DETROIT — When Santiago Vescovi was ruled out due to the flu for Tennessee’s Sweet 16 matchup against Creighton, the Vols put Jahamai Mashack in the starting lineup.
Mashack has been a leader for UT all season long and in the NCAA Tournament he had to step up and did. He made his presence known all over the stat sheet with 4 points, 8 rebounds 2 assists 2 blocks and 2 steals as Tennessee won 82-75.
“I’m always ready, always prepared and always wanting that willpower to win"' he said after the Sweet 16 win over Creighton.
It wasn't his first start of the season, but certainly the biggest one.
Mashack started the first six games of the season as Zakai Zeigler got back to full speed following his torn ACL injury he suffered the prior season.
Even when Mashack went back to the bench when Zeigler returned to being a starter, he made his impact felt.
You can look at the Alabama game on the road. He buried a three-pointer to give the Vols a 63-62 lead late, and then immediately came up with a steal that led to another bucket. He scored again later when the Crimson Tide cut the lead to one and then dished an assist for a three-pointer that helped the Vols seal the deal.
He did it as a vocal leader as well.
After the Vols loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal- he took ownership on the podium.
"We are not going to go through what we went through today," he said after the loss.
Before every game, as a player off the bench, he joined the starting five in the pregame huddle because he wanted to lead.
“I think that’s just my role on this team to be a vocal leader and that’s what I was built for and I feel that’s what I did this year," he said.
His teammates know his value as a player and leader too.
“Jahmai is one of the if not the most underappreciated players in the nation," fifth-year senior Josiah-Jordan James said. "He does all the little things, all the dirty work, crashing the glass, guarding the team’s best player”
Zeigler said he couldn't have been more happy for how Mashack performed as a starter on Friday night. He spoke on what makes Mashack so valuable.
“He is the type of guy who has no remorse on calling people out and we are going to listen to it because at the end of the day we all want to win," he said. "With him doing that it gives us a boost of energy. I always tell him going into games, some people might say I’m the energizer bunny or something like that or I give teams energy, but he gives me the energy.”
Mashack has been a consistent leader this year and he plans on continuing to put it all on the line in whatever role to keep winning.
“How much I fought goes to show how much I love this team. Just fighting to get past the Sweet 16 and we finally did and we’re not going to stop now," Mashack said.
Mashack will try to help power the Vols to a Final Four if they can beat Purdue in the Elite 8. The program has never advanced to a Final Four. The Vols play the Boilermakers on Sunday at 2:20 p.m.
