Santiago Vescovi joins rare SEC group with 400th career assist for Tennessee basketball
Santiago Vescovi made a pass without catching it Tuesday.
The Tennessee basketball guard touch-passed the ball into the paint to Vols forward Jonas Aidoo for a dunk and to put himself into the record books.
Vescovi recorded his 400th assist when he fed Aidoo for a dunk against Norfolk State. He is the fourth SEC player in the past 20 years with 1,400 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists. He is the second Vol to reach that mark, joining Allan Houston.
The three other players to do so in the past 20 years are Georgia's Sundiata Gaines (2004-08), Mississippi State's Jamont Gordon (2005-08), and Georgia's Charles Mann (2012-16).
Santiago Vescovi joined Allan Houston with his 400th assist
Vescovi has 1,422 points, 524 rebounds and 401 assists. He got the 400th assist by batting the ball to Aidoo after Zakai Zeigler passed it to Vescovi early in the second half. Houston reached the trio of stats during his career from 1989-93. Houston is UT's leading scorer with 2,801 points.
Vescovi eclipsed the marks for points, rebounds and assists since the season began. He had 1,318 points, 470 rebounds, and 367 assists.
He is in his fifth season with the Vols, but joined midyear in the 2019-20 season and immediately entered the starting lineup. He has played in 127 career games after No. 5 Tennessee notched an 87-50 win against Norfolk State on Tuesday, which essentially amounts to four total seasons.
Where Santiago Vescovi ranks in Tennessee basketball history
Vescovi also became the third Vol in program history to make 300 3-pointers his career when he hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds before halftime. It was his third against Norfolk State. He joined Chris Lofton and Houston as the three Vols with at least 300 made 3-pointers.
The Montevideo, Uruguay, native is one of 10 SEC players in history with 300 3-pointers.
He is one of two Vols with at least 100 3-pointers in a season. He did so in his junior season in 2021-22 when he made 102 3-pointers. He posted career bests with 13.3 points per game and 40.3% 3-point shooting that season.
Vescovi averaged 12.5 points and a career-high 4.6 rebounds as a senior last season.
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: Santiago Vescovi notches career achievement for Tennessee basketball
