Jordan Gainey providing instant offense as Tennessee basketball's new sixth man

Rick Barnes knew what he was getting in Jordan Gainey. In fact, he knew it a couple years ago when Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner offered a firsthand scouting report of the USC Upstate shooting guard.

When Gainey, the son of Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, was home in Knoxville during breaks from school, he would get on the floor with Bowden and Turner. The two Vols saw enough to know exactly what they were looking at.

“They said coach, he can do more than shoot the ball,” Barnes said Tuesday night. “They told me everything. And he worked out with them a lot … spent a lot of time with those guys.”

The shot was always there. He made 49.3% of his 3-point attempts as a freshman at Upstate in 2021-22, going 74-for-150 while earning Big South Freshman of the Year honors.

He shot 34.5% on 203 attempts last season and averaged 14.5 points per game over his 64 games with the Spartans before entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. 

‘He’s a guy that I think he feels he can get a shot off when he needs to get it off’

He hasn’t missed a beat at Tennessee. Through three games he’s averaging 13.3 points as the sixth man for the Vols and the team’s second-leading scorer. He’s shooting 44.4% at the 3-point line (8-18) and 45.2% from the field (14-31).

“He’s a good basketball player,” Barnes said. “He’s got a good feel. He’s a guy that I think he feels he can get a shot off when he needs to get it off.”

Gainey has wasted no time getting shots off while coming off the bench this season. 

He checked in at the 16:59 mark in the 82-61 win over Wofford on Tuesday and missed a 3-point attempt 22 seconds later. He made his next two, at 12:44 and 11:54, and missed another 3-pointer at 11:17 before checking out at 11:01.

In the 80-70 win at Wisconsin on Friday, Gainey checked in with 16:42 left in the first half and had five points in his first two minutes on the floor. Against Tennessee Tech in the season opener, he checked in at the 13:02 mark and had seven points in just under four minutes.

He started in the exhibition at Michigan State on October 29, but provided the same instant offense. His steal and layup helped Tennessee to a 9-0 lead to start to the game. Then, just 46 seconds later, he hit back-to-back threes, putting the Vols up 15-1.

“I just do everything I practice,” Gainey said Tuesday night. “… Every moment we get on that court is valuable, and doing whatever we can do to stay on the court. Really, just going out there playing as hard as I can, as long as I’m out there and the results will show. And do what I do.”

Up Next: No. 7 Tennessee vs. Syracuse, Monday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Helping Gainey do what he does, according to Barnes, is some added weight. He was listed at 175 pounds during his time at USC Upstate and is now at 186 on Tennessee’s official roster.

“Physically he is so much more,” Barnes said. “And more explosive than you think. He had a couple dunks in practice that were like where did that come from? And I think we’ll see it at some point in time this year.”

The other emphasis from Barnes: This is just the starting point. Gainey is only three games into his transition from mid-major to a major role on a top-ten team.

“He’s proven he score at three levels,” Barnes said, “but it’s all new to him. I think as he continues to with his cardio fitness toughness, I think that’s gonna take him to a different game. His body’s gonna continue to change over next year and a half that’s gonna help him.”