Rick Barnes gives Josiah-Jordan James injury update for Tennessee basketball vs McNeese State

Rick Barnes wants Josiah-Jordan James to decide when he returns to Tennessee basketball.

The Vols guard is dealing with knee soreness that sidelined him during UT's three-game run in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

"We’re leaving it up to him," Barnes said Tuesday. "Again, it’s been made clear to him, we want him to feel comfortable. Certainly we’re not going to ask anybody to play when they don’t feel (comfortable). We just want him to feel good about himself. As much as he’s put into the program, he’ll know when he’s ready.”

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No. 13 Tennessee (5-1) hosts McNeese State (2-4) on Wednesday (7:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network) after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis.

James did not play in the Bahamas after playing in UT's first three regular-season games. He underwent an offseason knee procedure. The lingering soreness stemmed from the same issue, Barnes said. James did not play in the preseason when UT faced Michigan State and Gonzaga. He was a limited participant in practice Monday. Barnes was not concerned that the knee soreness will become a long-term issue for James.

The senior guard leads UT with 13.7 points per game while shooting 52.7% on 3-pointers. He has played 23.3 minutes per game.

"We want him to be 100 percent healthy when he’s ready to play," Barnes said. "Mentally, I think he’s got to feel good about it when he’s ready to go.”

The 6-foot-6 James had eight points and four rebounds in 18 minutes against Tennessee Tech in UT's season-opening 75-43 win. He had 15 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes in Tennessee's 78-66 loss to Colorado. James had 18 points and was 4-for-6 on 3-pointers in 25 minutes in an 81-50 win against Florida Gulf Coast.

He has received shots in recent weeks, including a platelet-rich plasma shot and Synvisc injections.

"He’s got time and he’ll keep doing what he needs to do to I’m sure get himself where he feels like he can help us," James said.

Tennessee started Tyreke Key, Santiago Vescovi, Julian Phillips, Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic in its three games in the Bahamas. UT won the title with a 64-50 win against Kansas on Friday.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Josiah-Jordan James injury update on Tennessee basketball top scorer