Offseason knee surgery meant a slow start for 6-6 guard Josiah-Jordan James. Now he seems more like the player who averaged 10 points and six rebounds as a junior last season.

-- Photos By Jerry Denham |The Ledger

Josiah-Jordan James experienced the normal frustrations that come with rehabilitating an injury. The senior guard admitted to having “dark days” and not feeling like he was getting better.

Having to watch Tennessee play while he was sidelined for two separate four-game stretches this season made things even harder to handle. James wanted to be out there with his teammates helping in any way possible.

James made his return to the court last week in Tennessee’s 87-53 dismantling of Mississippi State at Thompson-Boling Arena. He played 17 minutes, dished out four assists and made his final three shots, which included a crowd-pleasing dunk and two 3-pointers.

“To be greeted like I was today was hard to describe,” James says. “It gave me chills. Vol Nation is my home. I feel like I’m a part of Vol Nation, and those guys and fans are second to none. I feel like they know the work we put in, I put in on a daily basis and they just appreciate that. They appreciate how I play hard. Just knowing that it doesn’t go unnoticed means a lot.”

Having the 6-foot-6, 224-pound James back in the lineup provides the Vols with more versatility on both ends. They followed the lopsided win over the Bulldogs with an even more emphatic beatdown, cruising past South Carolina 85-42 on the road.

The 43-point margin of victory was the third-largest for a road win in program history. Coupled with the 34-point win against Mississippi State, it marked the first time the Vols defeated SEC opponents by 30 or more points in back-to-back games since 1965.

The results boosted the Vols to a season-high No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press poll.

Returning to his home state, James had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists in another 17 minutes against South Carolina.

“You can tell he’s been different,” UT head coach Rick Barnes says. “When he came back even early in the year … we knew in practice he wasn’t the same guy. The last couple of days, since he’s been in practice, he’s been the Josiah we know he can be.”

James had an offseason procedure performed on his knee and didn’t enter the season 100% healthy.

The UT coaches and medical staff have tried to be smart about his recovery. They would rather James get close to full strength than trying to make it through the season in a limited capacity.

UT trainer Chad Newman and UT strength and conditioning coach Garrett Medenwald devised a rehabilitation plan with a goal to keep James fresh for the long term.

James has focused on strengthening the areas around the knee that provide support like his glutes and hamstrings. He does exercises when he wakes up each morning and before he goes to sleep at night. He also started taking a new medicine that has helped lessen the pain.

“This approach was definitely different from the last ones and I feel 1,000 times better than I did before,” James says. “I give a lot of credit to Chad and G for sticking with me because I know it’s not only been a tough process for me, but for them as well because they stay up late at night trying to figure out ways and different things for me to do.”

James was still a bit unsure how his body would react in a real game. But once he stepped on the floor for warmups before the Vols played Mississippi State, he felt “bouncy” and was landing on his knee without any pain.

The UT staff wanted to limit James to 20 minutes or less and play him more in spurts of less than six consecutive minutes going forward.

They will keep a close eye on his practice participation and the load he’s putting on his body while he continues to progress.

“There’s a lot of basketball left,” Barnes says, “and we want him to be at his best once we get deeper into the season.”

UT’s Early Addition

Five-star combo guard Freddie Dilione, UT’s top 2023 signee, is enrolling at Tennessee this month to get an early start on preparing for his freshman season in 2023-24. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Dilione played at World of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I think it’s huge, I do,” Barnes says. “It’s been going on in football forever. The fact that he and his family decided they wanted to do it. I think it’s going to really help him a lot. Gives him a big head start on things.”

Barnes says Dilione will not play this season, but will practice with the team and gain strength in the weight room working with Medenwald. Tennessee was able to add Dilione in the middle of the season because the Vols had an open scholarship.

“He’ll probably start out really helping our scout team,” Barnes says. “As he continues to learn our system here, it’s going to be great for us and it’s going to be great for him.”