Why Ja'Kobi Gillespie’s SEC Player of the Week honor matters for Tennessee basketball

A couple of weeks ago, Tennessee basketball was in a rough stretch. The Vols had lost three games in a row, and nothing could go right. Tennessee was missing easy shots, not communicating well enough on defense, and turning the ball over way too much.

After the third loss, the Vols had a nice nine-day break to fix the problems in practice. During this time, Rick Barnes challenged Ja'Kobi Gillespie, saying he needed to be more of a point guard. Well, Gillespie has answered the call and did just that.

Last week, Gillespie averaged 19 points, seven assists, and three rebounds a game. He was arguably the biggest reason Tennessee snapped out of its losing skid and beat Louisville and Gardner-Webb. Gillespie's performance last week was highlighted by being named the SEC Player of the Week.

When Tennessee has steady point guard play they are great

When Gillespie plays like he did last week, the Vols will be a difficult team to beat. Everyone knows this team is tough, physical, and elite defensively. It sounds much simpler than it actually is, but Tennessee needs to put the ball in the basket efficiently. When this team scores at least 70, they are 9-1, with the one loss coming close to Kansas.

Gillespie needs to build on this strong week. During the losing skid, he was forcing passes and playing too much hero ball. It seems that Barnes has really gotten through to Gillespie about running the offense first, and that, ironically, the points will come with running more structured sets. Gillespie's leadership and veteran presence can take this team to a whole new level. He needs to keep showing it.

The Vols have one more non-conference game before traveling to Arkansas in the new year to kick off SEC play. The conference is once again a bloodbath with five or six teams capable of winning the SEC. The Vols cannot afford to take any nights off, and it all starts with Gillespie.

One thing is sure, and it's that Rick Barnes found a stud in Gillespie, and the sky is the limit for where he can take this team.