'They want to win': James, Vescovi just fine with Dalton Knecht leading Tennessee in scoring

J.P. Estrella put the exclamation point on No. 6 Tennessee’s 85-66 win over Florida Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena with a dunk with 23 seconds left. It gave the freshman forward seven points, matching a season high, in his nine minutes off the bench.

It also gave Estrella more points than fifth-year seniors Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi combined. James had three points in 29 minutes. Vescovi had two in 17. 

And Rick Barnes is fine with it because James and Vescovi are fine with it. His two veterans are more concerned with winning than leading the team in scoring.

“Those two guys are two of the most unselfish people I’ve ever been around in my life,” Barnes said after the win over the Gators. “They don’t (care).” 

Dalton Knecht continued to star for Tennessee (13-4, 3-1 SEC) against Florida, scoring a season-high 39 points, giving him a staggering 103 points over his last three games.

“They’re happy for (Knecht),” Barnes said of James and Vescovi. “They get it and, believe me, they’ve embraced him because they want to win.”

Jonas Aidoo finished one rebound short of his fifth double-double of the season, with 19 points and nine rebounds, with the junior center continuing in his role as the second leading scorer for the Vols. Zakai Zeigler was relatively quiet, scoring seven points to go with four assists in his 34 minutes, after scoring 111 points over his previous six games. 

Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi fourth and fifth in scoring for Vols this season

Knecht averages 18.5 points per game, fourth most in the SEC. Aidoo averages 11.6 and Zeigler is third on the team at 10.3. Then there’s James, averaging 9.7 points per game, and Vescovi, averaging 7.4. 

“There’s going to be nights where as (James and Vescovi) can go off too,” Barnes said. “You go back a couple weeks ago, Josiah has been our most consistent player all year, including Dalton. Josiah was the one.”

James averaged 17.4 points over the first 12 games of the season. He led the way with 23 points in the win over North Carolina State on December 16 and had another 20 in the loss at North Carolina on November 29. 

He’s scored eight points or less in his last five games, though, including a total of 10 over the last three games. He shot a combined 4-for-20 from the field, including 1-for-9 from the 3-point line, in those three games.

Vescovi had 21 against Kansas in the Maui Invitational in November, going 5-for-11 from the 3-point line, but has scored in double figures just five times in 17 games. 

“You go back, I think a little bit of where Josiah’s struggled lately is I think he’s played too many minutes,” Barnes said, “and that’s my fault. And I can say the same with Santi, because honestly, those older guys, they’re my comfort blanket, you know? Because I know they’re going to guard.”

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee vs. Alabama, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Knecht has improved as a defender because of Vescovi and James, too, with the two helping bring him along on that end of the floor since he arrived at Tennessee last spring.

“Defensively, I think they worked so hard to try to help Dalton,” Barnes said. “Because they know that they want him on the court, but they also know late in games, you got to be able to do it on both ends.”

James and Vescovi know they have to make winning plays, whether that includes scoring or not. 

“(I) would think a lot of teams, players might be upset with that,” Barnes said, “but I can assure you that Santi and Jo, they’re not. Because they want (Knecht) to do it because they want to win. They’re going to go out as some of the winningest players here at Tennessee. They are so unselfish 

“The job that those guys do, coaching these guys that are new to this, is phenomenal. I’m just telling you, they’re so unselfish, believe me. They’re happy for him and most of all, they’re happy that we’re winning.”