Tennessee Volunteer Basketball Player Jahmai Mashack Wants to ‘Bring Others to Christ’
By Movieguide® Staff
The Tennessee Volunteers men basketball team are ranked No. 4 in the country, led in part by star Jahmai Mashack.
For the 2022-2023 season, the Volunteers are 16-3 and according to head coach Rick Barnes, it starts with the team’s defense—something Mashack excels at on the court.
“I just love the feeling of being able to crack down on defense and stop somebody else from scoring,” Mashack told RockyTopInsider.com.
“He is someone we depend upon every game to come in, defend, get big stops, guard the other team’s best player, make open shots,” assistant coach Rod Clark added. “Bring that toughness and that edge that we need as a team.”
Although Mashack had limited playing time in his freshman year for the Volunteers, the 6-foot-4 sophomore is now one of their cornerstone players.
“I can remember [associate head coach Mike Schwartz] telling me, ‘Coach, he’s our kind of kid and we absolutely want him in this program,’” Barnes told RockyTopInsider.com. “Everything that we’re about, we want him here. He has not disappointed us any way like that.”
Despite the Volunteers rich history, Mashack said that Barnes’ faith was what initially attracted him to the school.
“I think Tennessee really stood out to me because of one, they really announced that they were close with the Lord and that was a big thing for me,” Mashack said. “Coach Barnes has been outspoken with his Christianity and his religion. I think that was one of the biggest things for me with joining this program.”
Mashack said that Barne’s boldness reflects his own desire to use his platform to share Christ.
“I’m encouraged by him because he’s not afraid to talk about [his faith],” Barnes said of Mashack.
“I want to use this platform I have with basketball to reach other people and bring others to Christ,” Mashack said. “That’s probably the biggest thing for me, just trying to bring others to Christ and using this as something just to reach out to people.”
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