Rick Barnes details the severity of Santiago Vescovi's sickness
Santiago Vescovi was forced to miss Tennessee‘s Sweet 16 game against Creighton on Friday with an illness. As of Saturday’s Elite Eight press conference, his status appears to remain up in the air, according to head coach Rick Barnes.
Vescovi wasn’t with the team during the 82-75 victory as Barnes revealed that Vescovi hasn’t been able to do anything with the team physically while battling his ailment. He has still been able to participate virtually in team meetings and is hoping to make a return for Sunday’s game against Purdue.
“He was sick,” Barnes explained. “You just had to look at him. We obviously tried to quarantine him as quick as we could to keep him away from the team, but when we were around him and he was seeing everything we were doing by Zoom in his room, knowing if there’s any way possible — Santi, as you guys know, has a great basketball IQ, and he knows what we’re doing as well as I know what we’re trying to get done.
“He just couldn’t. He did break the fever, and we thought he was going to be okay, then the fever came back. But you could tell, just when we were around him, he looked like he had no energy. We hate it for him because he’s been such a huge part of the program and obviously is. I just hope today he feels like he’s got some energy back.”
Vescovi, who has started 144 of the 148 games he’s played for Tennessee over the past five seasons, is averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Vols this season. Most of his numbers are career lows, but that has been by design as his minutes per game average dipped from 32.9 minutes per game to 25.6 between last season and now. Tennessee’s depth at guard has a lot to do with that decrease, but Vescovi has remained a perennial starter.
The veteran guard has been a constant presence in the Tennessee locker room and lineup for longer than any of his teammates besides Josiah-Jordan James, both of whom arrived at the same time in 2019. Now, he’s doing all he can to make it back on the court as tip-off looms against the Boilermakers as the Vols look to become the first team in program history to punch their ticket to the Final Four.