The Tennessee Vols finally managed their first win on the road Sunday.
Head coach Cuonzo Martin said that beating the South Carolina Gamecocks 66-61 in Columbia, S.C., was a great experience.
“That was always one of those things I took great pride in as a player. Every time you get a road win it’s just a great feeling,” Martin said. “The level of confidence to beat someone on their home court, it takes a lot of mental preparation, game planning, players making plays to get the win. I feel like the guys did a great job of stepping up.”
On top of Jarnell Stokes’ fifth straight double-double, Trae Golden put up 16 points, his largest output since mid-December. After sitting out for a few games due to a hamstring injury, Golden has come back with a vengeance.
“Trae Golden came in and played well and that was the old Trae that I’m used to seeing, a guy that’s attacking the rim,” Martin said. “I thought he was very aggressive. I thought he got the outlet passes and was up the court, looking to score the ball and find his shooters, but when he didn’t have anything he did a great job of going to the rim. That was good to see.”
The win worked as a confidence boost for more than just Golden.
“It was a good team win for our guys,” Martin said.
That said, Martin feels Golden’s performance is key to game-making plays.
“If Golden’s playing that well and everyone is doing their part, I think we’ll be fine,” Martin said.
Stokes’ performance over the last several games marks him as a top-tier player. Martin said mentality is key to being a great player.
“When you’re a good player, you should put pressure on yourself,” Martin. “It’s a matter of maintaining how you handle that pressure, but that’s why the great ones become great. It’s the reason they are who they are because of pressure. They have a bounce back response to certain situations and when you get in hostile environments, they come out of there alive.””
For Stokes this means finding the drive to win no matter what. The head coach said that to be a high caliber competitor you have to have the drive to win games.
“As an individual player when you want to be the best and especially when you can see signs that ‘I can be one of the best, if not the best,’ then that’s the next push to dominate games,” Martin said.
But that drive, that push isn’t found during regular play. It starts on the practice court.
“If it doesn’t start in practice, there’s no way it’s gonna start in a game for you,” Martin said. “You have to program your body to practice at a certain level so that game time is somewhat easy.
“The great ones hold their own,” he said. “They know every night, ‘I will get there. This is my production.'”
Martin hopes winning and performing won’t stay in South Carolina.
“In order for us to be a team, we need to do that on a consistent basis,” Martin said. “We need Trae Golden and Jarnell Stokes and those guys to be the players we need them to be.”
On Wednesday, the team will face another SEC challenge. The team will be heading to Nashville to play the Vanderbilt Commodores.
In their last meeting, the Vols pulled out the 58-57 win, but that was in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Martin is looking for consistency and drive, something he hopes will carry over from Sunday.
“It should be a physical game, a tough game, and that’s the bottom line,” he said.
