Tennessee basketball: Why Jordan Bone took Kentucky loss personally, then changed script

Mike Wilson
Knoxville

Two weeks ago, Jordan Bone stood in a dimly lit tunnel in Kentucky’s Rupp Arena dejected.

The Tennessee point guard — his left wrist wrapped in an ice club — answered question after question about a selfish offensive performance from the Vols and a blowout loss. The junior took it personally, he admitted Saturday, after writing a wildly different story thanks in large part to his play.

“You look back at the last Kentucky game at Rupp, it looked like we had no flow offensively,” Bone said. “I took that personal. I’m the floor general. I’m the point guard. I have to make sure guys are in their spots and we are moving at a very efficient way.”

Bone commanded the offense for No. 7 Tennessee (26-3, 14-2 SEC) in his usual way in a 71-52 handling of the No. 4 Wildcats (24-5, 13-3) on Saturday. He just did it on a bigger stage against a team that owned Tennessee two weeks prior.

He had a career-high 27 points, hit all five of his 3-point attempts. He had three assists with no turnovers — his first no-turnover game since UT’s win at Vanderbilt on Jan. 23.

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“I just went into this game understanding I have to take control,” Bone said. “If we are getting out of whack, we have to get into something. We can never look rattled. I think we really executed today offensively.”

Bone was in control from the start Saturday. He scored first for the Vols, knocking down a 3-pointer. He made a floater shortly after.

Then he burst past Kentucky guard Ashton Hagans, paused, jumped and gently tossed a shot over UK big man Nick Richards. It was good, as was Bone.

“That’s the best point guard in America, man,” forward Grant Williams said. “The best point guard in America. That’s all I’ve got to say. With his speed, with how well he’s developing, it’s incredible to see. Like, my eyes over the years, I’ve seen him develop. We love him. That’s my guy.

“Coach (Rick) Barnes would tell you how much he’s grown as a person and a player. Jordan did incredible tonight. Like I said, best point guard in America.”

Barnes did say as much Saturday. The Tennessee coach — always hard on Bone, pushing him for more — pointed to the heavy minutes Bone played in December. He believed those minutes are helping Bone now, having ignited his development into being one of the country’s top point guards.

Bone agreed. He said that not having junior Lamonte Turner — who was injured through most of the non-conference slate — to step in when he was struggling left him to figure it out.

“Early in December, I thought he got more and more confident and started to understand more and more what a point guard had to do,” Barnes said. “You can just tell he did some things on his own today when he called some things and had a real feel for their teammates. He did a good job from our standpoint on just orchestrating the game.”

Bone knocked down a 3-pointer to cap the first half with a 13-point lead for the Vols, who lost 86-69 at Kentucky on Feb. 16. He scored to open the second half and made three 3-pointers in the second half.

He made the final shot for Tennessee — a corner 3-pointer with 12 seconds left — to punctuate a dominant showing that kept the Vols in the hunt for a second straight regular-season SEC championship.

“Bone is unstoppable,” guard Jordan Bowden said. “He’s the best point guard in the country and when he’s playing like that, it brings our team to another level. If he can continue doing that, sky is the limit for us.”

Tennessee guard Jordan Bone (0) high fives fans after Tennessee's home basketball game against Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Saturday, March 2, 2019.

Bone didn’t peg Saturday as the best game of his career. He admitted it would be easy to say so after a career-high scoring output. He said his best defensive game came against Ole Miss on Wednesday.

But there was no denying that Bone set the tone for Tennessee’s dominant win heading into the final week of SEC play.

“It is definitely a confidence-booster,” Bone said. “The hard work has been paying off. Just to be able to knock down those shots in a moment like this means a lot. I’m going to continue to do what I do and just continue to work. Hopefully, it will continue to show up at the right times.”

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