Tennessee Basketball: Admiral establishing himself as the season goes on

The Tennessee Volunteers are playing great basketball as of late and a huge part of that is because of the play of the star senior, Admiral Schofield.

The Tennessee Volunteers are currently on a four-game win streak and a huge reason why they are playing red-hot is because of star senior, Admiral Schofield.

The Volunteers got a big victory on Saturday against their in-state rivals, the Memphis Tigers, winning 102-92, thanks to 29 points from Schofield. Schofield has looked like one of the best players in the country these last few weeks, leading the Vols in scoring in the last three games.

Schofield made a huge decision this offseason when he decided to return to Rocky Top for his senior campaign, looking to build something special with this basketball team. So far it’s paid off, as he’s helped lead to the Tennessee Volunteers to an 8-1 start and a No. 3 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll.

Slow start doesn’t phase him

Schofield got out to a slow start this season, but that slow start hasn’t phased him one bit as the season has gone on. Schofield has now scored more than 20 points in six of the last seven games. He started to hit his stride during the NIT Season Tip-off, scoring 20 points against Louisville and following that performance up with 21 against Kansas.

Schofield followed up those two performances with another 20-point outing against Eastern Kentucky where he missed just one shot on nine shot attempts.

He has really established himself these last two games. Schofield received Player of the Week accolades after last Sunday’s 30-point performance against the No. 1 team in the nation, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Schofield posted his career high against Gonzaga, where he made six threes and came up huge throughout the second half making clutch shot after clutch shot.

During Saturday’s win against Memphis, he nearly broke his career high that he set last week. He put together a 29-point performance, shooting 8-12 from the field. Schofield was also perfect from the charity stripe, making all nine free throws that he attempted.

Adding fuel to the fire

Schofield feeds off of other people and that is evident in these last two games. During last Sunday’s game against Gonzaga, Schofield and Mike Norvell Jr. continued to chirp at each other during the second half, and that only propelled him to show out against the best team in the country. He strung together 11 straight points, including a game-winning three-pointer with under 30 seconds left to give the Volunteers a win against a top-ranked opponent.

During Saturday’s matchup, he was able to feed off of the energy in the FedEx Forum. When the Volunteers got in foul trouble, which was most of the game, Schofield showed up. Like the Gonzaga game, he made clutch shot after clutch shot. He’s continued to show true emotion these last two games, and that’s when he’s been at his best.

The best thing about Schofield after these last two performances? His unselfishness. He knows he’s been one of the best players in the nation these last two weeks, yet he still doesn’t make it about himself, and he’s right. While he’s been a star, it’s been a team effort during these two tough games.

If Schofield continues this hot streak, it will be awesome to see the things this team can do.