Jaylen Carey’s frame garners a lot of attention for Tennessee basketball.
As the Vols (16-6, 6-3 SEC) throttled Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6) by a score of 84-66 at Food City Center on Feb. 4, Carey used his size to protect his teammates.
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In the first half, freshman Nate Ament crashed to the ground after a defender aggressively bodied him up. Referees kept the call at a common foul, but in the second half, Ole Miss player James Scott received a flagrant after swiping at Bishop Boswell’s face.
On both occasions, the 6-foot-8, 267-pound Carey found himself in the middle of a scrum against a group of Ole Miss defenders.
“Yeah man, that’s our bodyguard, that’s our team bodyguard right there,” Ament said. “He likes to get in fights and stuff like that. I’m just joking, but he’s our enforcer. Knowing that someone like that is having my back, it’s incredible. He broke my wrist in the summer when I tried to dunk on him, but that’s a whole different story.”
Carey shared a double technical foul with Scott after the second skirmish. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes wasn’t so keen on Carey’s activities.
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“I don’t mind it, but I don’t want him to get technical fouls, especially when we’re short a post player,” Barnes said. “I know his teammates respect him for it. It happened so quickly. I think our guys appreciate it. I just don’t want it to get us at the wrong time when we are really playing with three of our starting five post players.”
Tennessee basketball center Felix Okpara making ‘progress’
The Vols won another game without starting center Felix Okpara. He missed his second straight contest with a left calf injury. Tennessee would have been even thinner in the frontcourt if Carey was ejected.
There’s no return timetable for Okpara, but Barnes sounded optimistic after talking to director of men’s basketball sports medicine Chad Newman.
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“Chad told me today (Okpara) was feeling better today,” Barnes said. “I said, ‘How’s he feeling?’ He said he thought he made progress today. I can’t tell you when because that’s the honest answer. He told me that right before the game. He said he had a good day.”
More: Why Chris Beard needed to ‘fight’ for Ole Miss players, get ejected
The Vols’ big men weren’t as productive against Ole Miss as they were against Auburn. Redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Freshman DeWayne Brown II, who replaced Okpara in the starting lineup, had five points, three rebounds and an assist. Carey, nearly ejected with four fouls, had four points, five rebounds and an assist.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey earns ‘bodyguard’ title vs Ole Miss