Why Santiago Vescovi Is Essential In March
With one more game left in the regular season, the Volunteers have the SEC Tournament and the NCAA tournament rapidly approaching. March is upon us!
The Vols suffered a big loss on Tuesday as starting point guard Zakai Zeigler as he tore his ACL in the win over Arkansas. He is now out for the season.
Head coach Rick Barnes on the injury, "Right now they are doing the rehab to get him ready for surgery. He's going to work at it as hard as anybody will work at it. Whenever he is ready to come back he will come back ready to go."
Vescovi is now the most experienced guard in Tennessee's program. Tyreke Key is also a senior but transferred this previous season from Indiana State. B.J. Edwards plays like a true guard like Zeigler, but he is only a redshirt freshman who has received limited minutes.
Although all viable options, the next best guess coach Barnes gave to who will receive a lot of the minutes running point was Santiago Vescovi. The senior out of Montevideo, Uruguay is the Vols' scoring leader (12.4 points per game). He also averages the most minutes a game on the team (32.5 a game).
One aspect of his game that has flourished a lot this season is his rebounding. He is averaging 4.6 boards a game, and it is the best average he has had on his four-year stint.
He also has been very good defensively, averaging 2.0 steals a game. This also is the best average he has had in his four years with the Volunteers. A more complete player now as he has aged, Vescovi looks to really step up in March because of the loss of his starting counterpart to injury. He could be a major factor for the Vols come tournament time.
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