Brian Williams still sore, but ready to play

Game summary: Tennessee vs. Kentucky (March 6, 2011)

Brian Williams’ return to the practice court Monday was good tonic for a Tennessee basketball team that’s spirits were down after Sunday’s loss to Kentucky.

Williams hadn’t played or practiced since a back injury flared up in a Feb. 26 loss to Mississippi State.

The senior center said he’ll be ready for the Vols’ (18-13) first-round SEC men’s tournament game against Arkansas (18-12) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

“It’s the last games of my career, so I’ve got to put everything on the line no matter how I’m feeling,’’ said Williams, who has had back issues throughout his UT career. “I’ve been living in the training room

. . . I’ve tried everything: heating, stretching, whatever you can try to do, I’ve tried it.’’

While Williams said his back still is sore, his sense of humor is healthy. The 6-foot-10, 272-pounder, known to teammates as “Big Baby,” was back to cracking jokes and inducing smiles during UT’s light practice Monday in the Pratt Pavilion.

Brian Williams on his back injury treatments

Williams and his teammates were excited about the latest Adidas shoes to arrive, the black-and-white “Kobe Crazy 8” model.

“We’ve been trying to get them since our freshman year, so it’s about time we get them,” Williams said. “Hopefully it makes a difference, I mean, I am Kobe.’’

Williams compared himself to the Los Angeles Lakers star after hitting a last-second shot to defeat Georgia in a Jan. 18 road game.

Williams said he might break in the new shoes in today’s practice.

“They’re gonna make me look cute, regardless,’’ Williams said. “You look good, you can take the pain from shoes, that’s what women say.’’

As for the pain in his back, Williams said it has ranged from tightness to spasms over the past week.

Williams said watching the Vols get out-rebounded 38-31 by Kentucky, and edged in second-chance points 16-7 in the 64-58 loss to the 15th-ranked Wildcats on Senior Day made for more misery.

“I know I could have made a difference in that game,’’ said Williams, who has averaged seven points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season. “A couple of box-outs and a couple of rebounds, and we win that game.

“It’s tough knowing we could have been a two-seed (SEC Eastern Division); we still have business to take care of, and I’m glad I’m back and I think my teammates are glad I’m back.’’

Williams said he’s confident in the Vols’ chances against the Razorbacks, provided they play better than they did in the teams’ first meeting, a 68-65 Arkansas win in Fayetteville, Ark., in the SEC opener for both teams Jan. 8.

“We played a horrible game, one of the worst games we played collectively where everybody felt horrible,’’ Williams said. “It was a game we let slip away, the first SEC game of the season. They were kinda playing good basketball, and we didn’t do what we needed to do to win that game.

“There were a lot of things we could have did, and we played horrible and lost by three points, so we know if we play way better than we did, we could get a victory.’’

Williams said he appreciated the fan support at Sunday’s Senior Day, though he jokingly took issue with UT sports information representative Tom Satkowiak saying Williams was the “self-proclaimed” sexiest player in UT men’s basketball history during introductions.

“I don’t know where the ‘self-proclaimed’ came from, it should have been ‘females proclaim,’ ” Williams said. “Tom wrote it, he thinks I’m hot, the rest of the country thinks I’m hot, so why not say it?’’