Gillespie looking to build on career night versus Texas

When point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie arrived to Tennessee last summer, the Greeneville native had some big shoes to fill. After spending two seasons at Belmont and last year with Maryland, Gillespie was brought in by head coach Rick Barnes to replace a graduating Zakai Ziegler. Ziegler was one of the most decorated Vol basketball players in history. He averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 assists per game throughout his career in Knoxville. The New Yorker was the two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, set the UT record for assists (747) and steals (251), and tied the program record for most wins by a four-year player, alongside teammate Jahmai Mashack, going 109-36 (.752). After Ziegler's collegiate career came to a close, Barnes targeted Gillespie as one of the program's top targets in the transfer portal to be the next floor general. "This year, when he went into the portal, there was no question he was the very first person that we wanted to come in," Barnes said at last May's Big Orange Caravan in Kingsport. "After getting to know him and his family, it's just a true blessing to have him back here." Gillespie had averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in the 2024-25 season while helping Maryland get to the Sweet 16. The former Greeneville High standout settled in nicely for the Vols in the early season, scoring at least 17 points in four of his first five games in Knoxville. He also registered at least four assists in all five. Then came his biggest breakout game for Tennessee the week of Thanksgiving. Gillespie made his presence known to start the Players' Era Festival in Las Vegas, erupting for 32 points and six made 3-pointers against Rutgers. He followed that up the next day with a 22-point effort in a victory over then-No. 3 Houston. Both he and the Vols hit a bump in the road, though, as Tennessee lost its next three contests. In those games, Gillespie shot just 29.4 percent from the field. After ending the calendar year with a four-game win streak, the Vols turned their attention to SEC play, starting with an affair at Arkansas. The UT point guard posted 14 points and four assists, but it wasn't enough as the Razorbacks won by 11. Gillespie responded to the loss in a big way, going for a career-high 34 points on Tuesday night against Texas. He went 12-of-18 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, recorded five assists, and was credited with three steals in an 85-71 Tennessee win. "I thought he was really locked in starting (Monday)," Barnes said postgame, "after Saturday's game and in our film session, the boatload of mistakes we made at Arkansas, he came out yesterday and you could tell he was really locked into doing his part individually, more defensively than anything. And I thought today his defense is what got him really going. "I thought he was really working hard on the defensive end and we know he can get it going like he did. Obviously he was very effective in the middle ball-screen, but it started in practice the day before." With Gillespie's 34-4-5-3 stat line, there has been only one other SEC player in the last 20 years to at least match, if not exceed, the point, rebound, assist, and steal numbers in a game. That would be Ben Simmons at LSU, who had 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in a 119-108 win over North Florida on Dec. 2, 2015. The East Tennessean said the first conference win coming in Knoxville hits home. "Making shots was good," Gillespie said. "But it was good to get our first SEC win, because I grew up watching a lot of Tennessee SEC games. So it felt good to get a win." Gillespie is now on pace to average the most points (18.7), assists (5.7), and minutes per game (31.9) for a season in his collegiate career. As for SEC wins, he and the Vols will have plenty more chances to accrue them, starting on Saturday afternoon at Florida, then with home dates against Texas A&M (Jan. 13) and Kentucky (Jan. 17).