Tennessee basketball report card: Grading the Vols in 78-66 Cincinnati loss

Bench

Jalen Johnson: C

He only played three minutes, to be fair, and had 0 points. Jalen Johnson missed his only attempt and wasn’t able to get anything else going for Tennessee basketball, so this C grade is basically a grade of incomplete given how much action he saw.

Olivier Nkamhoua: C+

Like the rest of the forwards, Olivier Nkamhoua couldn’t do much. He only saw 10 minutes of action, and he did get a bucket and two rebounds during that time, but the interior defense was no better with or without him on the court, which is why he gets a C+ for his play.

Drew Pember: C+

Drew Pember is no different from Olivier Nkamhoua except for the fact that he only played four minutes in the game. With two points and one rebound, he was at least aggressive once again when he did see action. But it wasn’t enough. Like Johnson, he basically gets an incomplete.

Davonte Gaines: B+

This freshman guard got in and was very aggressive, which was something worth seeing. Davonte Gaines played 17 minutes and missed both of his field goal attempts. But he still scored four points because of how he managed to get to the line, making all of his free throws. Add in his three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block, and he was very effective.

Overall bench grade: C+

It’s between a C+ and a B- because of the play of Davonte Gaines and the forwards. However, we went with a C+ due to Gaines’s inability to get anything going shooting the ball. The bench only had eight points, so it has to improve.