Rick Barnes explains how a 'very calculated' Tobe Awaka was able to step up for Vols

After Rick Barnes led his Tennessee basketball team through a film session on Monday, after the Vols broke down the tape from the 56-53 win over Maryland the day before, the head coach saw Tobe Awaka on his way out of Pratt Pavilion.

“He was the last guy (in the gym),” Barnes said. “I said what are you doing? He said Coach, I’m working on my free throws. He’s that kind of person … he’s so conscientious of everything he does.”

Awaka scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds in 17 minutes against Maryland on Sunday at Barclays Center in New York, all career-highs after he was forced into a bigger role due to the absence of sophomore center Jonas Aidoo, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms.

“I knew early we were going to play him,” Barnes said. “I knew we were going to get him in the game early. What we did, we got with him and we spent a lot of time with him individually and talked to him about what we needed him to do. And you know what, he did it to the ’T.’ Everybody on the team knows he can rebound the ball. We watch him do it every day. He goes at it.”

Vols were plus-17 with Awaka on the floor against Maryland

Awaka had five rebounds on the defensive glass and grabbed three offensive boards, scoring after each for six second-chance points. He was 1-for-2 at the foul line and added a block, a steal and an assist. 

He didn’t commit a turnover and was called for only one foul. Tennessee was plus-17 when Awaka was on the floor. 

The last person surprised by any of it was Barnes. 

“I didn’t think he would be worried or nervous, or jumpy,” Barnes said. “I didn’t think that at all. But he’s very mature. The fact is, he is a guy that every day he comes in … he wants to get better.

“What he did,” Barnes continued, “is what attracted us to him. He thinks every rebound is his. He’s going to get it some way, somehow. He had some big-boy rebounds (against Maryland), now. I mean, he went up and took a couple away.” 

Barnes on Sunday could still remember the moment on the recruiting trail — even if he couldn’t remember the exact location — when he knew he had to get Awaka.

“I remember walking up and the team was warming up,” he said, “and I look over and Tobe was on the side very seriously stretching. Doing all that. I start watching him and all I know is he went after every rebound. Every rebound.”

Awaka, playing for the same New Heights Lightning AAU program out of New York that produced Zakai Zeigler, led the EYBL — Nike’s AAU circuit — in rebounding last year.

“We talk about great rebounders,” Barnes said. “They get theirs, they get those that go in between. And when you take them away from other guys, that’s a great rebounder. He did a little bit of all of that.”

Going to scout Awaka, Barnes said, was done out of respect to Zeigler and the toughness and fire that had come with the point guard during his breakout freshman season with the Vols. 

When he watched Awaka, he called Zeigler, his former AAU teammate, to get the scouting report. Zeigler told Barnes Tennessee needed Awaka. That was all the head coach needed to hear.

“You knew right off the bat because (Awaka) could have gone to any Ivy League school,” Barnes said, “but in his mind he felt like he could play at the highest level and that’s what he told us. 

“That’s why he was still playing summer basketball cause he wanted to think about going back and maybe impress people.”

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at No. 9 Arizona, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Awaka has a similar story as Zeigler. He rode the train two hours south each day, from his hometown of Hyde Park, N.Y., to attend Cardinal Hayes High School in The Bronx. 

The 6-foot-8, 250-pounder was a three-star prospect in the On3 ratings when he committed to Tennessee, picking the Vols over offers from Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Maryland, among others. 

“From the time he walked on campus,” Barnes said, “he’s (been) very calculated. He looks at you and takes everything very literal. That’s where I think he’s getting better. He’s not overthinking it … with everything he does he wants it done right.”

Barnes on Sunday described Awaka’s performance against Maryland as “a big, big step for him.” He went as far as saying he was excited to watch Awaka on tape to see “if he played as well as I thought he did.”

And this is just the start.

“He’s a guy that what he did (against Maryland) is what we knew he was about,” Barnes said. “He’s a rebounder. And he’s a force. He goes and gets it.”