Tobe Awaka explains scuffle at Kentucky and the 'spark' it gave Tennessee in win at Rupp Arena

Josiah-Jordan James found Tobe Awaka on the floor at Rupp Arena and told him how the rest of the game was going to play out. With Tennessee up 10 points with 12 minutes left, Awaka scuffled with Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham and center Aaron Bradshaw. And it was all James needed seed. 

“I told Tobe after it happened, I was like, ‘We’re not going to lose this game,’” James said Saturday night. “We’ve kind of been challenging Tobe to be that enforcer that we know he can be and that play really set it off for us.”

The play set Awaka off, too. He scored the next two field goals for the Vols — dunking with two hands on a drive to rim, then finishing around the rim after doing more work in the paint — on the way to the 103-92 win in Lexington.

“I feel like if Tobe has your back,” James said, “you can win World War III with him on your side. So it was really great to see and it shows that we’re not going to back down from anybody.”

Tobe Awaka: ‘I thought it was just competitors being competitors’

It was a different look for the normally subdued, mild-mannered Awaka. 

Dillingham got tied up with Awaka after a loose ball and Awaka took exception, turning to Dillingham and leading to Bradshaw delivering a two-hand shove to Awaka’s shoulder. Awaka then turned toward Bradshaw with the two having to be separated.

“I thought it was just competitors being competitors,” Awaka said on Tuesday afternoon. “Definitely gave us a little bit of a spark. But I just knew I had to do my job, do what I had to do to help my team win, produce in any way I could.”

The incident happened with 12:41 left in the second half, with Tennessee leading 63-53. The result after a long video review was a foul on Bradshaw on the play, then technicals on Awaka, Dillingham, Bradshaw and Jordan Gainey after the whistle. 

Awaka finished with four points and six rebounds in 10 minutes, making his only two shots after the flare up in front of the Tennessee bench. 

During the timeout to review the play, head coach Rick Barnes went over to Awaka in the Tennessee huddle to give him a high five. The message from Barnes, one he has delivered to Awaka multiple times, is that the sophomore power forward still has no idea what the physical impact he can have for the Vols.

That moment summed it up.

“I just felt like he was in there competing as hard as he could,” Barnes said Tuesday afternoon, “and I appreciated the fact that personality, we need to see it more.”

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee vs. LSU, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Awaka has shown more in his last two games, with 10 points and 14 rebounds in 25 combined minutes. He was scoreless with just one rebound and played only 10 total minutes over the previous two games, against Alabama and Vanderbilt.

“We have great expectations for Tobe,” Barnes said. “And I tell everyone that he’s still young to the game. He’s got such a bright future. But he cares a lot. And when you have players that really have a deep care for themselves and their teammates, this obviously makes you feel good because you know how much he cares and how much he doesn’t want to disappoint. 

“He wants to do what’s right for himself, and most importantly, he wants to make sure he is doing his job for his teammates.”

The biggest job Awaka has in front of him is toeing the line between playing physical and avoiding foul trouble. He can’t provide a spark if he can’t stay on the floor.

“It’s been a kind of a tough stretch with that, honestly,” Awaka said. “I just have to try to play smarter. Sometimes it’s ticky-tack fouls. Sometimes it’s just me being overzealous. But nonetheless, I have to make sure I’m not putting myself in the position where the ref has to make the call, because more times than not, he’s going to make the call. 

“It’s just being smart … if that means I have to play sort of less aggressive or live to play the next play.”