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Nichols: Old-school Fulky, new-age Bailey drive vintage Tennessee against South Carolina

No. 19 Tennessee turned back the clock for several different scoring sources on Wednesday night, as the Vols took down South Carolina 93-73. Now comes the bigger question, the one we’ve been asking all year: can they do it again in crunch time?
Jake Nichols|
Nichols: Old-school Fulky, new-age Bailey drive vintage Tennessee against South Carolina
Nichols: Old-school Fulky, new-age Bailey drive vintage Tennessee against South Carolina

Have you ever sat on a park bench or in a grandparent’s living room, reminiscing on how great “the good old days” used to be?

As someone born in the 1990’s, I can’t really relate to anyone who’s lived through those periods — except when I heard Tennessee football stories from my late great-grandfather. A well-respected doctor in west Tennessee, he became a UT booster and, in his later years, let me sit beside him while we watched Tennessee dominate the SEC in the early 2000’s.

We’ll see if the Vols can reach those heights again, as Josh Heupel’s offensive staff got off to a solid introduction on Wednesday afternoon.

For Tennessee basketball, Rick Barnes’s team certainly got back to its old ways on Wednesday night. I’m not going to say that those ways will stick, especially since this team’s trajectory is about as predictable as GameStop’s recent surge in the stock market (I.e., not at predictable all).

Still, we’ve known for quite some time that Tennessee’s key to consistency is in its upperclassmen, no matter how good the freshmen may be. And those upperclassmen delivered in fine fashion, as the Vols overcame 16 turnovers to throttle South Carolina 93-73.

Both teams came into the matchup short-handed. A Tennessee player tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, but the test was a false positive. Still, that initial result pushed the matchup to Wednesday, as opposed to the originally scheduled date for Tuesday night.

“We knew regardless if the test results came back, we had to play by rule,” Barnes said. “We knew two days ago that Josiah (Jordan-James, wrist) wasn’t going to be able to play. Santi (Vescovi) hadn’t practiced until shootaround today. We had three guys that didn’t practice, so we just went about practice with the guys we had, and we tried to do some different things.”

The Gamecocks, meanwhile, were down two key members, as Justin Minaya and Jermaine Couisnard did not make the trip to Knoxville.

Regardless of the changes, Tennessee’s Vol Hoops Twitter account remained consistent. The Vols staged a throwback night on social media, and Tennessee got two different blasts to the past in the win.

Victor Bailey, Jr. provided the time machine’s ignition, as he shot out of a recent slump to produce a flashy stat line straight out of the 1970’s. Bailey had a career night, with 29 points and seven 3-pointers to tie his career-high in made field-goals. Wednesday’s outburst came after he had gone just 3-for-16 in the previous four games.

“It felt great,” Bailey said. “It’s always good to see some shots fall. My teammates were hyping me up. Coach was telling me to shoot it. It always feels good to see some balls go in the hoop.”

Bailey, a Texas native, also discussed how his family has dealt with the harsh winter conditions in the Lone Star State. His mother, interim Texas track & field coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, tweeted before the game that they had gotten electricity back in time to watch the matchup, despite their power being out for two days before Wednesday’s tip.

“I’m glad my parents’ power came back on and they got to watch the game tonight, but the bigger deal is what’s going on in Texas right now,” he said. “It’s a problem and they need to get it fixed. I’m praying for everybody.”

On a much smaller scale, John Fulkerson had been an issue that needed fixing for Tennessee — at least before Wednesday. Coming into the game, he averaged four points a night in the previous four games, with his last double-digit performance coming against then-no. 15 Kansas on January 30.

If Bailey’s performance was a nod to the ‘70’s, Fulkerson’s outing could be a metaphor for the 1950’s. Tough and pure, the senior worked his inside game as smoothly as a burger-milkshake combo at his favorite restaurant — Pal’s Sudden Service. Fulkerson also brought back “The Incredible Fulk” with back-to-back slams in the second half, and he finished with 19 points on a 7-for-12 effort inside, adding five free-throws for good measure.

“It felt great,” Fulkerson said of Wednesday. “I want to credit my teammates and coaches for keeping faith and confidence in me to get the job done, while pushing me to be my best.”

For good measure, freshman Jaden Springer did his best impression of Marty McFly with a dose of Back to the Future. He added 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor, with eight points at the line. Springer’s 16 points have given him 90 through the past four games (23, 30, 21, 16), making him the first freshman with a stretch that successful since Chris Lofton in 2005.

The South Carolina win also came with 10 points from Yves Pons, including a rim-rocking slam. Tennessee’s 93 points were equally impressive, as the Vols neared the century mark despite Josiah-Jordan James’s absence. James, a sophomore, featured a brace on his right wrist after the LSU game Saturday, and Barnes said he expects that the Palmetto State native will be good to go for this Saturday’s matchup against Kentucky.

James’s versatility has been a strong point for the Vols during the seniors’ struggles, and Tennessee missed his defensive efforts early against the Gamecocks.

South Carolina went nose-to-nose with Bailey from deep in the first half. The Vols jumped out to an 8-5 lead, but A.J. Lawson responded with a 3-pointer. Lawson led the Gamecocks with 20 points, 12 from long range.

Victor Bailey’s first connection broke an 11-11 tie, and Santiago Vescovi — who was left out of the starting lineup for the first time in his career — connected to snap a 14-14 stalemate after a Keshawn Bryant three.

Still, Nathan Nelson responded with another South Carolina trey as the teams traded blows.

Carolina jumped out to a 25-21 advantage, but dunks from Pons and Fulkerson, another three from Vescovi and four free-throws from Springer pushed the Vols in an 11-2 Tennessee run.

10 straight points from Bailey and Springer (six of which came on back-to-back Bailey threes) put the Vols at a 44-33 lead, their largest of the night.

Each team ended the half with six more points, with Tennessee’s final four coming off a smooth bucket from Fulkerson — courtesy of a nifty Bailey assist — and a deep bucket from Springer, who rose for his release while cloaked in Gamecock defenders.

Tennessee 50, South Carolina 39, read the halftime scoreboard, with Bailey already at four 3-pointers.

The Vols launched a 14-7 run out of the locker room, as Fulkerson, Bailey and Springer drove the pace.

The Gamecocks clawed within single digits, but a 3-pointer from Bailey and back-to-back dunks from Fulkerson seemed to put a stamp on the win.

Still, Carolina wasn’t done. Lawson pulled the Gamecocks back within 10 with 5:13 left, but a pair of Springer free-throws sandwiched between two more Bailey daggers put UT at an insurmountable 87-69 lead.

Drew Pember and Uros Plavsic each notched a late bucket, with Pember slamming the Vols’ final points.

All night, Tennessee’s transition game was fantastic. The Vols notched 25 points off 18 turnovers, scored 16 fast-break points and played in controlled chaos as their starters dealt every big blow.

Fulkerson added plenty of help inside, but he also provided a key cog as Tennessee ran the floor.

“I thought he did the best job of running tonight that he’s done all year,” Barnes said. “He really ran the floor hard and, again, I think he’s got to play quicker in the post, and he is wanting to catch it and spin and do this and that. He’s not going to get time to do that, unless he does his work early.”

After Barnes left media availability, the next to take the Zoom-transmitted podium was Fulkerson himself.

For the fifth-year senior, his off-court presence is as good as he can be on it. He’s as entertaining and insightful as he is tough and agile, especially when discussing soda pranks or joking about teammates.

Despite his humor on Wednesday night, Fulkerson’s thoughtfulness and truthful responses provide as much of an answer as any for where Tennessee goes from here.

When asked how he bounced back from his slump, No. 10 credited his teammates and coaches. But he also discussed his personal accountability on a team that needs him to deliver consistently.

“You just have to keep working and know what’s gotten you to this point,” Fulkerson said. “With all the hard work you’ve put in, don’t stop, because you think you’ve arrived or it’s going to be easier. You’ve got to work even harder than that now and keep putting the time in. You also need to stay mentally strong and mentally locked in. 

“That’s what I always say is a really big part of the game, the mental side,” he added. “I probably couldn’t have done this without my teammates and coaches and I think the whole team can say that we like to pick each other up.”

Going forward, the Vols will need that cohesiveness and rediscovered mental toughness even more. With a 15-5 record (8-5 in SEC play), they will host Kentucky on Saturday before wrapping up the regular season with trips to Vanderbilt and Auburn.

After that comes the really tough stretch: tournament time. When the Vols board their bus to depart “The Loveliest Village on The Plains,” we’ll know it’s time to put that consistency to its full test.

For such a steady standard, Tennessee has to play to its strengths — no more, no less.

“All we really ask these guys is do what you do," Barnes said. "Do it a high level. Don’t think you need to do more than you need to do. Just trust each other, play with each other. Just play to your strengths. Don’t try to overdo it."

But, until the Vols start their return trip from Auburn, they can find some reading material in Fulkerson and Bailey’s final quotes from Wednesday. The veteran roommates certainly gave some bulletin board material for the next few weeks.

“My dad always says that it’s not how you start, but how you finish,” Fulkerson said. “So, we need to be playing our best basketball here at the end of the season, coming together as a team and clicking on all cylinders, because it could be a one possession or one-play game that could end our season.”

Added Bailey: “We haven’t played our most complete game yet. Once we start clicking, we’re going to be a problem.”

Still, if this season doesn’t end where this team’s potential could lead, it won’t matter whether Tennessee loses its final tournament game by one point or 20. Either way, the Vols would want a time machine to re-do those final, fateful moments. 

Right now, though, Tennessee doesn’t need its own DeLorean. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, Barnes’s team just has to repeat what it showed on Wednesday. Most people would say that’s easier said than done.

But I think my great-grandfather, the one  who could captivate all of Trenton with his gridiron lore and quick wit, would phrase Tennessee basketball’s difficulties another way. His way.

Instead of stating how this team’s up-and-down performance trend could hinder replication efforts, he might say Tennessee would have an easier time “learning to cipher” than learning to perform consistently.

Well, Doc — I guess that depends on how well the Vols can do math.

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Jake Nichols
JAKE NICHOLS