Nichols: Fulkerson responds as only he can to spark Tennessee’s second-half comeback against Arkansas

A lone whistle pierced the air in Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday night.

As the shrill noise faded, John Fulkerson took flight. The Kingsport native extended his arm, attempting a tomahawk slam that ricocheted off the rim.

The dunk missed. And even if it hadn’t, it was too late anyway. The play was already over.

That wasn’t the problem, though.

Fulkerson came up hobbling, grabbing at his right calf as he limped toward the bench.

Across the state, Tennessee fans held their breath.

The exhale came twice.

Once, when Fulkerson jogged back onto the floor a few moments later.

And again when the final buzzer sounded, as No. 9 Tennessee completed a second-half comeback and forced 20 turnovers to win 79-72 over Arkansas, the Vols’ second SEC win this season.

The final 20 minutes were phenomenal for Fulkerson, who scored 16 points, 12 in the second half, with eight rebounds, three blocks and three assists.

His response against Arkansas came after a poor outing in Tennessee’s loss to Alabama.

Saturday night, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes called out Fulkerson, saying the Vols had to have more from him.

Four days later, they got more.

“He answered the bell coming out in the second half,” Barnes said of Fulkerson, who ensured that his right leg and a banged-up left wrist are “fine.”

“(Barnes) knows the type of player I can be,” Fulkerson said. “He kind of called me out. I’ve got to step it up. I think he’s right. I was definitely not playing up to my potential, playing my best.”

That changed Wednesday, as the Wooden Award Watch List member took control four minutes into a second half that began with Tennessee trailing 40-33.

Fulkerson hit two straight floaters against Connor Vanover to tie the score at 42, capping a 9-2 spurt in which he dumped in seven. He battled against Vanover’s lean 7-foot-3 frame all night, going toe-to-toe with an athlete unlike any other Tennessee will face this season.

Then came another floater, this time in response to a 4-0 Arkansas run. That kickstarted a 5-0 stretch for the Vols, as a 3-pointer from Jaden Springer led to a bucket from Vescovi, courtesy of an assist from — you guessed it — Fulkerson.

The Pal’s aficionado added four free throws on six attempts in the second half, and he completed the night by discussing his haircut and recommending Designated Survivor as a “great show” to watch on Netflix during postgame media availability.

In short, John Fulkerson has returned to form.

And Tennessee put that form to good use, shifting into that inside-out look that works so well for this team.

That’s the offense Rick Barnes loves to run through Fulkerson and Yves Pons, who quietly built another 4-block night.

Barnes said he challenged Tennessee’s younger players to get the ball to the seniors in the second half.

And they did — mainly to No. 10.

But it was another trio of faces, one familiar and two new, that aided Fulkerson down the stretch against the Razorbacks.

Josiah-Jordan James added 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, with a 2-for-6 clip from long range, three free-throws, nine rebounds, one assist and three steals.

This might have been James’ most complete performance in a Tennessee uniform.

And it couldn’t have come at a worse time in his personal life.

During postgame media availability, a reporter from South Carolina asked Barnes about James’ mentality and focus, as the sophomore’s childhood home burned to the ground recently. (Fortunately, everyone is okay.)

“You know Josiah is just an incredible human being,” Barnes said. “His mom waited until after the game Saturday to tell him what had happened.”

“He lost everything in his room,” Barnes continued. “He handles it well, and he is such a mature guy. But his mom just said for us to keep an eye on him because he is the kind of guy that will hold things in. But he is such a hard worker, and he is as good of a teammate as you want to be around.”

Barnes also added that James has quickly become a voice of this team, and for good reason. His statistics have proven the most consistent for the Vols this year, as he’s developed into a reliable presence every night.

Wednesday was no exception.

“Josiah was terrific, from start to finish,” Barnes said.

As mentioned, though, there were two new faces to aid Fulkerson and James.

VJ Bailey chipped in 17 points with one rebound and a block. He tied James for most points on the night.

Still, Barnes wasn’t satisfied.

“When they are not playing to the scouting report, I don’t care how many points they score because they are giving up more and if they score 10, but give up 12 or 14, it can’t happen,” Barnes said. “We looked at it and with VJ being with us a year and a half – we don’t expect him to make the defensive mistakes he is making. He was shooting the ball well, but we took him out tonight because he broke down twice.“

Barnes is demanding.

We’ve known that. We’ve seen that. No one on his team can escape that.

But if defense is the direct line to Rick Barnes’ heart, then free-throws may provide a side entrance.

And that’s where the second fresh face aided Tennessee on Wednesday.

Keon Johnson got his first start, replacing the aforementioned Bailey. He scored 14 points, six of which came on a perfect 6-for-6 outing at the charity stripe.

Those points at the line arrived late, too, as Johnson went to the line time and time again to clinch the win.

“What’s nice about it is we have told all the guys that if we are going to finish games we have to be able to do that,” Barnes said. “(Keon) has put a lot of time in his free-throw shooting.”

Added Johnson: “It certainly proves how hard I’ve been working on my shot and free throws. I still have to improve with certain aspects on the floor, whether it’s free throws or my three-point shot.”

Improvements can always be made, but Barnes will certainly take he effort it got from Fulkerson, James and Johnson on Wednesday.

This win wasn’t pretty.

It came down to the wire and, in the end, forced a gut-check that Tennessee needed.

Still, just like Saturday’s loss made the Vols look in the mirror, Wednesday night’s win proved this team can still do what it needs to do on both ends of the floor.

“It certainly showed us that every game is going to come down to the last second and we have to execute to the end,” Johnson said.

“I think it’s huge,” Barnes said of the way the Vols won. “I told them Saturday get ready for those games from here on out. It gets tougher and we have to get better and we said with eight or nine minutes to go to get ready and strap up because we will be in these kinds of games all year. We are going to have to make plays and help each other and that’s what we expect.”

Such is life in the SEC, at least according to Barnes.

But Fulkerson’s Netflix recommendation yields a pretty similar answer, too.

“We’re not defined by our difficulties,” said Tom Kirkman in Designated Survivor. “We’re defined by how we respond to them.”

Whether looking at Fulkerson after his injury or Tennessee after its loss to Alabama, I would say that response has been pretty good so far.

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