The way Hank Snow sang the song, it was easy to believe he’d really been everywhere.
“Reno, Chicago, Fargo …
“Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow…
“Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville…
“I’ve been everywhere, man.”
Basketball travel writer Mike Strange sees the Tennessee roster as a world map. Indeed, Volunteers have been a lot of places. He’s guessing not one has been to Uncasville, Connecticut. They’ll play Villanova Saturday in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Resort a mile or three from the village.
North Carolina and Purdue meet in the other opener. Winners will play winners and losers will play losers on Sunday.
Uncasville is part of the town of Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River. It had the first woolen mill in the United States. Before that, it had the Mohegan Indian Tribe, now the front for the casino at the resort.
And that’s all I’m going to tell you about that.
As for the Vols and where they have been, I’m guessing Santiago Vescovi holds the record. He was born in Montevideo, capital and largest city of Uruguay.
At 16, he committed to basketball and moved, on his own, to the NBA Global Academy in Mexico City. His father is an accountant. His mother is a marketing professional. They believed Santiago was mature beyond his age and could handle the combo challenges of continuing education and a large jump in competition.
They were right.
Vescovi spent 15 months in Mexico, playing against college and professional teams. He played in U.S. tournaments. Think San Antonio and Atlanta and some other places. He went to The Bahamas for Basketball Without Borders. There was a little side trip to Treviso, Italy.
NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, needed a point guard in the summer of 2019. Vescovi got the call. Mexico officials endorsed the promotion with this message: “Lefty, can really shoot, dynamic passer, high-major prospect.”
In his spare time, Santiago joined Uruguay’s national team for Olympic qualifying games in Victoria, British Columbia.
Sometime after that, he signed with Tennessee. He was cleared by the NCAA on Jan. 3, 2020, and started for the Vols a day later. He hit six 3-pointers against LSU.
Vescovi said, by then, he knew anything was possible.
Uros Plavsic grew up and up in Ivanjica, Serbia. On his way to seven feet, he was persuaded to try basketball.
“I had no clue what I was in for.”
Uros remembers his first practice. Everyone was wearing basketball gear. He arrived in his Real Madrid soccer jersey and soccer shoes.
“I didn’t know any better. I wore exactly what I would wear when I played soccer in the streets every day.”
He learned fast. A coach convinced him to move to the United States to enhance his education. That was code for maybe finding a doorway to the NBA.
Plavsic had help. Somebody in Ivanjica knew somebody in Chattanooga. Hamilton Heights Christian Academy coach Zach Ferrell, his wife, Rachel, and their children were happy to become his host family.
“I thank God for putting the game in my life and giving me the physical gifts. Not everybody is seven feet tall.”
Uros Plavsic was never short on courage. He caught a bus to Belgrade, four hours and change. He flew to Frankfurt, Germany. He flew to Atlanta. He caught the correct shuttle from the airport to a bus going to Chattanooga.
“I will never forget my first night. One of my new teammates was celebrating his birthday. We went out to dinner. It was a horrible experience. Everybody around me was talking, but I literally didn’t understand anything.”
Drazen Zlovaric, a fellow Serbian, had a package plan. The former graduate assistant for Rick Barnes was going to be an assistant coach at Cleveland State. Uros was going to play one season in Chattanooga and move to Ohio.
Zlovaric suddenly got a better job at Arizona State. He and Uros went to Tempe. The job didn’t last. Uros didn’t stay. Tennessee found him on the rebound.
Olivier Nkamhoua went from Helsinki, Finland, to a couple of high schools in Maryland on his way to Tennessee.
Quentin Diboundje followed a similar route from Monpellier, France, to Montverde Academy Center for Basketball Development in Florida.
Handje Tamba, another seven-foot Volunteer project, emigrated from Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo to Knoxville Catholic High. He is an exceptional student who wants to pursue a career in medicine.
Tennessee’s almost ordinary Americans haven’t been everywhere but they’ve been around. Zakai Ziegler first played for Upper Room Christian in New York. After graduating from Our Savior Lutheran in The Bronx, he played as a post-grad at Immaculate Conception High in Montclair, N.J.
He was “discovered” at a Nike showcase in Augusta, Ga.
Kennedy Chandler was a star at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis but ended up at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield started in high school in Clarksville and moved on to Florida and Pennsylvania, at Scotland Campus Prep.
Jonas Parker Aidoo attended two high schools in North Carolina. He finished at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute.
Justin Powell split time between three high schools in Kentucky, went to Auburn and transferred to Tennessee.
John Fulkerson played in Kingsport and at Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, and has seen a lot of the world as a Volunteer. Uncasville, Connecticut, will be a new experience.
Marvin West welcomes reader comments or questions. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com