I think Bishop can do some of that. But we have confidence in Troy. And he was moving in the right direction. But we’ve still got to have them all, there’s no question about it. So that will continue to be a big thing going forward.”
The Vols are back in action Saturday night when they host Auburn at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee opened as 6.5-point favorite against the Tigers according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is at at 148.5. KenPom predicts Tennessee to earn a 78-72 victory.
Tipoff between the Vols and Tigers is at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Tom Hart and Dane Bradshaw are on the call for ESPN.
