CHICAGO — A tear slipped down Ethan Burg’s face before he could finish answering the final question.
He pulled an NCAA towel over his eyes as Jaylen Carey wrapped his around the Mishmar HaShiv’a, Israel, native. After 30 minutes of reflection on a season that ended in the Elite Eight, Burg couldn’t hold it together.
“(It’s) a blessing to have them in my life, you know?” Burg said. “They affected me. They really helped me to get through this, man. It wasn’t easy at all for me.”
Nor was Tennessee’s season all rainbows and sunshine.
In December, belief inside Tennessee’s locker room was fragile. Associate head coach Justin Gainey admits he didn’t think this team could make a run. Burg didn’t either.
A new roster, early losses and comparisons to past Tennessee teams left it feeling like something was missing. The results lacked, but the talent didn’t — and the offseason connection that had been established is the No. 1 thing Tennessee leaned upon.
What Tennessee leaned on when belief wavered wasn’t built during the season. It was built in the summer.
“We went bowling, paintball fights, going out to dinner, just messing around, hanging out with each other, playing 2K,” said J.P. Estrella, one of four scholarship returnees on the roster.
With freshmen, transfers and returners arriving near the same time, there were no cliques to fall into. Burg and Clarence Massamba were exceptions, arriving late due to professional obligations — but the two felt more welcomed than anyone.
“Everybody really became a whole family,” Massamba said. “And I felt like that’s what makes it special. I’ve never had a team where I connected that way with people.”
That bond strengthened through difficult practices and shared struggle long before games exposed weaknesses. But Tennessee’s returners made it a priority to show the newcomers what Tennessee’s culture needed to be.
That was a lesson that was passed down from the core of Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler a year ago.
The two set the foundation for the Vols’ culture — Tennessee’s returning core of Estrella, Felix Okpara, Cade Phillips, Bishop Boswell and Grant Hurst were tasked with continuing that. They received the buy-in instantaneously.
“We kind of just helped the new guys, younger guys, to show them the ropes,” Okpara said. “It was definitely hard, a completely new team. But we did it to the best of our abilities. We have a great group of guys that came in, and they bought into the program and the culture.”
That foundation was tested when Tennessee hit a roug stretch in late November and December.
“I think nobody really gave us the chance to get here,” Burg said. “After the Syracuse game… (Gainey) didn’t think we had a chance to get here. And I’m going to be brutally honest — neither did I … It always felt like we were missing something.”
Burg couldn’t put a finger on what that something was. What never wavered was how they felt about each other.
“I mean, I just think we were never going to give up, never gonna quit,” freshman forward Nate Ament said. “I mean, we just kept getting better and better after each loss. I mean, I think that speaks a lot to know what this program is and what it means to be a Tennessee Volunteer.”
They tallied eight wins in nine attempts in the heart of SEC play. They still faced adversity, blowing double-digit leads to Kentucky twice, bringing the season total to five. The train began to derail, dropping three of the last four regular-season games.
By March, the Vols had earned a No. 6 seed. They were fresh off a loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament, their second loss to the Commodores in a week.
They rallied with each other again.
“We never lost belief or faith in ourselves,” Bishop Boswell said. “We know how good we were.”
Some of the weight was lifted as a six seed, and even more loosened when the Cinderella-favored RedHawks of Miami (Ohio) were knocked off in a 22-point first-round win. That carried through when the Vols overcame a blown lead to down Virginia. It prevailed in a dominant win over Iowa State to advance to a third straight Elite Eight.
For the Vols, it was faith, family and basketball.
“Everybody stayed together, and I think that’s the reason we got here,” Massamba said. “Just because this group is very unique. We’re all there for each other.”
The run came to an end in the Elite Eight loss, but the camaraderie won’t. Burg feels that more than most.
While Burg’s family bunkers in Israel, his teammates pick him up. That’s what Carey did in the locker beside Burg as he began to discuss the two brothers he has back home.
It’s the same thing the Vols have done all season — built on brotherhood.
“I thought it was going to be easy,” Burg said. “I found real quick it isn’t. Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But it was totally worth it … That’s the biggest blessing I’ll take from here, just the opportunity to get to know these guys.”
