Rick Barnes: An aggressive Jonas Aidoo is 'a major factor' for No. 6 Tennessee
No. 6 Tennessee started Tuesday night’s game against Florida with back-to-back buckets from Jonas Aidoo in the first two minutes at Thompson-Boling Arena. First it was a layup for the 6-foot-11 center, followed a foul-line jumper.
The second half started the same way. Two field goals in the first minute after halftime, then another layup a little over 90 seconds later.
Aidoo was aggressive from the start in Tennessee’s 85-66 win, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds, one board short of what would’ve been his fifth double-double and third in four SEC games.
Aggressive, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said, is the key word.
“When he’s aggressive and locked in,” Barnes said during his postgame press conference, “he’s a major factor.”
Jonas Aidoo this season: 11.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 52.5% FG
For a moment it looked like Aidoo had his double-double. Live stats during the game showed 19 points and 10 rebounds. One rebound was taken away later, though, after it was wrongly credited to Aidoo.
Still, while a red-hot Dalton Knecht continues to star for the Vols, Aidoo’s production can’t be overlooked.
Aidoo is Tennessee’s second-leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. He’s leads the team in rebounds, at 7.5, and has twice as many blocks (28) as any of his teammates.
He’s playing 23.9 minutes per game, shooting 52.5% from the field and has 20 assists to his credit, too.
“Jonas, I think, obviously, guys are starting to understand each other,” Barnes said. “Where they need to be, when they need to get (the ball).”
The start of the second half was a prime example.
“We came out and started the second half and ran a little play to get him a little midrange jumper,” Barnes said, “(it) was really great execution. Santi (Vescovi) did his job to go get him open, but it’s guys looking out for each other, trying to help each other be successful and if they play together I think they know they can score points.”
Top 10
- 1
Oregon accusation
Dirk Koetter claims Ducks tampered
- 2
Nick Saban
Shane Gillis details confrontation
- 3
Conferences to gain power?
Internal documents reveal remade NCAA
- 4
Coach K blasts NCAA
'It's ridiculous what we're in'
- 5
Matt Campbell
Iowa State HC to interview with Chicago Bears
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee vs. Alabama, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Aidoo, despite him averaging just 5.1 points per game as a sophomore last season.
He had 24 points to go with 10 rebounds against Ole Miss on January 6. He had 10 points, to go with a career-high 15 rebounds, at Georgia on Saturday. He scored 21 points in the first half against Georgia Southern in December, on his way to a career-high 29.
Barnes said he sat Aidoo down two weeks ago and showed him the elite big men the Vols have faced this season — Purdue’s Zach Edey, Kansas’s Hunter Dickinson, North Carolina’s Armando Bacot — and how Aidoo fared against them.
“I said, ‘Jonas, I’m telling you man, you’re as good as these guys for certain,’” Barnes said. “‘Maybe better. It’s consistency and you’ve got to want to put these numbers up, man. But to do that, you’re going to have to really work hard yourself to want the ball where you want it and get aggressive.’”
And that’s what Aidoo is starting to do. The offense Aidoo provides around the rim is starting to match the rim protection he provides on the other end.
“His length around the basket is effective in a lot of ways,” Barnes said. “Not only defensively, but offensively as well.”
