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Jonas Aidoo (illness) probable for No. 12 Tennessee vs. North Carolina State

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•12/16/23•

GrantRamey

Jonas Aidoo
(Hannah Mattix/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK) Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo (0) blocks Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins (33) during an NCAA college basketball game between Tennessee and Illinois at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.

Jonas Aidoo is probable for No. 12 Tennessee in Saturday night’s game against North Carolina State in San Antonio. The Vols (7-3) and Wolfpack (7-2) are schedule for a 10 p.m. Eastern Time start in the Hall of Fame Series game on ESPN2.

Aidoo, the 6-foot-11, 240-pound center, did not practice on Friday afternoon in Knoxville, but did watch his team’s workout while seated courtside at Pratt Pavilion. He’s Tennessee’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.3 points per game, and leads the team in rebounding, at 7.5.

On Tuesday against Georgia Southern, Aidoo scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 74-56 win. He scored Tennessee’s first 10 points in the game and had 21 at halftime, the same amount scored by Georgia Southern.

No. 12 Tennessee vs. NC State, Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2

“Man, that’s a success story for them,” Georgia Southern head coach Charlie Henry said, “because he was a good high school prospect, but he’s done a ton of development since he got here.”

Henry knows because he spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama, coaching against Tennessee and facing Aidoo the past two seasons. 

Last February, when the Vols beat No. 1 Alabama 68-59 at Thompson-Boling Arena, Aidoo had 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes against the Crimson Tide.  

“He’s one of the best rim protectors in the country,” Henry said. “We struggled to score at the rim with Alabama last year, and obviously we had tremendous talent. So he can really to shut off the rim, which is huge. I think that really anchors their defense. 

“And then obviously he’s got great touch offensively, his game has expanded … he punished us. So he’s a development success story for them.”

Jonas Aidoo averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 rebounds over last four games

Aidoo’s production has erupted over the last three weeks, averaging 18.2 points and 7.5 rebounds over Tennessee’s last four games. He had 13 points in the loss at North Carolina on November 29, 17 against George Mason on December 5 and 14 against Illinois before the double-double against Georgia Southern. 

He averaged 8.0 points over Tennessee’s first six games of the season.

“(He’s) just being in the right spot offensively and defensively,” sophomore power forward Tobe Awaka said. “Defensively, he’s a great rim protector. Saves us whenever you have a defensive mishap and somebody gets to the rim. 

“Offensively, he’s just been really efficient because of his jump shooting, 3-point shooting and just around the rim.”

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