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Adams: Guarded condition (Lofton, JaJuan Smith) for Vols
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Tennessee's JaJuan Smith practically skipped to the scorer's table with 4:50 to play Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
His joy was understandable. He wasn't just feeling his shot. He was feeling good.
And it wasn't just because his team was cruising to a 93-71 victory over Arkansas.
Breathing was no longer difficult. His head didn't hurt. The cramps had subsided. The flu-like virus that reduced him to a limited role for Saturday's game against LSU was finally behind him.
"From the last couple of days, this is a blessing for me," Smith said. "I was down. I was hurting. Just to be back playing with my guys meant a lot to me.
"I was just thinking about that and enjoying it."
The joy extended to his stat line. Smith made all six of his 3-point attempts, matched his career high of 32 points and had four assists as UT ran away from the Hogs in the second half.
It was quite a turnaround from his last outing when he fought through a 101-degree temperature to help UT hold off LSU 47-45.
"I was real weak (against LSU) to be honest with you," Smith said. "The ball felt like it was 20 pounds. If I wasn't a senior, I wouldn't have played. But it was my last time at LSU.
"The reason I went on that trip, I knew my team was going to need me for something."
He filled the need with a crucial steal and a game-winning layup with 11 seconds to play.
How did he celebrate the victory? He slept. And slept.
"I think I slept until 6 p.m. (Sunday)," Smith said. "I was still drugged up."
Rested and healthy, Smith got an early start against the Razorbacks. He took early shooting practice two hours before the game. That's part of his new routine.
"I started that last week against Florida, and I had an alright game," Smith said.
"Chris (Lofton) told me to come and get shots with him (before the Florida game). He's the best shooter in the country, so you've got to take his advice."
Lofton had more advice for Smith early in the game against Arkansas.
"Chris came and whispered in my ear, 'They're over here on me, so you step up.' I had his back.
"His numbers were low tonight, but I got to give him a lot of credit for my numbers."
Lofton, who averaged more than 22 points and hit 30 of 58 3-pointers in his previous six games, missed all three of his 3-point tries and scored just six points against the Hogs, who obviously made him their top priority.
"You've got to respect him," Smith said. "He's the best shooter in the country. If you don't respect him, you better watch out."
Even if you do respect Lofton, you still better watch out against a team as deep and talented as the Vols.
"Every night, it's going to be someone different," Smith said. "Every night is not going to be your night. You can't always come out and be the star of the game."
If you had noticed Smith's hot pregame shooting, you might have sensed a big game to come. But for him, that's not always a good omen.
"There are a lot of times before the game when I make everything," Smith said. "Then when the game starts, I miss everything. So I feel like I used all my makes in the shoot-around."
This time, he had plenty of makes left.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by cdldoc on February 14, 2008 at 1:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What John Adams wrote this?
Posted by BillVol on February 14, 2008 at 1:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
cdl, let's give John some credit. He is a cynic and a smarty, but he can write. He writes the truth. I'm starting to appreciate his no-good arse. ;-)
Posted by Germany_Vol on February 14, 2008 at 3:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice win. Wish I could have watched it on TV, but hey, I live in Europe. Oh well, maybe the Memphis game will be available. Go Vols!
Posted by anthony on February 14, 2008 at 3:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Even John can play the straight role, especially when it's in his best interest. But does he actually apologize for anything? It's just a game with him. And a job, and a profession, it's all about him building his legacy and getting applause from his croonies!! He's really just another plain ole coward. What sports did he play?? Does he ever disclose that? It was a great game and those of us who feel that way need to express that and not leave it up to these journalists to do the talking for us.
Posted by slambob2 on February 14, 2008 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We've got to enjoy this amazing team while we hav them. With Lofton, Smith and Howell gone next year, I'm glad to see that Tabb is getting back on the court and getting ready for a prominent role.
Anybody know how Cameron Tatum fits into this team next year?
And any other guards on the horizon?
Posted by Gustoly on February 14, 2008 at 6:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I believe we may have the best set of guards in the country.
Posted by redstickvol on February 14, 2008 at 7:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Germany_Vol, ESPN360 and yahoosports both have live internet broadcasts of most of the bigger games. The video quality isn't great, but you get to watch it. I live in Baton Rouge, and the UT games often get preempted (sp) for LSU games. Check it out.
BTW, last night makes it very difficult for C-Lo to break the NCAA record for three's.
Posted by pdhuff on February 14, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Germany vol-3:12 a.m. Its tuff being over there as far as sports go, I know. Served with the 3rd Armd Div, stationed at Drake Kaserne in Frankfurt, don't even know if the old kaserne is still there.
Good luck and stay warm. I remember those winters around Augsburg. 2-3 feet of snow, man.
Vols are the bomb right now. Fame is fleeting and just beat Ga.
Posted by THE_VOL on February 14, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
C'mon Germany_Vol - living in Europe is NO excuse for not being at the game IF you're a TRUE VOL FAN!!!! just kidding! The MemPiss game is on ESPN so you should be able to get it - at 3 in the morning!
slambob - Tatum will get a chance to fill one of the wing spots I suspect. Problem is he and Prince are the exact same type of players and I'm not sure it's a good idea to put them both on the floor together. Wouldn't be surprised to see them share time at the same spot.
The name Scotty Hopson is a STRONG possibility to fill the other wing.
Posted by Kwitcherbellyachin on February 14, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tatum is a much, much better perimeter shooter than Prince. Signing Scotty Hopson would be a coup though. I hope somehow, he ends up coming here.
Posted by GreeneVol on February 14, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Awesome - truly AWESOME - to see these two guys 'partnering' for the betterment of the team. So often you see guys wanting to 'hog' (yeah - Razorback pun) the spotlight. A true example of 'there is no 'I' in 'TEAM''. Nice work senior leaders!
Posted by BigMikeUT on February 14, 2008 at 10:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This team has got to be an absolute nightmare to gameplan for. You can't take away both Lofton AND JaJuan...even if you could, we've still got strong scoring threats in Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism, and JP Prince. And even if those guys are bottled up, its not exactly like Duke Crews and Ramar Smith are chopped liver. This is the deepest team in the country. I really believe this team is built perfectly to go deep in the NCAA tournament. We're deep enough to handle the rigorous schedule, we're led by senior guards who have been there before, we rebound well, and we have a player in Tyler Smith that can create (and hit) his own shot in the lane when it comes to crunch time. The only thing that concerns me is if we run in to one of the premier post players in the nation like Hansbrough or Love who could abuse us down low. Our perimeter defense is good, but sometimes I wonder about our post D.
As I was watching the game last night something hit me...who is going to shoot the 3-ball for us next year? Lofton, JaJuan, and Howell are our best shooters and they are all gone next year. Tyler Smith can hit uncontested 3's as can Chism, but you don't really want to rely on your bigs to hit deep shots.
Posted by icecream on February 14, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WHen are people going to figure out that we have the TWO best shooters in the country? Maybe they wont.
Posted by Germany_Vol on February 14, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Redstickvol: I heard about ESPN360 & Yahoo, but Germany is far behind the good ole USA in High Speed Internet. I just now got Cellular DSL which may run fast enough for video streaming, but I haven't tried yet. Thanks for thinking of me though.
PDHuff: 1st, Thanks for your service. I admire anyone brave enough to stand side by side and defend our freedoms. I live in Spangdahlem (2 hours from FRA). I'm a contractor on the AF Base The winters are not quite as harsh anymore. It has only snowed once this year. Right now it's almost 50 degrees.
The VOL: Yeah it's no excuse. I love Germany. It's peaceful and beautiful. I do get quite a few football games, but the ACC rule in BBall over here. I got the KY, Vandy, & Gonzaga game on TV. I'm sure there will be more.
Posted by johnlg00 on February 14, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BigMikeUT, somewhat to my surprise, our post D has gotten a lot better lately. Arkie had, what, five guys 6'10" or better and we not only held them down pretty well, we also out-rebounded them. I think that is about the fifth game in a row in which we have out-rebounded the other team, and they were all bigger than we are. Having seen quite a bit of him, living in NC for the past six years, Hansbrough is a LOAD! He would probably kick our butts, but UNC as a whole is not as fast or deep as we are right now. Love of UCLA is also a great player, but, as a freshman, he is not great every night out. I don't know the whole story, but he sorta tanked at Washington last week. UCLA as a whole probably matches up better against us than UNC, but Duke would also give us a really hard time. It is so great to be able even to mention the Vols in comparison to these historically-great programs! What a great time to be a Vol fan!!!
Germany_Vol, I spent three great years in the Army in Heidelberg in the late-70's-early-80's. I think I might have seen one UT football game and one or two basketball games in the whole time I was there. No internet news in those days, of course. My parents would clip articles out of the KNS to send me every so often. I envy you; my stay was one of the great times of my life. Great scenery, great food, GREAT beer (and awesome beer and wine fests), German sports clubs, Volksmarches--I'd go back in a heartbeat!
Posted by Bristol on February 14, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations to Jajuan and the rest of the team. Who would have ever thought that basketball could get this good at a football school?
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