Rick Barnes gives injury update on Jonas Aidoo following win over Maryland

After Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo missed Sunday’s 56-53 win against Maryland due to flu-like symptoms, coach Rick Barnes provided a brief update postgame.

Barnes told reporters that Aidoo has not practiced in the past two days, and his next chance to return will come Saturday when the Volunteers face Arizona. The coach also heaped praise on freshman big Tobe Awaka for the job he did in his extra minutes with Aidoo out, finishing with seven points and eight rebounds.

“He hasn’t done anything in two days,” Barnes said of Aidoo. “You don’t want to see anybody get sick or be out, but I told our guys, ‘Regardless of what we’ve got, we’ve got enough.’ I’m really happy for Tobe. I really am. What he did today is what we knew he was about. He’s a rebounder. He’s a force. He goes and gets it. His preparation coming in like we talked about it, I was with him last night showing some stuff and then today some of the coaches sat down with him and made sure he understood the assignments on defense. He embraced it and he played really well.”

Although Aidoo was forced to miss, the Volunteers did get back Santiago Vescovi, who had not played since Nov. 30 due to a left shoulder injury. Vescovi was a bit rusty in his return, finishing with just seven points on 2-of-11 shooting, but it was a welcome sight to see him back on the court.

“Santi, for not practicing for a week, I thought gave us as much as we could,” Barnes said. “We were tired. Julian (Phillips)’s tired. There’s no question he’s tired right now, but this week off will help him.”

Jonas Aidoo has played a key role for Tennessee off the bench this season, so Rick Barnes will hope to have him back this weekend. In nine games so far this season, Aidoo is averaging 4.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.