Santiago Vescovi on his role for Tennessee this season: 'All that matters is winning'

Santiago Vescovi doesn’t care how many of his shots go in. He doesn’t care how many points he scores. He doesn’t care how much No. 7 Tennessee has to rely on him during his fifth year with the Vols.

He just wants to do one thing.

“At this point in my life,” Vescovi said Friday night, “all that matters is winning.”

Vescovi through three games hasn’t played the same big role he played for Tennessee the last four seasons. He scored 11 points over the first two games of the season, wins over Tennessee Tech and on the road at Wisconsin, on a combined 3-for-10 shooting from the floor, going 0-for-5 from the 3-point line.

He appeared to shake off the rust — Vescovi missed Tennessee’s preseason exhibition games after returning home to Uruguay to be with his family and ailing grandmother — against Wofford on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

In the 82-61 win, he scored 11 points in 28 minutes, going 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-6 from the 3-point line. He had three rebounds and four assists, too. 

As usual, though, Dalton Knecht got the headlines after scoring 18 points and leading the Vols to another win. Jordan Gainey got the spotlight too, adding more instant offense with 16 points off the bench as Tennessee’s sixth man.

Through two games, the two NCAA Transfer Portal additions lead Tennessee in scoring. Knecht is averaging 19.1 points per game, ahead of 13.3 from Gainey.

Rick Barnes: Santiago Vescovi ‘is all about winning’

If that continues when Tennessee (3-0) opens the Maui Invitational against Syracuse (3-0) on Monday (2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2), that’s fine with Vescovi. 

“Both of them had a really hot start,” he said of Knecht and Gainey, “and I know they can maintain it because they’re both great players. So it’s just a thing of as long as they’re making shots, I’m fine with that. 

“It’s fun to play with them. And as long as we’re winning, I don’t care what it takes to win. So just facilitating at this point in the game for them, more than anything, and just trying to find a role too.”

Vescovi has averaged 11.1 points over his 117-game career at Tennessee, shooting 39.7% from the field and 37.9% from the 3-point line. He had a career year in 2021-22, averaging 13.3 points over 35 games, shooting 40.3% from the 3-point line, hitting a career-high 102 3-pointers.

Forget the numbers, though. Rick Barnes said Tuesday night that Vescovi is more than just a shooter. He continues to play the big role he has always played, even if it isn’t obvious in the box score.

“When you go back and look at it,” Barnes said, “every game, like after the Wisconsin game, I was really impressed how many winning plays he made on the defensive end that he did that were impressive that don’t show up. 

“And sometimes even during the game you take them for granted. He plays hard defensively and he makes just a lot of plays out there that might not show up in terms of him shooting the ball.

“… He has a great feel for the flow of the game and he knows when he needs to get aggressive and he knows how to get other guys involved. He’s always thinking the game.”

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

Barnes said it Tuesday before Vescovi could say it Friday night. Wins are wins. 

“I think Santi is all about winning,” Barnes said during his postgame press conference after the win over Wofford. 

And Vescovi knows this team is built to win, regardless of the numbers he puts up night in and night out.

“We have a lot more talent,” Vescovi said. “That’s something that we’ve talked even before the season started. (We) have a lot of guys that can play, that can shoot the ball. So yeah, just focus on winning and having fun with my teammates.”