Get ready for an unpopular opinion: Tennessee misses former forward Jonas Aidoo. There I said it.
The Vols had zero post presence in their embarrassing 73-42 loss to Florida on Tuesday. Tennessee’s shooting (or lack thereof) was the culprit, as the Vols shot 21-percent from the field and 14-percent from three-point range. Eeesh.
I seriously doubt the Vols will shoot as poorly as they did against the Gators for the remainder of the season. However, they’re not going to make every bucket and surely will have some cold streaks, which is why they miss Aidoo – even though I know most fans aren’t too fond of the former Vol after his performance against Purdue in the NCAA Tournament last season. However, that game probably needs a second look.
Aidoo was entrusted with defending the two-time NCAA Player of the Year, Boilermaker center Zach Edey, when the Vols took on Purdue in the Elite Eight. Things didn’t go well for Aidoo, but should we really have been surprised? Edey outweighed Aidoo by over 50 pounds and was five inches taller when the two faced off. Aidoo was clearly overmatched physically, and it showed in his attitude. However, he’ll probably never face a player like Edey again unless the two meet in the NBA one day.
Aidoo was never a good matchup for Edey, an old-school player that is a rarity in this day and age of college basketball in which everyone seemingly has to face the basket when they have the ball. That doesn’t mean Aidoo, who excels with his back to the basket and can generate buckets during a dry spell, was a total waste of a scholarship. There are plenty of players that struggled against Edey. That’s why he was considered the best player in college basketball for the past two seasons.
Arkansas coach John Calipari thought Aidoo was good enough to transfer to Fayetteville. Like him or not, Calipari has a pretty good eye for talent considering his former players could field an entire team in the NBA.
The 6-foot-11 Aidoo is averaging six points per game for the Razorbacks on a team that likes to spread the ball around. The Vols could have used those six points to keep their offense on track as they consistently missed shot after shot against Florida. They also probably could have used Aidoo much more than he’s being used by Calipari. Aidoo’s departure seems like a loss for him and the Vols.
Aidoo averaged 11.4 points per game for Tennessee last season. He was also only one of three Vols that started each game last season. And – bear with me – he was a pretty good defender despite what you saw against Edey.
Aidoo was third last season on the Vols’ all-time single-season leaderboard in blocks (66) and fifth in blocks per game (1.8) last season. The Vols could have used all of the above against the Gators. Tennessee could have also used a more consistent scoring threat when things were going south against Florida, just a bucket or two to stave off the blowout. Well, Aidoo averaged 51-percent shooting from the field. That would have come in handy.
It’s natural for some to write off a player that transfers elsewhere, that he just wasn’t good enough to play at a particular school. That’s fandom talking, not reality. There’s also a tendency for fans to overreact to one game, especially an elimination game. Aidoo fell into that trap. Had he returned to Tennessee, he would have been the most disliked player amongst fans on the team. That Edey thing is tough to forget.
Was Aidoo outmatched against Edey? Certainly. Did Aidoo give up at times during that matchup? Probably. Would Tennessee be a better basketball team if he was on the roster? No doubt.
