Announcement:Santiago Vescovi announce his resignation from Vols after….
Tennessee basketball has seen a shift in power in terms of scoring production.
Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler, who are Tennessee basketball’s leading returning scorers, missed time this preseason, paving the way for transfers Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey to take the load offensively.
Zeigler is returning from an ACL tear and continues to be on a minutes restriction. Vescovi traveled back to Uruguay right before the preseason started to be with his sick grandmother.
Since the pair returned, they’ve hardly taken a back seat. It’s just a different role that doesn’t have to be high-volume scoring. Head coach Rick Barnes said that the two have “embraced” Gainey and Knecht.
Vescovi showed that he can still score if called upon like he has during the entirety of his career at Tennessee, posting 11 points in Tuesday’s win over Wofford. However, his role is to do whatever the team needs.
“I think Santi is all about winning,” Barnes said on Tuesday. “I’d say the same thing about Josiah (Jordan-James) and I think Santi again when you go back and look at it, every game, like after the Wisconsin game, I was really impressed how many winning plays he made on the defensive end that he did that were impressive that don’t show up.”
Barnes said that it is sometimes easy to take those winning plays “for granted.” However, Vescovi’s presence is felt throughout the program whether that presence is shooting, playmaking or defense.
Winning plays are nothing new for him. A season ago, Vescovi did a little bit of everything, averaging 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Early in the 2023-24 season, Vescovi is still hovering around those averages except for scoring with three rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. His six points per game this season isn’t something Barnes is worried about, and his performance against Wofford suggests that he can get back to success on the stat sheet.
“We know he can do that, but he has a great feel for the flow of the game, and he knows when he needs to get aggressive, and he knows how to get other guys involved,” Barnes said. “He’s always thinking the game.”
Vescovi’s role will likely progress as the season rolls on. At media days, Barnes said that the fifth-year guard will be judged on his leadership because he has already put in the work.
While the stat sheets suggest that Vescovi might be having a down year, it has been “nothing short of fun” because Tennessee is winning games.
“I don’t really care,” Vescovi said. “We’ve got a lot more talent. That’s something we talked about before the season started. Got a lot of guys that can shoot the ball. Just focused on winning and having fun with my teammates.”
Vescovi and the Vols now look toward a loaded pool in the Maui Invitational, including No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Purdue, No. 4 Marquette and No. 11 Gonzaga. With a successful run, Tennessee has an opportunity to cement itself as a top team in the country early in the year.
“It’s my last year. I know we have a really special team,” Vescovi said. “We have a special opportunity as well, and I think it’s just going to depend on us and how we react to adversity that’s going to come in the future and just how we stick together and our mindsets.”
