On Saturday, Tennessee basketball will hold its Senior Day festivities as it honors Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Felix Okpara, Grant Hurst and Amaree Abram. The Vols will begin the ceremony at 1:40 p.m. ET, with the anticipated game against Vanderbilt following at 2 p.m. ET and airing on ESPN.
The timing of Senior Days has been a hot-button topic in recent years. Some argue that it should wait until the end in order to make sure emotions don’t bleed into the start of the game. However, that can create an awkward and downbeat ceremony if it follows a loss.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said the decision to do it before the game was up to director of basketball operations Mary Carter Eggert. He was reasonably confident the seniors could wipe away emotions quickly, as well.
“I’ve seen it happen, obviously,” Barnes said about the potential of emotions affecting the game. “But you really want these guys to be recognized, you do. But I like to think that as seniors, too, they can put it behind them and know that we’ve got a really tall task in front of us, and we’re going to be ready to play.”
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Gillespie and Okpara will have the challenge of going through Senior Day to instantly starting, assuming Tennessee rolls with its typical lineup. Gillespie is in his first year with the Vols after time at Belmont and Maryland, but is a native of Greeneville, Tenn. He is averaging 18.0 points and 5.6 assists per game.
Okapara is in his second year with Tennessee after beginning his career at Ohio State. Initially from Lagos, Nigeria, he moved to the United States in 2018, to Chattanooga. He is averaging 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
“Senior Day and all that’s so different now because of the transfer portal,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “Back in the day, when you did the senior day, it was mainly guys that had been with you for a long, long time. But I can tell you the guys that are leaving the program, we appreciate every one of them. They’ve all had an impact and we appreciate it.
“Obviously, time flies and it’s one of those deals where you want them to be recognized for the commitment and the loyalty that they gave to your program. And we appreciate this class, we do, because we’re in that era now where year to year you’re going to have some guys that might just be here one year, but we’d like for them to leave knowing that they’re a part of the Tennessee family and they always will be welcomed back.”
Saturday marks the conclusion of the regular season for Tennessee. Following the day’s slate of games, UT will have a confirmation on its seeding for the ensuing SEC Tournament. That’ll be the final data points for the Vols’ NCAA Tournament resume. ESPN currently projects Tennessee to earn a 5-seed.
