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Nichols: ‘Diaper Dandies’ dazzle as No. 11 Tennessee roars back in Rupp

Tennessee trailed by 10 with 12 minutes to go in Rupp Arena. Then, Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer teamed up to save the day. In a way, the win could provide a preview for the Super Bowl. More importantly, it could mark a renewal of the Vols’ season — if they play their cards right.
Jake Nichols|
Nichols: ‘Diaper Dandies’ dazzle as No. 11 Tennessee roars back in Rupp
Nichols: ‘Diaper Dandies’ dazzle as No. 11 Tennessee roars back in Rupp

As you might be aware, Super Bowl 55 will take place today in Tampa, Florida.

For anyone who watched last night’s Tennessee-Kentucky game, you’ll also be well aware that Dick Vitale is rooting for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, who will make NFL history by taking part in a Super Bowl held in their own stadium.

Weird that Vitale is rooting for Brady, right? It’s not like he worships historically dominant coaches, players or teams (read: blue-bloods) in basketball.

To no surprise, Vitale talked extensively about the Wildcats last night before transitioning to tonight’s matchup, which will be played at Raymond James Stadium, the site of Tennessee’s 2016 Outback Bowl win over Northwestern.

But instead of showing off his Bucs jersey, “Dickie V” should have been spotlighting Rick Barnes’s pair of talented freshmen.

Because when Vitale began rattling off about Brady vs. Mahomes, Tennessee took off behind Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer.

In what could be an omen for tonight’s gridiron matchup, the young guns combined for 50 points to unseat a “legend” on its home turf.

Let’s be real here, though. Kentucky isn’t exactly legendary this season, nor has it been at any recent point against Tennessee. The Wildcats are 5-12 this year and just 4-6 in SEC play, and they aren’t the only traditional power to struggle. When looking at rankings before the Duke-UNC battle that preceded Tennessee-Kentucky, it wasn’t hard to notice that the 11th-ranked Vols are the only one of those four teams to currently hold a seat in the AP Top 25.

Granted, that could change, especially if Carolina pulls out another big win like it did Saturday inside a silent Cameron Indoor Stadium.

But right now, of those four groups? No. 11 Tennessee is the only one that deserves a Top 25 slot, even with its loss against Ole Miss. 

The Vols blew past Tuesday’s loss on Saturday, and, with the program’s recent history against traditional powers like Kansas and Kentucky, Tennessee has shown that it still belongs in the discussion. The Vols beat Kansas a little over a week ago, and they have won six of their last nine games against the Wildcats.

Moreover, UT notched its seventh Rupp Arena win in program history last night, pulling away late for a final score of 82-71.

The victory also marked back-to-back wins in Lexington for the Vols, the first time that’s happened since 1976-77. More recently, it gave Tennessee its third win in the Vols’ last four trips across the state line. 

According to Tennessee Stats & Info, the win also made UT the first program to reach three victories over Kentucky in Lexington during the John Calipari era. Finally, it labeled Barnes as the only active head coach to reach three wins as an opponent inside Rupp Arena.

And all this occurred after Vitale spent an entire half praising not only the team in blue, but its coach as well.

Dickie V even went so far as to offer the following statement, as he ranted about people calling for Calipari’s head:

“I have a better chance of growing hair than John Calipari has of getting fired at Kentucky.”

Well, Dickie V, you’d better buy some new conditioner. Because the more times Barnes beats Cal in Lexington (he now wins the series 8-5 overall, 3-3 in Rupp) with Calipari’s one title in 11 years to offer as consolation, the higher your chances of sprouting a mullet become.

In summation: if anyone in last night’s Vols-Wildcats game could be associated with the term legendary, especially in this version of the rivalry, it’s not Calipari. Rather, that honor falls solely to Barnes and freshmen-led Tennessee. 

When asked about his feat, Barnes’s response was as humble as ever.

“It means we’ve come up here with some good basketball teams and good players,” he said. “A year ago we were down 16 with 11 minutes to go and won and that’s been one of the greatest comebacks I’ve been a part of. (Saturday), we were down 10 at halftime but the credit goes to the players. It’s fun watching them play like that. I just love the way they got locked into the game. They were oblivious to everything else going on other than on the court but I’m excited for our guys and excited for our fan base.”

Speaking of fan base, Barnes was also asked if he grasps the full significance for what a UT hoops win in The Bluegrass brings to people across The Volunteer State.

“I think we all know that Kentucky is our rival,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any question about that. I’m not sure I even knew it when I got here, but people let me know really quick how important the Kentucky-Tennessee rivalry has been. From the time that Bernard King spoke to our team, Yves Pons and John Fulkerson heard his comments about Kentucky. So yeah, I get it. I know what it means for Tennessee being three-and-a-half hours south.”

While any win over the Wildcats is sweet nectar for anyone in orange, the only downside from Saturday is what little Tennessee got from the duo that will likely hold this win closest to their hearts.

The Vols’ three victories in their last four trips north aren’t just significant for Barnes. They mean a lot to John Fulkerson and Yves Pons, too. Together, Fulkerson and Pons will leave Tennessee having won 75% of the games they’ve played at Kentucky.  That’s an incredible feat in general, but it’s also a special bragging point for Pons, too, considering he’s close friends with Kentucky big man Olivier Sarr.

Fulkerson’s early foul trouble left him on the bench, sporting a full grin late as his younger counterparts pulled away from the Wildcats. Pons was the only member of the duo to connect on any shots Saturday. Four of the Frenchman’s points came in a 10-0 second-half run for Tennessee, as he helped the Vols get back into a game they had trailed by the same amount. But for a pair like Pons and Fulkerson, that six-point outing still serves as a stark contrast to their 42-point rampage last year in Lexington.

Instead, to use a phrase straight from Vitale, it was the Vols’ “Diaper Dandies” who essentially spat the Wildcats’ first half right back into Calipari’s face. That response mustered some payback from early in the second period, too. Johnson and Springer helped Pons overcome the deficit with six of Tennessee’s 10 unanswered points, culminating in a tying bucket from the senior.

“We felt like, when we were down 10, we gave them that 10-point lead,” Johnson said. “We just had to play under control.”

After Pons tied the score at 58, the freshmen really began to find their rhythm. Both drove the lane aggressively, going back and forth for 18 straight points. In total, they combined for 31 points in the second half to outscore Kentucky, which had 29 as a team in the final 20 minutes.

“We thought we had some things figured out after the Kansas game and we came back and didn’t do what we want, in terms of being aggressive,” Barnes said. “I’m just really proud of those guys, and hopefully they understand that they are more capable of doing more than they probably have up to this point.”

“You have to give credit to coach,” Springer added. “He told us to be aggressive, get downhill and to make things happen. So, we just stuck to the game plan and it worked out.”

Johnson is a projected Top-10 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, while Springer is currently listed as a second-round option. To that end, UT fans should enjoy both players while they’re in orange and white — because that won’t last long.

Still, for however long Rick Barnes has the two superstars, he’s certainly putting them to good use. Saturday’s example was the greatest example we’ve seen to date, especially considering the way those two upped the pace in transition.

Johnson took control early by nailing Tennessee’s first jumper shortly after tip-off. Springer later acknowledged the bucket, as he said that he was “definitely feeding off Keon’s energy,” and that Johnson “set the tone from the jump.”

That “jump” marked the third-straight occasion that the freshmen have started a game together, and it also meant that Barnes decided to put the same five starters on the court for three straight contests.

But the rest of the first half didn’t go as smoothly. Each of those aforementioned starters picked up two fouls in the first 20 minutes. In total, six Vols ended the first half in foul trouble, as Kentucky outpaced the Vols 42-34.

Fulkerson, Santiago Vescovi and Olivier Nkamhoua each drew two whistles early, bringing Uros Plavsic onto the floor more quickly than any other time in his Tennessee career. E.J Anosike also came off the bench, and he lived up to the family name when he had to be tugged away from a pair of jawing Wildcats.

After a couple ties (10-all, 14-all), Kentucky threatened to pull away with two separate seven-point leads. The second UK spurt put the Cats on a 12-2 run at the end of the first half, as Tennessee finished the period 1-of-10 from field-goal range.

Still, Springer and Johnson led the Vols with 19 points in the first 20 minutes, and Barnes seemed to have a freshmen-geared message in the locker room.

“What I got onto them at halftime about was, ‘I want you guys to listen,’” Barnes said. “I wasn’t very happy at halftime because we weren’t listening when we were coming out of timeouts and not doing the things we wanted to do. So, I said ‘If you guys want to listen and execute, we’ll give ourselves a chance.’ And they did. I’m really proud of them for doing that.”

Johnson had 17 points in the second half, almost doubling his first-half total for a career-high 27 points in all. He also had two rebounds, an assist and a beautiful over-the-back block that almost appeared more like a steal. That takeaway marked one of Johnson’s best moves of the night, as he hustled from behind the play to swat a ball that was almost out of a Wildcat’s hands en route to a Kentucky basket. Johnson’s quick action led directly to a Springer score, which occurred during the pair’s 18-straight-point barrage.

Still, Johnson wasn’t done. He added a rim-rocking slam, as he snagged a pass from Vescovi and streaked into the paint to score.

Meanwhile, Springer finished with 14 second-half points, a career-high 23 in all, with three boards, a block and a steal.

Springer’s most impressive play, at least in the opinion of yours truly, came with 3:56 left. He muscled through the lane, lifted off, then pumped and lofted a shot off the glass to put the Vols ahead by 10 — a stark contrast to the 10-point deficit Tennessee faced with 12 minutes left.

As mentioned, Johnson and Springer scored more second-half points themselves (31) than Kentucky did as a unit (29). Tennessee still piled on for 17 more, adding up to a 48-29 advantage in the final 20 minutes. That push included a 26-6 run in less than eight minutes, and it ended with a 34-13 finish to ice the victory. A friendly reminder, of course, that this all occurred after the 12-minute mark of the second half, at which point the Vols trailed by double-digits, their season slipping away. Then, the freshmen came through, as the rate at which Tennessee flipped the script shows just how dangerous these Vols can be when they decide to turn the tide.

It also showed two possible “go-to guys,” the likes of which Tennessee has been searching for all season. Little did the Vols know that that “guy” would come in a two-part freshman combo, let alone a duo that hung 50 in one of college basketball’s greatest cathedrals, only to maintain such swagger that neither one paused to look at the stat sheet after the win.

“We just go out there and hoop,” Springer told me. “We don't pay attention to stuff like that.”

Still, others do pay attention. And others are impressed.

But as good as the freshmen were, they weren’t the only Vols to find the scoreboard.

Josiah-Jordan James notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, completing a feat he narrowly missed against Kansas. He was also fantastic on the defensive end, as he held Kentucky’s Keion Brooks in check for the final minutes after Brooks had dominated the first half.

“I’m not sure how much people (outside) will talk about it,” Barnes said, “but the way Josiah shut down Keion Brooks in the final 10 minutes was as big as anything else tonight.”

VJ Bailey also put in a strong outing with 11 points and four rebounds.

Vescovi and Anosike rounded out the scoring. The Uruguay native hit a 3-pointer to clinch the win with just over a minute remaining, while No. 55 connected once in the first half. 

Now, Tennessee stands at 16-4 on the season, 6-4 in SEC play. Yet the biggest question still remains: can the Vols find consistency?

As mentioned, this win provides a renewed vigor to a team that could have gone off the rails after a loss to Ole Miss.

But, if you regularly read this column, you know that this type of win is also right on schedule for the roller-coaster I mentioned last Wednesday. So it’s up to Tennessee to expel its demons this week, as the Vols look to beat Georgia this week in Thompson-Boling Arena. Their initially-scheduled matchup against No. 22 Florida was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Gators’ program, as well as that of Texas A&M, per a release from Tennessee on Sunday.

To establish the consistency that Barnes desires, the Vols will have to beat the Bulldogs, then turn around and win again on the road at LSU, then win again at home against South Carolina. If this Tennessee team can do that, then it can certainly bask in the prophetic words of manager Lou Brown from Major League:

“Okay, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called ‘two in a row.’ And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a ‘winning streak’... It has happened before!”

In Tennessee’s case, that three-in-a-row feeling hasn’t been around since early January.

Granted, Brown was also referring to a clubhouse that featured more weird rituals and sporadic play than this group of Vols.

Still, it isn’t weird if it works, right? If it means Tennessee winning three straight for the first time in over a month, I think Barnes could handle a few Pedro Cerrano’s, whispering and channeling voodoo into the basketballs they use for practice. So long as they do so quietly, at least. 

Another guess, like before, is probably more accurate for what will bring the Vols back from the brink.

The real answer for Tennessee won’t just come in strange locker room antics, or even in its NBA-bound freshmen, however fantastic they were on Saturday. The real answer will come in the full revival of the entire roster, with Fulkerson making plays, Pons dealing blocks, James collecting boards, Vescovi dishing passes and Johnson and Springer weaving amidst the melody of a full Volunteer symphony.

Until then, we can sit back and enjoy the type of show that Springer and Johnson put on in Lexington.

“Those guys did play through fatigue tonight, which they haven’t done this year yet,” Barnes said. “In the past, they would say ‘Coach, give me one,’ and that’s a big step. The real big step will be if we can count on them to bring that energy to the floor every night from here on out.”

But if Johnson and Springer can’t replicate that effort, and no one is there to pick up the slack, then we could also see another plunge on the ride that this season has been.

For now, let’s see if the Vols can do this again next week. If they can’t, Tennessee’s only positive from Saturday will be Peyton Manning’s first-ballot confirmation for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He and Brady certainly had some battles, just as No. 12 and Patrick Mahomes will go head-to-head tonight.

And if Brady wins, so be it — he’s certainly earned my respect either way. But if he loses, then it should be fun to see Dick Vitale’s reaction given the way he mentioned his blue-bloods and Bucs on Saturday.

He certainly didn’t discuss much else.

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Jake Nichols
JAKE NICHOLS