Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said several Volunteers are managing injuries as the team prepares for its SEC Tournament opener Thursday in Nashville. Still, he believes a couple days off could help the team recover.
“We got hit a little bit last week with some different things,” Barnes said. “I hope the last couple days has helped us. We’ll do a little bit of work today, head over to Nashville, and get ready to go and hope we can stay and have a long weekend.”
Forward Nate Ament has done running and conditioning work with physical trainer Chad Newman and director of sports performance Garrett Medenwald in recent days. As a result, Barnes said the staff plans to monitor how he responds as activity increases.
“He’s okay,” Barnes said. “He’s been running and doing those types of things. We’ll see a little bit more today and see how he responds.”
Meanwhile, guard Troy Henderson likely will not practice after aggravating a stinger injury in the regular season finale against Vanderbilt.
“That stinger; he got hit again right where it stings,” Barnes said.
However, Henderson still intends to help the team during the postseason. Barnes said the guard will need surgery after the season ends.
“We know he’s going to have to do offseason surgery, but Troy said he wants to stay and help as much as he can until the season’s over,” Barnes said.
Guard Amari Evans is also dealing with a sore ankle after turning it late in Tennessee’s last game. Even so, Barnes expects Evans to participate in some practice work as the team prepares for the tournament.
“This time of year I’m not sure guys that have those kinds of injuries ever truly get back to 100 percent,” Barnes said. “It’s just what they can tolerate.”
Barnes also said Jaylen Carey battled illness during Tennessee’s last game. Despite that, Barnes emphasized the team needs his defensive presence and rebounding.
“We need him to be really good defensively and rebound,” Barnes said. “If he scores, he scores. We just need him to do those things.”
Now Tennessee heads to Nashville on Tuesday, they hope improved health leads to stronger performances in postseason play.
“We’ve shown we can be really good,” Barnes said. “But we’ve got to put it together for 40 minutes.”
Tennessee opens its conference tournament against the winner of #13 Mississippi State and #12 Auburn on Wednesday. The Vols’ first game is in the second round at 3:00 p.m. eastern.
