Minutes may be limited now, but Rick Barnes says Freddie Dilione is 'gonna grow'
Tennessee basketball got good news all across the injury report Tuesday night. Dalton Knecht was able to start and play 25 minutes. Tobe Awaka returned to the floor after missing one game. And Freddie Dilione V returned from the foot injury that sidelined him the last three weeks.
Of the three injuries — Knecht sprained his left ankle last week at North Carolina, Awaka turned his left ankle in the first game of the Maui Invitational and Dilione suffered a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot on November 14 against Wofford — only Dilione was limited in his minutes in the 87-66 win over George Mason.
Knecht scored 10 points. Awaka showed the Vols what they were missing when he was sidelined against the Tar Heels, with 11 points and seven rebounds in just 11 minutes.
Dilione scored three points, had a couple rebounds and an assist and a turnover in eight minutes off the bench. It’s the lack of time on the floor that is currently the biggest limitation for the four-star redshirt freshman guard.
“I think he’s gotta get out there and get more comfortable,” Barnes said of Dilione. “Freddie’s gonna grow, going to go through some tough growing pains of understanding that it’s harder than he probably thinks it’s going to be, taking care of the ball. People are going to press up on him as they did (against George Mason) and going to the basket.”
Dilione scored season-high seven points in 16 minutes vs. Tennessee Tech
Barnes still had a couple plays in mind during his postgame press conference. One was a missed layup, the other a missed connection with Jonas Aidoo in the paint.
“Probably in high school, he would have made that layup,” Barnes said, “but he didn’t. He’s working his way back. He’s the only guy that we knew we were gonna limit (his) minutes tonight, but he’s gonna learn.”
Dilione scored seven points in 16 minutes in the season-opening win over Tennessee Tech on November 6, both season highs.
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He played only three minutes, all in the first half, in the 80-70 win at Wisconsin on November 10 and was injured after just three minutes on the floor against Wofford four days later.
“I mean, he’s young, he’s realizing what it’s about, I think,” Barnes said. “And I think defensively he’s trying, but he’s gotta learn how to not be screened, but I do think he’s putting in an effort there and now he’s just continue to smarter in terms of understanding what’s coming, having more anticipation.”
Up Next: No. 17 Tennessee vs. No. 20 Illinois, Saturday, Noon ET, CBS
Dilione was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class out of Word of God Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. He’s was ranked No. 44 overall prospect nationally according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was ranked No. 3 among shooting guards and No. 1 in the state of North Carolina.
He finished his high school career in January, leaving to enroll early in Knoxville to start his career at Tennessee.
“He’s a good passer,” Barnes said. “I thought he threw a great pass to Jonas there — that should have been a layup. Jonas slowed down, but Freddie led him perfectly. Freddie’s a good passer.
“When he settles in and he wants to think pass first, he can see over a lot of people and he’s got a really soft touch with his passes. It’ll come down to him understanding from a point guard position when he should get aggressive and when he shouldn’t.”
