How Uros Plavsic is becoming the salve to Tennessee basketball’s post woes

NASHVILLE — Uros Plavsic was the first player down the court with 28 seconds to play Tuesday.

The Tennessee basketball forward raised his long arms toward the rafters at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium and beckoned for Vols fans to roar before a pair of free-throw attempts. The moment was more than two years in the making for Plavsic.

“It’s been really tough,” Plavsic said. “But you just have to wait for your moment, for your opportunity.”

Plavsic has seized his opportunities in the past month, turning into the salve for Tennessee’s post woes. The 7-foot Serbian flourished against Vanderbilt (10-7, 2-3 SEC), propelling the Vols (12-5, 3-3) with winning plays in the final 10 minutes of No. 25 Tennessee’s 68-60 win.

He had 13 points and seven rebounds. He made three of Tennessee’s four field goals in the final 10 minutes, including a second-chance score with 55 seconds left to snap a 60-60 tie.

“He is giving us an extra boost,” guard Zakai Zeigler said. “He just comes in the games and gives us that burst, whether it is a big rebound or a hook shot. He bought into his role big-time the last few weeks. That has really changed the dynamic of our team.”

The process to get to Tuesday — and the past few games — started with a pair of promises from Vols coach Rick Barnes. Barnes had a vision for Plavsic, but getting the big man to buy into it was a process.

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The first promise was that Barnes would out-stubborn Plavsic every time to teach him. The second was that if Plavsic pivoted his determined ways into doing what the Vols need for him that it would work for him.

Barnes saw it click in early January, just in time to aid an inconsistent group of Tennessee forwards.

“You could just tell he finally said, ‘Hey, I’m going to do exactly what this team needs,’ ” Barnes said.

Plavsic’s sudden rise required stripping his game and thought process to the basics. He locked in on the essentials of being a big man for Barnes — defense and rebounding — and honed in on specific offnsive skills.

Plavsic’s strength has always been on the offensive end. He has some finesse to his game, but Barnes wanted to see Plavsic focus on being effective on a couple of spots on the floor. He has been more assertive with the basketball during SEC play, looking to score quickly instead of dribbling and passing out. He is deft at clearing space in the post for guards Kennedy Chandler and Zakai Zeigler to get to the rim.

An increased attention to detail defensively has pushed Plavsic into a more notable role. He is capable in guarding ball screens because of his lateral quickness, but is playing better defense in the post.

“The main thing is that I want to play physical,” Plavsic said. “I want to be the guy who does all the dirty work on the court and stuff like that.”

Plavsic has been the ultimate project in many ways for Barnes since he transferred to Tennessee from Arizona State in May 2019. His teammates praised his abilities as he waited to be ruled eligible in his first season at UT, clearly enthralled by the potential of the forward. But it has remained potential for the greater part of the past two seasons.

It has flipped into playing time and steady improvement of late.

Plavsic grabbed nine rebounds at Alabama on Dec. 29, more than doubling his career-high four. He scored 12 points with seven rebounds at LSU on Jan. 8. Barnes was pleased with Plavsic’s play at Kentucky and chose to start him over a slumping John Fulkerson against Vanderbilt.

Plavsic responded to the delight of his teammates. Zeigler stressed the Vols know Plavsic is going to be the first one to have their backs on the court. He’s the muscle that opponents will have to deal with, which he proved when guard Santiago Vescovi was elbowed from behind by Vanderbilt’s Myles Stute.

That’s another one of the roles Plavsic plays.

After many talks with Tennessee’s coaches — and the necessary pushing from a stubborn counterpart in Barnes — Plavsic is seeing all his roles at last.

“It’s just me understanding the main part of what they wanted me to do and just doing that stuff,” Plavsic said. “It’s giving me success. So I think I’m going to keep doing it.”

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: Uros Plavsic embracing role, excelling for Tennessee basketball