What does Tennessee Basketball want from Jonas Aidoo? Just be Waffle House
Gregg Polinksy dug deep to find the analogy that worked best. When the Tennessee assistant coach was asked Friday afternoon about the importance of Jonas Aidoo establishing some consistency, his mind went to an All-Star Special.
The Vols just need their junior center to be Waffle House.
“When you go into the Waffle House,” Polinksy said, “you know what you’re getting every time, don’t you?”
That’s what Rick Barnes wants. Forget the breakfast foods. It’s about trust.
“Can Coach (Barnes) count on you?” Polinksy continued. “And can your teammates count on you?”
Jonas Aidoo is second in scoring this season, leads Tennessee in rebounding
Aidoo, the 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward, has had a breakout season, averaging 11.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He’s second in scoring for No. 9 Tennessee (18-6, 8-3 SEC) and leads the team in rebounding entering Saturday’s game (6 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) against Vanderbilt (7-17, 2-9) at Thompson-Boling Arena.
But there have been ups and downs along the way.
Through the first five games of the SEC schedule, Aidoo starred, averaging 16.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He had 24 points and 10 rebounds against Ole Miss. He had 10 and 15 at Georgia and 19 and 10 against Florida, then scored 19 more against Alabama.
The next five league games, though, saw Aidoo drop down to 8.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
“The best teams at any level play with a high level of consistency and I think that’s what Coach (Barnes) is talking about,” Polinksy said. “A level of trust amongst teammates that, I got your back, you got mine.”
Aidoo had everyone’s back at Arkansas on Wednesday, where he scored 23 points and had 12 rebounds in Tennessee’s 92-63 bounce-back win. It came just three days removed from scoring just six points and grabbing just five rebounds in the 86-69 loss at Texas A&M.
“I thought he played to the rim,” Barnes said after the win at Arkansas. “That was a big thing. He played with some force in there. The last couple days we told him he’s got to play quicker. And I thought he did that.
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“I thought he mixed in a few stationary jump shots that we know he’s capable of making and rebounded. He had a major presence on that (defensive) end down there, too.”
Up Next: No. 9 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Aidoo’s 23 points came in just ahead of 22 from Dalton Knecht. Jordan Gainey had 17 off the bench and Josiah-Jordan James scored 12 more. The Vols scored a balanced 92 points on the road and made just five 3-pointers in the win.
“It’s a big help to get our offense going,” Knecht said of Aidoo’s impact. “We know we got a low-post threat down there and he’s one of the best big men in the nation, so it’s always good when he’s just going out there and being aggressive.”
To be one of the best big men in the nation, Aidoo will have to prove against the best bigs in the nation.
“I think now the step for Jonas,” Polinksy said, “is can you do it against the bigger and more physical guys in the league? He has proven that he can be really effective and he’s been a factor in a lot of games and does a lot of things for us defensively as well at the rim.
“He’s a lot to handle. But when we get play from our inside guys, we’re impactful.”
