Tennessee got an unexpected boost on Saturday as last year’s SEC sixth man of the year checked into the game early in the first half. It was Lamonte Turner’s fourth game of the season, but it was his first action since the coaching staff shut him down in early December.
“Yesterday he practiced a little bit,” Barnes told reporters after the Georgia blowout. “At shootaround, he started feeling like he could do it. Really, it wasn’t until after shootaround where we thought he was going to try and do it.”
Barnes said earlier in the week that he didn’t expect Turner to play, so this was a nice surprise for everyone, himself included.