By JOHN MOOREHOUSE
Two things can be true at the same time, even if those two truths appear to conflict.
Take the current state of affairs for the Tennessee basketball team:
Truth 1) Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie are carrying the Vols this season.
Truth 2) Gillespie is struggling for the Vols in “winning time.”
What is winning time? I’m so glad you ask.
After interviewing him on yearly previews for his Sacramento State team for about a decade, I’ve worked with longtime Sac State coach Brian Katz on a couple of his book projects. You can buy the first one here; the second is in the final stages of proofreading. Katz is a big believer in “winning time”: the final few minutes of a game, and identifying the players you can count on during that stretch.
And, thus far during his tenure at Tennessee, Gillespie is struggling mightily in winning time.
Let’s just let the numbers speak for themselves:
- Against Houston on a neutral court in the Players Era Tournament, Tennessee entered the final five minutes with a six-point lead. Gillespie scored nine points with an assist and made two fouls as the Vols beat Houston 76-73.
This is also the best performance that Gillespie has had in winning time.
Now for the others, ranging from mediocre to flat out bad:
- Down four to Kansas entering the final five minutes in the Players Era, Gillespie had four points and a steal, committed a turnover and got whistled for three fouls as Kansas won by five.
- Down two at Syracuse entering the final five minutes, Gillespie mustered two assists and went scoreless without attempting a single field goal or free throw. Vols lose by two.
- Down six against Illinois entering the final five minutes, Gillespie scored three points on 1-for-4 shooting with two missed 3-pointers and a missed layup. He grabbed a rebound, while committing a turnover and getting whistled for a foul, as the Illini pulled away to win by 13.
- Down 5 at Arkansas in the SEC opener, Gillespie attempted one shot from the field, which he missed, made a pair of free throws and had a steal in the last five minutes. The Hogs gained breathing room late to win by 11.
- At home against Texas A&M entering the final five minutes, Tennessee trailed 58-57. Gillespie went a combined 1-for-5 from the field in the final five of regulation and the two overtimes, made his one free throw attempt, picked up three fouls, committed three turnovers, grabbed a rebound and had two steals. Tennessee wins by five.
- The Vols led by five going into the last five minutes with Kentucky. Down the stretch, Gillespie went 3-for-6 at the line, missed his one field goal try from 3-point range, had a rebound, got called for a foul, and committed two really ugly turnovers.
- Lastly, at Alabama, Tennessee was up six entering the final five minutes. Gillespie scored three points, missing a layup and making one of two free throws, while grabbing a board and committing a turnover. The Vols won by six.
Most basketball games come down to those final minutes, with the outcome still in doubt. While the Vols would certainly be in bad shape without Gillespie on the roster, can they count on him during winning time?
It’s a fair question. And, when you go back to his performance during his lone season at Maryland, a fairly recent dilemma for the Greeneville native.
Let’s take a look at some of Gillespie’s performances during winning time in his time with the Terrapins:
- Down one to Villanova entering the final five, Gillespie scored six points and grabbed a rebound as Maryland rallied for a 76-75 victory.
- Although Maryland lost in overtime to Northwestern, Gillespie made two huge buckets: one to tie it at the end of regulation and another to tie it during the OT.
- Leading Wisconsin by six entering the final five, Gillespie contributed five points with a turnover as Maryland won by eight.
- Trailing Michigan State by six going into the final five minutes. Gillespie went 6-for-6 from the line, but the Terps lost on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
- Leading Penn State by four entering the final five, Gillespie made both his free throws and had a pair of assists as Maryland held on to win by that same margin.
- Down five to Colorado State going into the final five minutes of their NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game, Gillespie made a 3-pointer, had a steal, a rebound, and a pair of assists — including a dish on the game-tying bucket. Maryland won by a single point.
During his time in Knoxville, has Gillespie produced any major contributions during winning time the likes of which he has at Maryland?
Nope.
The good news is that there’s still a lot of basketball to be played — a month and change of regular season basketball, followed by the SEC tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
The bad news? I don’t see the Vols advancing far in the postseason or coming close to achieving some of their lofty goals if Gillespie does not start making more of an impact in winning time.